The Eureka sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1902-current, 1913-04-05

L protested that l did not feel treu,
and indeed my anxiety to get away
had wiped out all memory of my bruis-
es. But in the end | had to follow
the round faced nun up the bare, ce-
ment stairway to another small room.
II seemed strange after the luxurious
glooms of the Spanish woman's house.
to be ia this bare. whitewashed place,
where all the light fell unobstructed
through little, narrow windows placed
high up In the walls. The u helped
me to brush my hair out. and |
heard her ~murmuring at my back,
when ! was young my hair was as
long as this"
And then she coaxed me to lie down
on a little bed. | felt her cover me up,
but when she tried TO make me drink
something from II glass a hideous
memory sprang in my mind, and | had
struck and knocked the glass out of her
hand before | could think what l was
doing.
With confused puzzles moving
through my mind lay there, tense,
feverish, tossing, each moment expect
ing some one to come and tell me |
could go home. Finally | seemed at
last really to be going. The only trou-
BILE was that the nuns told me | could
not leave unless | left as Il bride, and
they had no satin and no orange flow
ers.
| was startled out of this fancy by
voices sounding loud upon the edge of
my dream. One said angrily, I'm the
first place, you ought never to have
taken her to that Internal house either
for the sake of getting evidence or any
other thing" The second retorted,
well, | wanted TO keep her out of the
whole business. 1t was you who insist
ed N dragging her in. and once you
get into this sort of thing difficult sit
uations often present themselves"
My eyes opened wide, and in the
faint light of the floating candle flames,
just above me. | saw Mr.. Dingley's
face. You weren't there. Why weren't
you there | said, sitting up.
You see." Il woman's voice that |
thought was the mother superior's put
in, she says and does such strange
things that | dared not let her go out
into the street alone"
Then, with an unutterable sense of
relief, | recognized fathers voice.
Yes. that was quite right. She was
better here And he sat down on the
edge of the bed.
"0h, take me home." | cried.
He smiled and said with that same
-exasperating sort of reinsurance which
the mother superior had used, "Yes,
we are going Immediately
They all made me feel as if they
thought that ! didn't know what ! was
talking about. Either every one is
crazy | thought. "or the whole world
is in some plot against me. and they
have deceived father. too" OF course
my mind knew that to be ridiculous.
but everything conspired to make fa-
miliar people strange. What was 1t
Mr.. DinGley had been telling father
just before | returned To conscious
ness? perhaps after | am alone with
father mt home | can get him to listen
to what | want TO say" | thought.
But there We're many reasons why
this undertaking was much more diff
cult than | had supposed.
In the first place. it was Mr.. Dingley
who began by asking me where I had
gone. lie had been waiting In the
front hall for me all the while. he
said, and how had | got out without
his seeing me? lie had hunted all
through the rooms on the lower floor
and, o finding me, had zone back to
our house. surprising | had returned,
and from there had set nj in search
of me.
1t sounded very reasonable, and |
was at n loss to understand why it
didn't seem probable 10 me. Then,
when we reached home. we found a
person waiting-a detective Mr.. Ding
ley had sent for-and to him and to
Mr.. Dingley. as well as to father, l
had to tell my story. 1t came out in
bits and snatches. with questions and
answers, Mr.. Dingley's all mixed in
with mine: and when they did let me
speak uninterruptedly | was so excited
that the words came tumbling out all
confused. 1t seemed to me. too, that
father was much more anxious over
the fact that l was feverish and had a
lump IN my forehead than the fact
that the Spanish woman had offered
me that glass of wine and then said |
should never leave the house. But he
said the thing should be investigated,
and Mr.. Dingley said something about
making inquiries tonight. and finally
all three went out together. leaving
in a wretched state of anxiety and
doubt.
1t seemed to me that none of them at
all understood the situation. and it
was so wonderfully clear in my own
mind. so enormous and astounding in
its menace. that | was woefully puz-
zled to see how they could have MISS