Arizona republican., 1909-06-01
THE LURE OF THE MASK
BY Copyright 1908
HAR0L ID M'GRATH The Bobbs-KerrM %.
from yesterday

"Stopi No, no. / forbid you!
Kitty put her hands over her ears.
She might gain the secret, but she
knew that she would lose the heart
of the woman it concerned Il am
wrong. wrong. / have promised to
follow you Loyalty, without question.
l will keep that promise. / am only
angry because you would not let me
sneak to Mr. Hillard. And when he
called me by name, 1t was dOubly
hard Had / not seen your hand
waving from the doorway, l should
have spoken. Who this Italian is I
do not care. 1t is sufficient that YOU
fear him. And l myself harbor no
kind feelings toward him." rubbing
her bruised wrist. And if he comes
down one side of the street l shall
take to the other, to say nothing of
lodging round the nearest corner. But
he is very handsome" Kitty added
thoughtfully.
Are vipers handsome"
He is strong, too
Strong and cruel as a tiger. How
l hate himi But thank you, Kitty,
thank you. Sooner or later, if we
stay together, 1 must tell you The
into my eyes Kitty approached,
and La Signorina drew her close.
Look in them. They will tell you
that l have neither conspired nor
plotted, save for my own happiness:
that l have wrought to harm no one.
But on my side they will tell you
that 1 have been terribly wronged.
And all l wish is to be left alone.
alone. 1t was cruel of me to forbid
you to speak to Mr.. Hillard. But
do not want him tangled up in this
miserable, hopeless labyrinth. l wish
him to recollect me pleasantly, as a
whimsical being who came into his
life one night and vanished out OF
it in two hours"
But supposing the memory cuts
deeply?" ventured Kitty Men fall
in love with less excuse than this"
He does not even know what
look like; he knows absolutely moth
ing except the sound-of my voice"
1T is ali a blind man needs-a
voice"
Nonsense" La Signorina opened
the window to air the room She
fingered, musing. You are very
good to me, Kitty"
I can't help being good to you.
you strange, lovely woman. For
your sake as we'll as for mine,
nope my letter from home will be
in Venice when we arrive. Now l
am going to write a letter
La Signorina still fingered by the
window.
Merrihew was pocketing currency
in exchange for his gold when Hill
lard passed an opened letter to him.
it was early in the morning; the sky
was as yellow as brass; patches Of
dew still dampened the sidewalks, and
the air was still with the promise
Of heat in the later day. Merrihew
stuffed the last bill into his wallet
and gave his attention to the letter
He was not long Indifferent, for the
letter was from no less a person than
Kitty. 1t was, however, addressed
to Hillard
My Dear Mr.. Hillard-Do not seek
US. 1t will be useless. This sounds
terribly ungrateful, but it must be
so. If Mr.. Merrihew is with you,
and l suspect he is, tell him that
some day l viii explain away the
mystery. At present 1 know no more
than you do. But this please make
plain to him: If he insists upon
searching for me, he will only dou-
bic my unhappiness.
Kitty Killigrew."
Merrihew soberly tucked the letter
away. Il knew it," he said simply.
She is in some trouble or other,
some tangIe, and fears to drag us
into it. Who left a letter here this
% he of
"A small boy from Villefranche."
Just my luck" said Merrihew his
hands speaking eloquently. Il said
that it would be of no use to hunt
in the smaller towns. Well, we had
better take the luggage back to the
rooms"
Why" asked Hillard.
Il am going to Villefranche."
You will be. wasting time. After
what happened last night, 1 am GER
tain that they will be gone. Let US
not change our plans, and let us
respect theirs, hard as it may seem
~ to you"
But you?"
"Oh, don't bother about me- 1 have
relegated my little romance to the
garnet of no-account things, at least
for the present" said Hillard, with
an enigmatical smile He sought his
watch. Make up your mind at once;
we have only twenty minutes
"Oh, divine afflatusi And you lay
down the chase so readily as this %
Merrihew was scornfully indignant.
Il would travel the breadth of the
continent were 1 sure of meeting this
woman But she has become a will
o'-the-wisp, and am too old and like