Gunnison news-champion., 1914-08-21

7 statefn. nave sssslI-t. a xr~aa -.
By stseping to 40 a mean sae. Cod
viii bear witness that my Thoughts
we're nobie al the outset; nay heart
was soft But eomei There 10 much
more to tell that Cannot be tola here.
1o9 shall kncO everything"
They went downstairs ana cut ip.e
the crisp autumn air. She gave airec-
tons 10 her chauffeur. They we're
10 traverse for some Instance the same
road she had taken on that ill-fated
night year and a half before. In
course of time the motor approached
q weii-renembered railway crossing
Slow down. Cole" she said. This
rs a mean place very mean place T"
Turning to Booth. who had been sit.
ting grim and silent beside her for
miles, she said, lowering her voice. n
Remember that crossing yoneer There
Is sharp curve beyond This is the
place. Midway between the two
crossings. l should say. Please re
member this part OF the road, Bran
den, when | come to the telling of
that nights ride to town. Try to pic
ture this spot--this smooth, straight
road as II might be on a dark, freezing
night in the very thick Of a screaming
blizzard. with all the world abed save
two women."
In his mind he began to draw the
picture, and to place the two women
In the center of 1t, without knowing
the circumstances. There was some
thing fascinating in the study he was
making, something gruesome and full
CT sinister possibilities for the hand
of a virile painter. He wondered how
near his Imagination was to placing
the central figures in the picture as
they actually appeared on that secret
nioAt.
At sunset they went together to the
little pavilion at the end of the pier
which eHtended far out into the sound.
Here they were safe from the ears
of eavesdroppers. The boats had been
slowed away for the winter. The
wind that blew through the open pa
vilion, now shorp of all its comforts
and luxuries, was cold, raw and repel
ling Nc one would disturb them here.
With her face set toward the sinking
east, she leaned against one of the
thick posts. and In a dul,, erctionless
voice, Laid bare the whole story Of tsat
dreadful night and the days that fol-
lowed. She spared no details, she
spared not herself in the narration.
He did not once interrupt her. An
the tine she was speaking he was
studying the profile of her face as il
fascinated by its strange imn1bility.
For the matter of a full haif-hcur he
sat on the rail, his back against a post,
his arms folded across the breast of
the thick ulster he wore, staring at
her. drinking in every word OF the
crept into his face when she came to
the point where the thought of marry
ing Hetty to the brother of her victim
FIRST began to manifest itself in her
designs For . time the look of in
credulity remained, to be succeeded
by utter scorn as she went on with
the recital. Her reasons, her excuses,
her explanations for this master stroke
In the way Of compensation for all
that she had endured at the hands of
the scornful Wrandalls, all of whom
were hateful to her without exception.
stirred him deeply. He began to un-
derstand the forces that compelled her
to resort to this Machiavellian plan
for revenge on them. She admitted
everything: her readiness to blight
Hettys life forever; her utter callous-
ness in laying down these ugly plans;
her SURPRISING vindictiveness; her re-
fections on the triumph she was to
enjoy when her aims were fully at
tanned She confessed to a genuine
pity for Hetty Castleton from the be-
ginning. but it was outweighed by that
thing she could only describe as an
obsession, How she hated the
wrandalls, Then came the
real awakening: when the truth came
to her ae a revelation from God. Hetty
had not been to blame. The girl was
innocent of the one sin that called
for vengeance 30 far as she was con-
cerned The staying Of Challis Wian-
dali was justifedi All these months
she had been harboring a woman she
believed to have been his mistress as
well - his murderess. II was not SO
much the murderess that she would
have foisted upon the Wrandalle as .
daughter. but the mistress! :
She loved the girl she had loved her
from that first night Back of it all.
therefore, lay the stern. unsuspected
{rufh: from tie very beginning che in
stinctively haA known this girl to be
- u2r h,r.~
Il cards fen down There was moth
ing left Of the plans on which It had
Seen constructed II had AL been