Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-01

his curious reticence. and remained silent
waiting further explanation. 1t came
presently. with an effect Of embarrass-
| ment.
wishing my refuge here to be discovered
1 told Doggott to be careful should he
meet any one We knew. Although, OF
course, neither of us anticipated ."
Il don't think Doggott was any mors
dumfounded than l." said Amber. -
couldn't believe he'd left you, yet II
seemed impossible that you should be
hereof all places-in the neighbOrhood
of Nokomis, l mean. AS for that
Amber shook his head expressiyely, glanc
ing round the mean room in which he
had found this man of such extraordinary
qualities. Its altogether inconceivable. 81
he summed up his bewilderment.
"It does seem so-even to me at times
Then why-in heavens name
By now Doggott had invested Amber
in his masters dressing gown and slip
pers; rising he left them, passing out
through an inner door which led, evil
IDENTIFY. to the only other room in the
cottage. Rutton delayed his reply until
the man had shut the door behind him.
then suddenly. with the manner of one
yielding to the inevitable. drew a chair
up to face Amber's and dropped into it.
~ see / must tell you something-a lit
tie; as little as l can help-of the truth. :"
I'm afraid you must. though I'm
ID if can detect a glimmer Of either
rhyme or reason in this preposterous sit
uation.'
Rutton laughed quietly. lounging i'm his
armchair and lacing before him the fin
gers of hands singularly small and deli
cates In view of their very considerable
strength-to which Amber's shoulder still
bore aching testimony.
I'm three Words he said deliberately,
Il am hiding
Hiding"
obviously"
Amber bent forward. studying the elder
mans face intently. Thin and dark-not
tanned like Amber's. but with a native
darkness of skin like that of the Span
at once prominent and finely nodded.
The hair intensely black, the eyes as dark
and of peculiar fire. the lips broad. full
and sympathetic. the cheekbones high.
these combined to form a strangely
striking ensemble, and none the less
striking for its weird resemblance to Am
bers own cast of countenance.
Indeed, their likeness one to the other
was nothing less than weird in that 1t
could be SO specifically strong. yet so
elusive. No two men were ever more I'M
like than these save In this superficial
accident of facial contours and complex
ion. No one knowing Amber Qet us say)
could ever have mistaken him for Rut-
ton. and yet any one. strange to both.
armed with a description of Rutton,
might pardonably have believed Amber
to be his man. Yet manifestly they were
products of alien races. even of different
climes-their Municipalities as dissimilar
as the poles. Where in Ruttons bearing
burned an inextinguishable. almost an in
solent pride, beneath an icelike surface of
self-cOnstraint, in Amber's one detected
merely quiet consciousness of strength
and breeding-his inalienable heritage
from many generations of Anglo-Saxon
forbears. and while Rutton continually
betrayed. by look or tone or gesture, a
birthright of fierce passions savagely
tanned, from Amber one seldom obtained
a hint of aught but the broad and humor-
Gus tolerance of an American gentleman.
But tonight the Virginian had under
gone enough to have lost much of his
habitual poise. "Hidingw he reiterated,
i'm a tone scarcely louder than a whisper.
And you have found me out. my
friend
"But-but 1 don't"
Rutton lifted a hand in depreciation.
and as he did SO the door in the rear of
the room opened and Doggott entered.
Catlike, passing behind Amber. he placed
upon the table a small tray. and from a
steaming pitcher poured him a glass of
hot spiced wine. At a look from his EN-
ployer he filled a second.
There's sandwiches. SIR" he said. the
best ! could manage at short notice. Mr..