The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1911-09-07
CHAPTER XIII-(Continued).

.ehSo iiaa Heu IN orQer 10 pfotecl tle
memory OF the dead, there could be
no question of a living husband. But
Though rejected that explanation,
1t Was evident that, with the data at
Ihand, l could form no ADEQUATE one
to replace it,.
l went over In my mind every phase
OF the affair from first to last: l en-
~deayored to sift out the significant in
cldentS and to reject the immaterial;
! tried to weld them into a COMPACT
mass, but they would not be welded.
There was nothing to onnec them,
no common thread upon which they
ee.sa @ss=sts.;i all t1at had i'll my
possession was a bundle of facts which
seemed to be fatty self contradictory.
l remembered Mrs. L~awrence's as
constituent when ] had mentioned the
existence of the letter. What had she
said? Il thought it was that woman!"
Which woman? Evidently the elder
Kingdom, since she had at once sent
for her. That had been my suspicion
THAT it was she or her sister who
had betrayed the. secret. Yet the let
ter would seem to prove that it was
some n else. And it struck me as
significant that at no time had Mrs.
Lawrence appeared to suspect the
maid.
Was there really any connection, l
wondered. between that old tragedy
In Mrs. Lawrence's life and this in the
life OF her daughter? l reviewed again
the story DIR. Schuyler had told me.
How the lives OF the Endicotts and
the Kingdoms and the Lawrences had
tnterwined. i got out my notebook and
sketched a rough table showing their
relationship.
AS ! gazed down at this, two names
seemed to stand u more wildly
THAN all the rest. l closed my eyes
and called before me the faces OF two
beautiful women. 1 had never seen
either of them in the life-of one. l
had only a photograph; Of the other
| had seen only a crude portrait in
the parlor of the Kingdom cottage
but they had somehow assumed for
me personalities distinct and vivid.
Marcia Lawrence and Ruth Endicott
the tragedy of fate linked them to-
gether. Beautiful, young, accomplished,
reared amid gentle surroundings, both
had tasted the bitterness of life. From
the very house whence Marcia Law
renee fed, Ruth Endicott had started
on her hopeless search for health.
The train slowed up for Jersey City
and in a moment was rolling under the
great shed. Twenty minutes later l
opened u office door. Mr.. Royce
had gone out for lunch-which re-
minded me that I had missed mine
again-but he came in almost imrne-
diately.
"Well?' he cried, as he crossed the
threshold and came forward with ex-
pectant face.
You'd better wire Curtiss to come
back" l said.
You've news for him?"
I odded
II knew you'd have" he said ex-
ultantly, n drew a pad of telegraph
forms toWard him and wrote q rapid
message. "Curtiss is staying at a lit
tie place on Jamaica bay. He was
afraid to go any farther away, / sup
pose. He ought to be here in an hour"
he added, and called a boy and gave
him the message.
Ihen he swung around to me again.
Now, let's have the story" he
prompted. q know there's a story"
Yes" said; there's a story. L
vas just"
The door burst open with a crash
and in came Burr Curtiss himself.
Il couldn't stay away n longer"
he cried. Il was eating my heart out.
Have you any news?"
Sit down. Curtiss, n pull your
self together" i~nterposed our junior,
do. | just wired you to come on. You
must have met the boy"
Il believe l did knock over a young
ster just outside the door,.
Wen, there's no damage done. l
guess. Since you're here, Lester, you
Sau 81 ilSiiS dllGau WIFI tlG story
But one thing first interrupted
our client. Did you find out where
she went, Mr.. Lester?"
NO" / answered. but I have a
message from her"
Thank God" he murmured, and
sank back in his chair. l guessed what
his fear had been-that Marcia Law
renee was no longer anon the liv-
ing.
Looking at him closely / was
shocked at the change a single day
mad wrought in HIM. His eyes were
bloodshot from want of sleep, his face
pale and drawn, his hair and beard
unkempt. In a word, he had ceased
to be the handsome, well groomed man
the world knew as Burr Curtiss.
l related my doings briefly, includ-
ing only the essential points. Then /
placed the message in his hands. He
read it, his face quiveTing.
But this tells us nothing" he said
hoarsely, looking up at me with piteous
eyes.
Except that she was in New York
this m~orning-and wants to fight her
battle out by herself"
Slttiss was on mis- feet, his face livid.
But she shan't fight it out by her
self" he cried. D you think I'm such
a coward as that-to stand back. not
offering to help?"
Perhaps you can't help" 1 Inter-
posed.
Don't ak nonsense" he retorted.
II beg your pardon, Mr.. Les
ter, but I'm overwrought-I can't
choose my words. Eut it is nonsense,
I love her-of course I can help. Don't
you see, it's not herself she's thinking
of-she's trying to spare me-"
I nodded. Perhaps it was for his
sake that Marcia Lawrence had taken
that wild step. That would be like a
woInan
You may be right" I said. I'd
never thought of that solution, but Mrs.
Lawrence's last words to me would
seem to point that way. She said that
the matter would rest in your hands
that it would be for you TO choose, after
you'd heard the story"
81 don't want to hear the storyl"
Curtiss cried. Good God! What do
II care for the story! I've made my
choice, once and forever I want her!
OF course it vas to spare me she ran
away! She'd never think of hersclf!''
/ might have retorted that it had been
a rather questionable form IF mercy;
that she could scarcely have inflicted
on him any suffering more acute than
tbot xybfch he had rlpderponp T3,,+ 7