The Montgomery tribune. (Montgomery City, Mo.) 1892-1910, 1908-04-10

ana Wa YET HDHeTnHt psnSt htg7rBY
fee, vhss the twe sosAAts 1ipntxSel
wittStheir>rsport. Tho sAfae5I tSI1m
ped aside, iaada BE orderly q! fAs E6yi
lsh looking fellow *ish q bag ecioui
chin. sAlfted. Ciny ~
fweifIpske," and me dnfaSf eyed
his trim appearance with psanifcst ap1
pfpval, "whass ld ypp SUCCEED in learn1
ins?" |' t'"s StN
1.-THE. operator. said. thu Yere. sNwl
ply had never bin thar. himseL, SRI
but there wus several messaSsa, EonA
fet him, One got here this mSfhihc.'1
what becomes of them" esn
sTheyfe called fer by another fel3
LET, sir" =eeaess~ ~ "
foh, they .arei ,WhoI"" 10y,
RED slayin wus the pape Ia Gxs
me OF tibet other buck ,.sa,-.~-ni
When the, twp had idlssppeAsea,d
Braht sat"back' thinking rapidly, 5Thetsl
was a mystery here. and such actiahsl
mast have a cause. Sometianss ett1I
er in or about. Giencaid' was CONF
pelllng Murphy to Keep out Of sight
but what? WhoH Brant was u1-]
able TO get re out Of his head that
all ithis,seerecy centered around Tald6.
Perhaps Hampton knew; at least he
might possess some, addit.onal scrap
Of AnformHefon--which would frefp~ to
solve the problem. He looked at his
watch, and ordered his horse to be
saddled.
1t did not seem quite SO simple now,
this projected interview with Hamp-
ton, as 1t had appeared the night be-
fore. In the clear light of day, he
began to realize the weakness Of his
position. the fact that he possessed
not the smallest right to speak on be-
half of Nadia Gillis. Nevertheless. the
die was cast, and perhaps, provided ar
open quarrel could be avoided, the
meeting might result in good to all
concerned.
Hampton welcomed him with dis
tant but marked courtesy, having evil
IDENTITY thought out his own imme-
date plan of action. and schooled him.
self accordingly. Standing there, the
bright light streaming over them from
the open windows, they presented two
widely contrasting personalities, yet
each exhibited in figure and face the
evidences Of hard training and iron
discipline. Hampton was clothed in
black, standing straight as an arrow,
his shoulders squared, his head held
proudly erect, while his cool gray
eyes studied the face Of the other as
he had been accustomed to survey
his opponents at the card table. Brant
looked the picture of a soldier on
duty, trim, we'll built, erect, his reso-
lutte blue eyes never flinching from
the steady gaze bent upon him, his
bronzed young face grave from the
seriousness Of his mission. In both
minds the same thought fingered
the vague wonder how much the 9TH
er knew. The elder man, however, re-
tanned a better self-control and was
first to break the silence.
Miss ellis informed me Of your
kindness to her last evening"" he
said, quietly, land in her behalf l
sincerely thank you. Permit me to
offer you a chair"
Brant accepted 1t and sat down,
feeling the calm tone Of proprietorship
in the words of the other as II they
had been a blow. His face flushed,
yet he spoke firmly. Possibly l mis-
construe your meaning" he said, with
some bluntness, determined to reach
the gist of the matter at once. did
Miss ellis authorize you to thank me
for these ~courtesies?"
Hampton smiled with provoking
calmness, holding an unlighted cigar
between his fingers. why. really.
as to that l do not remember.
merely mentioned it as expressing the
natural gratitude of US both"
You speak as If you possessed full
authority to express her mind as well
as your own"
| The other bowed gravely. his face
impassive. "My words quite naturally
bear some such construction"
The officer hesitated, feeling more
doubtful than v e regarding his own
position. Chagrined, disarmed, he
felt like a prisoner standing bound
before his hooking captor. Then !
fear my mission here is useless"
Entirely SO, II you come for the
purpose I suspect" said Hampton, sit.
ting erect in his chair. and speaking
with more rapid utterance. ITO lee.
ture me on morality. and demand my
yielding up all influence over this girl
-such a mission Is assuredly q fail
ure. have listened with some de.
gree Of calmness in this room already
to one such address, and surrendered
to its reasoning. But permit me ia
say quite plainly. Lieut.. Brant, that
you are not the person from whom ]
will quietly listen to another"
." had very little expectation that
you would"
"You should have had still less. and
remained away entirely. However,
now that you are here, and the sub.
ject preached, 1t becomes my turn