The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1912-07-04
CHAPTER XVIII.

Since Lord Radcliffe was too Ill to
attend to anything, or to see any one,
1t devolved upon Luke to make what
arrangements he thought fitting for the
lying in state and the subsequent obse-
quies Of the murdered man. For the
present, Philip de Mountford lay in the
gloomy mortuary chamber of the Vic
toria police court. Lux Ia sent over
massive silver candelabra, flowers and
palms and all the paraphernalia per-
tanning to luxurious death.
The IA man lay-not neglected
only unmatched and alone, surrounded
by all the evidences OF that wealth
which he had come a very long way to
seek, but which Fate and a murderer's
hand had snatched with appalling sud
deness from him..
And in the private sitting room at the
Langham, Louisa Harris sat opposite
her father at breakfast, a pile of morn
ing papers beside her plate, she her
self silent and absorbed.
That's a queer tale" Colonel Harris
was saying, the papers tell about that
murder in Brussels a year ago-though
I must say that to my mind there APP
pears some truth in what they say.
What do you think, Louisa?'
THE details Of hat crime, which was
committed about a year ago, are exactly
the same as those which relate to this
Internal business of last night
Are they really?"
No one could have said-and Louisa
herself least Of all-why she was UNI
willing to speak on that subject She
had never told her father. or any one for
a matter of that, except-that she
had been SO near to the actual scene
Of that mysterious crime in Brussels,
and that she had know its every de-
tail. ssseszsssssssx~~-s--.-e-
"And 1 must say. reiterated Col
onel Harris emphat1cally, that I
agree with the leading article in the
Times. One crime begets another. If
that hooligan-or whatever he was
In Brussels had not invented this new
and d~astardly way Of numbering a man
in a cab n then making himself
scarce and sending the cab spinning
on it's way. no doubt Philip de Mount
ford would be alive now. No that
that would be a matter for great re-
joicings. Still a crime is a crime, and
If we were going to allow blackguards
to be murdered all owe the place by
other blackguards, where would law
and order be?"
He was talking more loudly and
volubly than was his wont. and he
took almost o-stentatiously quantities
of food on his plate, which it was quite
obvious he never meant to eat He also
steadily avoided meeting his daugh-
ters eyes. But at this juncture she
put both elbows on the table. rested
her chin in her hands and looked
straight across at her father.
ITS no use, DEAR she said simply.
N use what?" he quer1ed with un-
grammatical directness.
mo use your pretending to talk at
random and to be eating a hearty
breakfast, when your thoughts are just
as much absorbed as mine are"
"Hm!" he grunted evasively, but was
glad enough to push aside the platefu]
Of ggs n bacon which, indeed. he
a no desire to eat
you have" h continued gently,
read all the papers. just as I have, and
you know as well as I do what to read
between the lines when they talk OF
clues and of certain sensational de-
velopments.'"
but it's all nonsense"
"Of course it is. But worrying. new
ertheless."
II don't see how sue rubbish can
worry you"
Not" she said, for myself. But for
Luke He must have got an inkling by
now Of what is going on"
"Of course he a And If he has a
grain of sense he'll treat 1t with III
contempt it deserves"
Its all very well, father. But Just
think for a moment. Place yourself in
you might be suspected must in itself
be TERRIBLE"
mot when you are innocent" he re-
Joined with the absolute gertrude of
a man who has never been called upon
to face any really serious problem in
life. Il shouldn't care what the rabble
said about me, If I had a clear con-
science"
Louisa was silent for a monet or two,
then she said:
Luke is different somehow. He has
been different lately"
He has a lot to put up with, old
Radcliffe going off his head in that RI
Giculous way"
But Louisa did not reply to that
suggestion. She knew well enough that
it was neither Lord Radclyffe's un-
kindness, nor the arrogance of the new
cousin that had charged and softened
Luke'S entire nature.
The day that he had sat beside her
on the stairs at Lady Ducies' ball. the
completeness of the change a been
fully borne in on her. When Luke said
to her: Il would give all I have In
the world to lie on the ground before
you and to kiss the soles Of your feet
she knew that love had wrought its us
ual exquisite miracle, the absorption OF
self by another, the utter sinking OF
the ego before the high altar Of the
loved one. She knew all that, but dear
old Colonel Harris had forgotten
perhaps he had never known.
That knowledge come to so few
nowadays. Life, psychology, the sex
ual problems hav taken the place OF
the divine lesson which has gloriaed the
world since the birth of Lilith.
All h a Louisa now remarked to her
kind and sensible father was
you know, dear, suspicion has killed
a man before now. It was but a very
little while ago that a noble hearted
gentleman preferred death to such dis
honour"
you've got your head" he retorted,
full of nonsense, Lou. Try and be a
sensible woman now, and think Of it all
quietly. Is there anything you would
like me to do. for instance?"
yes, If you will"
What Is it?"
Couldn't you see Uncle Ryder?"
A Scotland Yard, you mean?s
He Is at the head of the criminal
investigation department, isn't he?"
I've always understood So"
Would he see you. do you think, at
his Office"
TON not see me?" exclaimed Col
onel Harris. "of course he would
What do you want me to see him
about?"
H could tell you exactly how mat
N>~