Milford chronicle., 1908-08-14

ing at ALL" and she mounted and turn
ed toward home.
Her heart was still pounding with
excitement, and she walked her horse
to gain composure. Twice, in circum-
stances most unusual and disquietng
she had witnessed an attack on John
Armitage 10y an unknown enemy. She
recalled now a certain pathos of his
figure as she first saw him leaning
against the tree watching the tur
bulent little stream, and she was i'm
patient to find how her sympathy went
out to him. Ii made no difference who
John Armitage was; his enemy was
coward. and the horror of such men
ace to a mans life appalled, her. She
passed a mounted policeman. who rec
Ognized her and raised his hand in
salute. but the idea OF reporting the
strange affair in the strip of woodland
occurred to her only to be dismissed
She felt that here was an ugly bust
ness that was not within the grasp of
park patrolman. and, moreover, John
Armitage was entitled to pursue his
own course in matters that touched
his life so closely. The thought Of
him reassured her. He was no simple
boy to suffer such attacks to pass I'M
challenged and so, dismissing him, she
raised her head and saw him gallOp
forth from a bypath and rein his horse
beside her.
Miss Claibornew
The suppressed feeling in his tone
made the moment tense, and she saw
that his lips trembled. 1t was situa-
ton that must have its quick relief, so
she said instantly in a mOckery Of his
own tone:
"Mr. Armitage" She laughed. 81
am almost caught in the dark The
Establishments of spring have beguiled
me-
He looked at her with a quick scru-
tiny. 1t did not seem possible that this
could be the girl who had called to
him in warning scarce five minutes be-
fore, but he knew it had been she
He would have known her voice any
where in the world They rode silent
beside the creek, which was like
laughing companion seeking to mock
them into a cheerier mood At an
opening through the hills they saw the
western horizon aglow in tints of lem
on deeping into gold and purple. Save
for the riot of the brook the world was
at peace. She met his eyes for an in
stant. and their gravity and the firm
lines in which his lips were set showed
that the shock of his encounter had not
yet passed.
"You must think me a strange per-
san, Mss Claiborne. 1t seems mex
plicable that a mans life should be SO
menaced in a place like this. If you
had not called to me-
please don't speak Of that! 1t was
so terrible"
But / must speak Of it. Once be
fore the same attempt was made-that
night on the King Edward"
Yes; | have not forgotten"
"And today l have reason to believe
that the same man watched his chance,
for I have ridden here every day since
I came. and he must have kept track /.
OF me-"
"But this is America, Mr.. Armitage"
"That does not help me with you.
You have every reason to resent my .
bringing you into such dangers. 1t is |
unpardonabe. indefensibler
She saw that he was greatly trou-
bled
But you couldn't help my being in
the park today. | have often stopped /
Just there before It's a favorite place |
for meditahons. If you know the
man
Il know the man"
"Then the law will certainly protect
you. as you know very we'll. He vas
a dreadful looking person. The police
can undoubtedly find and lock him
up"
She was seeking to minimize the
natter to pass it off as a common
place affair of every day. They were
walking their horses. The groom fol /
lowed stolidly behind.
Armitage was silent, a look Of great |
perplexity on his face. When he spoke /
he was quite calm.
Miss Claiborne, must tell you that /.
this is an affair in which I can't ask .
help in the usual channels. You will /.
pardon me If l seem to make mys- /
terry Of what should be ordinarily a /
lit Of business between myself and /
the police But to give publicity to /.
these attempts to injure me just now
would be a mistake. I could have |
caught that man there in the wood. /.
But I let him go for the reasOn-fOr |
the reason that I want the men back |.
of him to show themselves before ! |
act. But if it isn't presuming"-
lie was quite himself again. His
voice was steady and deep with the
ease and assurance that, she liked in
him. She had marked today in his
earnestness, more than at any other
time, a slight, an almost indistinguish
able trace of another tongue in his
English.
How am I to know whether it
would be presuming?" she asked.
But 1 was going to say
''When rudely interruptedw She was