The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1912-12-27

pink and silver filigree candIe.shades,
but the atmosphere of the dinner was
tnged by a vague. u~nreasoning con-
stralnt as from some ominously brood
ing yet u~ndefnable influence which
o~Verhung the three of US. And when
the coffee and liqueurs were served,
employing some slender pretext for
her going, she babe us goodnight, and
left us, not to return.
In justice to Cameron, | 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 benet1ciaries. 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 | 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 a 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 | I'm owner
and editor; and though | fancied at
first that 1t might be In this connec-
ton he wished to consult me, | very
soon discerned that he was merely
using a statement contained therein
as n text for certain views OF his owa
on the conservation and development
Of the country's timber supply.
Meanwhile my curiosity grew keen
err. 1t was natural, | 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 | 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 haIf-hour the rich melody Of
her youthful sweet contralto voice
mingled in pleasing harmony with her
own piano accompaniment.
And while | vainly made effort to
imagine wherein l might have laid my
self open to the dlgapproyal of this
most punctilious Of g~uardians-for l
| expected nothing less than q studious-
ly polite reference to some shortcom.
ing of which | had been unwittingly
guilty. momentarily lost track of
My hosts discourse. Emerging from
my abstraction it was with a measure
OF relief that l 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 | t]elephoned for you this
afternoon. | have received an anony'
nous letter"
He was leaning forward, a little
| c~onstrainedly, his left hand gripping
the arm of his chair, the fingers of his
right hand toying with the stem Of
his gold-rimmed Bohemian liqueur
| glass.
An anonymous letter." | repeated,
with a deprecatory smile. Anonymous
| letters should be burned and forgot
ten. Surely you're not bothering about
the writer"
| wish l could put before you an ex-
act reproduction of Cameron's face as
| then saw it; those rugged outlines,
the heritage of Scottish ancestry, soft
ened and refined by a brilliant intel
lectuality; the sturdy chin and square
law; the heavy underllp meeting the
upper In scarcely perceptible curve;
the broad, homely nose; the small,
but alert, gray eyes, shining through
the round lenses Of his s~pectacles; the
high, broad, sIoping, white brow and
the receding border Of dark brown,
! s,ightly grizzled hair. That, super
| 6cirlly. was the face. But saw more
than that, In the Visage of one nat
| urally brave / saw a battle waged be-
hind a mask--a 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 and
ANONYMOUS letters Ordinarily your
rs,.hod is the one I should pursue. In
deed I may say that when, about a
month or so ago, l received a com
n~unfcation of that character. did
almost precisely what You now ad.
wise Certainly followed one,haR OF
vorr nrescription-I forgot the letter..
though, for lack Of fire In the DOG
davs- | did not burn 1t, but thrust 1t
into a drawer with an accumulation
Of advertising circulars"
NV apprehension lest Evelyn ana
ware nersonally affected had been by
now quite dissirated. 1t was p~erfectly
anparept to me that Cameron alohe
was involved: yet my anxiety was
none the less eager. Already my sym
pathy and cooperation were enlisted
! could only hope that he had mental
" exaggerated the gravity Of the stu
alton, Yet my Judgment OF hin was
that bis inclination would be to err
in the opposite direction
And now something has happened
n recall IT to your nemory?"
something happened very shortly
after its receipt" he replied. Some.
thing very puzzling. But in spite Of
that, / was inclined to treat the mater
~ az clever ~chicanery, devised