The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1912-06-13

tice is no respecter of persons"
How awful
And tittle-tattle, senseless talk, in
sane remarks, We're waited on the
grimy wings of the fog. They pene-
trated everywhere, in the Hobbies Of
the theaters, the boudoir of madame
and the smoking room Of my lord.
They penetrated to the magnificent re-
ception rooms Of the Danish legation
n Louisa heard the remarks even
before h knew the full details of the
story. Louisa had a well trained con-
tralto voice and had been asked to
sing, in the course of the evening.
Jnst as h stood in an outer room Sc
Letting her music, she heard a group
or tdlers-men and women-talking
icab.
They had at first been unconscious
Of her presence. She had her back
toward them, turning over the leaves
or her song. Suddenly there was a
hush In the conversations; one Of the
chatterboxes must have pointed her out
to the others.
Whereupon Louisa, serene and smil-
ing, a roll of music in her hand, joined
the merry group.
Please" she said, don't stop. +
nave heard nothing yet. And Of course
1 want to know"
One of the men laughed and the la
dies murmured silly nothings.
"Oh!" said some one, at mayn't be
true. Such lots of wild rumors get
about"
What" asked Louisa placidly,
"mayn't be true? Some one said Just
now that Philip de Mountford has been
murdered"
We'll" murmured one Of the ladies'
they say it was Mr.. de Mountford; but
they can't be sure, can they?"
The PrO1n was 6jccolyiru. oJppocf ~
seemed, as If it had vanished into thin
air. When Louisa first heard them
talking there were about q dozen men
and women, a brilliant throng Of gaily
plumaged birds: now the ladies remem-
bered that they wanted to hear the
gagged to entertain the guests at the
post-dinner reception tonight, and the
men too, feeling uncomfortable and
awkward, made good their escape.
People-the pleasure-loving people of
today-have no use for latent tragedy.
Excitement, yes; and drama; but only
from the secure distance Of a private
seat an an Old Bailey trial. The MUIR
der of Philip de Mountford could be
discussed with quite an amount Of en-
Joyment between a dinner party and a
ball supper, but not in Louisa Harris
presence. By Cad! too much Of a good
thing O know.
Within a very few minutes Louisa
found herself almost alone, just the one
or two near her to whom she had di-
rectly spoken and-fortunately-Colo-
Harris in the doorway, come to look
for his daughter.
The infant with the VIOLIN" he said
as soon as he caught sight of Louisa,
SIS just finishing his piece, poor little
rat! You promised you would sing
next, Lou. What songs have you got?"
Il was just making a selection when
you came, father. What would you like
to Sing?"
the last wv of the original group of
gossips dwindled away into the recep-
ton room beyond. congratulating them
selves on having successfully engi-
neered their exit.
"Dooced awkward, don't you know,
Miss Harris asking questions"
Il suppose she doesn't realize"
She will soon enough"
She ought to have broken off her en-
gagement long ago"
Isn't it awful? Poor thing"
Louisa. left alone with her father,
could allow her erv to ease their
tension. She had no need to
hid from him the painful culver of her
lips, or the anxious frown across her
brow.
DO you know" she asked, anything
about this awful business, father?'
There's a lot of gossip" he replied;
his voice was not only gruff but hoarse,
showed that he was strangely
But she insisted, some truth in
the gossip"
"They say Philip de Mountford has
murdered"
who says so?'
"Some people have come on from the
theaters, n men from the clubs. The
are full of it-and evening pa
pers have brought out midnight edi-
and do they say that Luke has
killed Philip de Mountford?"
"No"-with some hesitation-"they
don't say that"
But they hint at it,"
Newspaper tittle-tattle."
How much is actual fact?"
II understand" he explained, that
at 9 O'Clock or t~hereabouts. two men
in evening dress hailed a passing taxi
cab just outside the Lyric theater in
avenue and old the chauf-
to drive to Hyde Park corner, just
by the ratings Of the Green Park. The
drew up there and one of the
men got out. AS he reclosed the
door of the cal he leaned toward the
interior mi said cheerfully, "S'long old
man.. See you tomorrow" Then he
the chauffeur to drive on to l
Road opposite the museum,
and turning on his heel disappeared in
the fog. When the chauffeur drew up
for the second time no one alighted
the cab. So he got down from his
box and opened the door"
1.-The other man." murmured Louisa
vaguely, was in the cab-dead!"
That's about it."
with his throat cut from ear to ear
by a sharp instrument which might
been a skewer."
You nave heard it all them"
mo, no." she said hurriedly.
The room was swaying around her;
the furniture started hopping and
dancing. Louisa, who had never faint
in her life, felt as If the floor was
giving way under her feet. Memory
was unloading one Of her storehouses,
looking over the contents of a hidden
cell, wherein she had put away a
strange winter scene in Brussels, a tax
icab, the ill-lighted boulevard, the
chauffeur getting down from his box
and finding a man crouched in the
farther corner of the cab-dead-with
his throat pierced from ear to ear by
an instrument which might have been
a skewer. And memory was raking out
that cell, clearing it in every corner,
trying to n the recollection of a Ger