The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1906-06-29
Where is il ?''

found I was out of developer, and Miss
Tenny kindly offered to put the batch
through with hers. >
"You don't mean groaned Calvert,
''that is she going to develop that awful pic
ture of me and? What made you
do it? What possessed you to-Y'
Oh, thought it was a pretty pose, "
said Miss Coe with cold smile $50
dramaticr'
''DramaticI' beloved Calvert, with
dynamic gestures, why, do you know
-? But of course you don't know.
Oh, this is--this is awful
He walked up and down the porch, and
then thrust his hat upon his head, de
terminedly.
Good afternoon, he said, shortly.
'Oh, won't you stay to luncheon? Bob
will tell you lot about his new bubble.
Please stay
But Calvert was down the walk and
away. He almost ran toward the Tenny
place.
He was not blind. lie could see the
hinges on which Miss Goes diabolical act
swung so gratingly. For her own selfish
reasons she wanted to break up the match,
and so she had quietly slipped her plates
the fatal one among them-into Roses
friendly hand, that that hand itself might
work, by chemic agency, the death of their
love. But might there not yet be time to
put that amorphous picture under his
heel--to crush it out of sight of the ten
der, coniding blue eyes OF his betrothed ?
Nearing the Tenny house, he did not
dare go in and meet Rose. For perhaps
she had already developed the plate He
knew that it was the habit Of the method
ical cirl TO keep all that pertained to her
amateur art in the darkroom, and that,
whether developed or undeveloped, the
plates were doubtless in that little house of
mystery in the hedge corner. 1t was his
desperate thought that he might be able
to steal around by the adjoining wood-lot,
creep through the hedge and enter the
darkroom. Then he could seize and carry
away the terrible plate. And, oh, the joy
of the thought that within the next ten
minutes he might be splintering it to atoms
in the forest depths! He knew Miss Coe' 5
holders and would delight in emptying
them all and smashing every one of the
plates they contained, if the one-the
tragic exr-lsure-might be forever obliter-
ated So, fartively, and with tremendous
tension be made his way around through
the trees and under the hedge, risking the
few feet Of open, across which he darted to
the darkroom door. There, for heart
heaving moment, he listened. No one was
within He tried the handle. The door
was unlocked He entered quickly, closed
the door, and stood in blank darkness.
Then he struck match after match, and
by the intermittent flashes Of light searched
abou, for the plat holders. They were
not GA the table. They were not on the
shelf above it. They were not on the
de-sheli He searched intently among
some negatives in rack. The fatal ex
posure was no, there. Might it not be in
that long brown box on the HOor2 He
lifted the lid. just then he heard a step
on the gravel outside. Rosel He darted
under the developing table, snufiug out
his match, and crawled into an angle Of
the wall There came sharp CLEAN of
light and rustic of skirts. Something
hard was laid upon the table just above
his head The plate -holdersl There was
the scratching of match, and he eruuched
lower under the table while Rose liz her
ruby lamp, put on her apron and closed
the door.
.'Coalin' she have done them herself?'
she undertOned But how sweet she was
when she handed them TO me, 1t would
be great favor Great favorl | think
the favers are-where' that tray? Won
der il the developers too old. It's aw-
tully smelly.
There was a sound Of liquid gurglipg
out Of bottle, but the immediate strain
was relieved when he heard her say
"Fn develop my own first. Hers can
wait. Let, ; see-is this the COW in the
fence cornerg
It was still IN the darkroom, and he was
80 near TO her that he could hear every
swash Of the liquid and every little move
ment she made while she sat rocking the
tray.
'Why, this isn' the GOVT he heard
her say. at ism t any of mine--it' 5 one
of hers
Heavens Which oner was the un
der thel able agony.
\ ripping Rose Tenny laugh broke the
silence, and it was repeated again and
again. The laugh reaSsured Calvert. The
plate was one of Miss Goes, but it was not
the one
He heard her turn the faucet in the
bath, and then heard her lay the negative
in the hypo- tray. Soon she was washing it
again. Then she stood up and held it under
the ruby light, while she laughed again
and again.
Its too funny," he heard her say;
"too, too funny"
She put the negative back into the run
ming water in the little sink to her right
and sat down again at the table, laughing
quietly. As she did so, she put her foot
down upon the spread-out hand upon
which he was leaning in all fours position.
He jerked the hand away quickly. As he
did so. the laugh ceased with spasmodic
gulp. and he knew that she knew that
something alive was under the table. lie
was intensely angry with himself for Civ
ing her this terrible scare, but he thought
it would not do to frighten her any further.
His best course, as he saw it, was to re
main perfectly quiet. No doubt she would
scamper away to give the alarm then he
might spring up, seize the remaining plates
and dash through the hedge into the woods.
There was a long and savagely ominous
silence, during which Calvert thought his
ear drums must break, so strained were
they by his bated breathing and the strange,
wild surge of his blood He could hear
his watch ticking in his pocket, and won
dered if she could not herself hear it.
Every muscle in his corporate frame was
tensely fixed. His hands were held well
out from the sweep Of her skirt. The
watch licked off the slow seconds that made
the interminable minutes of this insuffer
able situation. The ticks punctuated the
awful silence. OF course she heard them
she must hear them-and must feel