The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1911-08-24

o mss,or fsna AZ Mo, one; and e. With the the
before me, I could not believe 1t. I
could not believe that those clear eyeS
sheltered such q secret. I could not be-
ileVe that anything shameful had eve
touched her. She had kept herself I'M
prove It'll a
AS I reached the Kingdom house n
turned IN at he gate, I remembered
with q smile the resolution 7 had made
the night before to buy a revolver. 1t
seemed absurd enough In the light OF
self against two wcnlenii
Inere was a flower bed IN either side
the Walk, Well kept and In a riot of
bloom. and along the hedges and about
10 q were others. Evidently the
women who lived here not only loved
flowers, but had ample time to tend
them. AS I approached the house, I
saw that the blinds were drawn, and
tnere seemed no sign of life about the
place., but the door was opened almost
instantly in answer to my knock.
The m who opened it, I knew
at once for the elder Miss Kingdom, and
my eyes We're caught and my attention
nelo by the bold, virile beauty OF her
face--a beauty which had, in a way.
burnt itself out by its very fierceness.
she r~esernbled her sister, and yet there
mas something higher and finer about
her. She gave me the impression Of
one who had passed through a fiery
furnace-and not unscathed. / won
dered. as Godfrey had, at the dark
splendor of her eyes; ! could fancy how
they would burn and sparkle once she
was reused to anger.
"This is Miss Kingdom" I asked.
She bowed.
I'm going to ask a favor, Miss King
don," l said, .the favor of a few mo-
ments' conversations"
are you d reporter u. she 5d5sr,aI
without seeking to soften the harshness
OF the question, and in an instant I
knew that 1t was she who had threat
sasa ne through. ti.s dee. the night be-
Iore, Tor the voice was the same and
yet not the same. Then it had been
edged and broker by a kim of frenzy;
now 1t was almost domineering in its
cool i~nsolence. What was it had so
shaken her? Fear at my knock at that
hour of the night? Yet she seemed
anything but a woman easily alarmed.
No, I'm not a reporter" I answered.
smlllng as we'll as could to hide the
tumult of my thoughts. My name is
Lester, and I'm acting for Mr.. Curtiss.
hope you'll grant my request"
She looked at me more closely, and
her lips curved derisively.
I've heard of YOU she said.
From your sister, no doubt. 1 had
the pleasure of meeting her yester-
day afternoon"
could not wholly keep the irony out
of my tone
Il guess you didn't find out much
from her." She retorted.
Not half as much as she knew. I
hope o be more frank with me-"
She hesitated d moment longer, then
stood aside.
Very We'll; come in" she said, and
as | entered, she pointed the way into
a room at the right.
1t was q large. pleasant room, well
furnished and in excellent taste. On
my first glance around, my eyes were
caught and held by a portrait which
occupied the place of honor on the wall
opposite the front window. It was a
woman's head, life-size, evidently done
from life, crude enough in execution
but of a woman SO brilliantly beautiful
that her face seemed to glow through
the canvas, to rise superior to the lack
of skill with which the artist had de-
picted her. There was something IA
failiar about it, too--at least, I fancied
so-and then 1 shook the thought away
impatiently.
"Well?" asked a voice, and I turned
to see that Miss Kingdom was waiting
for me to speak. sit down. she added
abruptly, and herself sat down opposite
me, anu SdZGu DIT me with QCrCG Eyes
that never waVered.
Mr.. Curtiss is naturally anxious"
l began ito find Miss Lawrence and to
hear from her own lips the reason for
her flight. He even thinks he has a
certain right to know that reason. I'm
trying to find where Miss Lawrence is"
And why do you ON herss?" she
asked with compressed lips.
Because" I answered boldly, II be-
lieve that Miss Lawrence came here
when she left her home. She went first
into the library, where she sat for a
while until she decided what to do;
then she opened the library window,
descended from the balcony, and ran
here along the path which leads
through the trees to that gate out yon-
der. You received her and refused to
allow anyone to see her."
II refused to allow the reporters to
see her!" she cried. Surely, you would
have lone as much!"
Yes" l said, depressing as well as I
could the sudden burst Of triumph
which glowed within me. "Yes-per-
haps 1 should. But you'll not refuse
me2"
She smiled grimly.
THAT was cleverly done, Mr.. Lester"
she said. fortunately it's no longer q
question Of my consent or refusal"
Miss Lawrence isn't here?"
mo: Miss Lawrence left here ate
last night"
"Ah, that I shall not tell"
I looked at her again and saw that
by arguing I should be simply wasting
my time. I saw something else, too
this woman also knew the reason for
Marcia Lawrence's flight.
CONTINUED Next week.)