Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1913-06-24
CHAPTER XXI.
The Last Interview.


The night was falling when Buford
left. He and Dominick had sat on IN
the den, talking together In low voices
going over past events In the concat
enation of circumstances that had LED
up to the extraordinary situation In
which they now found themselves,
Both listened with strained ears for
the opening of Bernice's door, but moi
sound came from her room Each
silently without expressing his
thoughts to the other, wondered what
she would do what sensational move
might now be expected of her. While
they talked, it was evident she in
tended to make no sign of life.
After Buford had left Dominica
called up his friend on the telephone
telling him that he would be unable
to meet him at dinner. He knew thai
Berry could hear every word he ut
tered, and with indescribable dread
he expected that she would open hel
door and accost him. But again she
preserved an inviolate invisibility
though beneath her portal he couk
see a crack of light and could heal
her moving about In the room.
He went into his own room, lit thu
gas, and began packing his trunks
He was dazed and stupefied by wha
had occurred, and almost the only
clearly-def1ned idea he had was tt
leave the house and get far from the
presence of the woman who had Sc
ruthlessly poisoned his life. He wa
in the midst of his packing when tn,
Chinaman summoned him tn dinner
but he told the man he careG fol
nothing and would want no breakfas
on the following morning. The serv
ant who by this time was well awar,
that the household was a strange one
shrugged his shoulders without com
ment and passed on to the door of his
mtstress's room, upon which he
knocked with the low. deferential raj
of the Chinese domestic. Berny'i
voice sounded shrilly. through the 81
lence OF the fiat:
go away! Let me alone, If thati
dinner | don't want any"
The sound of her voice pierced
Dominick with a sense of loathins
and horror. He stopped in his pack
ing, suddenly deciding to leave
everything and go. go from the houst
and from her as soon az he could gel
away. He thrust into a valise sucl
articles as he would want for the
night and set the bag by the stair
head while he went into the parlor t.
find some bills and letters of his thai
he remembered to have left in the
desk AS he passed Berny's door, Il
few open and she appeared in the
aperture The room behind her was {
blaze of light, and every gas-jet III
and pouring a flood of radiance over
the clothes outspread on the bed, the
chairs, and the floor. She, herself
in lace-trimmed petticoat and loose
silk dressing-sack, stood in the door
way staring at Dominick, her face
pinched, white, and fierce.
what are you doing?" she said alb
ruptly. Going away?"
"Yes," he answered, stopping at thu
sight of the dreaded apparition
That's my intention"
Where are you going?" she de
manded
He gave her cold look and made
no answer.
Are you going to your mothers"
she cried
He moved forward toward the PAL
lor door and she came out into tn
passage, looking after him and repeat
ing, with tremulous, hoarse persif
tence, "Domirfck, answer me. Ar
you going to your mother's?"
Eyes, am" he said over his shou
der.
He had an unutterable dread tina
she wodld begin to speak of the sis
uation, OF Buford, of her past life;
that she would try to explain and ex
onerate herself and they would h
plunged into long and prof1tless dis
cussion OF all the sickening, irremedi
able wretchedness of the past. Ht
could not bear the thought of IL: he
would have done anything to avoid it
He wanted to escape from her. from
the house where she had tortured
him, where he seemed to have laid
down his manhood, his honor. hia
faith, and seen her trample on them
The natural supposition that he would
want to confront her with her dscsp
ton and hear her explanation was tbs
last thing he desired doing