The Elbert County tribune., 1909-01-07

Mary Anne advanced willingly. but
as l raised the button by the little key
and held 1t toward her, her law
dropped suddenly and the color for.
sooks her ruddy face
"Where'd you find II, miss?"
In the cellar, right by the steps"
"Youve-been-dow In the cell
lar?"
Certainly; why not?"
Mary Anne wiped her face with a
corner of her gingham apron, and
polSed wood into the stove with reck-
less prodigality.
Its entirely too fore 'anded you are,
Miss Elizabeth she grumbled-"the
cellar lookin' like distraction and you
goin' down there the fust time, What
kind of 'ousekeepin' do you think /
do? This very day | laid out to pat
everything shipshape down there and
take you around meself And the
cellars damp-like. and no place fur
lady any'ow, and you like to take
cold and sneeze yer cad off,"
Elizabeth laughed and assured her
that this catastrophe was not liable to
happen to-day. and suggested that the
cellar might be improved by the in
PRODUCTION of fresh air and sunlight
And how soon you got the shelf
fixed." she added, by way OF soothing
Mary Anne's ruffed feelings.
Shelf" she repeated vaguely. "Oh.
of course. miss. 'Ow could git along
without It? And what else did ye find
in the cellar, Miss Elsie, besides the
little button?"
] thought she watched me keenly as
| replied had not looked for anything
more, and wondered she had not seen
1t on her trips up and down the steps.
me eyes are not SO good as they
once were, nor so bright as yours.
Miss Elise" she remarked. ITS a
pretty thing, now isn't It? What will
you be doin' with it?'
But l did not reply, for Gabrielle.
who had been to the village for the
mail, now appeared, and Elizabeth
Immediately lost interest in everything
else
Il do not wish to arouse false sus-
picions, but Elizabeth certainly wrote
a great many very long letters. and re-
ceived volumes all in the same hand
writing. which always arrived on GER
tain days Of the week. She used to
open them with an air of indifference
and glance over them carelessly, then
in few minutes she would make some
excuse to go off alone, and we could
sometimes see her poring over them,
dead to the world as she turned page
after page. and smiling a smile which
exasperated Gabrielle exceedingly al
though she also did not little CORE
spending on her own account that sum-
mer.
To-day, however, she handed Elizabeth
her letter without comment. and only
glanced casually at the cuff link when
l displayed 1t in triumph, for she was
eager to relate the news she had ac-
cumulated during her trip to the vii
lage.
You know that smuggler?" she be-
gan, seating herself on the kitchen
doorstep and removing her hat
NO" / interrupted I'm happy to
say ! don't know him."
You know about him, don't you?
It's all the same thing. Well. I've
been to the hotel. and heard that he
is suspected of having been on the
island the night of the storm, and they
think"-she dropped her toice eau
tiously-"they think he took Mrs.
Bundy's emeralds."
who thinks so?"
"Oh, the detectives, of course Lady
Edith told me. AID they say 1t was
very foolish thing for him to do, be-
cause he can now be arrested in Cana
da. And our government officials are
perfectly wild. too, for whole lot
of things were smuggled in somehow
right under their noses"
rs he on the island now?"
"Oh, no. AS Lord Wilfrid said, It
would be madness for him to stay here
now. He must have been one of the
men who left the hotel so early that
neutrality-suspicious. Mrs. Bundy discov-
cred her loss. They are following
them up. of course, but 1t was easy
enough to register false name and
address. I can forgive his smuggling.
but l can't forgive his robbing that
poor old woman-she's just scared to
death, and expects to have her throat
cut every night, they say-so I hope
they will catch him."
(TO BE CoNTIEUED.)