The Raymer enterprise., 1913-12-04
By ANNA KATHARINE GREEN

shucu NtT NllupeTdllVe dtldCh.
Beast! beast! That she should pour
out her innocent heart to you. you!
l do not want your money, Monsieur
of the common street, of the common
house. 1t would be dirt. Pierre. 1t
would be dirt. All. bah! je m'oublle
tout fait. Pierre. II est bette. II re-
fuse de les TOUGHER. Mais Il faut
gull les touche, 81 10 les laisse sur
le plancher. Va-t'en! Je me moque
de lui. Canaille! L'homme du peu.
pie. tout a fait du peuple!"
A loud slam-the skurrying Of feet
through the hall, accompanied by the
slower and heavier tread Of the 80
called brother, then silence, and such
silence that Sweetwater fancIed he
could catch the sound of Brotherson's
heavy breathing. His own was 81.
fenced to gasp. What treasure Of
a girl! How natural her Indignation!
What an instinct she showed and what
comprehension!
But had she imposed on Brother
son? AS the silence continued; Sweet.
water began to doubt. He understood
quite well the Importance Of his
neighbor's first movement. Were he
to tear those letters into shreds! He
might be thus tempted. All depended
on the strength OF his present mood
and the real nature of the secret
which lay buried In his heart.
There was sound as Of settling
coal. Only at night would one expect
to hear so slight sound as that In a
tenement full Of noisy children. But
the moment chanced to be propltious,
and It not only attracted the attention
Of Sweetwater on his side Of the wall,
but It struck the ear Of Brotherson
also. With an ejaculation as bitter
as 1t was impatient, he reused him.
self and gathered up the letters.
Sweetwater could hear the successive
rustllngs as he bundled them up In
his hand. Then came another silence
then the lifting Of stove lid.
Sweetwater had not been wrong In
his secret apprehension. His identi.
fication with his unimpressionable
neighbors mood had shown him what
to expect. These letters-these limo.
cent and precious outpourings Of
rare and womanly soul-the only con-
ceivable open sesame to the hard.
locked nature he found himself pitted
against, would soon be resolved into
vanishing pun Of smoke.
But the lid was thrust back. and the
letters remained in hand. Mortal
strength has Its limits. Even Brother
son could not shut down that lid on
words which might have been meant
for him. harshly as he had repelled
the idea.
The pause which followed told lit.
tie; but when Sweetwater heard the
man within move with characteristic
energy to the door. turn the key and
step back again to his place at the
table, he knew that the danger mo.
ment had passed and that those let.
ters were about to be read. not casual
ly, but seriously. as indeed their con-
tents merlted.
This caused Sweetwater to feel seri.
Gus himself. Upon what result might
he calculate?
Impossible to tell. The balance Of
probability hung even. Sweetwater
recognized this, and clung, breathless
to his loop.hole. Fain would he have
seen, as well as heard.
Mr.. Brotherson read the first letter
standing. As 1t soon became public
property. will give 1t here. Just as II
afterwards appeared In the columns OF
the greedy journals:
Beloved:
when ! sit, rs often do, In per.
feet quiet under the stars, and dream
that you are looking at them too. not
for hours M do. hut for one full mo.