Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1912-10-31

assistance now?
Lord Radclyffe!"
The words escaped her suddenly, al
most frightening her, though all along
She knew that h had meant to speak.
do you know me. Lord Radcliffe ?"
she said again, lit is Louisa Harris"
No reply. The great eyes with the
shadow of death over them were gaz-
nS on the face on which they had al
ways loved to dwell.
Lord Radcliffe" she reiterated. and
the deep notes OF her contralto voice
emotion. Luke is In very grave danger.
the gravcst possible danger that can
befall any a Do you understand
me-"
Again no reply. But the great eyes
---sunken and glassy-slowly fell from
! the picture to her face.
Luke" she repeated. dwelling on the
word. Il must speak to you about
Luke"
And the lips. stiff and cold, opened
slightly and from between them es-
capped the word. feebly, like the breath
OF a dying man:
'Luke!"
II is in grave danger. Lord Rad
clyffe.' h said slowly, lin danger of
DEATH"
And this time the faded lips framed
the word distinctly:
LuRc-ln danger or death!"
The hands which had lain on the
those of a lifeless image. began to
tremble visibly, and the eyes-those
great. hollow eyes-had a searching,
anxious expression in them now.
Philip de Mountford has been muir
dered." said Louisa. You knew that.
did you not?"
The sick man nodded. Life and con-
seriousness were slowly returning and
with them understanding and the ca
pacity for suffering.
The trembling of the hands ceased.
With a quick. jerky movement they
were drawn back against the figure.
then used as a leverage. With a sud-
den accession Of strength, the sick man
slowly but steadily drew himself up,
away from the pillows. until he was al
most sitting up in bed. There was UNI
Outstanding IN the eyes now. under
standing and an awful look of horror.
1T Is no true!" he mumured.
1T is true" she said. Luke was
known to have Quarrelled with Philip
de Mountford. and the dagger stick
with which the crime was committed
was found In the park-stained with
blood-the dagger stick which belonged
to Luke
Luke didn't do It," murmured the
sick man.
I know that he didn't" she replied
firmly. but he pleads guilty. He owns
that h stick was his, and will give no
denial. no explanation. He is taking
upon himself the crime Of another"
II Is not true!" once more MUIR
INJURED the sick man,
Then he fell beck exhausted against
the pillows.
There he lay once more. with that
awful stiffness OF death; the hands
rested on the quilt as il folded in wax.
The eyes were closed and from be-
tween the pale, parted lips not the
faintest breath seemed to escape. Help
less and anxious, Louisa. looked around
her. On a table close by stood an ar
ray of bottles. She went up to 1t. try
Ing to e he labels. wondering IL
there was anything there that was u
powerful restorative. She found a
1t up in her hand, but as she looked
up again. she saw Doctor Newington
standing in h doorway of the boudoir.
one of the nurses was with him and
he was armed with his most pompous
and most professional manne
VIVA are you doing here?' he asked
sternly.
Il think" she replied. trying to mas
ter her excitement, that Lord Rad
clyfe has tainted. 1 did not know what
to do"
Il should think not. indeed" he said;
and why did you not ring for the
nurse? and why are you here"
Il wished to see Lord Radcliffe my
selfy' h replied.
Without my permission"
You would have refused It,"
Certainly I should. And I must re-
quest o to leave the sick room at
once"
Baffled and miserable, she stood for
a moment hesitating. vaguely wonder
ing II h could rebel. Indeed, she had
no option blu to obey. The doctor was
well within his rights; she, utterly in
the wrong.
She turned toward the door ready
to go. but In order to each It from
where h stood. she had to &c pass the
foot OF the bad.
The nurse was busy administering
restoratives. and Doctor Newington
had k up the attitude dear to every
E~nglishman; his stand upon the hearth
rug. and his hands buried in the pock-
cts OF his trousers. He was treating
Louisa Ike a disobedient child. and she
had no one to appeal to in this moment
OF complete helplessness.
One moment only did she debate
with herself. The nurse just then had
gone to a side table to fetch some
brandy. The patient. so Louisa heard
he was merely in a state Of exhaustion.
Swift and furtive. like some small
animal In danger Of its life, Louisa
slipped In between the screen and the
bed. and before the doctor Or nurse
could prevent her. she had bent right
over the sick man and Whispered close
to his ear:
Lord Radclyffe. unless you mako an
effort now. tomorrow Luke will be
standing In the dock-branded as q
felon. Make an effort for Luke's sake
And the spirit which had gone wan
dering in the land OF shadows came
i hack tn earth Mt aoaand oI that 0na