Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-02-02

laCC.
There was only the briefest of
pauses, during which she analysed
this; then, quickly, But you hope
top she Snapped.
| He felt that the only adequate re
| tort to this would be a shrug of his
! shoulders; doubted his ability to carry
one off; and again took refuge III
! silence.
The woman abandoned a second
plan OF siege, with readiness that
did credit to her knowledge of man
kind. She thought out the next very
carefully, before opening with mask
ed battery
"Mr. Kirkwood, can't we be friends
this aside?"
Nothing could please me more, Mrs.
Hallam,
I'm sorry if I've annoyed you"
"And I, too, have been rude"
Last night, wnen you cut away so
suddenly, you prevented nv 17n'+r~r
you proposal, a sort of business
proposition 49,.
"Yes-?'
'sTo come over, to our side
Il thought SO. That was why I
went
Eyes; I understood But this morn
ing, when you've had time to think it
over-?"
Il have no choice in the matter,
Mrs. Hallam"
The green eyes darkened ominously.
You meant am to understand, then,
that you're against us, that you prefer
to side with Swindlers and scoundrels,
all because of "a"
She discovered him eying her with
smile of such .inscrutable and sar-
donic intelligence, that the words died
on her lips, and she crimsoned, trea-
sonably to herself For he saw it:
and the belief he had conceived while
attending to her tissue of fabrication.
earlier that morning was strengthened
TO the point of conviction that, if any
thing had been stolen by anybody, Mrs.
Hallam and her son owned it as little
as Calendar
AS for the women, she felt she had
steadily lost, rather than gained,
ground; and the fash of anger that
had colored her cheeks, lit twin bea-
cons in her eyes. which she resolute-
ly fought down until they faded 10
mere CLEANS of resentment and deter
her lips; and they are the truest in
dices to woman's character and tenn
permanent; and Kirkwood did not ovet-
look the circumstance that their spe-
cious sweetness had vanished leaving
them straight, set and hard, quite the
reverse of attractive
So she said slowly, after silent
time, you are not for Queensborough,
The corollary of that admission, Mr.
Kirkwood is that you are for Sheer
ness
Il believe" he replied YEARLY, that
there are no other stations on this
lines after Newington.''
st follows, then, that-that l fol
low" And in answer to his perturb-
ed glance, she added: ooh, I'll grant
that intuition is sometimes poor
guide. But if you meet George Calen-
dar, so shall |. Nothing can prevent
that You can't hinder me-"
Considerably amused, he chuckled.
Let us talk of other things. Mrs Hal
lam he suggested pleasantly. How
is your son?''
At this juncture the brakes began
to shrek and grind upon the wheels.
The train slowed; it stopped, and the
voice of guard could be heard admon-
lshing passengers for Queensborough
Pier to alight and take the branch line
In the noise the womans response was
drowned, and kirkwood was hardly
enough concerned for poor Freddie to
repeat his question.
When, after a little. the train pulled
out of the junction, neither found rea-
son to resume the conversation. Dur.
ing the brief balance of the journey
Mrs Hallam presumably had food for
thought; she frowned, pursed her lips,
and with one daintily gloved foretinger
followed a seam of her tailored skirt:
while Kirkwood sat watching and Won
dering how to rid himself of her, if
she proved really as troublesome as
she threatened to be.
Also, he wondered what it was all
about. Why did Mrs Hallam suspect
him of designing to meet Calendar at
| Queensborough? Had she any tang
ible ground for believing that Calen-
! dar could be found in Oueensbor-
ough? Presumably she had, since she
was avowedly in pursuit of that gentle
man, and, Kirkwood inferred, had
booked for Queensborough. Was he,
lnen, running away from Calendar and
his daughter to chase a will-o- the-wisD
of his credulous fancy, off Sheerness
shore?
Disturbing reflection. He scowlcd
over it, then considered the other side
of the face. Presuming Mrs Hallam
to have had reasonably dependable as
surance that Calendar would stop in
| Queensborough, would she so readily
have abandoned her design to catch
! him there, on the mere supposition
that Kirkwood might be looking for
| him in Sheerness That did not seem
likely to one who esteemed Mrs. Hal
lam's acumen as highly as Kirkwood
did He frightened up, forgot that his
was FOOLS errand, and began again
to project strategic plans into a prob
| lematic future.
A sudden jolt interrupted this pas
time, and the warning screech of the
brakes Informed that he had no time
to scheme, but had best continue on
the plan of action that had brought
him thus far-that is, trust to his star