Lewiston evening teller. [volume] (Lewiston, Idaho) 1903-1911, 1908-02-21

I punched an electric button with his
| heshy thumb and prowled around
waiting. Nobody came. He punched
again and looked at his watch. 1t as.
tonished him to find the hour was 8
O'Clock in the morning. That discov-
cry. however, only appeared to in
crease his thirst. He opened the hall
door, prepared to descend into the
depths of the house and raid a side
board and as he thrust his heavy head
out into the lighted corridor his eyes
fell upon two figures standing at the
open door of bedroom. One was 81
ward; that was plain. Who was the
girl he had kissed? One of the maids ?
Somebody's wifef Who?
| Every dull pulse began to hammer
in Mortimer's head. In his excitement
he stepped halfway into the corridor,
then skipped nimbly back, closing his
| door without sound.
sylvia Lands by all that's holyr'
he breathed to himself and sat down
rather suddenly on the edge of the bed
| After awhile he rose and crept to
| the door, opened It, glued his eyes to
the crack in time to catch a glimpse
of Siward entering his own corridor
| alone
And that night Mortimer, lying
awake in bed busy with schemes, be-
came conscious of a definite idea. 1t
took shape and matured SO suddenly
that 1t actually shocked his moral
sense. Then 1t scared him.
"But-but that is blackmail!" he
whispered aloud. "a man can't do that
sort of thing. What the devil ever
put 1t into my head? And there are
men l know-women, -scoundrelly
blackguards, who'd use that informa-
ton somehow and make 1t pay too.
The scoundrelsv
He squirmed down among the bed
clothes with a sudden SILVER, but the
night had turned warm.
'Scoundrelsr' he said, with .milder
emphasis. "Blackmailers! Contempt
BILE pupsr'
He fell asleep an hour later, mutter-
ing something incoherent about scoun-
drels and blackmail.
And meanwhile in the darkened
house from all round came the noise
of knocking on doors, sounds of people
stirring, low voice here and there.
lights breaking out from transoms, the
thud of rubber shod heels, the rattle
of cartridges from the echoing gun
room. For the guests at Shotover were
awaklng lest the wet sky, whitening
behind the east, ring with the whim-
pering wedges of wild fowl rushing
seaward over empty blinds.
The unusual stiffness of the house In
the late morning sunshine was pleas.
ant to Miss Lands. She had risen
very late, unconscious of the stir and
movement before dawn, and 1t was
only when maid told her as she
came from her bath that she remem-
bered the projected point shooting and
concluded with an odd, happy sense of
relief that she was almost alone In
the house.
A little later, glancing from her bed
room window for fulfllment of the
promise of the sun which glimpse
of blue sky heralded, she saw Leila
Mortimer settling herself in the for
ward seat of motor car and Beverly |
Plank climbing in beside her and she |
watched Plank steer the big machine |
across the wet lawn while the machin- |
ist swung himself into the tonneau, |
and away they rolled, faster faster, |
rushing out into the misty hinterland |
where the long streak of distant forest |
already began to brighten, edged with
the first rays of watery sunshine.
So she had the big house to herself, |
every bit Of it, and with it freedom
from obligation, from comment, from |
demand or exaction; freedom from re-
liberty to roam about, to read,
to dream, to Idle, to remember. All.
that was what she needed-a quiet in
teryal in this hurrying youth of hers
to catch her breath once more and
stand still and look back day or two
ind remember.
So to breakfast all alone was de
icious; to stroll unhurried to the side
board and leisurely choose among the
fresh cool fruits; to loiter cve- cream
Jug ana cereal; to saunter out into the
freshness of the world and breathe 1t
Ind feel the sun warming cheek and
hroat and the little breezes from a
'unlit sea stirring the bright strands
# her hair.
Out over the rain wet odorous grass
he picked her way. skirts swung high
hove the delicate contour of ankle
nd limb, following a little descending
'ath she knew full Of rocky angles
wept by pendant sprays Of black
'erry, and then down under the jut-
ing rock, south through thickets of
Wild cherry along the crags, until be-
ore her the way opened downward
gain where tiny crescent beach
limmered white hot in the sun.
From his bedroom window Mortimer
eeped forth. following her progress
Nth a leer.
As she descended. noticing the riffs
H.Na.5 ID. y