Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1908-11-27
He looked at her with a quick scru-

"a
tiny. 1t did not seem possible that this
rould be the girl who had called to
him in warning scarce five minutes be-
fore. but he knew it had been she
He would have known her voice any
where in the world They rode silent
beside the creek. which was like a
laughing companion seeking to mock
them into a cheeripr mood At an
opening through the hills they saw the
western horizon aglow in tints of lem
on deeping into gold and purple. Save
for the riot Of the brook the world was
Mt peace. She met his eyes for an in
slant, and their gravity and the firm
lines In which his lips were set showed
that the shock of his encounter had not
yet passed.
"You must think me strange per-
son, Miss Claiborne. 1t seems mex
plicable that mans life should be so
menaced in a place like this. If you
had not called to me-
"Please don't speak of that! 1t was
SO TERRIBLE
But | must speak of it. Once be-
fore the same attempt was made-that
night on the King Edward"
/ Yes; have not forgotten"
i And today | have reason to believe
that the same man watched his chance,
foe have ridden here every day since
| came, and he must have kept track
of me-"
But this is America, Mr.. Armitager'
THAT does not help me with you.
You have every reason to resent my
bringing you into such dangers. 1t is
objectionable, indefensibler'
She saw that he was greatly trou-
bled.
3 But you couldn't help my being in
the park today. l have often stopped
just there before. It's a favorite place
for meditations. II you know the
man
II know the man."
"Then the law will certainly protect
you, as you know very we'll. He was
can undoubtedly find and lock him
up"
She was seeking to minimize the
matter, to pass it off as a common
place affair of every day. They were
walking their horses. The groom fol-
lowed stolidly behind.
Armitage was silent, look of great
perplexity on his face. When he spoke
he was quite calm.
Miss Claiborne, l must tell you that
this is an affair in which l can't ask
help in the usual channels. You will
pardon me If l seem to make a mys-
terry of what should be ordinarily q
bit Of business between myself and
the police. But to give publicity to
these attempts to injure me just now
would be a mistake. l could have
caught that man there in the wood
But l let him go for the reason-for
the reason that l want the men back
of him to show themselves before
act. But If it isn't presuming"-
He was quite himself again. His
voice was steady and deep with the
ease and assurance that she liked il
him. She had marked today in his
earnestness, more than at any othel
time, slight, an almost indistinguish
able trace Of another tongue in hi.
English.
How am / to know whether 4
would be presumingT' she asked.
But was going to say
when rudely interruptedv' She wa.
trying to make 1t easy for him to say
whatever he wished.
that these troubles of mine ar,
really personal. l have committed NJ
crime and am not fleeing from jus
tice."
She laughed and urged her hors,
into gallop for last stretch of roa(
/. near the park limits.
How embarrassing! We expect
Montana ranehman to have a spectac
ular past"
But not to carry 1t, hope, to Wash
ington. On the range l might becom
lawless bandit in the interest of pic
turesqueness, but here
Here In the world of frock coate,
statesmen nothing really interesting
. to be expected"
II hn