The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1907-12-19

III HilN ~ I NV AZ OAAN
"A Ford Core? Oh, no! He was
q 2ombi--in the air. in the earth, ev-
erywhcre. Doudoux would fight with
MIN an hour at "A time. Oh. 1t was ter
ribiet- ~
i leaned back In my chair and
watched the smoke from my cigaret
circling upwards. I remembered the
letter that. had been tattooed on the
arm OF the nan killed In suite four
teen. So Tremaine had some cause to
hate him--he had helped him, had
supplied him with whisky, with money,
through fear and not through friend
ship. To establish that was to take
another step forward. ... .,....
did ne have those spells often,
Cecily?" l asked, at last, .
"Oh. no; sometimes not for months.
Then. phut! the zombi would charm
hifn."
rCharm himg'' .,N..H.
There would come q letter; doudoux
would open II; always In IL there
would be a little piece OF paper. Some
times Il had writing on it. sometimes
printing. as though 1t had been cut
from a newspaper. Then, tambou!
dcudoux's face would grow black, he
Z would tear the paper into little bits,
altering curses the most terrible, and
we would all run
Clippings from q newspaper. Here
was a coincidence. But l cudgelled my
brain yainly--I could form no theory
as to why a clipping should u
those fits OF rage.
THE last one, though. did not give
him q spell" she added, after a NOM
ont. we were watching the sun set
out across the water when Dodol
brought the letter to him. This time
Ct was printing and writing both; /
got, up. ready to fee, for I thought
#N fhnf TnBId M aNrf0n a1 NOD. haNf. M
He sat reading 1t and his eyes glisten-
ed; then he sent me running for his
hat n hurried away to st. Pierre.
When he am back, he told me that
we were TO come at once TO New
York"
1t was exasperating. I felt that the
secret lay Just under my hand, and
vet / could not grasp IL. l seemed to
DC revolving round n round about II,
without getting any nearer What
fould this message be which brought
Tremaine hot foot to New York?
That was the question to which there
seemed no possibility of lnding the an
gwer at present; besides I thought II
we'll to lead the talk away from Tre-
maine for n while, or even Cecily, I'M
suspecting as she was, might guess
my purpose. So l turned to another
point.
You have some very pretty jeweIry,
Cecily," I said. touching the great
erooch OF gold that cleaned at her
throat.
She laughed like a pleased oSrild.
"Yes--are they not pretty, che? Let
ne show YOU and springing from the
couch. she ran into her bedroom. In
moment she was back again, a box
Of inlaid ebony in her hands.
"Seel" she cried, and threw back
Indeed they were worth seeing, and
was not wholly to disarm her sus-
picions, II she IA any, that I fingered
over them. At last, / came to the piece
I wanted.
Here is a beautiful pin," I said.
An opal In a circle of diamonds" and
held II up to the light. But see, Ce-
ely, one of the diamonds Is missing.
Have o lost it?"
sDoudoux lost It," she answered.
HE wore 1t sometimes as a pin for
mis- scarf. Tambou! I was angry when
found Il gone, You should have
u have a diamond" / said, getting
out my Docketbook, that might do to
replace II. Let us see IL 1t will fit"
unwrapped the little brilliant and
applied ii to the break in the circle.
Thcn my heart fell. 1t was evident
n an instant that it had not come
from there-it was much smaller than
the other stones-differently cut
1 have seldom experienced a more
poignant pang OF disappointment. /
eemed to have lost more than I
BAD gained. Where, then, had this
Hammond come from? Who was 1t had
sropped Ii in suite fourteen? I was
tst. confused, utterly at sea. And
> moment before, l had been so con-
dGent. Well, 1t was right; it was just.
This would be the fate of the whole
siily. fimsy fabric we were trying to
build against Tremaine.
mo, + will not do" ! stammered, at
past, 1T is too small" and I re-
burned II to my pocket. Il shall have
10 get o another trinket, Cecily." .
And she thanked me with a child's
eKuberance. then put away her Jewels
and came back to the divan, talking
Of many things. But my attention
wandered: ! answered her mechanical
~. or not at all; l felt the need Of
being alone and setting my discoveries
IN order: or finding out whether I had
gained or lost ground. In any event,
Nc should have to take O fresh start
The trail we had been following led
Eowhere-ended in u swamp.
Cecily perceived my Indifference in a
0ment--She had q temperament
which seemed to scent instinctively
svery change Of fecling-and she threw
aer arms above her head with that
gesture OF WEAKNESS which I had seen
before.
"Adie. che" she said abruptly.
Good night. Cecily." 1 answered,
Using. smiling in spite OF myself at
my curt dismissal, at her change of
tone.
"Bon-Die Ike benz ou!"
And you, Cecilv."
AS l turned to the door, l heard the
rustic of her gown as she arose from
The couch. My and on the knob, l
glanced arou.-l, expecting to find her
At my elbow. Instead, she was kneel-
ing. with, bowed head, before her vir-
kin. s".
CHAPTER II.