Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1907-01-31
ohilcote had said. risk was the salt of

life!
sTm afraid you think me very
troublesome The voice came again,
delicately low and conciliatory.
! For brief second Loder wondered
uncertainty how long or how well Chill
cote knew Lady Astrupp; then he dis
missed the question. Chilcote had
never mentioned her until tonight, and
then casually as Lady Bramfells sister.
What coward he was becoming in
throwing the dice with fate! Without
further delay he drew of the rings,
slipped them into his pocket and re-
placed his hands on the smooth table
top.
Then, at the moment that he replaced
them, peculiar thing occurred.
From the farther side of the dark
partition came the quick, rustling stir
of a skirt and the slight scrape of q
chair pushed either backward or for
ward. Then there was silence.
Now, silence can suggest anything
from profound thought to imbecility,
but In this case its suggestion was nil.
That something had happened, that
some change had taken place, was as
patent to Loder as the darkness of the
curtain or the band of light that crossed
the floor, but what had occasioned 1t,
or what it stood for, he made no at
tempt to decide He sat bitingly con-
scious Of his hands spread open on the
table under the scrutiny of eyes that
were invisible to him, wildly aware
Of the awkwardness of his position.
He felt with instructive certainty that
new chord had been struck; but a
man seldom acts on instructive certain
ties. If the exposure of his hands had
struck this fresh note, then any added
action would but heighten the dilemma.
He sat silent and motionless.
Whether his impassivity had any
bearing on the moment he had no way
Of knowing; but no further movement
came from behind the partition. What
ever the emotions that had caused the
sharp swish of skirts and the sharp
scrape of the chair. they had evidently
subsidized or been dominated by other
feelings.
The next indication of life that came
to him was the laying down OF the
crystal ball. 1t was laid back upon the
table with a slight jerk that indicated
decision come to; and almost stimuli
taneously the seer's voice came to him
again Her tone was lower now than
it had been before, and its extreme
ease seemed slightly shaken-whether
by excitement. surprise or curiosity it
was impossible to say.
AYou will think it strange" she be-
gan. "You will think Then she
stopped.
There was a pause, as though she
waited Tor some help, but Loder re-
NAMED mute. In difficulty silent
tongue and cool head are usually
mans best weapons.
His silence was disconcerting. he
heard her stir again.
"You will think it strange" she be-
gan once more. Then quite suddenly
she checked and controlled her voice.
going to say" she added in COM
pletely different tone. sbut crystal gaz-
ing is such an Elusive thing. Directly
you put your hands upon the table |
felt that there would be no result, but
wouldn't admit the defeat. Women
are such keen anglers that they can
never acknowledge that any fish, how
ever big, has slipped the hook" She
laughed softly.
At the sound of the laugh Loder shift
ed his position for the first time. He
could not have told why, but it struck
him with a slight sense Of confusion.
| A precipitate wish to rise and pass
through the doorway into the wider
spaces Of the conservatory came to
him, though he made no attempt to act
upon it. He knew that, for some mex
plicable reason, this woman behind the
screen had lied to HMM the controll-
ing of her speech, in her change Of
voice. There had been one moment In
which an impulse or an emotion had al
most found voice; then training, In
stinct, or it might have been diplomacy,
had conquered, and the moment had
passed. There was riddle in the very
atmosphere Of the place and he abom-
| mated riddles.
But Lady Astrupp was absorbed in
her own concerns. Again she changed
her position, and to Loder, listening
attentively, it seemed that she leaned
forward and examined his hands
afresh. The sensation was so acute
| that he withdrew them involuntarily.
| Again there was a confused rustic.
The crystal ball rolled from the table,
and the seer laughed quickly. Obeying
strenuous impulse, Loder rose.
He had no definite notion of what he
expected or what he must avoid. He
was only conscious that the pavilion,
with it's silk draperies, its scent Of
musk and its intolerable secrecy, was
no longer endurable. He felt cramped
and confused in mind and muscle. He
stood for second to straighten his
| as.-.1-... 49,, or.d x,lOxufncr 5{.