Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1912-08-13

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She hardly knew what she said. She
/ took a step toward him, and saw that
| he stood afraid 10 move, saw that those
eyes, twitching no longer. but fixed in
/ dreadful stare, saw nothing Of her, moth
/ ing Of what they looked on.
/ ITS true, tell youl Something
snapped in my head, and the light went
! out. IT'S back-qute black"
| Tony"
She crept closer to him. put out her
hand, and felt his close on il desper-
ately. The darkness Will lift II you
keep very quiet the darkness will lift
| Come BACK with me 10 the house"
She felt that. come what might she
must get him away out Of this place,
where everywhere around her Edith's tor
tnred eyes looked down. and Edith's lips
laughed dreadful laughter.
The Darkness
No, no; ! can't see, | tell you It's
| darkness he whispered like a little
| child Betty, YOU can leave me You
wouldn't 10 that-vou wouldn't leave me
alone in the darkness"
No, no. only for a moment-to send
for help-to send for the doctor Tony"
He had caught at her desperately in
grip of whose strength he was utterly
unconscious
"oh leaNe you, she murmuTed.
only come away here-let us sit down
and wait Some one will come, perhaps.
Have you no means Of communication
with the house? No, let US wait Youn
be better soon rs the excitement
the-you've not been careful enough
But I'll take care of you now; oh, my
poor boy' There were tears in Betty's
eyes; she strove to keep them back, to
control her voice.
"I shall never be better He gave me
six months at most It's the black end
Oh, Betty, Betty"
She made no effort to speak There
were no words she could say She could
only wait But she did get him. at last.
trembling and starting like a frightened
horse, away from the easel to the long
oak settee with its tumbled cushions that
stood against the wall where he sat hud-
died against her There. with her arm
about him, sine made soft sounds Of sym
pathy over him, as she might have made
| them over a child
Betty, I'm a coward. l cant face it,
| can't
NO; you're not coward. You're hard
hit, that's all but not afraid" Betty's
voice was very tender the grip Of her
hand on his was as firm as that Of
man, There's no one to see you now
there's only me- and | understand This
will pass-youU be your splendid self"
There's nothing to struggle for The
! plucks dead gone out of me. If | were
! only dead groaned the man. miserab bly,
Betty said nothing She had raised her
eyes from the marred face on her shout
| der to see standing at the far end Of the
studio. looking at her with an expression
hard 20 read on her white face. Edith, her
sister and this mans wife.
The House OF the Moor
Mr. Paul SAKE sat in the spartanly
furnished inner sanctum of the palatial
suite OF offices at Chichester House. There
were no flowers in the big vase on the side
table Miss Tremlett had left her post
suddenly a few weeks before and her
successor, a male stenogra pher with large
fat face and lint eyelashes had received
no orders regarding the filing of flower
vases and could not quite possibly, have
executed them if he had
There was a subtle change in the face
of the dnancier 1t was less haggard, less
worried looking, than it had been a few
months ago when, on one memorable oc-
! casion, a message had come tinklng over
the wires conveying the news that for
! the moment had startled even him
This night thy soul shall be required
of thee He had long since given up even
wondering what the meaning of those
words could he Just for a few hours-a
| few days he had dreaded-he hardly
knew what he dreaded-some. lurking
shape that would step out of the shadows,
some figure started up out Of the past
that would lay chill fingers on this fair
! fruit Of his success and turn il rotten at
| tho touch.
II less haEgard, the mans face had
! hardened. the air of radiant youth that
! had given il that curious. almost effimin-
| ate beauty was gone. His character had
! hardened also, or else he had dropped the
pose Of softneSs, that was why there were
no roses in the tail glass vase that re-
| NAMED as memorial of the time that
was past
| There was a pile " papers on the table
| before him. letters waiting for his sigma
ture that the sandy-haired clerk had
! brought in some time ago Paul SAKE had
not looked at them, he was thinlling-a
student of character mi ght have seen
/ him there like a crafty brown spider in
his web. weaving, always weaving. nets
| for the taking Of a girls white soul But
| they must be woven very craftily. woven
! invisibly, so that she slipped herself into
their enmeshing center tie would have
no woman won by force 10 grieve and
| pine beside him. His wife must become
| his wife of her own free choice within the
/ limit of that year OF grace. and he knew
enough of human nature, enough Of WON
en-, TO realize that, once having made her
bargain, Betty Lumsden would he as true
! as steel TO IL.
Another Message.
| II seemed to him that they were spread
] tVr all 4
The entrance OF clerk with 4 tele-
gram broke in abruptly on this day dream.
SAKE, rcusinE himself looked at the or
| anEe -colored envelope with certain ap-
| prehension, as though he. to whom such a
mode Of communication was more com
mon than postcards belonged to the fast
/ dying race who associate kilograms with
! disaster.
To Be Continued in Next Issue.
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