Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1912-06-20
have been a skewer."
You have heard it all then?"
.Nn NOV she Snid hnrrioal,-

ed in her life, felt as if the eaor was
giving way under her feet. MEMORY
was unloading one of her sto~rehouses.
looking over the contents of a hidden
cell, wherein she had put away a
strange winter scene in Brussels. a tax
icab, the i~ll-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 md the recollection of a GER
tain morning in Battersea Park a a
ago.. when Louisa recountea her i'm
pressions OF that weird scene and told
almost witnessed. Memory found "A
distinct impression that she had told
the tale at full length and with all the
details which she knew. She remem-
bered talking il all over. and, that when
she did SO. the ground In Battersea
Park wa. crisp with the frost under her
feet. and an inquisitive robin perched
himself on the ratings and then few
away accompanying her and another
all the way along as for as the gates.
Two pictures. vivid n distinct; that
evening i'm Brussels. n the morning
in Battersea Park. her first meeting
with Luke after his letter to her-the
letter which had come to her in the
Palace Hotel n which had made her
the happiest woman in all the world.
Observation-Disclosures at last emptied
the st%orehouse of that one cell and left
Louisa Harris standing here. staring at
her father, her ears buZzing with the
idle and irresponsible chatter of society
jackdaws, her mind seeing all that had
happened outside I Cromwall Road: the
cab stopping, the chauffeur terrified.
the Grove collecting. the police taking
notes. Her mind saw it as If her bodily
eyes had been there, and all that her
father told her seemed but the recapit-
ulation of h she knew already"
Where" h said after awhile, sis
the dead man now ?"
II don't know" he replied. II should
imagine they would keep the body at
the police station until the morning. I
don't suppose they'd be such mugs as
to disturb Lord Radcliffe at this time
of night; the shock might kill the old
man."
Il suppose they are quite sure that it
is Philip lie Mountford who WIS
why, yes: he had his pocketbook.
his cards. his letters on him and money
t~oo-robbery was not the object of the
crime"
1T was Philip de Mountford them"
Good God. yes! OF whom were you
thinking"
Il was thinking of Luke she replied,
simply.
The old man said nothing more. Had
he spoken at all then ii wOu have
been to tell her that he. too. was think
ing of Luke and that there was per-
haps not a single person in the mag
niffcent house at that m who was
|not-in some way or Notwithstanding
of Luke.
The hostess came i'm, elegant and
worldly. with banal words to request
the pleasure OF hearing Miss Harris
sing.
1T is so kline OF you.' she said. ito
offer. I have never heard you, you
know. n people say you nave such a
splendid voice. But perhaps you would
rather not sing tonight?"
She spoke English perfect. but with
a slight Scandinavian intonation. which
seemed to soften the banality of her
works. Being foreign. h thought less
Of concealing her sympathy and was
much less fearful Of venturing on deli
cate ground.
She held out a small. exauisitely
gloved hand and laid it almost effec-
tionately on the younger woman's arm.
II am sure you would rather not sing
tonight" she said kindly.
Indeed, countess, why should you
think that?' retorted Louisa lightly.
II shall be delighted to sing. I wonder
like best. There is. an exquisite one by
Guy d'Hordelot. Shall 1 sing that"
And her excellency. who SO charm
ingly represented Denmark in English
society. followed her guest into the re-
ception room; she admire the ele-
giant carriage of the English girl, the
slender figure. h soft abundant hair.
And her excellency sighed and muir
INJURED to herself:
"They are stiff. these English! and
oh! they have no feeling, no senti-
ment.'
And q few moments later when
Louisa Harris's really firm voice, firm
and clear, echoed in the wide recep-
ton ROOM. her excellency reiterated her
Impressions:
'"These English have no heart! She
sings and her lover is suspected of
murder! Bah! they have no hearth"
MI nu>rp WV