The Ocala evening star., 1911-06-22
The House
of the
Whispering
Pines
By ANNA KATHARINE GREEN
Copyright. 1910, by Anna Katharine
Rohlfs
CHAPTER Y.
HELEN SURPRISES swEETwATER.

| gone off decorously at the grave and
! that nothing further had occurred dur
| ing their absence to disturb them.
| He followed them as they filed away
into the kitchen and. waiting till the
| men had gone about their work. turn
| ed his attention to the girls. who
stood about very much as if they did
not know just what to do with them
| selves.
"Sit. ladies'" said he. drawing up
| chairs quite as if he were doing the
honors Of the house. You're all up
set, you are. by what Mr.. Cumberland
| said in such an unbecOming way at
| the funeral He'd like to strangle Mr..
| RanelaghI Why couldn't he wait for
| the sheriff? 1t looks as if that gen.
tleman would have the job. all right"
"Oh. DON'T walled out one of the
girls. the impressionable. warm heart
| ed Maggie. The horrors of this
house will kill me. ! can't stand it a
minute longer. I'll go-Tll go to-mor-
row.
"You won't; you're too kind hearted
to leave Mr.. Cumberland and his sis
ter in their desperate trouble" Sweet
water put in. with a decision as sug-
gestive of admiration as he dared to
assume
Her eyes filed. and she said no
more. Sweetwater shifted his atten-
ton to Helen. Working around by
her side. he managed to drop these
words into her ear:
"She talks most. but she doesn't feel
her responsibilities any more than you
do. I've had my experience with wo-
| men. and you're of the sort that
stays"
She rolled her eyes toward him in a
slow. surprised way that would have
abashed most men.
81 don't know your name or your
business here" said she. but l do
know that you take a good deal upon
yourself when you say what 1 shall
do or shan't do. l don't even know
myself
! With the most innocent air in the
world he launched forth in TRADE
against the man then in custody. as
though his guilt were an accepted fact
and nothing but the formalities of the
law stood between him and his fna
doom. "It must make you all fee
queer" he wound up. Ito think you
have waited on him and seen him
tramping about these rooms for months
just as IL he had no wicked feelings
in his heart and meant to marry Miss
Cumberland-not to kill her"
"Oh. Oh"' Maggie sobbed out. "AnG
perfect gentleman he was too.
can't believe no bad Of him. He was
not like Her breath caught and SC
suddenly that Sweetwater was always
convinced that the more cautious Heller
had twitched her by her skirt. Like
like other gentlemen who came here
1t was a kind word he had or a smile
II She made no attempt to finish
but bounded to her feet, pulling VI
the more sedate Helen with her. Let:
CO." she whispered. 'T'm afeared OF
the man.
The other yielded and began to eros:
the floor behind the impetuous Mag
gle.
Sweetwater summoned up his cour
age.
"One moment" he prayed. "Wil
you not tell me before you go whethe
the candlestick | have noticed on ths
dining room mantel is not one Of {
pair?"
Eyes; there were two-once." sait
Helen. resisting Maggie's effort to dras
her out through the open door.
Once smiled Sweetwater; ''b.
which you mean three days ago"
A lowering of her head and a suddel
make for the door.
-l~ 1T 60
of simple inquiry.
"And was that where they alway!
stood, the pair of them. one on eacl
end of the dining room mantel?"
She nodded, involuntarily perhaps
but decisively.
Sweetwater hid his disappointment
The room mentioned was thorough
fare for the whole family. Any mem
Der of 1t could have taken the candle
stick.
I'm obliged to you," said he ant
might have ventured further had sh'
given him the opportunity. But she
was too near the door to resist tht
temptation Of flight. In another mo
found himself alone with his retlec
tiOnS.
The moon shone that night, much t
Sweetwater's discOmforture.
The house presented an equally dolor
Gus and forsaken appearance, and il
the stable it was no better Zadol
had bought an evening paper and wa
seeking solace from its columns
Sweetwater had attempted the SO
ciable, but had been met by a decided
rebuff
Soon Sweetwater realized that hi
\ work was over for the night and plan
, ned to leave. But there was one poin
, to be settled first. Was there any 9th
er means of exit from these ground
save that offered by the ordinary drive
way?
He had an impression that in on
Of his strolls about he had detected tn
outlines of door in what looked lik
| high brick wall in the extreme real
| II so il were we'll worth his while [
know where that door led. 1t Nigh
be as we'll TO try the lock, but b
2 would haVe to cross Il very wide stri
of moonlight in order TO do so, and
feared To attract attention TO his e2
treme inquisitiveness.
Advancing in a quiet. sidelong wa
he had. he laid his hand on the sma
knob above the lock and quickly turr
C ell it The door was unlocked an
swung under his gentle push. An alley