Mrs. Grundy. (Tracy City, Tenn.) 1903-1930, 1911-03-09
AT V Y Y Y
BANNEJ TER MFRWIlJ
XxExzSxRAzyONc BY
RAY WALTER y
BY
coeYnrcfsr 1909 " popo rzvAp y oor1pAPS,-

attitudes OF the others Crne would not
have known but that she had gone Az
1t WAS. he could read In their bearing
the disconcerting effects OF her contin.
ued disdain.
The japanese spoke. will you en-
ter. miss. or shall we direct you ON
your way? Arima will come cut and
talk with you. II you o wish"
Still no answer. To Orme, In his
hiding there was something Ineenny
In her failure to respond. But he could
picture her-Truth. calm in the pres.
enee OF subterfugs.
VIII You not state your desircy"
Again the Japanese lie WAS smiling
now. with the false .cliteness Of his
race.
And then she spoke: THAT envelope
ON the floor was stolen from my faith.
er's home. 1t bears my tRthsr's
name"
Before Alcatrante could stop him
little Porttol. with come vague hope Of
making amends, had snatched Up the
torn envelope and taken II 10 her. lie
returned to the range Of Orme's vision
with an air OF virtuous Importance.
THE contents said tbs gtrl--
where are the papers7'
Alcatrante and the japanese looked
at each other. II was az II they said.
In view Of our failure we might a.
well make a clean breast Of It," But
Alcatrante was too cunning to take the
initiative In confession He eft that
to the Japanese. who spoke urhesi
tatingly.
The only papers IN the enveicpv
were these" He picked up the torn
prospectuses from the hoor and held
them extended In his hand. Our sur
prise Ia as great as yourS"
do you expect me to believe that =
whether you believe it or not. my
dear young lady. II Is true
There was moment of silence, then
the Japanese continued: we have rea-
son to think that the envelope was for
time last night In the possession of
an American, and that he substituted
| tAhSSS vi 1uluiS IM& AEA~
velope may have held"
Orme's impulse to declare himself
was almost irresistible. A man whose
instincts were less cautious would have
thrown the table over and ranged him
self beside the girl. Orms was not
fearful, but he knew that the chances
of successful outcome would be les
sened by exposure Even II he and the
girl got safely from the room, there
would be pursuit. and the rtsk os
losing the papers would be great
As for the girl. abe clearly was I'm ne
danger. These men would not harm
her.
But would the assertion of the lana.
nese lead her to doubt Ormer Would
she believe that he had actually re-
covered the papers the night before
and kept them for his own purposes :,
He remembered that he had given her
only the scantiest account of his adj
venture at the tree, for he had wished
to spare her the details Of an incident
that meant her disappointment as well
as his own. She might now readily at
tribute his reticence to a desire to
conceal something.
And then came her dice. Her first
words brought glow to Orme's heart:
Il know that you are mistaken. No
American has those papers" Orme
breathed his relief. Then she added
the dubious word-"Unless--"
So she did doubt him after all. Well
he could not blame her. The scene In
the room-the frankness of the Japa.
nese, which could only be attributed
to discontinue; the empty envelope:
| the torn prospectuses on the floor, all
these conditions pointed to the truth OF
the explanation she had heard.
On the other hand. there was his ap
pearSnce on the lake, an hour or more
after the episode on the campus Might
it not occur to her that, had he already
secured the papers, he would have had
no object In the further pursuit Of the
Japanese? But, perhaps she would
think that he was seeking Arima to
sell the papers back to him; or that,
In spite OF his appearance OF surprise
he had been a witness of her abduo
ton and had gone out on the water to
save her. There were so many things
she might think! Indeed, that dubious
word unless might even signify,
unless he has secured the papers
since | last saw him But no; she
would gather from thu situation In
which she found her enemies that the
envelope had not been out of their pos
session since It was taken from the
tree. Orme shut his lips hard. Her
doubt of him would have to be en-
dured, even though It shattered his
pleasant dream of her complete and
sympathetic understanding.
Alcatrante, meantime, was studying
the girl with curious eyes. His Ioos
was both perplexed and admiring.
GRO BE CONTINUEDJ