The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1911-08-03
AFFAIR AT
A. By Burton 3 sss an;s ss s,:..ss =.
Eonsday Case" Ec
New ork-Hn Holt & Co.lar
New Holt & Co.-lso7.

house? Was 1t here that Miss Law
renee had found refuge? And as I
turned this question over and over in
my mind, staring reflectively at the
lighted window before me. Il seemed
70 me more and more probable that J.
had already reached the end Of my
search. The fugitive must have escaped
py. some avenue screened from the
public gaze, else she would surely have
been noticed. She must have known
a place Of refuge before she started:
a woman OF her self-poise would not
rush wildly forth with no goal in view.
And, lastly, that goal must have been
close at hand, Or she could not have
escaped discovery.
The house before me answered all
OF these conditions. but how could /
make certain that Miss Lawrence was
really there? Suppose I burst in upon
her, what could I say7 I could not ask
her to tell me the story-indeed, I would
not even know her II I met her face to
race. l must see the photograph, first,
which Curtiss had promised to leave
for me at the hotel.
Besides, asked myself-and In this
matter, l confess, I was very willing
to be convinced-would 1t not be wiser.
more merc1ful. to wait till morning, till
the first shock was past, till she had
time TO rally a little. to get her calm
ness back? Then, I could dare to APP
proach her, to show her how she had
wronged Burr Curtiss, to persuade her
TO see him. 1t were better for both
her and Curtiss that they should net
meet for a day or two; they would have
need OF all their courage; all their self
control, for that meeting must reveal
a secret which it chilled me to think
OF. At least, 1 would try to force no
entrance to the cottage now. I shrank
from any show Of violence. Curtiss
would countenance nothing of that sort.
10 approach the cottage now, while
the maid was within, would be a tacti-
cal error-would be to court failure.
She could easily prevent my seeing her
mistress-she would, no doubt, shut the
door in my face. Why should I show
her that I suspected Miss Lawrence's
place of refuge? Why put her on her
guard and urge the fugitive to farther
light? How much wiser to wait until
the maid was absent, till 1 could make
sure of seeing Miss Lawrence, and
then calmly and clearly lay the case
before her. Yes. decidedly, 1 would
wait. I even found it in my heart to
regret that I had already showed the
maid SO much of my suspicious.
would better have kept them to myself.
Convinced by this last argument, I
made my way back to the street, and
as l passed the Lawrence grounds /
was impressed again by their extent
and excellent order. AT the front gate
a curious crowd still fingered, staring
at the sileslt darkened house, whose
drawn blinds gave no hint of life with
in, or listening to the knowing gossip
of three or four alert young fellows
whom recognized as reporters. There
was still a policeman there, and he was
quite willing to be drawn into talk
to tell all he knew, and much that he
did not know.
Who lives in that cottage back yon-
der?" | asked, after an unimportant
question or two.
THE Kingdom sisters" he answered.
The youngest one works in the Law
renee house-a maid or something"
The crowd had collected about us
and was listening with ears intent;
caught a quick glitter of interest in
the y e Of the reporters; SO / ended
the talk abruptly by asking the way 10
the Sheridan house.
Right down the street, sir" he said.
You can't miss ia big square build
ing on the orner.'
AS I thanked him and turned away, !
caught the cry of neWsboyS down the
street, and in a m they Were
among the crowd and were selling their
papers right and left. Both the Leader
and the Journal, stirred to unusual en-
terprise by the days events, had evil
IDENTIFY made use of the largest and
| blGGhco ~ pc ut lllelT COMMAND TO aQU
emphasis to their headlines. l bought
copies of both papers, and hurried OF
to the Sheridan, for l was becoming
disagreeably conscious that | had eaten
no lunch that day. l found the hotel
without difficulty and after registering
sat down in the office and opened thu
papers. The reporters, no doubt. woulc
save me a lot of trouble.
The scene at the church had beer
even more sensational thar l had pic
tured it, for evidently the Lawrences
were a more important family socially
than l a imagined, and the list OF
guests had been correspondence large
They had gathered, had gossiped. haG
admired the decorations and criticised
each others gowns; a murmur of salts
faction had greeted the whispered an
nouncement that the groom and his
best mar were waiting in the study;
the organist played a selection or two
and then stopped, eNpectant. ready tt
begin the wedding march. The ring.
ing of bells and blowing of whistles an.
nounced the noon hour, but the bride
had not arrived. Then, from some.
where, came the sudden whisper thai
something was ron A SILVER rar
through the crowd as two carriage:
drew up at the church door. Heads
were craned and a sigh of relief RAJ
around as the bridesmaids were seer
to alight. But where was the bride
There was no bride! The bride hat
disappeared!
Uneas;ness changed to wonder. won.
der to astonishhment, as h details
were gradually CLEANED from the ex.
carnations of the excited young WON.
en-: tongues began to wag, innocentls
at first. then, inevitably, with a touch
Of malice, for the BRIDES action hat
been a direct affront to all these PEG.
pie. Many of them, usually we'll bred
waited IN the hope of catching &
glimpse of the grc6m's face as he hur-
ried away. Both he and Mrs. Law.
renee had been protected from the re.
p%orters, but the decorator and some O.
the Lawrence servants had evidentl1
made the mos Of thc.- opportunities
for the papers had the details of tn,
disappearance substantially as 1 hat
learned them. And nobody had beer
found who had seen the bride leave thu
house, or had caught a glimpse of he:
during her fight.
That was the gist of the information
contained in the papers. Both of then
gave to much speculation as tt
the reason for this remarkable event
but plainly both We're wholly a
sea and had no theory to fit tn