The Liberal democrat. [volume] (Liberal, Kan.) 1911-1924, 1912-09-13

ter you spoke Of shall be attended to,
at once, and I'll report to you, to-
night-before ten O'Clock, surely"
The reproach in his eyes stuAg me,
and the pain Of 1t followed me from
the room and stabbed me at inter-
walls during dinner. And yet II was
not the part Of sanity to have acted
otherwise than / did. The tempta-
ton had occurred to me to invent
phrases and sentences expressive Of
satisfaction over the effort Of the
previous communications. But I
doubted that, In my agitation, /
should be successful in the deception.
And so, my only course had been de-
lay--stupid, bungling, palpable delay
1t was, l suppose, but after all It had
served; and, though 1t left Cameron
In doubt, 1t gave me time and oppor-
tunity to arrange some plan for ex-
tracing the fangs of this epistolary
adder before 1t could strike Its prey.
Purposely delayed reading the let
ter. myself, until after had dined.
chose uncertainty as to its contents
as less likely noticeably to affect my
demeanor than an exact knowledge Of
the minatory message which l felt
sure 1t carried.
l think fancied l should be able
to conceal my real state of mind. Ger
tainly l willed to do so. But was
very soon conscious that Evelyn had
OWNED my discrimination. Her eyes
became suddenly grave and question
ing, her laughter quieted, and her con-
versation, which had been glad and
gay, relapsed abruptly into the seri-
GUS. When the coffee, and liQueurs
had been brought on, Mrs. Lancaster
asked to be excused, and left US
alone together.
There followed then a moment Of
silence between us, while / selected
. cigarette and lighted 1t. She had
edged her chair little closer to me
she was sitting on my right, as US
ual-and leaned forward, her slen-
der but divinely rounded forearms ex-
tended across the shining damask Of
the tablecloth.
AS | dropped my match upon the
tiny silver tray which the inimitable
Checkabeedy had placed convenient.
ly at my elbow turned to her and
saw her question In her imploring
gaze and attitude even before she
voiced it.
"Tell mel" was what she said. And
although | knew that she would de-
mand 1t l was unprepared. To gain
time rather than information l babe
her be more explicit.
Everything" she pursued, inclu.
siVely with peremptory emphasis
which indicated her determination not
to be denied
My hesitation resulted in some am
plfcation on her part. She was i'm
patient as well as resolved, and re.
scented what she interpreted as my re-
luctance to crafty her.
Everything" she repeated. "Ev-
erything that you have been hiding
from me from the first. l am entitled
to know What about the head that
was cut from the portrait? What was
1t that caused the shocks which
brought on Uncle Roberts Illness?
Why did you go for the mail four
times today, and sit all the rest Of the
time in Uncle Roberts study? What |
has happened to make him worse
this afternoon? What is troubling
you, now? I'm not a child, I'm q
woman, and refuse to be kept in ig-
norance any longer"
She was glorious as she thus for
mulated her demands, her cheeks
blazing, her eyes brilliant, her voice
a crescendO. She must have seen my
admiration. Certainly made no at |
tempt to hide it; and before she had
quite finished had possessed myself
Of her clasped hands, and was bestow-
ing upon them an applauding pres
sure.
And her argument prevailed. She |
knew too much not to know more. |
Cameron's wishes In the matter could |
no longer be regarded. Just how
tactfully l managed the disclosure, It |
is not for me to Judge. Perhaps
told more than I should. Possibly |
revealed too little. l was guided sole |
ly by the wish not to alarm her, uD-
duly. And yet, as nearly every fea-
ture Of the affair was Of necessity |
alarming, 1t became vexing problem
as to what to include and what to
omit.
Eventually she heard the whole
story, every phase Of it. And so It Is
not altogether clear In my memory
how much l conveyed that night and
how much was left for me to add ten
days later.
There is no question, however, re-
garding that third letter which had
been so mysteriously received that
day. l drew it from the envelope,
there, at the table, and we read 1t to-
gether, by the light Of the pink-shad-
ed candles; our chairs touching and
her cool little left hand clasped hard
In my slnewy right.
AS | spread the sheet that sinister
appearing black daub at the bottom
smote me with a sense Of Ill as acute
ly poignant as a rapler thrust, and
the heavy. regular, upright chirog'
raphy, with its odd rs and p's, so
awesomely familiar, was scarcely less