Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1909-10-21

By MARY PAXTON
BY MARY PAXTON
lcopyright by Daily Story Pub. Co.

See' sdlu the uetecuVe. III 1s
outrageous"
Ford Harvey mopped his brow ir
relief and a folded paper fell from
his handkerchief. The detective
smoothed it out.
Il presume this is the LADY," he
asked.
Yes" said Ford Harvey very seri
ously.
Let me ask you some questions
said the detective. Are you married
to Mrs. Harvey?"
! Harvey winked. "she is using my
name"
Had the oma of the portrait any
relatives?"
Il really don't think she ever spoke
OF any," said Harvey.
That makes it more difficult. You
are not a Spiritualist?"
Il should say not" denied Harvey
scornfully.
From what you tell me, 1 a Offer
you two suggestions as to a possible
solution. Either Mrs. Harvey is fol
some reason annoying you in This
way, or there is a p~sychical agent.
Accept either solution that you think
best"
Harvey looked wild. Perhaps 1t is
as you say. / shall watch Avis: and
you, too, keep an eye on her."
The rest Of the voyage was nc.
agreeable for Ford Harvey or the
blond woman. As soon as she was
able to go on deck he neglected her,
though always he watched her, and
this made her uneasy. She did not
seem able to grasp the situation. She
laughed louder, did her hair more
e~laborately, and put more rouge on
her face. One day he caught her
staring intently at one of the increas.
ing deluge of pictures. They had got.
ten on her nerves, too, besides ma.
king her Jealous of the dead girl.
There was a sharp quarrel, in which
the woman was violent and their WAYS
parted. For a time the pictures
stopped and his eyes looked less like
a hunted rabbits.
In Paris they began again. Every
NAL brought him postcards which
were copies of her picture. He fled
terrified. the pictures pursuing him
all over Europe. In the heart of the
Black Forest a woman suddenly
crossed the road. He thought her
strangely like Lisa. In the most OBJ
scure inns he stopped Lisa's face was
at the top Of menu cards. In Rome he
met Perreau again. Together they
visited ~cathedrals. Beggars offered
to sell him Lisa's pictures. Cigarette
vendors sold him boxes from which
she smiled. He was no longer his old
complacent self, and his hair was
quite white now. When she looked
down at him pityingly from a wayside
shrine one afternoon he was almost at
bay.
He sailed for America. On the boat
home he kept to his cabin, and with
Perreau poured over volumes of orr.
entail mysticism. With a medium on
board he arranged a seance. The
cabin was darkened and the medium
bound. Harvey lay like a dead man.
The words came muttered and then
the message rang out:
Your suffering is not greater than
mine. Go to North mountain. October
Il, and my last word shall be spoken"
The man drew a long breath and
the medium left In a dazed condition.
One beautiful afternoon in October
some tourists on the road below
watched a lonely traveller wind his
dizzy way around the mountain pass
far above them.
When he achieved the summit he felt
exultant. He lay there and waited
for what he had com this long tired
way. The little clouds that were
capering about him and below meant
nothing to him. The serene blue Of
the sky was lost to him and he did
not even look into the hazy peaks Off
beyond.
While he was on the mountain ton
he prayed. "All powerful" he said
Il have been wicked. | have laughed
But laugh no more"
Then he buried his head in his arms
and cried. When he looked up there
was a faint glow over the farthest
peak where the sun had set. And the
night was near. He sat and YEARLY
waited for the darkness to come. but
the terror Of his last days had van.
ished. He was unafraid.
Then from out Of the ~blackness
across the chasm flashed out in fire
Lisa's piteous, pitiful face. The mans
white face was TRANSPORTED.
Lisa, beautiful soul. he cried and
fell across the rocks.
Patton Ware had listened to Pes.
reau's story and they had been silent
a long time.
Are you satisfied" Perreau asked.
We've failed, hideously failed"
broke out Ware. why, man. we've
saved his soul"
THAT" said Andre Perreau calmly.
was what Lisa expected us to do"
All He Knew.
w. ID. Mahon of the Amalgamated