Ellsworth American., 1914-02-18

iQtruuer came IOTIH anu StOUu Tue pic
ture of misery.
'What are you doing in my house"
asked Mrs. MacKnight, with severity.
'Let me go; please let me go. |
have stolen nothing
The woman was about thirty years
old, comely and handsomely dressed.
What are you doing here, l say?"
repeated Mary. You are not thief;
you are lady"
There were quick Hastings in the
eyes of the stranger indicating that
she was looking for some method of
extricating herself Finally rising from
her covering attitude she said de
family:
81 will not attempt to deceive you.
am no thief. | did not come here to
steal. | came to meet the man | love,
who is mine by right, yours by law"
my husband, You come here to
oh, heavensw
II know not who you are, but l do
know that / am the only woman he
loves"
Striding past Mrs MacKnight defiant
ly, she left the room and hurried down
the staircase. Mary, on the verge of
collapse. fell on the bed. She heard
the front door open, then the voice of
her husband.
81 beg your pardon, madam: but l
should like to know what you have
been doing in my house"
LET me co. came the voice of the
hod ir,ct dny-n-
stairs.
Not until l have received salts
factory explanation as to the cause
of your presence here"
Mary sprang from the bed. The
woman must be thief after all and
had made her believe that she had
come TO meet John in order to get away
with the valuables she had taken and
escape arrest. The thought was min
gled by delightful feeling of relief
that her husband was innocent. Rush
ing to the landing, she cried
Don't let her go, John; she's
thief"
John closed the front door, shutting
the intruder in. Mary ran down and
confronted the woman with her hus-
band. Both were too intent on the
matter Of preventing the thief from
getting away with whatever she had
stolen to think of saluting each other
after their long separation.
Turn over the plunder," said John,
"You may as well give it up to me
as to the police"
81 have no plunder," said the woman
drawing quick breaths in her excite
ment
Very well, you have been caught
in my house, and that is trespass.
Mary, go to the phone and call for
the police"
Hold" said the woman.
"Well?"
She darted her eyes about her. One
thing alone might have saved her-a
fire, but there was no fire in the house
except in the furnace in the base
ment. In her desperation the woman
took from under her outer coat pa
per and tried to tear it, but it was
| folded, and she was not successful
| John snatched it from her and, look
| ing at an Endorsement on the outside
ICau' Last w Al VI
Cynthia Withers."
who are you and what do you want
with this?'' asked John.
| The woman made no reply for few
minutes; then she said:
"Since / have not succeeded there is
no harm done and you can we'll afford
to let me go away quietly. l am Ellen
Stone
ELLEN Stone"" gasped Mary.
Go on" said John.
| Mrs Withers died this morning in
| the sanitarium. If l could have got
out with that paper L would have in
! herited all her property, for l have a
will dated long before that one drawn
| in my favor"
But how did you know where this
will was kept?" asked Mary.
when Mrs. Withers lived with me
she kept all her papers in her antique
desk | knew she must have made a
second will, and there was a chance
that it was in the desk. Learning that
| there was no one in the house during
| the day, l came here and. bringing a
tool to raise sash. got in. / found the
| desk and the will. as | hoped. and had
you, Mrs. Macknight, been minute
later / would have made good my es-
cape. l made pretense of having come
here to meet your husband. hoping that
it would prevent your OBTAINING me for
thief. Had you. Mr.. MacKnight,
been a minute later l would have sue
ceeded in passing the second danger"
( She paused few moments. then con-
tinued:
'''You have nothing to gain by prose
cutting me for this attempt to get pos
session of Mrs. Withers' will. and see
no reason why you should not suffer
me to depart"
81 can forgive you." said Mary. "for
| endeavoring to deprive me of fortune
even by criminal ruse. but it is not so
easy to forgive you for pretending that
you had won him from me. Suppose,