Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1911-08-25
AFFAIR AT
4l By Burton B. IT n. E; sss s,ass.3 m.
at.-M Holiday Case" Etc
New Yorh-Henry Holt & co-sL

and yet felt chilled to the very mar
row.
Indeed. my teeth were chattering as
l CROPPED my way to the light, turned it
nearly l o'clock. The night was clear
and pleasant, with a faint breeze
stirring. There was no moon, but the
stars were shining so brightly that one
looked for 1t instinctiveiy.
knew ii was not use to return to
bed until my nerves were quieter; and,
indeed, that vision had banished all
desire for sleep; so 1 filed my pipe,
ignite II, drew up q chair and sat
down by the open window. The street
below was deserted; and for an in
slant / found my self wondering that
II was not thronged with people, reused
by n scream which had awakened
me. Then I remembered that there
nad been no scream. that / had simply
dreamed 1t.
But / had only to close my eyes TO
see again that lighted window and the
shadows on the blind. 1t seemed even
clearer to me than II had been in the
dream. l could see every detail Of the
struggle, and I opened my eyes
abruptly so hat I might escape the
END. There was something supernatural
about 1t; / had never dreamed q dream
IKE that before-a dream which, walk
ing. / could rehearse at pleasure. per
haps 1t was not wholly a vision; per
haps 1t had some foundation in real
lty, some telephathic origin. I had read
or such things, sceptically; but some
or the phenomena OF thought trans
ference had, I knew, been accepted, re-
luctantly enough. even by the scien-
tiic world.
Was it not possible that Marcia
Lawrence had been lured to the King
don cottage or taken there against her
Wilt Who could say how that old
injury done the Endicotts would
flower and fruit? Who could say what
hatred, what desire for vengeance,
ranked in the hearts Of the Kingdoms?
I remembered how the face OF the
face Of the maid had darkened with
malice, how her ayes had blazed with
Internal Joy, as she stood there In the
door OF h library, thinking herself
unseen. Her sister I knew nothing OF,
but II they resembled each other as
sisters usually do, I could well believe
them capable Of any cruelty. Was It
not possible that Marcia Lawrence
was In their hands2 Was 1t not pos
sible that my dream possessed a basis
Of reality I had been thinking Of her
all the evening; I had gone to sleep
with h problem of her disappearance
still on my mind; I had been studying
her Photograph was. in a word, in
spiritual touch with her, responsive TO
any suggestion emanating from her
we were tuned to the same pitch. Such,
l fancied, was the explanation of the
phenomena which a telepathist would
give. She had sent that cry into the
night, and I, being en- rapport with
her, a heard it-had witnessed the
tragedy which called 1t forth. Perhaps
the struggle was not yet ended; per-
haps, even at this moment
I sprang to my feet, hurried into my
clothes, caught up my hat, opened
my door and ran noiselessly down the
stair. l would solve this problem to-
night, If it could be solved. I had
been wrong in turning away from the
Kingdom cottage the evening before, /
should, at least, have made an effort
to discover If Marcia Lawrence were
really there. But 1t had not occurred
to me hen that she could be in any
danger. 1 had thought too much OF
What Curtiss would wish me TO do;
too little OF what the necessities Of
the case required. Well, l would not
make that mistake a second time.
AS l look back upon my frame of
mind at that moment and consider the
impulse which sent me forth from
room at that hour of the night.
l realize how overwrought / was. At
a distance, in cold blood, it seems an
absurd thing to have done; yet, un-
der the same conditions, ! should no
doubt behave again In much the same
way. And even admitting its absurd
ity, | am not prepared TO say, in view
Of the event, that there was not back
of it some instinct worth following.
There are forces In nature not yet ex-
planned or recognized. and I am still
inclined to think that it was one OF
these which drew me forth upon that
midnight errand.
In a very fever OF impatience. I hur-
ried along the street, under the trees,
meeting no one except q patrolman. !
heard him stop, as / passed him. and
knew that he was looking back after
me, but l kept on without pausing,
and heard him finally start on again.
In q minute more I reached the Law
place, and stopped in the
shadow Of a tree for a look around.
The house doomed through the dark
showing anywhere. / leaped the fence,
assured that / was unseen, and pushed
my way forward through the grove
toward the path which led to the
cottage.
Beneath the trees, the darkness was
absolute and ! could go forward but
slowly; yet. starting from the library
steps, / found the path without diff
hculty, and felt my way cautiously
along II, until / came to the hedge
which marked the limits OF the King
don place. I examined the house with
care, but there was fronting me no
lighted window upon which a tragedy
could be pictured. Indeed, / saw no
vestige Of a light and was about TO
conclude that my midnight pilgrim
age had been in vain, when my eye
was caught by a faint glimmer near
the ground. At first, / was not sure
Il was a light at all: then I decided
that 1t was a reflection of some sort.
perhaps a phosphorescent glow. But
as I stared at 1t, with eyes contracted.
It suddenly took shape In the dark
ness, n I saw that the light pro-
ceeded from a small ventilator set In
the foundation OF the house.
Trembling with excitement, I softly
opened the gate and entered the
grounds. Here. with nothing be-
tween me and the stars. ! suddenly
found myself In what seemed q
veritable blaze Of light. I was
seized with panic lest I be seer and
scurrfed into the shadow OF the house,
then dropped beside the ventilator and
examined II.