The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-12-30
CHAPTER Nv.
MIR. Ransom Waits.

said to himself, for business. But to
MS great disappointment he found Mr..
Ransom in a frame Of mind which pre-
GUIDED action. Indeed, that gentleman
looked greatly changed. He not only
gave evidence of a sleepless night, but
showed none of the spirit of the pre-.
vious evening, and hesitated quite pain
fully when Gerridge asked him if he
G1a not intend fRav to 60 ahead with the
t;That's as it may be-, was the
that I shall visit the man YOU mean This
morning. He interests me and 7 hope
none Of his movements will escape YOU.
But L m not ready to talk to him.
prefer to, wait little; to give nv wife
a chance. I should feel better, and
have less to forget.'' .e:~.:,.s., =
+eeti Sqst zt e you sfE, returned the de-,
at !; present, ! can't tell when he may
"Not,| while your eyes on him. And
your, eye won't leave him as long as
you have confidence in the reward I've
promised you.'' =. - =. :.
out of me. Last night you were too
hot; this morning you are too cold.
But it's not for me to COMPLAIN, Won
know where to find me when, you want
me. And without more ado the de-
tectlve went out.
Mr. Ransom remained alone and in
no enviable frame of mind. He was
distrustful of himself, distrustful of the
man who had made all this trouble. and
distrustful Of her, tho he would NOT
acknowledge it. Every baser instinct
IN him drove him to the meeting he de-
c!lned. To see the man-to force from
him the truth, seemed the only rational
thing to 40. But the final words of his
Wlte's' letter stood in his way: She
had advised. patience. If patience
YOU'D clear the situation and bring him
the results ne SO ardently desired, then
he would be patient-that is, for q day:
be did not promise to wait longer. Yes,
he would give her a day. That was
time enough for man suffering on the
rack of such an intolerable suspense
one day. 800 Il .,..E -, = ..
BUT even that day did not pass with
out breaks in his mood and more than
one walk in the direction of the St.
Denis hotel: If Gerridge's eye was on
MIN as well as on the special object Of
his, surveillance, he must have smiled,
more than once, at the restless fittings
OF his client about the forbidden spot.
In the evening it was the same, but the
at his hotel. He had laid out his FL.
ture course in these words: II will
extend the time to three days; then if
l 40 not hear from her I will get that
wrY-necked fellow by the throat and
TWIST an explanation from him. But
the three days passed and he found the
situation unchanged. Then he set as
his limit the end of the week, but be-
fore. the full time had elapsed he was
advised by Gerridge that he himself
was being followed in his turn by a
couple Of private detectives; and while
still under the agitation Of this dis
ScoYery was further disconnected by
having the following communication
thrust into his hand in the open street
by!.a young woman who succeeded in
losing herself in the crowd before he;
had got so much IS good look at her.
You can Judge of his amazement as
he read the few lines it contained.
Read the papers tonight and forget
the stranger at the st. Denis. y
That was all. But the writing was
hers. The hours passed slowly till the
papers were cried in the street. What
Mr.. Ransom read in them increased
his astonlshment, | might say his anx-
~ R"A0SA0pA SlUUuGf Ills
wife, an almost Incredible one, run
ming thus:
ga strange explanation is given of
the disappearance Of Mrs. Roger Ran
som on her wedding day. AS our readers
will remember, she accompanied her
husband to the hotel, but managed to
slip away and leave the house while
he still stood at the desk. This act.
for which nothing in her previous CON,
duct has in any way prepared her
friends, is now said to have been due
to the shock of hearing, some time dur
ing her wedding day, that a sister
whom she had supposed dead was real
~ alive and in circumstances Of almost
degrading poverty. AS this sister had
been her own twin, the effect upon her
mind was very serious. To find and.
rescue this sister she left her newly
made husband in the surreptitious man
ner already recorded in the papers.
That she is not fully herself is shown
by her continued secrecy ais to her
whereabouts. AL that she has been
willing to admit to the two persons she
has 30 far taken into her confidence
her husband and the agent who con-
ducts her affairs-is that she has fond
her sister and cannot leave her. WHY.
she does not state. The case Is Ger.
talnly a curious one and Mr. Ransom
has the svnnathv NJ al h;n e.:a,, a.. -