Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1912-03-08
CHAPTER II.

one, the result undoubtedly OF
having noticed two small cordial
glasses standing on little table over
against the fireplace. When l was
conscious again Of my own fears /
crossed to the table and peered into
these glasses. They were not club
glasses. and they both were empty.
However. they had not been so long.
In each l found traces Of anisette
cordial. and. though no bottle stood
near, I was very confident that 1t
could readily he found somewhere in
the room. What had preceded and
followed the drinking Of this cordial?
Alas. there was but little more to
see! A pair Of curling irons lay on
the hearth. but I had no sooner lifted
them than dropped them with q
shudder Of unspeakable loathing. only
to start at the noise they made in
striking the tiles, for It was the
selfsame noise I had heard when
listening from below. These tongs,
set up against the side of the IRE
place. had been Jared down by the
forcible shutting Of the large front
door. and no man other than myself
was In the house or had been In the
house only the two women. A stick
or two still smoldered on the hearth
stone. In the ashes lay some scat
tered fragments Of paper which
crumbled at my touch. On the floor
In front I espied only q stray hairpin.
Everything else was in place through
out the room except the cushions and
that horror on the lounge, waiting the
second look had 80 far refrained
from giving 1t.
That look I could no longer with.
hold. I must know the depth Of the
gulf over which hung. I must not
wrong with q thought one who had
smiled upon me like an angel Of light
young girl. too. with the dew Of In.
nocence on her beauty to every eye but
mine and only not to mine within
shall I say ten awful minutes?
would look again and perhaps discover
that my own eyes had been at fault:
that there were no marks on Adelaide's
throat. or. II marks. not Just the ones
my fancy had painted there.
Turning. let my glance fall FIRST on
the feet. I had not noted them before.
and was startled to see that the arc
tics in which they were clad were filled
all around with snow. She had walked
then as the other was walking now
she who detested every effort and
was Of such delicate make that exer.
ton Of unusual kind could not readily
be associated with her. Had she come
alone or In Carmel's company. and. II
In Carmels company. on what osten-
sible errand II not that Of death? Her
dress. which was of dark wool. showed
that she had changed her garments
for this trip. had seen her at dinner,
and this was not the gown she had
worn then-the gown in which she
had confronted me during those few
intolerable minutes when I could not
meet her eyes. Nothing spoke Of the
dinner party or Of her having been
dragged here unaware. but all Of pre-
vious intent and generalization. Surely
hope was getting uppermost. II had
dreamed the marks
But. no! There they were, unmistak-
able and damning. just where the
breath struggles up. / put my own
thumbs on these two dark spots to see
II. when What was TIA lightning
stroke or call Of fate which one
must answer while sense remains? I
felt my head pulled around by some
unseen force from behind and met
staring into mine through the glass of
the window pair of burning eyes.
Or was It fantasy? For in another mo-
ment they were gone. But the posi-
bility Of a person having seen me in
this position before the dead wa,
enough to startle me to my feet, and.
though In another instant I became
convinced that l had been the victim
Of hallucination. ! nevertheless made
haste to cross to the window and take
a look through its dismal panes. A
gale of binding snow was sweeping
past. making all things indistinguish'
able, but the absence Of balcony out
side was reassuring, and I stepped has
lily back. asking myself for the first
time what I should do and where I
should now 60 to insure myself from
being called as a witness to the awful
occurrence which had just taken place
in this house. Something must do to
save myself the anguish and Carmel
the danger of my testimony in this
matter. She must never know. the
world must never know, that I had
seen her here.
I could not be the death Of two won.
en-. The loss Of one weighed heavily
enough upon my conscience. would
fly the place-I would leave this
CHASTITY find to tell its own story. The
night was stormy, the hour late, the
spot a remote one and the road to It
but little used I could easily escape.
and when the morrow came- Rnt IL