The Blackfoot optimist. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1907-1918, 1911-11-30

- {. A.ieSiA VI DI6Il TdIh anu pressing q
mysterious little bronze box, 1.-THE To-
Ken, into his hand. disappears in the
wood. The girl calls Amber by name
CHAPTER II. (continued).
You will have It that I must sur.
render my only advantage-my in.
cognito. If tell you how happen to
know who you are. I must tell you
who I am. Immediately you will lose
interest in me, because I'm really not
at all advanced; doubt if l should
understand your book If I had to read
it."
Which heaven forfend! But why"
he insisted mercilessly, do you wish
me to be interested in you?"
She flushed becomingly at this and
acknowledged the touch with rueful,
smiling glance. But, Because I'm
interested tn you," she admitted open
ly.
And why?"
Are you hardened to such adven-
tures?" She nodded in the direction
the babu had taken. Are you &C.
customed to being treated with ex-
traordinary respect by stray Bengalis
and accepting tokens from them? Is
romance commonplace to your"
Oh" he said, disappointed, "if it's
only the adventure! OF course,
that's easily enough explained. This
half-witted mammoth-don't ask me
how he came to be here-thought he
recognized in me some one he had
known In India. Let's have look at
this token-thing."
He disclosed the bronze box and let
her take it in her pretty fingers.
1T must have secret spring." she
concluded, after careful inspection.
Il think SO, but :"
She shook it, holding it by her ear.
There's something inside-it rattles
ever so slightly. wonder!"
mo more than l."
And what are you going to dc with
IT." She returned it reluctantly.
why, there's nothing to do but
keep it till the owner turns up, that
can see."
"You won't break it open?"
ANSS uAASAA NuA AO6AIy OtcTpOW0IS
me and I've exhausted every artif1ce,
trying to find the catch"
Are you patient person, Mr.. Am
ber?"
mot extraordinarily so, Miss Far
rell."
"Oh, how did you guess?"
by remembering not to be stupid.
You are Miss Sophia Farrell, daughter
of Colonel Farrell of the British dip
lomatic service in India" He
chuckled cheerfully over his triumph
of deductive reasoning "You are Wis
tting the Quains for few days, while
en- route for India with some friends
whose name I've forgotten"
THE Rolands." she prompted in
voluntarily.
Thank you. The Rolands,
who are stopping in New York. You've
lived several years with your father
In India, went back to London to
come out and are returning, having
been presented at the court of st.
James. Your mother was an Ameri-
can girl, schoolmate of Mrs.
Quain's. I'm afraid that's the whole
sum Of my knowledge of you"
you've turned the tables fairly,
Mr.. Amber" she admitted. "And
Mr.. Quain wrote you all that?"
I'm afraid he told me almost as
much about you as he told you about
me; we're old friends. you know. And
now l come to think of it, Quain
has one of the few photographs of me
extant. So my chain of reasoning's
complete. And I think we'd better
hurry on to Tanglewood."
Indeed, yes. Mrs. Quain will be
wild with worry If that animal finds
his way back to the stable without
me; I've been very thoughtless."
How much longer shall you stay
at Tanglewood. Miss Farrell?"
''Unhappily," she sighed, II must
leave on the early train tomorrow. to
Join the Rolands in New York"
"You don't want to go?"
I'm half an American. Mr.. Amber.
I've learned to love the country al
ready. Besides. we start Immediately
for San Francisco, and it'll be such
little while before I'll be in India"
You don't care for India?"
i've known it for less than six
years, but already I've come to hate
it as thoroughly as any exiled English
woman there. It sits there like
great, Unsuitable monster, devouring
English lives. Indirectly 1t was re-
sponsible for my mothers death; she
never recovered from the illness she
contracted when my father was sta
toned in the Deccan. In the course
of time it will kill my father, just as
It did his father and his elder brother.
It's a cruel. hateful. ungrateful land
not without the price we pay for it."
Il know how you feel" he said with
sympathy. TITS been good many
years since visited India, and Of
course l then saw and heard little of
the darker side Your people are
brave enough out there"