Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1912-02-27

But she was keen enough to see that |
the first recognition would be in
evitable; she even admitted the fact
that Armstrong would probably pre-
cipitate it himself. Well. no human
soul, not even their writer. knew that
she had destroyed them, she had de-
termined to do so at the first convent
ent opportunity. Before that, however.
she intended to show them not to New
bold but to Armstrong, to disclose his
peridy, to convict him of the false
hood he had told her and to Justify
herself even in his eyes for the action
she had taken.
Mingled with all these quick refec-
tons was a deadly fear. She was
! quick to perceive the hatred Arm |
strong bore on the one hand because |
of the old love affair, the long cher
ished grudge breaking into sudden
| life; on the other she realized that 1
her own failure to come to Arm
strong's hands and her love for New |
bold, which she neither could nor had
any desire to conceal, and the cumula-
ton of these passionate antagonisms
would only make him the more des-
perate.
Whether Newbold found out Arm
strongs connection with his past love,
there was sufficient provocation in the
present to evoke all the oppugnation
and resentment of his nature. Enid
felt as she might if the puncheons of
the floor had been sticks of dynamite
with active detonations in every heel
that pressed them; as if the slightest
movement on the part of any one
would bring about an explosion.
The tensity of the situation was be-
wildering to her. 1t had come upon
her with such startling force; the I'M
expected arrival of Armstrong, of all
the men on earth the one who ought
not to be there, and then the equally
startling arrival of Newbold. of whom
perhaps the same might have been
said. If Newbold had only gone on,
If he had not come back, If she had
been rescued by her uncle or old Kirk
, by-But 'ifs" were idle, she had to
face the present situation to which
) she was utterly unequal.
} She had entirely repudiated Arm
strong. that was one sure point; she
knew how guilty he had been toward
Newbolds wife, that was another; she
realized how he had deceived her,
that was the third. These eliminated
the man from her affections, but it is
one thing to thrust man out of your
: heart and another to thrust him out
of your life; he was still there. And
h. 81 Fafn
Armstrong intended to have something
to say as to the course of events, to
t use his own powers to determine the
= issue.
OF but one thing beside her hatred
l for Armstrong was Enid Maitland alb
solutely certain; she would never dis
close to the man she loved the fact
/, that the woman, the memory of whose
supposed passion he cherished, had
/ been unfaithful to him in heart il
not in deed. Nothing could wrest that
e secret from her. She had been in
: fected by Newbolds quixotic ideas
the contagion of his perversion of com
l. mon sense had fastened itself upor
Il her. She would not have been human
either if she had not experienced {
q thrill of pride and joy at the possibil
l. ity that in some way, of which she we
q swore she would not be the instrument
is blind or otherwise, the facts might b,
is disclosed which would enable NewbolC
Is to claim her openly and honorably with
out hesitation before or remorse aft
d, er, as his wife. This fascinating flasl
lie of expectant, hopeful feeling sh
lie thought unworthy of her and strov'
c. to fight it down, but with manifest i'm
er possibility.
CT 1t has taken time to set these thing
down; to speak or to write is a SLOW
10 process, and the ratio between outwar
lie expressions and inward is as great a
IN that between light and sound Ques
er lions and answers between these tire
d. followed as swiftly as thrust and parr
IT. between accomplished swordsmen, an
at yet between each demand and repl
IN they had time to entertain these swif
1T thoughts-as the drowning compass
ID. life experiences in seconds!
On II may not be her friend" said Arm
to strong steadily, but she left me i
en- these mountains a month ago wit
ch more than half way promise to mai
Is ~ me, and l have sought her throug
ee the SHOWS to claim the fulfllment."
10 you never told me that" exclaime
Us Newbold sternly and again addressin
ID the woman rather than the man.
There was nothing to tell" she al
en- swered quickly Il was a young CIR
re heart free; l liked this man, perhaI
ad because he was so different from thos
er to whom l had been accustomed, an
i'm when he pressed his suit upon me,
he told him the truth. ! did not Low
lu- him, did not know whether l migl
lis grow to care for him or not; If l di
lis 1 should marry him and If l did NJ
lis no power on earth could make m
And now-I hate him!" She flung IL
to words at him savagely.
lis Armstrong was beside himself wit
IRE fury at her words, and Newbold's CO.
On indifference to him personally was u
Jus endurable. In battle such as he wage
ne ne had the mistaken idea that an
Tor thing was fair. He could not real
tell whether it was love of woman