The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1910-08-30
Mrs. POrter'S Jade Pendant E=.s.l S2S.54 Mile

it tEouELtfuIIy. Then he rose and
laid x on her desk
Il THINK, as things are now, I can
safely rely on your doing the square
No" she corrected, what you
wholly IN your power, and II 1 do not
return Mrs. POTter's stolen ornament
that you viii
Il would prefer" she said, with a
strange Eentleuess- that you would
undertake its return
He raised his eyebrows in aStoniSh-
Elent Then, with an expressive
sEruE, ne again possessed himself Of
the package
Very well" he said. i shall be
glad TO accommodate you. ] suppose
there IS nothing more Shall / bid
you good afternoon"
He rose. and she stood watching him
paIneIlcailE- At the door ne turned
again. and met the swift entreaty
TI-ey glowed WITH passionate pro-
test Oliver made a quick move to-
ward her, and her eyelids lowered
Look at mel' he commanded,
Yes she said. striving 70 meet
his Imperative gaze
He stood directly in front Of her
now, and he laid his hands, one on
either slender shoulder.
7 want 10 tell you something" he
said i don't believe YOU stole that
-'Ah,'- she breathed exuItantIy., Then
she caught back the half-whispered
eJacula ton - by don't you p she
asked fercely- You see / had it,
he paused thOUghtfully. Then he
hazarded a puSe bluff
You. xern't, at Mrs Porter's recep-
ton. that's why"
Who told you that?- she cried 4
was 70 = We gone At the last moment
had Headache. Perhaps was there
later
The reaction caused Oliver to laugh.
i don't care" he said reckIeSSIy- 1T
wouldn't have made any difference in the
!. long run, anyway. I should have come
. PACK Tor You Just the same Only IL
. hurt, I know you weTn't there. Why2
Because If you had been I would have
seen Z. he finished, TTiumphantIy-
Then ~ moment he stood deep in
thought
The other Ietter-you remember he
asked at last
She nodded
4 know who wrote it. I remember
the name now 'Hiil-an old friend OF
Mrs Porter-s who had been many years
abroad she read over some OF the
names He wrote that other letter I
am sure. And he is your
SSH For Gods sake. not so loud.
On. how did YOU guess it, Does any
body suspect ! tried SO hard to keep
II secret-I-- Oh, wat shall I do2 1
beE-I implOre you
4nere- Please not a1OtbeT word.
Your fathers secret is as safe with me
dS though II was bun led in the grave, -
he replied softly. taking her hand
! think 1 understand he continued
There was no reason Why he should
have taken il, only -
You see she said, stepping closer TO
him and half whispering I may as
well tell you It has been that way
often He has little Spells Of sickness,
and then he is like th8- He is really
just a little-nOt in his mind You un-
derStand2-'
Oliver nodded sympatheticaIly
Yes he said, Il do
II try to keep him home when know
he IS that way, or 1 go with him I can
always watch him when I am with MIN.
Just q touch on his arm. and he comes
TO himself But that night, you see. I
was i'll. and I could not 90. 1 PLEADED
with him to stay at home. but he would
not You see, he and Mrs Porter had
been such friends years ago. and We
have been back in America Only a little
while So he feIt that he had to go
She paused and sighed Then she
went on
81 was half dead with fear the whole
. evening When he came home ] found
the pendant in his pocket. He did not
know II was there He hasn't mention
ed IL TO ne He has no idea that he
took IT Why, you see. he even wrote to
her, telling her how sorry he felt.
when 1 found it. 1 knew that
would have TO get rid Of il quickly until
perhaps somebody bSd seen him take it