Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1914-11-21

! letter very bold and careless; signature
written In an entirely different hand.
But hundred dollar bills loose in let
| tiers mean n big stake. 1 wrote her /
would come, and 1 signed it Her
manu. just to play up to her lead.
Irene got on and threw a fit She said
/ her woman's intuition told her there
was danger in it. Truth Is. she was
stuck on me herself. and 1 was on her.
| but we did not find 1t out until after
the crash. So | was ali for prying
/ Astraea loose from her money IL had
| to marry her to do IL. She wrote some
slush about the one desperate plunge
| together and then the glory that was
/ to be ours. That looked like marriage
| to me.
"You saw the last letter. 1t had me
| ratified. but not ratified enough to quit.
/ There was a map in it of the place for
I the meeting. That was plain enough.
/ But the 'our' and we business in it
/ bothered me- 1t looked a bit like n
| third person. 1 had not heard any
thing about any third person. What is
more. / did not have any use for a
| third person in this business. The
stars forbade it. 1 wrote and told her
rung in the stellar courses would have
sudden change of heart. Then ! put
my best robe in a bag and bought a
ticket for Carrs Junction. You can
believe that while 1 was going through
the woods 1 was keeping a bright eye
out for any third party. Well, he was
not there, not when l arrived anyway.
Where he was all the time / do not
know. 1 never saw him. But l heard
him later. 1 can hear him yet at night,
God help me.
"She was leaning against a little tree
at the edge of the thicket when first
saw her. There was plenty of light
from the moon. and it sifted down
through the trees and fell across her
head and neck. L noticed a queer cir
c1et around her neck. The stones were
like soft pink fires 1 had not ever
seen any like them before, and stood
there trying to figure whether they
were rubies and how much they might
be worth. While 1 was wondering
about ii she half turned, and l got my
first look at her face.
"She was younger than had reckon
ed on and not bad to look at, but
Il.
struck me all wrong-gave me a sort
of ugly shiver. Another thing struck
me all right, though. That was that
she had jewels on pretty much all her
fingers. In one of my letters TO her l
gave sf< a hint about that-told her
that gems gave the stars a stronger
hold on the wearer. and she had taken
1t all in. She certainly was an easy
subject.
"a bundle done up in paper was on
the ground near her. 1 ducked back,
very still. and got into my robe. The
arrangement in her letter was for me
to whistle when 1 got there. 1 whis-
tied. She Strengthened up.
Come she said, I am waiting.
"Her voice was rather deep and soft.
But it wasn't a pleasant softness.
Some way 1 did not like it any better
than 1 liked her looks. 1 stepped out
into the open and gave her the grand
bow.
1.-The master of the stars, at your
command l said.
"'You are not as 1 expected to see
you she said.
THAT was a sticker. 1t might mean
most anything. l took chance.
"'Oh. WE'LL said, we all change
TT went We change as life
changes she said. They never found
you. did they?'
From the way she said it saw she
expected me to say No So 1 said NO.
THAT was left for me to return |
and do she went on with n kind of
queer joy that gave me the shivers |
again. The instant L saw your state |
ment in the newspaper l knew it was |
your soul calling to mine across the |
ages. Our boat is at the shore
I'm that last letter she mentioned |
a ship. And, now, here was this boat |
business. (Afterward 1 looked for a |
sign of either but could not find any. |
thought perhaps it would explain |
the other part of the we and 'our.o |
If was going to elope by sea 1 want !
ed TO know 1t, and I said as much.
care you steadfast?' she asked.
We'll. there was only one answer to |
that l said l was. She opened her
package and took out coil of rope.
1t was this gray-white rope, sort of |
and it looked strong.
"'What now / asked her.
"'To bind us together she said.
Close. close together, and then the
plunge, This time there shall be no
failure. They shall not find one of us
without the other You are not afraidT
Afraid, My neck was bristling-
"'Go Slow | said, thinking mighty
hard. 4 don't quite see the point of
this
Didn't 1 curse myself for not re-
what 1 had written her?
No clew, except that the poor soul was
plumb dippy-too dippy for me to mar
~ at any price. 1t wouldn't have held
in the courts. Yet there might have
been $1,000 of diamonds on her.
suppose she felt me weakening.
You dare to break our pact?' she
says in a voice like a woman on the
stage Then she changed and spoke
very gently. You are looking at these
gewgaws,' she said and took a dia-
mond circlet from her finger. What
do these count for?' And she put it in
my hand. Another ring dropped at
NV feet Mind she was giving them