Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-01-10

Cbc
Hollod >G,y
Co S


| still. suppose. thinking Of him sub
consciously. for a few moments late
some Irresistible impulse caused nj
to glance around, and there he wa
! walking after me on the opposite sid
OF the street! Then in Il flash I'm
derstood. He was following me!
1t is difficult to describe the SHOCK
that ran through me, that left me
numhed and helpless. For an instant
l stumbled Oh, half dazed; then grad
ually my self control came back and
with it certain fierce joy. Il hot exul
| tation Here ut last was something
definite, tangible, a clew ready to my
hand. If only | We're clever enough Il
follow it up; Il ray Of light in the dark
ness | could feel my cheeks burning
| and my heart leapng ut the thought.
But what had been his part in the
, affair? For a moment l CROPPED blind
| ly in the dark. but only for a moment
| Whatever his share in the tragedy, lie
| had plainly been left behind 10 watch
us; to make sure that we did not fol
low the fugitives; to warn them In
Vase w '!tatts-tl. NtiilSiStypti ltON lil'
solicitude for Miss Eolladay-''in her !
take such an interest" 1t was Ina
portant that he should know the mo-
ment we discovered her absence. And
he had known; he knew that ! was
even at this moment commencing the
search for her. My checks reddcned
at the thought of my indscrectness:
yet sle was Il man to command conf
dence. Who would have suspected
him? And an old proverb which he
had repeated one evening flashed
through my mind.
"Silly is the sheep who to the wolf
herself confesses,' | had translated it.
with that painful literalness character.
istic of the beginner Well had beer
the sheep and silly enough, heave
knows.
l had reached broadway. and at the
corner paused to look at a display OF
mems furnishings in window. Far
down the street on the other side. al
most lost in the hnrrying crowd. Mar,
tigny was buying a paper of a news
ly up and down it's columns, like
man who is searching for some specia
item Of news. Perhaps he was spec
ulator; perhaps, after all, | was de
ceiving myself in imagining that he
was following me. had no proof of it:
1t was the most natural thing i'll the
world that he should he in this part Of
the town. | must test the theory be
fore accepting it, 1t was time l grew
wary of theories
I entered the store and spent ten
minutes looking at some neckties.
When came out again Martigny was
just getting down from a bootblack's
chair across the street His back was
toward me, and l watched him get out
his little purse and drop dime into
the bootblack's hand I went on up
Broadway, lettering sometimes, some
times walking straight ahead; always.
away behind me, lost in the crowd,
was my pursuer. 1t could no longer be
doubted. He was really following me.
though he did it so adroitly, with such
LilIL
never have seen him, never have sus
pected him, but for that fortunate in
tuition at the start
a hundred plans flashed through my
brain. l had this advantage-he could
not know that l suspected him. If l
could only overmaster him in cunning.
wrest his secret from him-and then,
as l remembered the strong face, the
piercing eyes, the perfect self control,
realized how little possible it was
that could accomplish this. He was
my superior in diplomacy and deceit;
he would not pause now at any means
to assure the success of his plot
Yes. I could doubt no longer that
there was plot, whose depths I had
not before even suspected, and drew
back from the thought with little
shiver. What was the plot? What in
tricate, dreadful crime was this which
he was planning? The murder of the
father, then, had been only the first
step. Tho abduction of Frances Hol-
laday was the second. What would
the third be? How could we pre-
vent his taking it? Suppose we should
be unsuccessful? And, candidly, what
chance Of success could we have, fight
ing in the dark against this accom-
plished scoundrel? He had the threads
all in his fingers; he controlled the
situation; we were struggling blindly,
snarled in a net Of mystery from
which there seemed no escaping. My
clothed him with super
human attributes. For a moment q
wild desire possessed me to turn upon
him, to confront him, to accuse him,
to confound him with the very Ger
tainty of my knowledge, to surprise his
secret, to trample him down! I
But the frenzy passed. No, he must
not discover that l suspected him. l
must not yield up that advantage. l
set trap for him. get him to say more
than he wished to say. That battle of
wits would come later on-this very
1ight perhaps for the moment l |
could no~nothing better than carry out
my first plan, yet he must not suspect
he direction of my search must throw
lin off the track. Why, this was for
Iii the world just like the penny dread
'uls Of my boyhaod. And / smiled at
he thought that had become an actor
n drama fitted for red and yellow
over!