Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1912-07-11
CHAPTER XVIII.

ANOi DOp We
Since Lord Radcliffe was too i'll to
attend to anything. or to see amy one.
1t devolved upon Luke to make what
arrangements he thought fitting for the
lying In state and the subsequent obse-
qufes of the murdered man. For the
gloomy mortuary chamber of the Vic
torla police court. Luke had sent over
massive silver candelabra. flowers and
palms and all the paraphernalia per-
tanning to luxurious death.
The dead man lay-not neglected.
only unmatched II alone. surrounded
by all the evidences of that wealth
which he had come a very long wa to
seek, but which Fate and a murderer's
hand had snatched with appalling sud-
deness from him.
And in the private sitting room at the
Langham. Louisa Harris sat opposite
her father at breakfast, q pile of morn
ing papers beside her plate, she her
self silent and absorbed.
That's a queer tale" Colonel Harris
was saying. the papers tell about that
murder In Brussels a year ago-though
l must say that to my mind there APP
pears some truth in what they say.
What do you think, Louisa"
THE details OF that crime, which was
committed about a year ago. are exactly
the same as those which relate to this
Internal business of last night"
Are they really?"
No n could nave said-and Louisa
herself least of all-why she vas n
willing to speak on that subject. She
had never told her father. or any one for
a matter OF that. eXcept-that she
had been SO near to the actual scene
of that mysterious crime in Brussels,
and that h had know it's every de,
tail.
"And I must say" reiterated Col
onel Harris emphat1cally. that 1
agree with the leading article i'm the
Times. One crime begets another. If
that hooligan-or whatever he was
in Brussels had not invented this new
and dastardly way of numbering a man
in a cab and then making himself
on its way. no doubt Philip de Mount
ford would be alive now. Not that
that would be a matter for great re-
joicings. Still a crime is a crime, and
II we were going to allow blackguards
to be murdered all ove the place by
and order be?"
He was talking more loudly and
volubly than was his wont. and he
took almost ostentatiously quantities
of food on his plate, which 1t was quite
obvious he never meant to eat. He also
steadily avoided meeting his daugh-
ter,s eyes. But at this j%uncture she
put both elbows on the table. rested
her chin in her hands and looked
straight across at her father.
It's no USE. dear" she said simply.
No use what?" he quer1ed with un-
grammatical directness.
N use your pretending to talk at
random M to be eating a hearty
breakfast. when your thoughts are Just
as much absorbed as mine are"
"Hm!" he grunted evasively, but was
glad enough to push aside the plateful
of eggs and bacon which. indeed, he
had no desire to eat.
You have" she continued gently.
read all h papers. just as I have, and
you know as well as I do what to read
between h lines when they talk Of
clues and of certain sensational de-
~velopments.'"
OF course I do" he retorted gruffly,
but it's all nonsense"
"Of course it is. But worrying. new
ertheless."
Il don't see how such rubbish can
worry you"
Not" she said. FOR myself. But for
Luke. He must ave got an inkling by
now OF what Is going on"
"Of course he has. nj IL he has a
grain Of he'll treat it with the
contempt 1t deserves"
Its all very we'll. father. But Just
think for a moment. Place yourself in
Luke's position. The very idea that
you mlSHt Dc Suspected must In itself
be terrible"
Not when you are innocent" he re-
joined with the absolute gertrude Of
q mar who has never been called upon
to face any really serious problem in
life. Il shouldn't care what the rabble
said about me. IL l had a clear con-
science"
Louisa was silent for a monet or two.
hen h said: Z
Luke is different somehow. He has
bee different lately"
He has q lot to put up with, old
Radcliffe going OF his head in that RI
Giculous way"
But Louisa did not reply to that
suggestion. She knew well enough that
It was neither Lord Radclyffe's UNI
kindness. nor the arrogance Of the new
cousin that a charged and sOftened
Luke's entire nature.
The day that he had sat beside her
on the stairs at Lady Ducies' ball. the
completeness Of the change had been
fully borne In OF her. When Luke said
to her: Il would give all I have in
the world to lie on the ground before
you n to kiss the soles Of your feet.
she knew that love had wrought its us
self by another. the utter sinking Of
loved one. She knew eli that, but dear
old Colonel Harris had forgotten
perhaps he had eve known.
That knowledge come to 90 few
nowadaya. Life. PSYCHOLOGY, the rex
Fual problems have taken the place OF
the divine lesoOn which, has elofiled the
world since the birth Of Lilith.
Al that x0oloA now remarked g her