The Lamar register., 1914-07-15


again met mine they evidenced fear.
"That-that was Philip Henley's
ring" she said gravely. Family heir
loom; he always wore 1t. He must be
here
AT least 1t would seem that he has
been. The seal Is peculiar one. not
likely to be duplicated. But l doubt
| II he Is here now. for he could have
no reason for avoiding US. unless
81 know what you mean" she re-
piled. as I hesitated. unless he in
recognition
us he that kind Of a man?''
"No. not when sober. Under the
influence Of liquor he becomes q brute.
capable Of any meanness."
perhaps that may be the secret
then The others here may be keeping
him intoxicated and hidden away for
purposes of their own. However, this
need not change our plans. Will you
60 In to SallieY
Yes: II will be u relief to be busy.
to feel that I am accomplishing some
thing"
stood upon the bench, from where
l could look out above the weeds and
tangled bushes. and followed her
course to the house. At top Of the
steps she paused an instant to glance
back and then disappeared within.
waited patiently. knowing that II she
failed to discover the hOusekeeper she
would give some signal. Meanwhile
! watched the weed grown area about
me carefully In search Of any skulker
observing our movements.
The knowledge that Philip Henley
was alive. that any discoveries I might
make would benefit him even more
than bis wife. robbed me Of some In
terest In the outcome. Nothing ! had
heard Of the man was favorable to
bis character. ! felt profoundly con
vinced that whatever affection his
wife might have once entertained for
him had long ago vanished through
neglect and abuse. My sympathies
were altogether with her. and had
already begun to dream Of her as free.
She had come Into contact with my
life In such a way as to impress me
greatly We had been thrown togeth-
er in strange familiarity Little by
little | had grown to appreciate her
beauty. not only Of face. but also Of
womanly character
! dreaded the temperance Of Hen
ley. Would she return to him7 Would
she forgive the past? I could not be
ignorant Of the fact that she liked
me. trusted me as friend. But be-
yond this rather colorless certainty l
a hx.
the kind ever to compromise with
duty nor to pretend. No love for me.
even II IL had already begun to bios
som In her secret heart, would make
her disloyal to sacred vows l knew
that and deep down In my own con-
sciousness honored her the more. even
while struggled against the inevi-
table. Yesterday might have spoken
the words of passion on my lips, but
now they were sealed.
felt the pistol in my pocket, took
1t out and made sure 1t was in readi-
ness. then advanced cautiously to-
ward the house. The ball was empty
and so was the front room. The latter
appeared desolate and grim in its dis
order and dirt. My thought centered
vi Vi duoSC ooh6
ing against the further wall. could
never be satisfied until learned abb
solutely what was concealed behind
that heavy gilded frame. There was
mystery to this house. and perhaps
here had already stumbled upon the
secret | opened the door leading to
the rear, silently. and listened. There
were voices talking at distance. two
women. one a pleasant contralto. the
other cracked and high pitched. The
lady was doing her part; must do
mine. closed the door gently and
stole over toward the picture.
A black haircloth sofa with broad
mahogany arm offered two easy steps.
enabling me to tip the heavy frame
sufficiently SO as to peer behind. The
one glance was sufficient Underneath
was an opening in the wall much less
in width than the picture. yet ample
for the passage Of crouched body.
The arm of the sofa made egress com
paratively easy. while the frame OF
the picture. though appearing heavy
and substantial, was In reality OF
light wood and presented no obstacle
to an active man. The passage was
black. and thrust my head and shoui-
ders in. striving to discern something