The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-10-09
nose Of the question .snd all the answer

Her name was Laura, she ansWeren. | rising to her feet. MT. Shils this in- terview is at an end.''
 Thank you he replied in low
 voice; Il Understand. Miss vane is ! married"
 l Laura shudered as she looked at his l face. She felt half incIined to ring the | bell for servant. but she was a braYe l little woman. and decided that she could
 deal with her visitor in more gentle manner.
 MT. shil," she said, coming close tc | his side. T am very, very sorry for | youn
 Her name" he asAed hoarsely, What is her husbands nameT'' l T don't think I need answer that
 question: Leonore replied. Tt would I do you no good to know her husband'
 name. It misht do her great in-
 jury"
 T insist on knowing"
 | Again I must remind you, MT. SniI, | that l am not in the witness box. I am very sorry for you. but I cannot ex- l cuse your rudeness.'
 Can you tell me where she is--where ! they are?" he continued, without heed | ing her rebuke.
 T cannot" Leonore replied sharply. l'I have not seen the lady or her hus- band for more than two months, and have not heard from either of them : l 1 have no Idea wheis they went tv l when they left Paris. It is probable
 that I shall not meet either of them again"
 John shil was silent. He did not be- lieve that she was speaking. the truth But. distraught with pan and anger, he was at loss how to acquire the Knowt- edge he desired He only knew one thing clearly, that he was likely to gain
 nothing by prolonging the interview
 Please leave me- MT. Shil,' Leonore
 ssid, after aspause,
 It was not a beautiful face, but it had
 singular charm of its own- It was.
 moreover, the face of a good and clever
 woman. And, as he looked at It, sud den idea came into his mind, and. as 1t grew more definite, he smiled and helo out his hanu.
 ..Forgive sme, Miss Jackson" he said
 softly. You must naKe allowance for my conduct. have behaved like cad. I am not myself But still l should have known better than to offend lady
 who has taken so kindly an interest in
 a strangers affairs. Lc, us part friends at any rate Isshouid like to feel that you thought we'll of me-"
 Leonore smiled, as she took his out stretched hand. Il forgive you, she an- swered pleasantly. .and am very, very sorry for you. But think I am right 1 in taking the line I, have adopted. Ana may I give you a word of advice before you go. am not very old. but l have seen a great deal of the world ana
 speak from bitter experience when ad- wise you to take no further steps to dis ltcover Laura--Vane. A meeting between. you can only be painful to you botn' She has passed out of your life; she Is married--
 Is she happily married?" he inter- runted sternfy "Is her husband kind to herr Does he love her. l know that .she, does not love him She cannot. pc happy"
 | mtnd.'s Leonore continued, 'thats will he hest and wisest. Goodbye, MT. shfl, shall always be pleased to see vou. but on one condition only, that you do not refer to this matter again "I wil lobserve the condition, he re-
 piled with a grave smile, and snail certainly come to SC you again Gooo- bye, Miss Jackson, ana tnahk you-Ao' your forbearance.
 when he had left the room. Lecnore flung herself into an armchair by tna window, and. lighting cigarette, re. | lapsed into very unpleasant traln or thought Her mind went back 70 ner iast | interview with Laura, when the iatter
 had learnt the terrible truth rom ner | ilDE. SHe ldu NOI oSs stFA
 victim since that afternoon. Two days afterwards she had called at3the hotel, | and both the man and the woman had denarted without leaving any direc- | ttons for the forwarding of letters. | She could not even guess at the result | of Laura's interview with William
 Tankerlane. It was possible that sne had left him; it was also possible that l she had reviewed the situation more hod dnridadE t0 make the | best of an unholy bargain in order to conceal her shame. In this respect Le- | onore was as much in the dark as John Shil. She was not surprised that she l had received no communication rom
 Tankerlane, but she was much hurt at
 Laura's silence.
 The appearance of John Shil had in- | troduced a new and puzzling factor in-
 to the problem that had often present. ed itself during the last two months As Leonore sat in the window, gazing into the busy street. below, and seeing | nothing of its life and gaiety, she tried to recall her conversation with Laura, | in the hope of discovering some ref erence to the man who so evidently | loved her with all his heart and soul. She could. however, only fix on one clue to the place he occupied In the story. Laura did not love William
 Tankerlane. Was it possible that she
 loved John Shil, and, If so, why did she marry Tankerlane? Leonore found no
 solution to the problem. But she re-
 solved to see more of John Shil. for
 whom she Dad already conceived a considerable liking, and to remove the
 condition she had placed on their fur ther intercourse. 4.f
 It was characteristic of the woman
 that she gave no thought of her own
 position as the lawful wife of William
 Tankerlane. Her mind was entirely oc- . cupied with the affairs of Laura and
 John Shil. She sat by the window till
 it was dark, and the lights peeped out
 all along the wide street. Ans as the darkness came over the fair city deep
 shadow drifteds over her thoughts-the
 shadow of some great and unknown
 disaster And in that darkness there