The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1912-03-17

Of no service to Mr.. Forester; Though
she was present on the occasion In :ques'
ton, she saw nothing of the accident anc
could not testify as to any detail of it,"
Forester read those enigmatica
words, and. his legal mind detected
mischief, He wrote upon the card;
Will Miss Berkeley graciously pardol
Mr.. Forester for. his insistence and per
nit him to express his regret that no per
son representing her has cilled upon him
in response to his request? .''r~ =
It required some diplomacy to- induce
the female butler to return. with th'
card, but Forester. was equal to the
emergency. being now wholly desper
ate and, fighting for heart and con
science: As he expected, the, youna
lady responded in person to his mes
sage. 80
1--WE are at cross purposes, Mr. For
rester." said She I'VE seem not tc'
understand each other 80 ::
THE confusion results from the forr
Of my request. written upon my card
the day that had the pleasure of see
ing you for the first time" said he. =,
asked you to send to me whoever
you trusted most fully and you chose
Mr.. Langdon. did not foresee that. -
well r. said she. - -
".Mr., Langdon has not done me THE
honor to CALL" he. returned! &.
But surely there is some mistake.
said she. mot being acquainted witt
you, Mr. Langtlen may have GALLEY
upon some other Mr. Forester. Who
ever 1t was that he went to see is 8
lawyer having an Office In the Ander
son building. He told Mr.. EaEgdon
that he recognized me as one who hac
been present at an accident-a man in
jured by a street Garland that he de:
sired nay evidence. but was afraid !
might take offense at request mad.
upon the street In that way. and nigh,
be timid about testifying in court, 80 h.
had asked me to send a man to him.
II have no such case said FN
roster. .a-
Then Mr.. Langdon must have call
name
There is no other Forester in the
Anderson building" said he. nor any
other lawyer OF that name in the coun
ty. Moreover. Mr. Langdon knows
me well and has been my client
This seems to raise question oI
veracity,'' said she. which is not per
nissable under the circumstances"
NO." he replied; IF you will par.
don me, it is question Of error. Of
very grave and momentous error
which may have the most serious
consequences. May l ask whether you
have an aunt?" .
II have"
"A widow?''
Yes" e-s.t-
"And you reside partly at her house
and partly here. where you teach?''
Yes, but why do you ask these ques
tions?"
Because said he, "your aunt is
the only person who can set this err
ror right. trust that she can see me
at once"
II do not understand you in the
least" she said. but somehow | cant
help believing in you. There is some
purpose of good behind your mysteries
l will go with you to my aunt's
house"
1t was the child's whisper in the hall
that had put Forester upon the track
of Grace Berkeley's aunt as her naftl
raj guardian and protector. The lady
proved to be an amiable and in most
respects an intelligent woman. but she
was a great admirer Of Billy Langd VI
and had put the bulk of her meme
into one of the hollowest of his or
porations When Forester learned e
this he knew that the battle was ven
1t was merely necessary to expose T.
the lady the true inwardness Of the
bubble in which her dollars had fioat
ed away. .
The Langdon- Berkeley wedding WIS
postponed once. and then it was post
poned indefinitely when the truth final
~ found Judgment in the girls mind
that I.angdon had lied TO her in regard
TO calling upon Forester and to many
other things besides. Meanwhile Lang
don was breathing /; fiery vengeance
upon FORESTER but in the midst Of II
the inevitable crash came i'm his af-
fairs. and he fled 'betwee two days
And now the ghost girl in the chair
by the fire looks so real that she al
most a'lscures the chair back. and her
phantom lips have begun to shape
words incredibly precious, sweetiy
prophe. ic.