The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1912-08-15

~ he would have facsd friends ana
acQuaintances In the g~randstand at
Ascot or in the stalls Of a West End
theater. There are hundreds and thou
exactly as Luke de Mountford looked
that morning; dress IS almost q uni
form, in cut, style, n degree OF tone;
hair n even features are essentially
typical. Luke de Mountford, well-born,
well-bred, behaved just as Elton and
Oxford had taught him to behave, con-
ceaAng every emotion. raising neither
voice nor gesture. An Englishman OF
that type has alternately been dubbed
nypocrlttcal, and Unconditional. He is
neither; he is only conventional. Luke
himself, facing the most abnormal con
dltion OF life that could assail any man
Or his class, was so absolutely drilled
into this semblance of placidity that it
cost him no effort to restrain himself.
and none to face the forest Of
lnqulsitive eyes levelled at him from
every side. And since there was no
e1fort, the outward calm appeared per-
dsctiy natural: an actor who has played
ny art two hundred times and more
does SO night after night until the role
user becomes reality, and he in ordi-
nary everyday life seems even to
himself strange and unnatural.
Now Luke was given the Bible to
KISS and told to take the oath. From
Wnere ne stood he could see Louisa and
a lumber of faces turned toward hin,
In ~undisguised curiosity. Mocking ewes
ana contemptuous eyes, eyes of indif-
ference and horror, met his own as with
qulck glance they swept right over
the crowd.
- y 81 ,EHg -5H.h4"L SEna
! don't think he really saw any one
except Louisa; no living person existed
Ipl MN at this moment except Louisa.
1ypocr1tical or Unconditional nature
winch? None could say, none would
TAKE the trouble to probe. All Thai
the crowd saw was a nan to all intents
ana purposes accused of a horrible mur-
ger, confronted at every turn with I'M
denlable proofs of his guilt, and vet
andln there just as If he were Wit.
Messing the first act Of some rather
dull play.
Hypocrisy or effrontery were the two
alternatives which the idle and the
curious weighed, whilst anticipating the
JOY of seeing the mask torn from this
wooden image before them.
The coroner was asking the witness
ms name, and Luke de Mountford,s
voice was quite steady as he gave re-
ply. 9
You We're" continued the coroner
untli quite recently an are again now
clyffe?" - Haa-
IT was supposed at one time" re-
plled Luke, that besides myself there
was no other heir to my uncle's title )"
deceased, | understand, arrived in
England about six months ago"
SO l understand"
II made claim to be the on,v con or
Lord Radclyffe's brother?"
That is So.'
And to all appearances was able tn
s~ubstantiate this claim in the ewes Of
Lord R~adclyffe?"
Apparently"
S much so hat Lord Radclyffe
immediately accorded him that posifion
IN his household which you had pre-
Vlously occupied?"
Lord Radcliffe accorded to the de-
ceased he position which he thought
hitting that he should occupy
You know that the servants in Lord
Radclyffe's household have informed
the police that in Of Mr.
Ph1llp de Mountford's advent in the
mouse, you and your brother and sister
had to leave it?"
My brother, sister and I now live at
Fairfax Mansions, Exhibition Road"
said Luke evasively.
And the relations between yourself
and the deceased nave remained of a
very strained nature, I understand?"
of an Indifferent nature" corrected
Luke.
There was a pause. So far these
two-the coroner and the witness-had
seemed almost like two antagonists go
ing through the first passes Of a duel
with foils. Steel had struck against
steel, curt W. had followed brief
questions. Now the combatants paused
to draw breath. One of them was
fighting the preliminary skirmish for
his life against odds that We're bound
to overwhelm him in the end; the other
was just a paid official, indifferent to
the victim, interested only in the issue.
The man standing at the foot of the
table was certainly interesting; the
coroner had made up his mind that he
was the guilty party-a gentleman and
yet a cowardly assassin; he amused
himself during this brief pause with a
quick anlysis of the high-bred, i'm
passive face-quite Saxon in charac-
ter, fair n somewhat heavy of lid
in no way remarkable save for the
present total lack of expression. There
was neither Indifference nor bravado,
neither fear, emorse nor defiance
only a mask made of wood, hiding
every line of the mouth, and not al
lowing even the eyes to show any signs
of vitality.
Beyond that the whole appearance
was essentially English; the fair hair
neatly groomed. with just a suspicion
of curl here and there, n a CLINT of
gold in the high lights, the stiff neck
encased in its immaculate collar, the
perfectly tailored clothes, the hands,
tended. which lightly interlaced, hung
in marble-like stiffness before him.
Continued Next Weekly