The Washington herald., 1914-10-25
tcorright. laLl

there She was sitting back
in her easy-chair, her eyes
were half closed, she seemed pale and
tired The windows were wide open,
but the air>of the little room was stiff
ling
Constance he exclaimed Il beg
your pardon, Miss Robinson-you see
! am back again"
She seemed suddenly to pull herself
together. The lines were still under
her weary eyes, but she held herself up
right and she spoke briskly.
so l observe" she remarked 81 am
sorry" q,
She hesitated, looking at his dark
clothes and black tie He came over
to her, dragging chair with him.
Il am not going to try and be
hypocrite," he said. at was an uncle
whom have seen only half a dozen
times in my life, and he has left me a
little money He was eighty-one years
old Why on earth should be sorry?"
mo reason at all that can see" she
admitted, smiling. 4 suppose you have
come to tell me, then, that our partner
ship is at an end?"
"On the contrary" he answered
swiftly, q have come to beg for new
one"
She was conscious, almost as soon as
she had spoken, of the opportunity
which her words had given him She
shrank a little away but he caught at
her hands and held them boldly. -
Constance" he said. you've known
all the time, of course. You're horrid
TO me, and haven't cared to say much
before because, after all, had only
what I could earn with you and through
you I've a reserve fund to fail back
upon now. Will you marry me, please,
dear?"
She drew her hands firmly away.
Most certainly and decidedly not,
she declared.
Brooke sighed.
"It sounds a little unpromising," he
remarked.
1T is exactly how I feel" she as
sured him. 81 have not the slightest
desire to marry you or any one. What
I've seen of married life" she went on,
a little sadly, has been quite enough
to prevent my ever thinking about it
for myself as long as live"
He sat in silence for few moments.
q wonder" he remarked, Wis there
anything in your life which accounts
for your unnatural attitude toward
matrimony7"
She sighed.
Some day." she answered, '1 may
tell you-certainly not at present Now,
please, get all these foolish ideas out
of your head. There is some business
to talk about"
Il will talk business in FIVE minutes"
Brooke said. Before l do so, l insist
upon knowing what has happened to
this room"
He looked around him wonderingly.
Constance sat quite still, but her lips
were quivering.
4 do not consider, Mr.. Brooke" she
said, that this matter concerns you at
all"
IF we are partners in good fortune"
he insisted doggedly, I'VE are also part /
-,o-- -: I'll Ea-.,,-,
Il am not prepared to grant anything
OF the sort" she rejoined. Since you
are so ill-bred as to be inquisitive, 1
will admit that I have sold some of my
things. I had a pressing claim and l
had to satisfy II"
But why on earth couldn't you tele-
graph me?" he exclaimed. You knew
where l was"
Why on earth should Il" she re-
piled.
You know very well that what I
have"
What you have has nothing to do
with me-" she declared firmly. 81 have
burden to carry through life and l
mean to carry it myself. Whatever it
is, it is my affair and mine alone. Now,
will you please sit quite still? I want
to talk to you about something else"
Brooke kept silent with an effort.
Very we'll" he muttered. For the
present, then-only for the present You
can go on"
q suppose" she began, 81 have been
wasting my time the whole of the fort
night you have been away. ] couldn't
help II. l am going to make confess
sion. That downstairs room in the |
Cafe Hollande has fascinated me- l
haven't been able to keep away from it.
I think what makes it the more attrac-
tive really is that they hate the sight
Of me there"
The place has been thoroughly
searched, hasn't it?" he interposed.
From cellar to attic Not a single I
suspicious circumstance came to light, Ii
not a single thing to connect the place
with Paul of Delacher's Hotel, or with
any other person Mr. Simmons him
self told me that he was sure there had /
been some mistake. / told him about !,
Fritz, the man whose dead body was
found in the Thames l told him how /
genuinely terrified he was when he (