The Hattiesburg news., 1910-02-21

my pillow and . hidden dagger. late
the bargain. in my possession had
been found trAveling,bag containing
the dead mass pocketbook.
In my favor was NcKnight's theory
against Mrs. Conway. She had Q mo
tive for wishing to secure the notes.
/: she believed was in lower ten, and
/! she had collapsed At the discovery Of
the crime in the morning.
Against both Of these theories, &C.
cuse purely chimerical person
named Sullivan, who was not seen
by any Of the survivors-save one,
/ Alison, whom could not bring into
the case. l could find a motive for
his numbering his father-in-law, whom
he hated, but again-I would have
to drag in the girl.
And not one Of the theories ex-
planned the telegram and the broken
necklace.
Outside the ONCE force was arriv-
ing. They were comfortably ignorant
Of my presence, and over the transom
noated scraps of dialogue and the
stenographer's gurgling laugh. Nc
Knight had a relative, who was read
ing law with him, in the intervals be-
tween calling up the young women of
his acquaintance. He came in sing
ing, and the Office boy joined in with
the uncertainty of voice of IL. l
smiled grimly. l was too busy with
my own troubles to find any Joy in
opening the door and startling them
into silence. I even heard, without
resentment, Blobs of the uncertain
voice inquire when Blake" would be
back.
l hoped Mcknight would arrive be-
fore the arrest occurred. There were
many things to arrange. But when at
last, impatient of his delay, l tele-
phoned, found he had been gone for
more than an hour. Clearly he was
not coming directly to the Office, and
with such resignation as could
muster l paced the floor and waited.
l felt more alone than have ever
felt in my life. Born an orphan" as
Richey said, had made my own way,
carved out myself such success as
had been mine. l had built up my
house Of life on the props Of law and
order, and now some unknown hand
had withdrawn the supports, and
stood among ruins.
l suppose it is the maternal in q
| woman that makes q man turn to her
when everything else fails The eter-
nal boy in him goes to have his
wounded pride bandaged, his tattered
self-respect repaired. If he loves the
woman, he wants her to kiss the hurt.
The longing to see Alison, always
with me, was stronger than l was
that morning. 1t might be that I
would not see her again. l had moth
ing to say to her save one thing and
that, under the cloud that hung over
me, I did not dare to say But want
ed to see her, to touch her hand-as
only a lonely man can crave it,
wanted the comfort of her, the peace
that lay in her presence. And so, with
every step outside the door a threat,
I telephoned to her.
She was gone! The disappoint-
ment was great, for my need was
great. In = fury Of revolt against the
scheme of things, I heard that she
had started home to Richmond-but
that she might still be caught at the
station.
To see her had by that time become
an obsession. l picked up my hat,
threw open the door, and, obvious Of
the shock to the Office force of my
presence, followed SO Immediately
by my exit, dashed out to the ele-
vator. Az I went down In one cage
caught a glimpse OF johnson and
two other men going up in the next.
hardly gave them q thought. There
was no hanson in sight, and jumped
on q passing car. Let come what
might, arrest, prison, disgrace, I was
going to see Alison.
saw her. l Aung into the station,
saw that It was smpty-empty. for
she was not there. Then I hurried
back to the gates. She was there, .
familiar Agure in blue, the very gown
in which l always thought Of her, the
one she had worn when, Heaven help
mel had kissed her, at the Carter
farm. And she was not alone. Bend
ing over her, talking earnestly, with
all his boyish heart in his face, was
Richey.
They did not see me, and I was
glad Of it. After all. 1t had been
Meningitis game first. I turned on
my heel and made my way blindly
out Of the station. Before l lost them
turned once and looked toward
them, standing apart from the crowd,
absorbed in each other. They were
the only two people on earth that l
cared about, and l left them there to-
gether. Then I went back miserably
to the Office and awaited arrest