Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1907-03-08

the money she could possibly need;
and she's lost her father, whom, It's
quite certain, she loved dearly. So
what remains?'
.Only one thing / said. deeply in
terested in this exposition. "Sudden
passion"
He nodded exultantly.
That's it. Now, who was the wom-
an? From the first / was certain II
could not be his daughter-the very
thought was preposterous. 1t seems
almost equally absurd, however, to
suppose that Holiday could be mixed
up with any other oma He GER
tainly has not been for the last quar-
ter of q century-but before that
we'll it's not SO certain. And there's
one striking point which seems to in
dicate his guilt"
."Yes-you mean. Of course, her re-
semblance to his daughter"
Precisely. Such a resemblance must
exist-a resemblance unusual, even
striking-or it would not for a mo
ment have deceived Rogers. We must
remember, however, that Rogers office
was not brilliantly lighted. and that he
merely glanced at her. Still. whatever
minor differences there may have been.
she had the air, the general appearance.
the look of Miss Holiday. Mere facial
resemblance may happen In a hundred
ways, by chance; but the air, the look,
the altogether Is very different-it in
dicates a blood relationship. My theory
is that she is an illegitimate child. per-
haps -four or five years older than
Miss Holiday.
/ paused to consider. The theory was
reasonable, and yet 1t had its faults.
Now. let's see where this leads U.S."
he continued. Let us assume that
Holiday has been providing for this
m -st
last, for some reason, he is u to
withdraw his support; or, perhaps, the
girl thinks her allowance insufficient.
At any rate after. let IS suppose, in
~effectual appeals by letter, she does
the desperate thing of calling at his
Office to protest in person. She finds
him inexorable-we know his reputa-
ton for obstinacy when he had once
made up his mind. She ~reproaches him
she is already desperate, remember
and he answer with hat singing sar-
casm for which he was noted. In an
eCstacy of anger, she snatches up the
knife and stabs him: then, in an agony
Of remorse, endeavors to check the
blood. She sees at last that 1T is use
less. hat she ann save him. and
leaves the office. All this is plausible,
isn't it?"
Very plausible" I a~ssented, looking
at him in some establishment. You
forget one thing, however. Rogers teS-
titled that he was intimately ac-
quainted with the affairs Of his en-
ployer, and hat he would inevitably
nave known of any intrigue such as
you suggest"
My companion paused for a mo-
ment's thought.
II don't believe Rogers would so in
evitably a known of it," he said,
at last. But, admit that-then there
is another theory. Holiday has not
been supporting his illegitimate child.
who learns of her p~arentage, and goes
to him to demand her rights. This fits
the case, doesn't it?"
Yes" l admitted. 1T also Is plaus-
ible."
1T is more than plausible he said
quietly. Whatever the details may be,
the body OF the theory itself is unim-
p~eachable-it's the only one which fits
the facts. / believe it capable of proof.
Don't you see how the note helps prove
it?"
THE note?"
/ started at the word, and my sus-
picions sprang into life again. 1 looked
at him quickly, but his eyes were on
the cloth, and he was rolling up in
Vulnerable little pellets of bread.
That note" he added, proved two
things. one was that the writer was
deeply interested III MISS 11OlIdudy .
welfare; the other was that he or she
knew Rogers, the clerk. Intimately
more than NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. as we'll
as a physician knows an old patient"
Il admit the first" I said. You'll
have to explain the second"
THE second is s~elf-evident. How did
the writer Of the note kno Of Rogers
inirmity?"
His infirmity?"
"C~ertainly-his color-blindness. I con-
fess, I'm puzzled. How could anyone
else know ii when Rogers himself
didn't know it? That's what / should
like to have explained. Perhaps there's
only one man or in the world
who could know-well, that's the one
who wrote the note. Now. who is it?"
but, / began quickly, then stopped;
should l set him right? Or was this
a trap he had prepared for me?"
His eyes were not on the cloth now,
but on me. There was a light in them
/ did not quite understand. l felt that
/ must be sure of my ground before +
went forward.
TT should be very easy to trace the
writer of the note" / said.
THE police have not found 1t So"
mop"
mo. 1t was given to the doorkeep-
err by a boy-just an ordinary boy of
from IL to IA years-the man didn't no.
tice him especially. He said there was
no answer and went away. How
are the police to find that
boy? Suppose they do find him?
Probably all he could tell them would
be hat n man stopped him at the cor
ner and gave him a quarter to take the
note to the c~oroner's office.
He might give a description Of the
man." L ventured.
Continued Next Week.