The Washington herald., 1910-12-13
PART SECOND.
CHAPTER IV-Continued.

CHAPTER lV-Contlnued.
Jsst before came to the turn. heard
quick. sharp yelp. and a woman,s shrill
cry. Then a shot rang out. echoine
againi the hillside. ! ran round the bend
at full speed.
There was Edna with a pistol smoking
in her hand. In the path, in front of her
Nokomis lay dead. Leah. running up
from the house. had stopped behind Edna,
and stood horror-stricken. afraid TO move
It was like the scene Of a play.
7 strobe up. What's happened?" I de-
manded,
Edna dropped the pistol to her side
and looked down at the collie angriIy.
''NokOmls tried to bite me" she said
"But she'll never try 1t again. al
ways thought she was dangerous"
Give me that revolver ] said sternly.
She met my look. shrinking a little, and
handed over the weapon. / put it into
| my pocket Leah retreated fearfully 10
the house.
! First took Nokomis' body and car
ried il 10 a bed OF ferns beside the path,
/ patted her head. and left her there until
she could be buried Then l took Edna 5
arm, gently and led her away She
| told me. a little frightened now at The
| impressiveness OF my manner, that she
had met Nokomis suddenly, and, attempt
I ing to drive her away the collie had
snapped yiciously al her Edna had the
revolver which she had taken from Leah
earlier In the day still in her jacket peck
ct. and at the attack, had drawn Il and
! fired Immediately.
| / had no reproaches for her-what was
| there TO say? Even in speaking, she had
gha haPanE
as blithe and inconsequent as If moth
/ ing had happened-the only effect appar-
ent upon her was a whimsical pettish-
/ ness al my implied rebuke. She began
| 10 attempt to cajole me childishly. pat
| ting my hand, looking sauciiy up into
my face and pretending a sort Of arch
depreciation of her temper. 1t was evil
/ dent that she was not at all sorry FOR
what she had done; in fact, she seemed
| TO be secretly altogether pleased at her
/ prowess, though she covered it with con-
siderable guile.
| All the rest CT the afternoon she was IN
an excited frame OF mind. She treated
me with all her former comradeship, but
I could see that she was acting. II gave
me a new insight into the rapidity OF
| her development effected by the doctor s
| Information. She was no longer child
she was becoming complex. although still
dominated By rapidly changing moods
| new phase had indubitabiy com
menced: Il was the sign, feared, OF d
growing supremacy
That evening she wheedled me with
every art of the coquette. Her familiar
| ity seemed 10 give the lie TO the doc
tors statement about their engagement
but it might we'll be true that she was
playing him as audaciously as she was
PLAYING me I did not, of course. ask her
about IT, It did not matter.
/ If / had needed To exercise my self-re-
stralnt on that other evening when she
attempted TO provoke me. It was much
more necessary now. for she had become
less differentiated. intellectually, from
JOY: so much so. al least. as 10 permit me
at times TO give my imagination play
and fancy her for the moment, the real
JOY. my JOY. in an aliuring guise. tine
tured with wildfre. The line OF cieavagt
now was more than moral lines. Edna
mind was evolving at the expense of her
ethical nature Her temptation was se-
ductive and arrantly conceived to tor
ment me- / was sure that it was intend
ed 10 shake my allegiance 20 her riva
self. II was like playing with edged
tools 10 be alone with her. In her in
tervals Of repose she fell so naturally
INTO Joys poses that il was disconcert-
ing 1t was like the Farie Queene over
again; like an errant knight. / was con
| fronted by the image Of nay mistress so
cunningly enchanted that I could net
tell till she spoke that her body was OBJ
sessed by another spirit
She asked me much about the day be-
fore. and about what she had done and
said. As the evening wore on and she
could not defeat my continual evasions.
she began to grow sullen and reserved
Finally she appeared 30 give II up,
and went upstairs with sarcastic en-
phasis 20 her Wood night Prigln