Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1907-02-05

suffered! She must not be left in that
cruel position an instant longer
Every WELL" agreed Godfrey. 1--WE
will wait for you here"
She disappeared through a door at
the farther end of the room, but in a
moment came softly back again.
"She is asleep" she said. 81 will
wait until she wakes. What a joyful
Rwaking it will be!' And she sat
down again. She wiped away the
tears, but her eyes were still shining.
Godfrey gazed at her with. a face full
Of emotion.
"Now, Miss Croydon" he began,
you've told me that my theory's cor
rect, but there are three or four points
I should like you to help me clear up,
If you will"
II shall be. glad to If 1 can," she
answered, and smiled at him, her eyes
brimming again. you've. lifted such a
load from me, Mrs Godfrey, that I'd
do almost anything to show my graft
tude."
| Why, looking at her, did his face
I
hands tremble SO? 1t was over in an
instant; yet had caught a glimpse Of
his secret. I understood.
ut was nothing" he said. "I was
glad to do it. I was deeply pleased
when that message came this morn
ing"
you've been kinder to me than 1 de-
served" she said; and more than half
agreed with her. How, with his eyes
before her, could she fail to under
stand? Perhaps she did understand.
was never sure.
"In the first place, then, Miss Croy-
DON" he went on, in different tone,
how did your father succeed in get
ting your sister away from Tremaine?"
"They had gone to Paris" she an
swered, 'and in two or three days
Edith had awakened from her dream.
She saw something in the man which
terrified her, and she wrote pitiful
letter to father, who went over to
Paris at once and finally succeeded in
buying the man off. Father paid him
$4,000 francs. believe. Perhaps 1t was
the fact that he knew he was not really
Edith's husband, that he himself had
committed crime, which made him
take it. He agreed to leave the coun-
try, and in the following December he
wrote father that he was about to sail
for Martinique in ship called the
Centaur. He said he intended to buy
plantation at Martinique and make
&tNof SO, Ty, yn1,,
that the Centaur had been lost, with all
On board. After eight years it seemed
certain that he was dead, and Edith
felt free to marry again"
"Was Mr.. Delroy informed of this
early indiscretion?"
Certainly, and forgave it, as any
1 good man would"
Pardon me for asking the question,
Miss Croydon; but it was necessary.
When was it you first learned that Ire
maine was still alive?"
Zone night nearly two months ago
| Edith brought his letter to me. She
+ was wild, distracted, ready to kill her
aelf-that is what have feared every
day since. She loves Mr.. Delroy, Mr.
the wife of another man. He demand
ed that she meet him in that apartment
house. knew she could not bear such
o meeting, and yet he must be seen.
ofered to go in her stead. I had
some wild idea of appealing to his
better nature, Of persuading him
She stopped. silenced by her own
emotion.
That, of course, would not have
altered the fact that your sister was
his wife," observed Godfrey.
''No. .rhat was the terrible part Of it;
nothing could alter that. There must,
Of course, be separation, but we
thought we would solve that problem
after we had settled the other. So 1
went. He opened the door for me.
I had never seen him, and 1 confess
his appearance and manner were not
at all What expected. He did not
look in the least like scoundrel, or
| did he act like one. He listened to me
with attention and seeming respect.
i He even appeared moved. Oh, know
now what hypocrite he was. / know
that he was laughing at me; that he was
planning something deeper, more vii
famous. I had brought $1,000 with
me-all that we could gather together
at that monlent-and pressed it upon
him, urging him to take it and go away
and we would send him more. He pre-
tended to refuse the money, to protest
| that that was not in the least what he
wanted, but I compelled him to take
! It. And just as I was hoping that I
had prevailed with him the door Of
the bedroom opened and horrible
drunken man staggered out
"'Well, Vic,' he cried, so this is TIL
gal, Is 1t? She's likely piece. I
wouldn't give her up, Vic, no, not fer
ten thousand
eco back to bed, you drunken
bruter cried Tremaine, and took him
roughly by the arm.
But the other shook him off.
"'Don't lay your hands on me, Vic!
he cried. Don't dare lay your hands
on me-!
II saw very devil spring into Ire
names face. He looked about him for
some weapon and picked up piece Of
pipe that lay beside the radiator.
Thompson saw the action and lurched
heavily toward him.
"sGoin' t. use that on me, Vic? he
asked. You'd better try it, And he
made pass at Tremaine and tried to
match the pipe away. You try it on,
an I'll blow your game like I did once
before down at sydney