The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-01-26

perhaps the loose old screw had swayed. At any rate, when she looked again the two had been promenading up and down her field of vision, as if they had been but three score yards away, had passed with the silent and almost indecent swift ness peculiar to high-power glasses. They had been and they were not. Instead she saw the gray stone dyke, | which once upon a time had edged the pine forest of Portogarten The timber was mostly gone, sold by impoverished or improVident landlords, and but little of the old dyke remained-long useless, ruggedly built of old moor stone, broken down in places, but affording glimpses of the dusky solitudes which extended away down the hill and beyond the mine that Phil was hewing out of these still beautiful relicts of primeval forest.
 Behind the wood stretched & wash of cool green shade-and something gllded athwsrt it-not by any means a green thought Vida first caught the glint as it slid between two broken down and crumbly sections of dyke.
 Something that glittered-something that bent low, something that took pains not to be seen. She searched for Phil, round him, and then looked back. The to-and-fro of the two men down on the braeface swung farther along-away out of sight of the busy foundation dig gers. And parallel to them, foot for foot, moved the tracking shadow behind the dyke! Once Vida could see the man. though dimly, from head to foot. In the dusk of the wood-shade, he placed hls knee on low part of the dyke. The long barrel of a gun moved up to the shoulder-fore-short as it went. He appeared to be aiming at Phil. A little puff of white smoke hung against the fraac Thnrn Vrroe TQtff ao ran to the window and screamed aloud to the sea and the emptiness.
 Nobody heard her. of course. It was too far for her voice to reach even a tenth of the distance. Billy and Dick were already busy at their model light house. Vida dressed hastily, threw a shawl about her shoulders, and was on the road up the ''heughs" Stumbling, rising again, bruising herself against rocks, lairing in morasses, her hair streaming over her shoulders, she reached the strip of cleared ground ut terly worn out. Phil-her Phil had been killed. She-she alone-had seen his turk ing murderer.
 Yet when she stumbled on to the smoother turf and saw before her the green links of the cliff-edge. there were the two men walking together, and talk ing as if nothing had happened.
 Instantly Phil ran to Vida, and, all power leaving her, she fell exhausted into his arms
 You are not-you are not-!' was all she could say.
 James Kahn kept at discreet distance from this interview. He regarded the birds-gannets and terms, plunging in the sea. He could be a gentleman upon oc- cason-for a moment or two, that is, and to be seen of men.
 Then Vida, with shame In her voice o nd hAr Foa rr-ffH fa1l tale. She had been looking through yes, through a little telescope. Billy ought not to have such things! It was his fault But she had seen someone fire at Phil-seen the man clearly. He must be In the wood even now.
 "Nonsense!" cried Phil, pleased never theless; MT. Kahn was with me all the time. There is some surface blasting going on over wonder. We are opening up new ground. Doubtless you heard them. They have been at it all the morning. Nothing else.'
 Then he turned to his visitor, who strangely enough seemed to regard the matter much more seriously
 Missioner (Phil hestltated at the word) has been frightened by the firing" he said. "She and l are engaged to be married!'
 James Kahn took off his hat and ex- banded himself in congratulations as he knew very well how.
 T suppose so,' said Vida, reluctantly with glance at her torn attire; it must be true or would not have been such a fool! But-I must ask you, for the pres ent, to say nothing about itl'
 "Ah," said James Kahn, thoughtfully "certainly not, Miss Romer-you can trust me''
 And both of them, for quite different reasons, knew that James Kahn could be trusted to say nothing about it.