Okolona messenger. (Okolona, Miss.) 1900-current, 1909-02-17
CHAPTER TX.
The Agent of the Fireless Stove

SF1fNF ] En tNs
The Agent of the Fireless Stove.
The time was two hours later. Rupert
Winter was sitting on one of the stone
benches of the colonnade about the
patio. The court was suffused with
the golden glow presaging sunset.
Warm afternoon shadows lay along
the flags; waving silhouettes of leaf
age or plant; blurred reflections from
the bold bas-reliefs of Spanish war
riors and Spanish priests sculptured
between the spandrels of the arches.
Winters dull. eyes hardly noted them;
the exotic luXuriance of foliage, the
Spanish armor and Spanish cowls
were all too common to a denizen of 8
Spanish colony in the tropics, to dis
tract his thoughts from his own ugly
problem He had been having 1t out
with himself, as he phrased it. And
there had been moments during those
two hours, when he had ground his
teeth and clenched his fists because
of the futile and furious pain in him
When he recognized Janet Smith,
by that same Illuminating flash be
recognized that this woman who bad
been tricking him was the woman that
he loved He believed that he had
said his last word to love, but love, aft
er seeming to accept the curt dis
| missal, was lightly riding his heart
again Fooled a second time" he
thought with inexpressible bitterness,
recalling his unhappy married life
and the pretty, weak creature who had
caused him such humiliation. Yet with
her there had been no real wrong
doing, only absolute lack OF discretion
and a childish craving for gayety and
adulation. Poor child! what Woe
full ending for it all! The baby, the
litaa boy who was their only living
child, to die of a sddden access OF an
apparently trifling attack of Group,
while the mother wa dancing at
post ball! He was east, taking his
examination for promotion. The fran
tic drive home in the chill of the dawn
had given her cold which her shock
and grief left her no strength to re-
sist-she was always frail little crea-
ture, poor butterfiy!-and she followed
her baby inside of a month. Had she
lived, her husband might have found
it hard to forgive her, for already a
sore heart was turning to the child for
comfort; but she was dead, and he did
not let his thoughts misuse her mem
ory. Nowhere was another, so diff
ferent, but just as false. Then, he
brought himself up with jerk; he
would be fair; he would look at thugs
as they we're; many a man had been
fooled by the dummy. He would not
Jump at conclusions because they were
cruel, any more than he would because
they were kind. There was such a
thing, he knew we'll as credulous sus-S
picion; it did more harm than credu-
lous trust. Meanwhile, he had his de-
tail He was to find Archie; therefore.
he waited. They were in the house;
it were only folly to give up their adj
vantage under the stress Of any OF
Mercer's plausible lurings to the out
side
Moreover, by degrees, he became
convinced that Mercer, certainly tc
some extent, was sincere in his pro
fession of belief in Archie's absence
and safety. This, in spite of hearing
several times that Archie was not re-
turned Mercer did all the speaking,
but he allowed Birdsall to hold the re-
ceiver and take the message from Mrs.
Winter
The telephone was in an adjoiiing
room, but by shifting his position
number of times the colonel was able
to catch murmur of the conversa-
tidon. He heard Mercer's voice dis
tinctly. He had turned away and was
following the detective out of the
room. 'T don't understand 1t any
more than you do, Mr.. Birdsall, he
said; ''you won't believe me, sub, but
am right worried
"Of course l believe you," purred
the detective, SO softly that the colo
mel knew he did not believe any more
than Mercer suspected. "Of course,
believe you; but don't know what to
do 1t amt on the map. ! guess it's
up to you to throw a little light. 1--we
called the boys off twice already and
told 'em to wait an hour or a half
hour longer. got to see the colonel"
Il can trust my intuitions, or I can
trust the circumstantial evidence"
thought the colonel. He jumped up
and began to pace the court.
Seems to be like a game of bridge
before one can see the dummy" he
complained; and as so often happens
in the crises of life. a trivial illustra-
tion struck a wavering mind with the
reverted whinisically to the card
table; how many times had he hesi-
tated over the first lead between even
ly balanced suits Of four; and how
often had he regretted or won. depend