The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1912-08-24

my rather Tor some reason FORBADE
| him the house"
"I'm sure he Is guilty" cried.
''Katharine's eyes have been blinded
by love 10 his real character"
Il think you must be mistaken"
said Louise. "He knows about the ex-
istence OF paper that gave some
man strange hold on my father.
Katharine knew OF IL. too. He may
have told her. She insisted on my ac-
companying him out here 70 try to
help recover II.
.'Didn't. he tell you about It on the
way OUT"
mo. ] asked him what II was He
told me that too many people knew
IT'S contents now. The more | think
about il the more perplexed am
about the mysterious manner In which
both he and Katharine acted about
this document"
Tell me everything" ! insisted, all
my suspicion against Crandall return
ing anew
ITO begin with. he insisted on our
/ leaving the chauffeur in Newark.
though II had been my intention to
have him come with us. Crandall
would not hear OF It. katharine put
you I'm my charge. he said. and II is
her wish as well as my own that we
take every precaution for secrecy. II
is better that only you and | go on
this mission We want no servant
gossiplng about this matter But
where are we going, and Why I
asked him. Surely | have a right 70
know that. We are going 10 try 10
recover from the hands Of the wicked
est BLACKBOARD on earth a certain
document that has come into his pos
session. II is a question whether or
not we shall succeed. II we do,
shall put this document in your hands
and you must promise that It shall not
go out of your possession until you
have placed II in your sisters hands.
You must promise me, too, that YOU
will ask no questions about it and that
you will not read IT, When Katharine
has seen II, do with Il whatever she
tells you. She probably will say that
you are TO burn II without reading
Cant you see, Harding, what a
dilemma I was in? | felt that what
Mr. Crandall asked me TO do was Kath-
arine's wish. They had talked togeth.
er for nearly half an hour just be
fore you came TO the house had to
promise what he asked, though | pro
tested first II seemed 20 me that car.
rying back the document 70 Katharine
would excite her and retard her re-
covery, and ] told him So"
The sight OF that document safe
In her own hands will do more to cure
her speedily than all the doctors In
the world he answered"
Did he mean the yellow letter." J
queried
Il don't know. asked him If that
was what he meant and he would not
answer me- The only thing he did
tell me was that there had been
strange developments in the case
since he had undertaken to get this
paper for Katharine. They seemed TO
puzzle him greatly. He said that some
thing with which he had nothing to
do had alarmed the man we were go
ing TO see and that he had disappeared,
gone into hiding"
How will we find him?' | asked.
He is as anxious TO see me as he
is not TO see some one else, Crandall
told me. He wrote me plain directions
how to reach a place he calls the de-
serted cottage. and made an appoint
ment there for nine o'clock tonight"
AS ! listened to Louise's story did
not know what 10 think about Gran
dall's part in the affair II seemed now
that he had been acting in Katharine's
behalf, though this did not explain his
acquaintance and relations with the
man he had called Aleck Young.
Why" | asked Louise, do YOU
suppose that he and Katharine Insist.
ed on you coming out here? Why
could not Crandall himself have recov.
cred the document and restored 1t to
KatharineY
II asked him that. lie told me that
the man who held # had made the
condition that II should be received by
either my father or Katharine. They
did not wish II known that my fa-
what had happened. and as they were
certain this man knew neither Kath.
arine nor me. | was to 30 with him
and impersonate my sister"
did you get the document"
No, we failed, said Louise, and
do not know what In the world am TO
tell Katharine. We came out here I'm
the afternoon. Crandall thought II
advisable to find the place by day
light We ran ne automobile up the
lane that leads to this place and crept
through the thicket until we came I'm
sight of the cottage. There were two
men moving about In the cottage.
Young and another man whom Mr.
Crandall told me was the postmaster
az Ardway. He seemed surprised al
the presence OF the postmaster. We