The Washington times., 1914-08-16

I come 10 INV AhSN" -ON va.
| Gomez"
| ITO be sure, we will!
Simple little fooI!' thought the Rus.
sian on the way home. 'She snail see.
II believe the countess is engaged 10
be married." said Florence to Jones'
Indeed. miss?'
| "Yes. / couldn't get anything IiI ueti
mite out of her, but she had oeautlLul
| ring on her finger. She wants susan
ianirbt and me " %f 70 that nG tse be ali right?
Jones gazed abstractedly at the rug.
| Whenever a problem bothered MIN ne
! seemed to find the solution in the dell
J cate patterns of the PERSIAN TUE,
| Finally he nodded. Il see no reason
why you should not go. Only, watch
out -. IN
Jones. there is one thing that will
| make ne brave and nappg. WIN you
tell me if you are in direct cornrhuhiea
ives Miss Florence he answered
promptly. Put do not breathe TINS 10
single soul. neither Susan nor NOR
ton" a..
day when he can come to me WITHOUT
fear"
THAT is my wish also"
You need not call me miss. why
1T might not be wise to have any one
hear Inc call you thus familiarly, ne
Please Your self obout that. Now I
! must telephone jim"
"Jimy' the butler miirmured.
Ho caught the word which was not
intended for his ears. But Tor once
Jones had been startled out OF himself.
rs it wrong for me 10 call Mr. Nor
ton Jim?" she asked with bit OF BAN
ter.
1T is not considered quite the proper
thing, Miss Florenc;, to call n young
man by his first name unless you are
engaged to marry him, or grew up with
him from childhood"
well. supposing 1 were engaged to
him?" haughtily.
THAT would De a very grave affair.
What have You to prove that he may
not wish to marry you for money"
why, Jones, you know that haven't
penny in the world ] can call my
cwni There Is nothing to prove. except
your word. ;hat I am Stanley Har-
clrave's daughter
No, there is nothing to prove that
you are his daughter. But hasn't 1t
|, ever occurred to you that there might
be purpose back of this? Might
it not be of inestimable value that your
fathers enemies should be left In
doubt? Might is not he a means OF
holding them on the ,eash? There is
proof, ample roof. my child; and when
the time Genes these will be shown you.
But meantime put all thought OF mar
lvjng Mr.. Norton out of your head:
That l refuse to do" quietly. I am
at least mistress of my heart; and no
one shall dictate to me whom i shall
not marry. l love Mr.. Norton and he
loves me. knowing that / may not be
an heiress after all. And some day
shall marry him."
Jone> bowed. This seemed to appear
final to him. and nothing more was to
be said.
II have a right to be happy she
added, in defense of her attitude.
mo one denies that. Are We not all
of us striving that in the end You may
be happy? Have we any other
snarl is untangled."
II am sorry that this has happened.
/ do not consider il quite honorable of
Mr.. Norton, when he knows how really
helpless you are. But of course / have
no authority. can only warn you"
He bowed and walked toward the
Florence fouted her head and re-
Joined Susan and forgot to telephone
Norton. Had she done so she would
have been saved many a hearteche. At
any rate. she had unburdened her
conscience and she must tell Jim trat
the secret was out. When, eventually,
she did call him up he was not TO be
found. She left word. however. for him
10 call after the opera and escort her
home.
Norton did not return to his room till
a. he found theS telephone call and
also note in a handwriting unfamiliar.
he tore off the envelope and found the
contents to be from the Countess Peri
goff.
call at tonight" he read. "I have
an important news story for you. Tell
no one, as ! cannot be involved in the
goff." reri-
Humph. Norton twiddIed the note in
MS fingers and at length rolled II into
a ball and threw it into the waste.
pasket. He. too. made a mistake. be
should have kept that note. He
eSseu. a alned. and hurried Off to the
apartments of the courtess.
tie arrived ten minutes before Flor
ence and Susan. r'or-
ing 'e rapid teiephon-
How long. how long," the butler
nn,,1hn. tiIoreo how long would this strange
ne ne slept but little during the nights, for
ms ears were always waiting for
% souhus. he had cast the chest into the
f,s' Sea, ana IL would take a dozen expert
iI TeTs rs 10 locate it. And now, Il ton OF ,
al these worries. the child must fail in
love with the first conner, II was hea
VI eIklhg Norton. so far as he had
learned, was cool and brave. honest and
rellahle in pinch but as the husband !
OF STANLEY Hargreaves daughter that
was altogether different matter. And
ne must devise some means of nrIttinp
a stop to it, but
i5ut he was saved that trouble,
Mongoose and cobra, that was tho
game being played the cunning of the |
one against the deadly venom OF the
otner. III he forced matters he would |
only lay himself open to the strike of
tne snake. He must have patience
Oraouaily they were breaking the or
ganlzation, Topping off a branch here
ana there, but the peace of the future
depended upon getting grip on the
spine or the cobra himself
Inc trick was simple. The countess
had news; trust her for that She cx-
htDlted cablegram. dated at Gibraltar. !
III "hlch the British authorities stated
oehh!tely that no such a person as Will !
iatn Orts: aviator. had arrived at Gibral- /
TAR Ana then. as he rose, she rose also |
ana gently precipitated herself into his
arms. Just at the moment Florence an
peared in the doorway |
Very simple. indeed. When n woman !
Tails toward man there is nothing for
MIN TO do but extend his arms to pre-
vent her from falling. Outwardly, how
ever TO the eye which saw only the pic
ture and comDrehended not the cause,
II had all the hallmarks OF an affection
ate embrace.
Florence stood perfectly still for