Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1911-09-15
cHAPTER XIEI-lcontlnuedl.

- - NADNAAs 4 SAOuAu DC dt Zig OA4l|S
In, say, 40 minutes. I would wire Cur
tss at once and the rest would be IN
his hands. My connection with the
case would ersd. And yet, il was not
without a certain regret that l would
r~elinQuish it-for / had not solved the
mystery; that was, il anything, more
impenetrable h when ! had first alp
preached ii. Godfrey's specious theory
which ] had myself at first believed
Fl put aside, for, even from the broken
sentences which had fallen from Mrs.
Lawrence's lips, / could see that it
was not the right one. II Marcia Law
renee had fled in order to protect the
memory of the dead, there could be
no question of a living husband. But
though / rejected that explanation,
1t was evident that, with the data at
hand, l could form no adequate one
to replace it.
l went yer In my mind every phase.
of the affair from first to last; l en-
deayored to sift out the significant in
cidents and to reject the immaterial;
| tried to weld them into a compact
mass, but they would not be welded.
There was nothing TO connect them.
no common thread upon which they
could be strung; all that l had in my
possession was a bundle of facts which
seemed to be fatty self contradictory.
I remembered Mrs. Lawrence's as
constituent when I had mentioned the
existence Of the letter. What had she
said? II thought it was that woman!"
Which woman? Evidently the elder
Kingdom, since she had at once sent
for her. That had been my suspicion
that 1t was she or her sister who
had betrayed the secret. Yet the let
ter would scom to prove that 1t was
some one else. And it struck me as
significant that at no time had Mrs.
Lawrence appeared to suspect the
maid.
Was there really any connection, 1
wondered, between that old tragedy
in Mrs. Lawrence's life and this in the
life Of her daughter? l reviewed again
the story DIR. Schuyler had told me.
How the lives Of the Fndicotts and
the Kingdoms and the Lawrences had
interwined. l got out my notebook and
sketched a. rough table showing their
relationship,
AS I gazed down at this, two names
seemed to stand out more wildly
than all the rest. / closed my eyes
and called before me the faces OF two
beautiful women / had never seen
either Of them IN the Hfe-of one, /
had only a photograph; Of the other
I had seen only a crude portrait in
the parlor of the Kingdom cottage
SNN NAASJ AAS~A AN ~ ~
me personalities distinct n vivid.
Marcia Lawrence and Ruth Endicott
the tragedy Of fate linked them to-
gether. Beautiful, young, accomplished,
reared amid gentle surroundings, both
had tasted the bitterness Of life. From
the very house whence Marcia Law.
renee fed, Ruth Endicott had started
on her hopeless search for health.
The train slowed up for Jersey City
and in a moment was rolling under the
great shed. Twenty minutes later /
opened our office door. Mr.. Royce
had gone out Tor ~lunch-which re-
minded me that / had missed mine
again-but he came in almost imme-
diately.
"Well?" he cried, as he crossed the
threshold and came forward with ex-
pectant face.
You'd better wire Curtiss to come
back" / said.
you've news fc- him."
I nodded.
Il knew you'd have" he said ex-
Lltantly, and drew a pad of telegraph
forms toward him and wrote a rapid
message. "CurtisS is staying at a lit
lie place On Jamaica bay. He was
afraid to go any farther away l sup
pose. He ought to be here In an hour"
he added, and called a boy and gave
him the message.
Then he swung around to me again.
Now, let's have h story" he
prompted. Il know there's a story"
Yes" said; there's a story. 1
was just"
The door burst open with q crash
and in came Burr Curtiss himself.
Il couldn't stay away any longer"
he cried. Il was eating M heart out.
Have you any news2"
sit down. Curtiss, n pull your
self together" i~nterposed our junior,
catching him by the arm. This won't
do. l just wired you to come on. You
must have met the boy"
~ believe l did knock over a young
ster Just outside the door.
We'll, there's no damage done, I
guess. Since you're here, Lester, you
Gan go right ahead with the story"
But one thing first" interrupted
u client. Did you find u where
she went, Mr.. LESTER"
NO" l answered. But I nave
message from her."
Thank God" he murmured, and
sank back IN his chair. l guessed what
his fear had been-that Marcia Law
was no longer among the liv-
Ing.
Looking at him closely / was
shocked at the change g single day
had wrought In him.. His eyes were
.ploodsbot from want of sleep, his face
pale and drawn. his hair and beard
lnkempt. In a word, he a ceased
to be the handsome, well roomed man
the world knew as Burr Curtiss.
/ related my doings briefly, includ-
ing only the essential points. Then I
placed the message in his hands. He
read II, his face quivering.
But this tells us nothing" he said
hoarsely. looking up at me with piteous
eyes.
Except that she was In New York
this morning-and wants to light her
battle out by herself"
Curtiss was on his feet, his face iiy!d. !
"2ut she siian't night It out by her
self" he cried. do you think I'm such
q coward as that-to stand back. not
offering to help2"
Perhaps you can't help" I inter-
posed.
Don't talk nonsense" he retorted.
II beg your pardon, Mr.. Les
ter, but I'm overwroughtII can't
choose my words. But 1t Is nonsense.
] Low her-of course / can help. Don't
You see, It's not herself she's thinking
dishes trying to spare me-"
I nodded. Perhaps 1t was for his
sake that Marcia Lawrence had taken
that Wfld sfap That xyonl1 r. ~.