The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1908-12-04

Indignant curate, and finally they gave
a detailed account Of what the police
had done in the hope Of ef1ecting the
arrest of the criminal.
Lord Richard laid down his paper
with a very white and troubled face,
1t was as clear as a sunbeam that Ev'
ans had bungled the thing horribly
All this publicity would mean the res.
toration of the box to it's rightful own
er, unless-unless-
And Lord Richard ran his fingers
through his scanty hair and began to
pace restlessly up and down the room.
Suppose the fellow should escape
and make his way here" he said to
himself, what am | to do? II he were
tracked it would be terribly serious
for-me. If the box were discovered
in my possession, what excuse could
make?
But he'll not come here" he said
to himself, after a pause, and his face
frightened. Hell hide his treasure
somewhere and return at a later day.
He may be caught, but if he is the
box will not be in his possession-he
is too cute for that; and l don't think
he will mention my name in the case,
for that would cut off all chance Of
future help"
Nevertheless, for the rest of the day,
and. indeed, for many days after, Lord
Richard remained in a condition OF
the most painful apprehension. What
had become of Nevins was a problem
that baffled everybody. All the rail-
way stations were watched, all the
seaports inspected, all the coast
guardsmen received instructions, while
in every hamlet and village descrip-
tons were posted of the mans height
and weight and general appearances;
but nothing came of it all. To the in
finite chagrin of the police, Nevins
proved himself more than a match for
them all.
Marion West received the news
quite philosophically and with appar-
ent unconcern. She had never set
much store by the contents of the sill
yer box, and was quite convinced that
if it were restored to her it would
make no difference to her worldly
circumstances. Her interest in it vas
chiefly sentimental. She was sorry
to lose it; she would be glad to have
it back again, partly because of a very
natural curiosity and chiefly because
it was part CT the small dowry left her
by her father. But that it had any
intrinsic valuc she did not believe.
The news came TO her by special
messenger. Clement Mawgau had not
sufficient courage 10 take her the
news itself. Much as he longed to
look into her eyes again, he could not
face another rebuff. So he packed the
letter received from Esther into a
strong envelope and dispatched it in
the way indicated.
Marion read Clements brief cover
ing note first, and the color on her
cheek deepened quite perceptibly.
Then she quickly deyoured Esther's
long epistle. Fol- some time after h
sat staring into vacancy. There were
a good many other women in the room
some writing, some reading, some
sitting idly with their hands folded in
their laps, some in1ulging in CONVEX
sation. Bat Marion saw no one, heard
nothing that was said. Her thoughts
were back again In the past; not the
distant past-the event5 that stood
out most wildly in he: memory were
comparatively recent.
Clements few kindly and difident
lines moved her almost more than the
tragic story told by Esther. She was
quite sure that she had spoken the
right words to him the previous night,
and yet she could not help feeling a
little sorry that she had been com
PEELED to speak them. The Fates
were very unkind. She admired Glenn
ent immensely. Ali ner memories of
him were pleasant. She had seen so
much of the rough-not to say coarse
side of human nature out in h far
West that to be brought into contact
with a refined and educated English
man was like coming out of a desert
into a richly cultivated country. His
very reserve touched her fancy. His
graceful way Of doing things-the alb
sence of fuss, the easy nonchalance,
the quiet deliberation-all had their
effect on her.