Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1907-05-09

We-lt nlnk 1 should ENJOY IL ndil Hou!
talk with him. matching my wits
against his"
But our are brighter than mine.
l pointed out You proved ii pretty
~effectually in the last few minutes
NO l haven't; I've simply shown you
that you overlooked n little thing.
And L think you're right about the dan
ger of going to Martigny. Our first
duty is to Miss HolladAy; we must res
cue her before he can warn his con-
federates to place her out of reach
The unstudied way in which she said
our" filled me with with an ~unreason-
ing happiness.
But why should they bother with q
prisoner at ali? They didn't shrink
from striking Town her father
And they may not shrink from strlk-
ing her down. at IL favorable moment,
she answered calmly. 1T will be easier
in France than in New York-they.
perhaps have the necessary a
tions already made-they nay be only
hcsitating-a warning from Martisny
may turn the scale"
My hands We're trembling at inc
thought of it. Ii we should really be
too late.
But ont believe they'll go to
such extremes. Mir. Lester" continued
my companion. Il believe you're go
ing To find her and solve the mys'
lcTy. My theory uOeSIl I SOlNC ~ "
know; it only makes it deeper. The
mystery. after all. is-who are these
people-why did they kill Mr.. Holla-
ddy?-why have they abducted ms
daughter?-what is their piot?"
Yes" l assented; and again had a
ome of confused rerpieXity. as "a
man staring down into II b!ack abyss.
But after you find her" she asked.
what will you do with her"
DO with her, Why. take her home,
of course"
but she'll very probably be broken
down, perhaps even ON the verge OF
hysteria. Such AN experience would
upset n woman. l don't care how
ob,st she may IL been. She'll need
rest and care. You must bring her to
us ut Paris, Mr.. Lester"
] SAN the wisdom of her words. and
said so.
That's very Kind of you" l added.
Il am sure MIR. Royce will agree-but
we have first to fine her, Miss KEN
ball"
/ was glad for my own sake. too; the
! parting or tp.r,offeM,%Xould-n not. -theI.
be IL final one. | should see her again
1 tried to say something OF this
but nay tongue faltered II refused tG
shape the words.
She left M presently. and for an
hour or more / sat there and looked. III
every aspect, at the theory she had
suggested. Certainly. there WAS moth
ing to disprove it: and yet. as she had
sad. II merely served to deepen the
mystery. Who We're these people.
asked lAyselt again, who dared to play
so bold and desperate Il game? The IL
legitimate daughter might, of course,
i~nlpersonate Miss Holladay; but who
was the elder woman Her mother!
Then the liaison must have place
in france-her accent was not to be
mistaken; but in France. Mr.. Holiday
had been always with his wife. BE.
sides the younger woman spoke Eng.
lish perfectly. true. she had said only
a few words--the hoarseness might
have been affected to conceal II differ.
cnce in voice-but how explain the elder
wOlnan'S resemblance to Hiram olia
days daughter? Could they boil De IL.
legitimate Bu that was nonsense
for Mrs. Holladay had taken her into
her life. had loved her
And Martigny? Who was he? What
was his connection with these wOneni
That the crime had beer carefully
planned l could not doubt; and it had
been carried out with surprising skill
There had been no nervous halting at
the supreme moments. no hesitation
nor drawing back; instead, a GOODNESS
OF execution almost fiendish, arguing a
hardened and practiced hand.
Doubtless 1t was Martigny who had
arranged the plot. who had managed its
development. And with what boldnessi
He had not feared to be present at the
inquest; nor even to approach me and
discuss the use with me. 1 tried tc
recall the details of our talk. impatient
that l had paid so little heed to it. He
had asked. l remembered. what would
happen to France Holiday If she We're
found guilty. He had been anxious
then. to save her. He had-yes. 1 saw
1t now.-he had written the note which
did save her: he had run The risk OF
discovery TO get her free.
But why?
If | only had a clew; one thread tt
follow. One ray of light would be
enough. Then l could see my way out
of this hopeless tangle: j should n
now to strike. But to stumble blindls
onward In the dark-that might dc
more harm than good.
Yes. ard there was another thing for
ne to guard against. What was to pre-.
vent him. the m he stepped
ashore. wiring to his c~onfederates
warming them telling them to flee? Or
he inisnt wait. Watching us. until he
saw that they were really in danger
In either event. they must easily es.
cape: Miss Kembali had been right
when she pointed out that our only
hope was in catching them unprepared
If l could throw him off, deceive him
convince him that there was no dan.
ger.
The impulse was too strong to be re.
sisted. In Il 1 vas on my feet
but. no-to surprise him would be to
make him suspect. 1 called a steward
Take this ard up to Monsieur Mar.
tigny." l said. 'in 375. and ask him il
he is well enough to see me-"
AS he hurried away a sudden doub,
seized me; Mortified at my hardihuod
l opened my o to call him back.
But 1 did not call; instead 1 sank back
into my chair III stared out across
the water. Had / lone we'll? Was 1t
wise TO tempt providence? Would ]
prove a match for my enemy? The