Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-23

undertake the care of any girl least of all
of one with a manifest infirmity."
''Anitra will prosper without your care,
replied Ransom, overlooking the heartless-
ness Of the man in the mad, unaccountahle
sense of relief with which he listened to
his withdrawal from concerns for which he
showed so little sympathy There are 9TH
ers who will be glad to do all that can be
done for Georgians forsaken sister"
Yes. that is all right; but'-here Hazen
squared himself across the top of the table
before which he had been sitting-'I must
pe made sure that the facts have been
rightly represented to me and that the girl
now IN this house is Georgians deserted
sister I'm not yet satisfied that she is,
ana must be convinced not only on this
point but on many Others before this day
is over Business of great Importance calls
me back to the city and, it may be, out of
the country. l may never be able to spend
anothef DAY on purely personal affairs, so
this one must tell. l have scheme Gt is
very simple one) which, if carried out as
nave planned, will satisfy me as nothing
else will as to the identity of the girl We
will CALL from lack of knowledge, Anita.
Will you help me in it's furtherance? 1t
lies with you to do So
First your reasons for doubling the
GIRL retorted Ransom. They must be ex-
cellent ones for you to resist the evidence
of such conclusive proofs as you have
yourself been witness to since entering this
house l am Georgian's husband. l have
the strongest wish in the world to see her
again at my side; yet with the exception of
ueT NOEueTIul likeness TO my Vile, filu
nothing in this raw if beautiful girl of the
polished, highly trained woman l married.
/ have not even succeeded in startling her
ear-something which l should have been
able to do II she were not the totally deaf
woman she appears. Confide to me. then.
your reasons for demanding additional
proofs of her identity. If they carry con-
viction with them 1 will aid you In any
scheme you can propose which will neither
frighten nor aff1ict her.
Hazen rose to his feet. Narrow as the
room was he yielded to his restless Lesire
to move about, and began pacing up and
down the restricted quarters bounded by
the edge of the table and the door. Not
until he had made the second turning did
he speak, then it was with seeming open
ness.
Its like putting the torch to my last
ship" said he; but this is no time to hest
tate. Mr.. Ransom, l do not trust my eyes,
do not trust my ears, nor your eyes, nor
your ears, those of any one here, be-
cause 1 have talked with Il man who was
on the same train with my sisters. He no.
ticed them because of their similar appear
ance and close intimacy. They were not
dressed alike, but they were yelled alike
and one did not move without the other.
More than that, they not only walked about
the various stations where they waited, arm
in arm, but they sat thus closely Joined in
the all the way from New York. This
interested him especially as he noted great
anxiety and inceSsant movement in the one,
and complete passveness in the other She
who sat in the outer seat was watchful,
busy, and ready to press the others arm at
the least provocation, but if either spoke it
was always the other 1t was not till the
quick rush and shrll whistle of passing
train made one start and not the other, that
he got the idea that one of them deaf.
AS this was the one by the window, he felt
that their peculiar actions were now ac-
counted for and indeed thus far 1t all tai
lied with what we might expect from Geor
gian travelling with the hapless Anitra. But
there remained "A fact he told which
rouses doubt. When they reached c.
and he saw from their quick rising that
they were about to leave the train, he nat
uraily glanced their way again. and this
time he caught glimpse of the inner ones
neck. Her veil had become slightly disar-
exposing the whole nape. 1t was
dark, almost brunette in color,
and quite devoid of delcacy; such a skin as
one might look for in the gypsy Anitra af-
ter years of outdoor living and long lack
of nice personal attention, but not such as
l saw and admired a few hours ago on the
neck of the woman bending over her work
in the landlady's room. Oh, I recognized
the difference 1 have eye for necks."
He paused, coming to a standstill in the
middle of the room, to see what effect his
words had had on Ransom.
Il have that mans name" he contin-
ued land can produce him if / have time
and it seems to be necessary. But l had
rather come to my own decision without
any outside interference. This is not an
affair for public gossip or newspaper no.
toriety. 1t is a question of justice to my
self If this girl is Georgian" His
whole face changed. For a moment Ran
som hardly knew him. The quiet, self-con-
tanned man seemed to have given way to
one OF such unexpected power and threat
that Ransom rose instinctively to his feet
in recognition of a superiority he could no
longer deny.
The action seemed to recall Hazen to him
self. He wheeled about and recommended
his quiet pacing to and fro.
I beg pardon" he quietly finished. eff
it is Georgian, she must stand my friend
That is all 1 was going to say. If it is,
against all reason and probability, her
strangely restored twin, l shall leave this
house by midnight, never probably to see
any of you again. So You perceive that it is
incumbent upon to work promptly Are
You ready to hear what L have to propose?"
Yes"
Hazen paused again. this time in front
of the door. Laying his hand lightly on
one of the panels, he glanced back at
Ransom.
You are nicely placed here for observa-
ton. Your door directly faces the hall she
must traverse in returning to her ROOM
That's quite true"
shes in. her room now. All, you know
that?"
word at his command.
VIII she come out again before night to
eat or to Visit?"
There's no telling. She's very fitful. No
one can prophesy what she will do. Some
times she eats in the landlady's room, some
times in her own, sometimes not at ALL II
you have frightened her, or she has been
disturbed in any way by your companion
who shows such interest in her and in me,
she probably will not come out at ALL.
But she must. l expect you to see that
she does. Use any messenger, any artifice
but get her away from this hall for ten
minutes, even if 1t is only into Mrs. Deo's
room. When she returns i shall be on my
knees before this keyhole to watch Eer and
observe. To see what, I do not mean to tell
you, but it will be something which will
definitely settle for me this matter OF iden-
tity. Does this pan look sufficiently ha M
less to meet with your apprOval?
Eyes. but looks cannot always be trusted.
I must know just what you mean to do. I
will leave nothing to a mind and hand l do
not trust any more fully than / do yours.
You too eager for Georgians mon y;
too little Interested in herself; and you are
too sly in your ways. I overlooked this
when you had the excuse of q possible dis
trust of myself. But now that your conf
dence is restored in me, now that you
recognize the fact that I stand outside of
this whole puzziing affair and have no
other wish than to know the truth about 1t
and do my duty to all parties concerned,
secrecy on your part means more than
care to state. If you persist in it I shall
lend myself to nothing that You propose,
but wait for time to substantiate her claim