The Dickson County herald. (Dickson, Tenn.) 1907-1979, 1914-08-21

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cas- me fu0Ti was ssiS~ ara ektAEas
furnished. liz to0k 0sE hsa tGaK bes
retainRd bis lat. puliEug II down siin
farther over his eyeA his lace vas si
ways q SHADOW. A rouuh chin. t'Eu
full red lips, scansiiy eovared By .
blend un4siache were all thar cUGid ale
ssen- Hs began to walk the fooF I'm
patiently, stopplni, and llstcninIy when-
ever be heard a suand He waited
less than an hour for the return Of the
car, II brought two men. They were
wsitdresSsd. smooihiy1thayen. with
keen eyes and Intelligent faces Their
host. who had never seen either OK his
guests before, caralessly waved his
hand toward the table where there
we're two ehairs He himself took bis
stand BY the window and looked oat
a. he talked. In another hour thu room
was dark and the street. deserted.
In the meantime the primA donna
gave a sigh OF relief. She vas home
IL Was nearly two O'Clock She would
sleep till noon, and Saturday ard Sun
day would be hers. 5hs went up the
stairs instead OF taking the lift. and
though the hall was dark. she knew
her way. She unlocked the door Of
the apartment and entered. swinging
the door behind her AS the act was
mechanical. her thoughts being other
wise engaged, she did not notice that
the lock failed to click. The feirule
OF cane bad prevented that
She flung her wraps on the diyan
and put the roses In an empty bowl
The door opened softly. without noise
Next. she stopped before the mirror
over the mantel. touched her hair
lightly detached the tiara OF emeralds
, , and became as inanimate as
marble. She saw another face. She
never knew how long Che interval o.
silence wac she turned slowly.
Yes. II is Il" said the man.
Instantly she turned again to the
mantel and picked up magazine no.
volver She leyeled il at him.
Leave this room. or | win shoot"
Courtlandt advanced toward her
slowly. DO so" he said. Il should
much prefer bullet to that look
Il am In earnest" She was very
white, but her hand was steady.
He continued TO advance There
followed crash. The smell OF burn
ing powder filled the room The Bur.
mese gong changed shrilly and whlrled
wildly Courtlandt felt his hair stir in
terror
You must hate me indeed" he said
quietly, rs the sense OF terror died
away. He folded his arms. Try
again. there ought to be half dozen
bullets left. No. Thea. good byl"
He left the apartment without another
word or look, and as the door closed
behind him there was kind Of tinality
in the clicking OF the latch,
The revolver clattered to the door,
and the woman who had fired IL leaned
heavily against the nantel, covering
her eyes.
Nora. Nora" cried a startled voice
from bedroom adjoining. What has
happened Mon Dieu. what Is ite'' A
pretty. sleepy'eyed young woman. in
n night-dress, rushed into the room.
She flung her arms about the singer.
Nora. my dear, my dearl"
lie forced his way In. thought
TO frighien him. 1t went of accident.
ally. Oh. Celeste. Celeste. might
have killed him"
The other drew her head down on
her shoulder. and listened. She could
hear voices In the lower hall, a shout
OF warning patter or steps; then the
hall door slammed After that silenC ..
save for the faint mellowing vibration,
OF the Burmese gong
CrU he CONTINUED