Iron County news. [volume] (Hurley, Wis.) 1913-1950, 1914-04-04
CHAPTER ~.
The FACE in the Crowd.

/ DduluS, 10 De sure, DuL DtdIlhS mum
ing sinister upon their face; and un-
less Van Vechten's more recent per-
turbation TAT sight of the yelled LADY,
be taken into account, neither had the
mornings queer events borne any
especial significance whatsoever
But here. in the twinkling of an eye,
was tragedy stark and grim Only a
minute or two ago and this man was
pulsing with the perfect vitality of
young, vigorous manhood; now the
spark of life was fown-extinguished
! as one might pun out the fame of a
candle.
Both were profoundly sobered by
the shocking end of their brief chase,
and even Van Vechtep's more active
mentality was slow to accept realiza-
ton. AS for Tom Phinney, he merely
stood gaping at the still form, his
brain for the time being utterly be-
numbed.
The spell Of horror was in a meas
ure broken by a policemans belated
| arrival He stopped and turned up the
mans face, and thin crimson tine
| IOAtA bb ntFh hAalii4hE INC IL ACAhPi+
The features were composed. as if
| death had been kind and merclfully
swift
"Slugged." was the officers senten-
tious conclusion. Standing upright, he
! shot glance round the crowd. Who
saw this done?' he roughly demanded.
Nobody replied; only an uneasy stir
I -fn t,rdtr1atoJ thrnn~h h. ,r,fI y
ering. which promptly settled again in
to silent immobility; and the blue-coat.
as usually happens in such cases,
sought to cover with rudeness his in
competency to handle the situation.
1t was at about this iuncture, Van
| Vechten forever afterwards. remem-
| bered, that he first became aware OF
the face. He was standing behind
Tom, bit to his left, and opposite the
alley mouth, His entire attention, nat
urally enough, up to this time had
| been absorbed by the ugly scene at his
| feet II was all the more strange.
| therefore. that his mind should have
| been attracted and held elsewhere.
even temporarily. But nevertheless.
! an a. NAANH Az "a POI AtttN an ihhNklAl-
able. irresistible impulse to glance up
ward at certain point in the ring of
! oplookers And his regard came TO rest
upon particular face.
Straightway he became sensible of
an unfamiliar thrill, an abrupt quick
/ ening e. the pulse, for which he could
not in the least account
Perhaps he would have looked away
again at once had there not come to
him. as simultaneously as had the
impulse to glance upward. a conyic-
non that the face siguifed something
Jar out Of the ordinary. The present
circumstances might IN a measure &C.
lcouut for tho horror mirrored there
but not for the despair. the terror.
which seemed gradually to be chilling
tho faces owner into a statue of ice
The face. Van Vechten told himself,
was rejecting emotions Of depth and
potency for which the mans death
alone was wholly inadequate to ac-
count: the fixed stare was directed at
something beyond and behind the life
less figure
1t was girls face. II was refined
and delicate Of contour aud was
framed in nimbus of wayy midnight
hair. II was, moreover. a strikinglv
beautiful face-even habntiugly beau
tiful, for il was face which the be
holder would not be likely to forget for
many and many a day. Van Vechten
knew that he had never seen the girl
before, still there was something
about her that leased and perplexed
him.
He knew dimly. later that she must
have been slender and not very tall.
for she was standing In the paved al.
ley. on the crowds outward edge. and
II was only an accident OF relative DO
sitions that afforded her an uninter-
rupted view
What terrible. gripping horror was
II that seemed to be paralvzinR all her
tancies' What did this mans death
signify to her more than it did to any
one else here present?
To one such AS Van VeChten. accus-
toned to reading the all but impercept-
iole indlces OF schooled features. this
vision was like naked human sout
Terror and despair parted the delicate
pink lips and widened the lustrous
dark eyes they blanched her cheeks
and held her breathless. utterly OBJ,
liVious of aught else save the dead
man
And now he discovered. suddenly.
that h4 was not the only person inter.
'Fted p the agitated girl. His auen.
uo2 Was somehow drawn IL q mao
standiag half dozen or soGeet from
her; at tall yaw.boaed fellow with a
( powerful frGue and sullen cast of
i counteaance~-a cSantenance lust now
scratched and bruised. as if It's owner
had recently met with a severe acct.
dent pf some kind.
Tn + man was staring angrily at the
! giTA Pie too seemed to be obliyious Of