Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1911-08-11
CHAPTER vI--(Continued.)


"or, at least" I persisted, pressing
my advantage, "if you know why your
daughter fed, you might yourself tell
Mr.. Curtis
Again she stopped me.
'The secret is not mine" h said
hoarsely.
Whose is it? Who has the right to
tell?"
mo one!"
And you will let It wreck two lives? p
/ saw the pasm of pain which
crossed her face. She must yield; a
moment more. and I should know the
secret!
"Tomorrow-give me till tomorrow"
she cried. Perhaps you're right
must Think cannot decide now-in-
stantly. There are SO man things to
considerable dead as well as the liv-
ing"
Very WELL" I agreed. II Will call
tomorrow morning"
11-not before"
Tomorrow at IL, then. And l hope
you'll decide, Mrs. Lawrence, to help
me all you can. The living come be-
fore the dead"
She bowed without replying, and see
ing how deadly white h was, ]
checked the words which rose to my
lips and let myself out into the hall.
The maid was standing just outside
the door. 1 wondered how much she
had heard of what had passed with
In.
zone moment" I said, as she start
ed for the stairway, and / stepped
again into Miss Lawrence's room.
1t had grown too dark there to see
anything distinctly, for this room was
not flooded, as her mothers had been,
by the last rays of the sun, but in a
-.s4,ANl -. f1a lsrhf UIa
maid stared from the threshold, her
face dark with anger, but not daring
TO interfere.
This is the dressing table, isn't it?'
] asked, walking toward it.
Eyes, sir" she answered sullenly.
"It was here you found the letter."
Eyes, SIR"
"You persist in that farce?" I de-
manded, wheeling round upon her.
She did not answer, only stared back
without fiinching. l realized that here
was a will not easily overcome.
VERY WELL" l said quietly at last,
"I shall get along then in spite Of you"
and 1 returned to my inspection of the
room.
There was q writing desk in one cor
ner, with pens, ink and paper. / picked
up a sheet of paper and looked at it;
! dipped a pen in the ink and wrote
q few words upon it; then l blotted it,
folded it and placed it in my pocket.
Nov we can 60" l said, and
switched off the light.
She led the way down the stairs with
out replying.
MY hat is in the library" I said,
as we reached the foot, and l turned
down the lower hall.
The library was ever darker than the
room upstairs had been, for the trees
around the house seemed to shadow
especially the windows Of this wing. l
noted how the windows extended to the
floor and opened upon a little balcony.
One of the windows was open, and l
went to it Int looked out. A fight of
steps connected one end of the bal
cony with the ground, and / fancied
from the steps | could discern a faint
pathway running away among the
trees.
A conclusive sob at the door brought
me around. 1t was the maid, who had
entered and was glazing at me with a
face to which the growing darkness
gave an added responsiveness. The sob,
which had more of anger than of sor-
row in it, had burst from her %involun-
tarily, called forth, no doubt, by her
inability to hinder me in my ~investiga-
tons, to show me the door, to kick me
out I could see her growing hatred
Vi XIX III iIG GA CS, III liIc grip VI Lie
hands she pressed against her bosom;
and a certain reciprocal anger arose
within me.
Here is a handkerchief of your mis-
tress," l said, plunging my hand into
my pocket and drawing forth the
square of lace. please return it TO
her wardrobe. It's valuable" / added,
with a sudden burst of inspiration; "es-
p~ecially so, since it's her bridal hand
k~erchief."
kerchief with a hand that shook con
vulsively, and / determined to risk a
second guess.
"She left it here" I said "She left
1t here when she went out by yonder
window and ran through the grove.
Shall l tell 0 where she went? But
you know!"
II do mott" burst from her. It's a
lie!'
"You know / repeated remorseless
ly. You followed her there. 1t was
there she wrote that note which you
brought back with you and which you
found On her dresser"
mo, no." The words were two sobs
rather than two articulate sounds.
Don't lie to me! If the note was
written here, why did she used a writ
ing paper different from her own?
You're playing with fire! Take care
that it doesn't burn you!"
But I had touched the wrong note.
Burn mel" she cried. you think
you can frighten me! Well, you can't
I'm not that kind"
And indeed as / looked at her, / saw
that she spoke the truth.
Very WELL" 1 said; do as you think
best. I've warned YOU" and without
waiting for her to answer, I passed
before her down the hall. not withou,
the thought that she might plunge q
knife into my back-she was certainly
that kind! I opened the door myself
and closed 1t behind me, then started
down the walk. But in a moment,
lodged aside among the trees and hast.
ened around the house. I was determ.
ined to follow that path which started
from the library balcony-I must see
whittier Ii led.