The star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1908-1909, 1908-07-20

oJ n CtiOtCC u hhfok
her lightest speech to the heart. Hard
] visaged Amos Fenton gave a grunt.
which was as near an expression of APP
proval as he ever CAV to anyone.
"Nell. well!' he growled, but not i'll
naturally. IT'S a morbid curiosity that
brings you here. Better drop it, girl.
1t won't do you any good In the eyes
of sensible people"
t"Thank you.'' was her demure reply.
her lips dimpling at the corners In a
way TO shock the sensitive Mr.. Suther-
land.
CHANGING from her to the still out
lines of the noble figure on the couch.
he remarked with an air of mild re-
proof:
II do not understand you, Miss Page.
If this solemn sight has no power to
stop your coquetries, nothing can. AS
for your curiosity. 1t is both ill-timed
and unwomanly. Let me see You leave
this house at once. Miss Page, and IL
in the few hours which must elapse
before breakfast YOU can find time to
pack your trunks, you will still further
oblige me-"
"Oh, don't send me away, I entreat
you
1t was a cry from her inner heart,
which she probably regretted, for she
instantly sought to cover up the anxi-
ETY. 1t showed by a submissive bend of
the head and a step backward. Neither
Mr.. Fenton nor Mr.. Sutherland seemed
TO hear the one or see the other, their
attention having returned to the more
serious matter In hand.
1.-The dress which our poor friend
wears shows her to have been struck
before retiring" commented Mr.. Suth-
erland, after another short survey Of
Mrs. Webb's figure. IF Philemon
EXCUSE me, sir" interrupted a voice,
but the u woman Is listening to
what you say. She is still in the hall"
= 1t was the young man speaking. who
! had been left in the hall.
; "She Is, Is she,' exclaimed Fenton,
sharply, his admiration for the fasci-
q mating stranger having oozed out at his
companions rebuff. II will soon show
her. But the words melted into
thin air as he reached the door. The
Z young Girl had disappeared. and only a
faint perfume remained in the place
where she had stood.
"A most extraordinary person."
\ grumbled the constable. turning back,
! but stopping again as a faint murmur
) came up from below.
! 1.-The gentleman is waking called
4 up a voice whose lack of music was
4 quite p~eroeptible at a distance.
u with a bound Mr.. Fenton descended
! the stairs, followed by Mr.. Sutherland.
Miss Page stood before the door of
the room In which sat Philemon Webb.
[ As they reached her side she made a
q little bow that was half mocking. half
e deprecatory, and slipped rom the
r house. An almost un~bearable sensation
: Of i%ncongruity vanished with her land
e Mr.. Sutherland, for one, breathed like
q nan relieved.
I 81 wish the doctor would come" Fen
O ton said, as they watched the slow
v lifting of Philemon Webb's head. "Our
I fastest rider has gone for him. but he's
I out Dorchester way, and It may be an
v hour yet before he can get 1ere.p
o Philemon"
? Mr.. Sutherland had advanced and was
o sta nding by his old friends side.
philemon, what has become OF your
guestsf You've waited for them here
e till morning"
d The old man with a dazed look sur
t veyed the two plates set on either side
of him and shook his head.
flames and John are getting proud
o said he, "or they forget, they forget
Il James and John. He must mean the
Fables. yet there were many others
= answering to these names In town. Mr..
Sutherland made another effort.
philemon, where is your wife, I do
, not see any place set here for herr"
"Agatha's sick. Agatha's cross; she
r don't care for poor old man like me"
e1 "Agatha's dead and YOU know It,,
|, ~thundered back the constable with i'll
judged severity. Who killed her? Tell
me that. who killed herr"
h A sudden quenching of the last spark
d of intelligence in the old mans eye
was the dreadful effect OF these words.
Laughing with that strange gurgie
d which proclaims an utterly i~rresponsi-
bic mind, he cried:
THE pussy cat! 1t was the pussy
cat. Who's killed? I'm not killed.
Let's go to Jericho"
Mr.. Sutherland took him by the arm
and led him upstairs. Perhaps the
sight Of his dead wife would restore
him. But he looked at her with the
same Indifference he showed TO every
thing else.
ST don't like her calico dresses" said
he. "She might have worn silk, but
she wouldn't. Agatha, will o wear
silk to my f%uneral?"
The experiment was too painful. and
they drew him away. But the con-
stables curiosity had been reused, and
after they had found some Sle to take
care Of him he drew Mr.. Sutherlar[
aside and said:
"What did the old man mean
ing. she might have worn c
they better off than thew
Mr.. Sutherland closeS
replying.
= "They are ric'
utter amaze~
. is. they
robf