The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1912-12-05

'Why not come for dinner?" she add
ed; and her eyes gave accent to her
"But you?" I queried; for her car
was headed in the opposite direction.
Il am going alone to Norton: Ithave
a hamper in the tonneau for that poor
O'Malley family. l shall be back in
time. W. dine at halt-past seven. you
know. You'll Gomez"
"Of course I'll come" I answered
her. think she must have heard
more in my voice than the simple
words, for her lids dropped. for Just
a breath. and the color famed sudden
below her lowered lashes.
But, after all, l saw very little Of
her that evening. 1t is true that she
sat on my right at table, piquantly,
youthfully beautiful In the softly tint.
ed light which filtered through the
pink and silver fligree candle-shades,
but the atmosphere of the dinner was
tinged by a vague, unreasoning con-
straint as from some ominously' brood.
ing yet u%nde1nable influence which
o%verhung the three of us. And when
the coffee and liqueurs were served,
employing some slender pretext for
her going, she bade us goodnight, and
left us, not to return.
In justice to Cameron, l must add
that he appeared least affected by
and certainly In no wise responsible
for-the pervading infestivity. He had
been, indeed, rather less demure than
was often his wont, chatting with al
most gayety concerning Evelyn's new
role of Lady Bountiful and Of her
Norton benef1ciaries. AS for the sub.
ject upon which he desired to consult
me, 1t had not been so much as men
toned; SO in looking back. 1t seems
impossible that matters Of which
neither Evelyn nor l was at the time
informed could have exerted an effect.
save through Cameron's undecided,
subconscious inducement.
Even after his niece had with
drawn, Cameron continued for q time
to discuss with me topics of general
and public, rather than personal, i'm.
port. He spoke, I remember, Of a
series Of articles on The Commercial
Resources of the United States" the
publication of which had Just begun
in The Week, of which l am owner
and editor; and though l fancied at
first that 1t might be in this connec.
ton he wished to consult me, l very
soo discerned that he was merely
using a statement contained therein
as a text for certain views of his own
on the conservation and development
of the country's timber supply.
Meanwhile my curiosity grew keen.
er. 1t was natural, I suppose, that !
should fancy Evelyn involved in some
way. In fact / then attributed the de.
preston during dinner to her knowl.
edge Of what her uncle and guardian
purposed to say to me. Likewise ]
found in this conception the reason
for her sudden and unusual desertion.
Hitherto when l had dined here Eve.
Ign had remained with US while we
smoked our cigarettes, leading US at
length to the music room, where for
a glad half-hour the rich melody OF
her youthful sweet c%ontralto voice
mingled in pleasing harmony with her
own piano accompaniment.
And while l vainly made effort to
imagine wherein l might have laid my.
self open to the disapproval of this
most punctilious of guardians-for
expected nothing less than q studious.
~ polite reference to some shortcont:
ing of which I had been unwittingly
guilty. momentarily lost track OF
my hosts discourse. Emerging from
my abstraction 1t was with a measure
Of relief that I heard him saying:
Il think you told me once, Clyde,
that you rather prided yourself on
your ability to get a line on ones
character from his handwriting.
That's why I telephoned for you this
afternoon. / have received an anony.
nous letter."
He was leaning forward, a little
constrainedly, his left hand gripping
the arm Of his chair, the fingers of his
right hand toying with the stem of
his gold-rimmed Bohemian ioueur
glass.
IAN anonymous letter." I repeated,
with a d~eprecatory smile. Anonymous
letters should be burned and forgot.
ten. Surely you're not bothering about
the wrfter7"
I wish I could put before you an ex.
act reproduction of Cameron's face az
I then saw 1t; those rugged outlines,
the heritage of Scottish ancestry, soft.
ened and refined by a brilliant intel
lectuality: the sturdy chin and square
jaw the heavy underlip meeting the
upper in scarcely ~perceptible curve;
the broad. homely nose; the small.
but alert, gray eyes, shining through
the round lenses Of his spectacles; the
high, broad, sloping, white brow and
the receding border Of dark brown,
slightly grizzled hair. That. super.
ficially, was the face. But saw more
than that. In the visage Of one nat.
urally brave l saw a battle waged be-
hind a masks battle between cour.
age and fear; and l saw fear win.
Then the mask became Opaque once
more, and Cameron, giving me smile
for smile. was replying.
There are anonymous letters anc
anonymous letters. Ordinarily your
method 10 the one l should pursue. In.