The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1911-08-24
THAT AFFAIR AT
.ETsTZ BY Burton E. Stevenson,
q co-1aM
New York--Henry Holt q Colon.

| WeQ-
ding dress. and there were probably a
GOOD many people standing around
watching the house, as they always do
AZ these fashionable weddings"
Pernaps something In my face be-
trayed me; at any rate, he looked at
me with sudden intent interest.
See here. Lester he said, Il believe
Not for publication"
Agreed. Now let's have it,"
Wel," I explained, I'm working for
| Curtiss. I'm trying to find Miss Law
renee. He thinks he's entitled to an
explanation"
Godfrey nodded quickly.
ANY man would think So" he said.
How are you going about it?"
| I'm going to take advantage of the
hint you just gave me-"
And go to the Kingdom house?"
| yes. believe Miss Lawrence Is
| there, myself. / thought so last night
when ! came to it after following that
path through the grove"
SO you'd discovered Il, too! Well.
wish you luck. OF course, we may be
al wrong. don't believe there are any
other pointers I can give YOU" he add
ed, or I'd be glad to. I suppose you
| saw Mrs. Lawrence?
"Oh yes"
How was she affected?"
Not SO deeply as you'd expect" /
He gazed at me with narrowed ewes.
has IT occurred to you, Lester" he
SAID, at last, that Miss Lawrence may
not nave gone away Of her own accord
at all; that there may be q plot against
her; that shel was forced to GO, or
per even shut up in some room in
Yes; I'd thought of it. I even put
1t to Mrs. Lawrence"
And what did she say?"
she laughed at me. She said her
daughter was a strong girl, who
wouldn't let herself be abducted with
out struggle, and that single scream
would have alarmed the house"
But suppose she'd been drugged,"
suggested Godfrey. Then she would
nave neither screamed nor struggled"
Ic-t night" said, a., was half in
clned to believe that something Of the
sort had happened. I'd forgotten one
fact which absolutely disproVes 1t. She
left note behind her-or, at least,
wrote 1t and sent it back after she ran
away" =
"Ah-she did?"
"Yes-a note saying the marriage
was impossible, though her love was
attempt to find her."
Godfrey sat suddenly upright with
grim countenance.
Then there's only one explanation
OF 1t" he said. There's only one thing
could make q girl drop everything and
run away like that--only one thing in
the world. She's already married. and
her first husbands turned up"
I'D thought Of that, too; but her
mother swears her daughter never had
love affair previous to this one"
or course she'd say so. Has any
other possible explanation occurred to
YOU"
NO" answered frankly. "And rye
tried mighty hard to find another"
Lets go back a bit. The discovery
whatever it was-was made at the
last moment"
"Yes-at the moment she left the
decorator and started upstairs to get
her veil"
Was 1t made accidentally?
Il don't know"
But do. 1t was not accidentally
it was by design. Things don't happen
accidentally, just I'm the nick of time"
mo-" 1 agreed, they don't"
IT was his revenge" continued God
frey, with growing excitement. HE
wanted to get even, and he waited till
the last moment. 1t was certainly
artistic"
IF he really wanted to crush her"
suggested, my lips trembling with the
horror of the thought. he'd have wait
ed little longer"
Godfrey stared at me with glittering
eyes.
You're right" he agreed, after a mo-
ment. He didn't want to get even,
then; he wanted her back. So he sent
1T wasn't letter. Perhaps it was
telegram"
mo. it wasn't a telegram looked
that up. Are you sure 1t wasn't let
ter?"
cred shortly after 8. She was happy as
usual until the moment Of her disap-
pearance. two hours later. II IL wasn't
letter or a telegram, he must have
come In person"
Godfrey sat for moment with intent
face.
Il hardly think So" he said, at last.
Some one would have noticed a
stranger, and I made special INQUIRIES
on that point, though it was a lover 7
was looking for, not a husband. u
rather imagined that there was another
man in the case, and that, at the last
moment, she decided to marry him and
ran away to do it,"
mo-" said decidedly, "she was in
love with Curtiss-passionately In love
with him."
''Well, lover or husband, don't be-
lieve he came in person. think it
much more probable that the warning
came from inside the house."
From the maid" I suggested.
Precisely" he nodded. From the
maid"
Then. suddenly recalled the sweet
face, the clear gaze
'Its a pretty theory, Godfrey" said:
but ! don't believe 1t. Have you ever
seen Miss Lawrence?"
"No--not even her photograph. III
tried to get one and failed" he added. |
with rueful countenance.
She's beautiful woman-she's
more than that-she's a good woman.
There's something Madonna-like about !
her"
Most OF the famous Madonnas." he |
said, smiling. however virginia. in APP
pearance. were anything but Madonna
like in Observation-Disclosures del Sarto's, |
for instance"
With little SILVER, remembered
Mr.. Royce's phrase-it was to the del |
Sarto Madonna he had compared heri |
Could / be wrong in my estimate of
her, after all?
There's no other theory will explain
her flight" he repeated. Presenting,
OF course. that she was sane"
she was very sane" / said, in a low
voice. She was a self-controlled, WE'LL
balanced woman"
And that she still loves Curtiss."
I'm sure she does"