The Morning examiner. [volume] (Ogden, Utah) 1904-1910, 1909-02-14
CHAPTER xviii.
"CoWardl"

heard a clock In the village strike
the hour 1t was six The chateau
walls cast long shadow on the oppo-
site bank of the river. The mountains
In the far distance were purple and
red In the evening light The long
day was coming swiftly TO an end;
and the night was mysterious with It's
promise of despair.
This tower of the three rooms, Two
OF these rooms held their tragedies
What If the third room had Its tra-
gedy llkewiso!
| struck sharply the door of that
room In which Madame de VarnIor
had said that Captain Forbes was i'm
prisoned. / listened there was no
answer I called the name of the
kings messenger aloud; still there
was no answer. Soon the moon would
rise, and its cold rays might fall on
the llfeless body Of Forbes; for If all
were well. why should there be this
ominous quiet?
The suspense was uncomfortable.
listened at the door Of the room that
concealed the two women. | heard
the murmer of voices. That reassured
me 80 far as Helena's safety was con-
cerned, but 1t made me absolutely
certain that Captain Forbes must have
heard my voice If he were living, and
in that room.
And when the two women came out?
i shrank from that coming with
dread. ] had told Helena to be brave,
to ignore the evidence of her own
sight But ! had been shaken In my
own belief as to Sir Mortimers inno-
cence. Surely her faith would be
greater than mine; but the evidence
seemed so overwhelmingly against Sir
Mortimer. II Sir Mortimcr's letters
and notes were genuine AT any ratio
the woman loved must hold bitter
cup to her blanched lips; 1t must be
emptied TO the very dregs Her suffer
ing was inevitable. whether she be-
lieved her brother innocent or guilty.
| could not doubt that she would
refuse 10 purchase the silence Of
Madame de Yarnier at the cost of fur
ther dishonor, even though I were
chiefly TO bear that myself But IL
she demanded that Was | strong
enough to resist her tears2 must be.
My reason told me of the folly of
Madame do Varnier's plan. But IL 1
yielded weakly presently. and the ruse
actually succeeded, / knew that the
hypocrisy of the act would become
more and more dreadful to Helena
with the coming years. No; IL In that
supreme ecstacy OF her agony sho
should entreat me. | must still refuse.
| must decide for her. even though
she thought my own cowardlce re-
sponsible for that refusal
Coward How that word beat a
devils tattoo on my excited brain 1t
had been the keynote to all my suffer
Ing, and TO all my Joy. Willoughby
had died uttering 1t; Helena had
echoed It in thought; and Madame de
WARMER had spoken it again and again
in her fierce contempt during the past
hour. Yes, it was the keynote of my
suffering and my JOY 1t was the
motif that obtruded again and again IN
the stormy music OF these past hours
1t was baneful talisman. a watch
word. Its letters seemed to have al
most q magic potency. 1t was coun-
tersign that opened for ME the getez
of paradise and hell.
A talSmnn A watchword' A coun.
tersign' Suddenly | saw the word
COWARD written in flaming let
ters. They revolved furlously. They
danced before my vision.
This was sheer madness-this i'm
possible conjecture. | reasoned the un.
reasoning impulse to hope against
hope. But the forlorn. desperate pos.
sibllity fought obstinately for recog-
milton. 1t held me with all the damn.
ing power of halluclnation.
And then suddenly it became con-
vlction. 1t was no longer an impossi-
BILE hope. not even an intuition 1t be-
came an absolute belief, a certainty.
And this was the reason for my be.
lief.
Whenever Madame de WARMER had
mentioned the safe she had called me
coward.
COWARD.
That was the combination OF the
safe.
AT last door opened Helena mado
her way toward ME with uncertain
steps, her hands held out before her.
as one cropping in the dark Her Splen-
did fearleSsness was gone She look
wounded animal vainly seeing way
OF escape. AS she reached my side
her hands were still held cut as If for
protection, | grasped them firmly.
but | did not speak.
To BE CoNTINUED)
A kiss on the lips is worth two on
tho hand