Putnam patriot. [volume] (Putnam, Conn.) 1872-1962, 1910-02-25

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stop! No. no! forbid your Kit
II put her hands over her ears. She
that she would lose the heart Of the
woman It concerned Il am wrong.
wrong. have promised to follow you
Loyalty. without question. ! viii keep
that promise. I am only angry be
cause you would not let me speak to
Mr.. Hillard. He Is very handsome"
Kitty added thoughtfuily. HE II
strong too"
Strong and cruel as q tiger. How
! hate himl But thank you. Kitty:
thank you. Sooner or later. II We stay
together. I must tell you. The conf
dence Will do me good" Kitty ap-
preached. and La Signorina drew her
close. Il have wrought harm to no
one But on my side they viii tell you
that l have been terribly wronged.
And ali wish Is to be left alone.
alone Ii Wis cruel of me to forbid
you to speak to Mr. Hillard. But
wish him TO reeoIlect me pleasantly.
as a whimsical being who came into
his life one night and vanished out of
it in two hours"
But supposing the memory cuts
deeply" yentured Kitty. Men fall
in love with less excuse than this
"Nonsense." La Signorina opened
the window to air the room. She lin
gered. musing "You are very good to
me. Kitty"
Il can't help being good to you. you
strange. lovely woman. for your sake
as well as for mine. Now l am going
TO write a letter"
La Signorina still fingered by the
window
Merrihew was pocketing currency In
exchange for his gold when Hillard
passed an open letter to him:
My Dear Mr. Hillard--Do not seek US
It will be useless II Mr.. Merrihew 10
with you. tell him that some day | will
explain away the mystery. But this
please make plain to htm-R he insists
upon searching for me he will only double
my unhappiness.
KITTY KILLIGREw.
Merrfhew soberiy tucked the letter
away. u knew It." be said simply
"She II In some trouble O. other. some
tangle. and fears to drag US into It
Who left . letter here this morningi"
he asked Of the coscierge.
"A small boy from villefranche."
"Just my luck" said Aerrihew.
aid that Il wouA b Of NO use to
hunt IN the smalles bowaaL Well We
had better take the bagGaee back to
the roe0A A. eotag - Vile
franehe."
~You wiS b. vaseing tins. After
what Aappesed last nighG An certain
they VIII b. gone. LIT - respect thslr
planA hasd - Il nay $500 - ycl"
sBus yoeT
s.oh, don't bother about n have
seiegated my little romance to the gar
ret Of no account things. At least for
the present" said Hiilard. with an
enigmatical smile. make up your
mind-we hare only twenty minutes."
.sOh. divine .a61atusi And yos lay
down the chase % readily - thar
Merrihew was sccrnfully Indignant
II would travel the breadth OF the
continent were I sure Of meeting this
woman. But she has become . will-o'-
the wisp. and | am too old and like
comfort too well to pursue impossible
titles"
But why did she leave you that
mask?" demanded Merrihew. "She
must have meant something BY that"
True. but for the life OF me ] can't
figure out what"
But l don't like the idea Of leaving
Kitty this way without q final effort
to rescue her from the clutches Of this
fascinating adventures"
II admit nothing. my boy. save that
the keenness of the chase is gone. As
for Kitty. she's q worldly little woman
and can take good care Of herself
Her letter should be sufficient"
But it isn't A woman's don't Of
ten means do II Kitty really expects
me to search for her and l do not she
will never believe In me again"
perhaps your knowledge Of women
is more extensive than mine." said
Hnla-d.
70 battery did not appeal to
Nerribew. "Boshl There's something
you haven't told me about that makes
you % Indifferent"
This was q shrewd guess. but Hi
lard had his reasons for not letting bis
friend zee how close be had shot. "A
ladyf Grace Of Mary. that il drotlw
He could not cast this out Of his
49, He 6oassd between tnis
p>ease And Mira Sandford's frank de-
1ense e her girihood friend
.rims Afas." he warned "Wh'eh >
I te bef
sWer - ON to venice II would b.
folly Tor - to continue the hunt
Aiona.~
A Z ehaf evening they stepped
sut Of the station 40 venice-the blue
twiilxht Of veaiee that curves down
from the hollow Aeesens. softeuing .
bit Of uxliness here. Accenfuating bit
- poveliness there. Rere Merrfhew
found one Of his dreams come true.
and his frst vision sf the Grand canal
sith its gondolas and barses and queer
little bobtaiied skihs. vas never TO
leave him Hillard hunted for his old
rondolier. but could not dn1 hin 30
be chose one AchiIle. No ia With
their trunks. which they bad picked
up at Genoa. and small luggage u the
hotel barge they had the gondosa al
to themselves.
Instead az following the Grand canal
AehiIlr snnk fh> short cut through TIE
ehooaep0n CRY
SO q gTeDeDsH