The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1912-03-09

/
Almost breathlessly I watched the
maid as she swung the door slightly
and stood blocking the opening with
! her 1.-THE form. From without rum
! bled the heavy tones Of man IN
steady and thick from drink. Good
evening. Janet. i would like to see
Mrs. Dace." The girls, answer was
softly apologize.
MY mistress is not at home The
reply which followed was preceded
by laugh
you know better, Janet. Tell her
I wish to see her. Tell her, also, that
it is a matter Of Importance"
But have said that she is not at
| home. But of course she will be here
/ in the morning and you can then
communicate with her. I have no
doubt she will be pleased to hear from
you"
In the instant Of heavy hanging 81
| lence which followed | shot q glance
at Mrs. Dace. She had leaned slight
| ly forward, her hands clenched and
her ears strained In the direction Of
the door Then the notes Of the man
arose again, sullen growl sounding
through them.
Did she order you tell me this non
sense or are you acting upon your
own responsibility The voice OF
! the yellow girl, heretofore respect
ful. took on cold insolence.
"That Is matter for you to form
your own opinion about At least am
willing to accept any responsibility
for what I may tell you. You may
ask her concerning it when you see
her again"
Plainly and distinctly Mackay
swore and / saw the door yield slight
ly to the pressure of a heavy hand
from without. In the twinl1ling Of an
eye the maids slender figure became
| that of an enraged panthress. and her
tones rang out with positive vicious
ness. IF you try to force your way
In here against me I will have you
thrown head and heels into the street
by the employees. Release that door
instantly"
He swore again, the pressure ceased
and I heard his heavy step as it re-
treated down the hall In a trice the
maid had closed the door behind him
and stood before us with a hot flush
upon her face and her eyes alight.
Mrs. Dace drew long breath and her
form and features softenel. Once
T. hn
fectly self-controlled woman of the
minute before You did very well,
Janet 1 think that is all for the pres
ent. You may retire now" Noiseless-
ly the girl slipped past US and disap-
peared behind the portiere.
I turned to her mistress. What
does this mean, Matie?" l asked quiet
ly, but with the sickening sensation
that I had experienced once before,
making my knees weak and my throat
dry. She faced me with an almost
imperceptible lifting of her eyebrows
and shoulders.
So fer as q know it means nothing
except that Mr.. Mackay has been
drinking and wished to see me for
/ some reason of which l am as ignor-
ant as you are
"But at this hour of the night! 1t
seems strange that even man like
! him should have the presumption to
call I think under the circumstances
I have a right to inquire. Does he
sometimes do such things?'
/ "He never has before. He had no
! right to do so now. II it Is matter
Of important business he should have
notified me of his coming at least a
| few moments in advance"
"But what business could he pos
sibly wish to confer with you about
! at such time Of night that could not
be transacted over the telephone?"
pursued unhappily. She waved her
hand
II am sure that ! am as ignorant
and disturbed over the affair as you
can possibly be. When I see him
again / shall demand an explanation.
! Then l will be able to tell you"
| and those rings-they sounded al
| most like signal-one short and two
long ones
| TT is one of his peculiarities.
think he SO announces himself every
| where" She came close beside me,
dropping her hand upon my shoulder.
You told me once that you would
never mistrust me again You are do
| ing SO now. l cannot wholly control
! the actions of others, and there are
| reasons why do not wish to quarrel
with Mr.. Mackay unless | am driven
to it. Your jealousy may ruin our
| prospects and make us bad friends
after all. | do not feel flattered by
it."
| / got upon my feet and slipped my
arm about her. you must forgive
me once more, dearest. While I adj
nit that my love is & jealous one. yet
where my heart is my faith also re-
poses. | trust you implicitly and will
| ask Won nothing further I was very