Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-22
the other.

with her should be the dead girl we called
Anitra-why, that is all bosh-a tale to de-
ceive the public, and possibly you, but not
one to deceive me. The coincidence is
much too improbable
There are stranger things in heaven
and earth, quoted Ransom; but Hazen
was already in conversation with the group
of hotel idlers who had crowded Up at
sound of his loud voice.
After a careful look which had taken in
all of their faces he had approached one
young fenow, covering the lowe. part of his
face as he did so.
-Halloo. Yates" he called out Don't
you remember the day we tied two chick
ems together. leg to leg, and sent them
barn."
"Alf IIazenr' shouted the fellow thus &C
costed. why, l thought you"
Dead, Ell? OF course you did So did
everybody else. But I've come to life, you
see. With sad marks of battle on me-" he
continued, dropping his hand. You all
recognize me?"
Yes, yes rose in one acclaim from a
dozen or more throats after a moment of
awkward uncertainty.
Il know the eyes" vigorously asserted
one.
'.And the voice" chimed in another. After
which rose confused babel of calculations
and explanatory questions, among which
one could detect:
How did IL happen. Alf?' What took
off your jaw?'' and other equally feIicitous
expressions
''Tll tell you all about that later he re-
piled, after silence had in a measure been
restored. What l want to say now is
this. Is it believable that simultaneously
with my own return from the grave an
other member of my family should reap
pear before you from older and much
more certain burying? 1 tell you, no. The
riddle is one which calls for quite another
solution and 1 have come to assist you in
finding it,
Here he cast sinister glance at Ransom
The latter met the implied accusation
with singular calmness
ANY assistance will be welcome said
ne, which will enable US to solve this very
serious problem. Then, as Hazen's LID
curled. he added with dignified candor Il
scorn to retort by throwing any doubt on
your assertion of relationship to my lost
wife, or the possibility of these good people
being misled by your confident bearing and
a possible likeness about the eyes to the
boy they knew. But one question l will
hazard, and that before we have gone a
step further. Why does it seem so credible
to you that Georgian, a much-loved and
loving woman, should have leaped to a wa
terry death within a week of her marriage?
You have just stated that you found no Diff
ficulty in that. Does not that statement
call for some explanation? All your old
friends here must see that this is my due
as well as hers
For an instant the man hesitated. but in
that instant his hand slipped from his
mouth, over which he had again laid it and
the threatening, almost cruel, expression
which these gave it, appeared in all its COM
bined eagerness and force. murmur es-
capped the watchful group about him, but
this affected him little. His eyes which he
had fixed on Ransom. sharpened a trife,
perhaps, and his tone grew a thought more
sarcastic as, he finally retorted:
II will explain myself to you but not to
this crowd. And not to you till am sure
of the facts which yet have reached me
only through the newspapers Let me hear
f,,1 ofx -I1,+ 10
since you all came to town. 1 have an
enormous interest In the matter-a family
interest, you well aware for all your
badly hidden insinuations.''
Follow me- was the quiet reply "There
is a room on this very floor where we can
talk undisturbed.'
Mr. Hazen cast quick glance behind him
at the man who had driven up with him
and whom nobody had noticed till now.
Then without word he separated himself
from the chattering group encirclng him
and stepped after Mr.. Ransom into the
small room where the latter had held his
first memorable conversation with the law
yer.
Now said he as the door swung to be-
hind them, plain language and cot too
much of it. ! have no time to waste, but
the truth about Georgian l must know
Ransom settled himself He felt bound to
comply with the others request but he
much, too little. Hazen's attack had
startled him. 1t revealed one of two things.
Either this man of mystery had assumed
the offensive to hide his own connection
with this tragedy, his antagonism was
an honest one, springing from an utter dis
belief in the circumstances reported to him
by the press and such gossps as he had en-
countered on his way to Stford.
With the first possibility he felt himself
unable to cope without the aid of Mr. Har-
per; the second might be met with candor.
Should he, then, be candid with this doubt
err, relate to him the facts as they had I'M
rolled themselves before his own eyes-se-
cret facts-convincing ones-facts which
must prove to him that whether Georgian
did or did not lie at the bottom of the mill
stream, the woman now in the house was
his sister Anitra, lost to him and the rest of
the family for many years, but now found
again and restored to her position as a Ha-
zen and Georgian's twin The discovery
might not prove welcome. 1t would have q
tendency to throw Mr.. Hazen's own claim