Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1911-08-03
THAT AFFAIR AT
BY BY Burton ts F: Stevenson,
HoHGday Case. Etc
New York-Henry Holt & Co-1aG
CHAPTER v-(continued.)

Il don't Rather the contrary"
IT'S a LITTLE out of our line he add
cd. but for a friend-and | certainly
pity the psor fellow-we lawyers have
to do peculiar things sometimes"
i've dore more peculiar ones than
this" 1 said. This is. at bottom, mere
ly q matter Of finding an Important
witness who is missing
THANK you, Lester" he said. and
held out his hand. II didn't want to
seem to be imposing on YOU"
You're not" I assured him again,
and rose. Nov l think I'd better be
getting to work"
Can l be of any help?" he asked,
rising too. III not, I'll take the four
ten back to New York. / think Curtiss
needs q little looking after. III hunt
him up and take him with me. Be
sides. my wife is so wrought up over
this affair that she wants to get home"
need some n to protect him from the
reporters. It's a wonder they haven't
freed him before this"
"They tried to-" said Mr.. Royce. smil-
Ing grimly. Il succeeded in keeping
them of. He was too preoccupied to
notice. There's nothing else l can
do7"
mo. 1 think not. II l need you. I'll
WIRE"
you won't need me-" and he smiled
again. You know I'm no good u, this
kind OF work"
Il know you'll be working harder
than I will, keeping up with things at
the office"
Don't worry about that. You in
tend to stay here"
YES; but only for a day or two, 1
trust. I can't think 1t a very difficult
task to find a young woman who has
run away in broad daylight in her we'd
S1(,o~ a~1~1, Corrohn1N must h0 Na ahn
her-that is, If she ran away at ALL"
NC doubt" he agreed. "Of course
you'll find her-it's not about that I'm
worrying so much: it's about her mo-
tive for doing such a thing. 1t seems
~preposterous to suppose that II woman
an hour before her wedding. Curtiss
saw her at 10 o'clock n found her
happy, yet an hour later she had taken
this desperate step. l wonder, Lester,
IL you realize just how desperate 1t
was1"
well. I'm free to confess l didn't I'M
til l saw it's effect on my wife. Why,
Lester, 1t was suicidal-it mean social
ostracism-no less. Even il 1t doesn't
altogether ruin her life. it will always
shadow it. It's something h can
outlive."
"Yes," 1 said again; Its all that"
And yet she was a thoughtful, self
controlled. well-balanced omar who
would foresee all this-who would real
lee the consequences more clearly than
We can do. Lester-what was it drove
her to it?" :
"Ah. IL I only knew. But I'm going
to find Quit"
II hope you willard yet I fear it,
too. I'm afraid to think of tim
afraid to try to guess the secret-1'm
afraid I'll unearth some grisly, loath-
some skeleton. which should never have
seen the light! But I'm sure OF one
thing" he added. his face hardening.
81 think you suspected, too"
What was that""
"Whatever the secret is, Mrs. Law
renee knows it,
Eyes," l Z agreed. II believe she does"
"And had a hand in her daughters
disappearance"
yes" / said again. II think that
very likely"
He stood for a moment longer, look
ing at me as though half inclined to
a something more; then he shook
hands abruptly and left the room.
As turned to sit down again, I no
ticed. In the chair from which l had
arisen, something white crushed into
one corner OF the seat. I picked 1t up.
It was a handkerchief of dainty lace
and 1t was damp-with tears?