The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1914-06-26
A KISS IN
THE DARK
a - -
By EVERETT P. CLARKE

By EVERETT r. CLARKE
When consciousness came to me /
found myself in u strange room q r
rounded by a number Of persons. all Of
whom were looking at me with sympa-
thy OF their faces. could not re
member how L came to be there In
that condition or why i felt as ! did.
The truth was that in crossing a street
l had been knocked down through the
c~arelessness Of a.; chauffeur and Sc
verely injured. A man whom l took
to be a doctor was patching me up. and
as soon as l returned to consciousness
he ordered every one out Of the room
and. after telling me that l had been
run over, said that 1 had been carried
into d house near the scene Of the ac-
cident and could not be at once- re-
moved.
One Of my eyes had been injured.
and a strip of linen was laid over both
of them. Then l suppose / was left to
myself for awhile. for l heard no sound
In the room. though at intervals per-
sons came and went. After having
been alone. 10 far as knew, during
one Of these Intervals l heard what
sounded to me to be a faint rustling of
q woman's skirts. Then there was q
vague consciousness that some n
was standing ear me looking at me.
One thing felt sure OLA warm
breath against my cheek.
Suddenly l felt a pair Of lips pressed
against mine. 1t a only for a mo-
ment. after which by the sound of
skirts ! knew some IN was scamper-
ing away. I had evidently been kissed
by a woman
Now. l was at an age when a kiss
like that would naturally stir the i'm
agination. Was the kisser young? l
judged so by the feeling of her lips.
which we're soft and warm. l longed
to get we'll that I might find her out.
/ remained where Twas but q few
days. when I was taken to my own
home. .I was not permitted to remove
my eye covering before leaving the
house. SO l was ignorant of the mem
bers Of the family. As soon as l was
well enough to be out again I went to
thank them for the care they had
taken Of noe. I was received by the
lady Of the house, and I asked that /
might thank every n who was in the
house during my stay there. The lady
told me that the members Of her fam
lily were one son and a little daughter
eight years old. I knew that the per-
o who had kissed me was neither Of
these. for the swish Of skirts l heard
was not that Of q child asked IL
there had been any ,yone besides. the
family in the house during my sot6urn'
there, to which she replied that no one
had been staying there. The accident
had caused considerable excitement in.
the neighborhood. and a number Of
persons had come in to make inquiries
This. was as far as I could 60 in my
investigation. at least at the time, and
I felt discouraged. There was a strong
probability of. my remaining in igno-
rance Of what I was extremely anxious
to know. I resolved to cultivate the
acquaintance of the Murrays, who had
housed me, with a view to a possible
meeting with the kisser.
This l did. The son, Ed Murray.
was about my age, andI took especial
pains to cultivate him. He was moth
ing loath. and we soon became excel
lent friends. have often thought
that the kisser, seeing me going about
with him. must have quaked in her
boots. But though l %purposely talked
with Murray about my stay in his
mothers house. I gained no informa-
ton as to who was there on the day
I was taken In. Ed had beenSaway
at the time. However. Twas. doing
my bit Of detective work very we'll.
and 1t vas quite likely that by being
a good deal at the house might run
across my quarry. and IL. I did I was
quite sure she would show in her fea-
lures a consciousness that would be-
tray her.
Time passed. and. having thus far
failed. I concluded to reveal my secret
to some one Of the family and ask as
sistance. Neither Mrs. Murray nor Ed
could be relied on to give the girl away.
l chose Ellie Murray. the daughter, as
one too young to have many scruples
about giving the lady away.
II do believe It was Kit Travets,"
she said. She's just the kind Of girl
to do a thing Hike that"
who is Kit Travers? Wa she here
on the day I was brought heref"
81. don't know about her being here.
but she might have been. At that time
she used to. come here quite often"
"At that time? Doesn't she come
here quite often nowT 4
''she hasn't been in the house In Q
long WHILE" (.
I felt quite sure l was on the right
track. I based my conclusion on the
fact Of Miss Trayers having formerly
been often at the Murrays' and having
anddenlv drODned OF aftef. I .k9camo,