Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-03-10

alone?" he asked again, wondering II she
had resigned her husband to the care
OF the Government for n protracted
period
Quite alone" she answered frankly;
unless my former mail comes back to
me That Is the reason l am so CRATE
| iul TO you for coming In. III YOU will be
| good enough to go over the house with
me- so that l shall be quite sure I am
entirely alone. I shall be twice grateful"
She spoke with studied ease Ruther-
tord' howtver, noticed that now as they
approach'd the third floor where the
| shades at the windows were so iealously
lowered. she seemed pale and fatigued
and there were slight circles Of worry
| visible below her eyes.
| 1t VIII be n considerable nervous strain
! for you to live here without company"
| he remarked
I'm afraid It WILL" she surprised him
! by acknowledging; but I mustl 1t is
the only way I can help himl It is the
only way that we can prove"
She stopped suddenly and bit her llp
rutherford respected her secret and asked
no more questions. He could feel only
admiration for the resolute young spirit
who could dare any danger and the peril
of loneliness for the sake OF aiding one
she loved.
Already rcgrettlng her outburst tho girl
hurried from one room to another When
they returned to the lower floor Ruther-
| ford noticed that there were inches in the
| wall from whence statues had once over
looked the stairs. They were curtained
but he had reached the front room on tho
second floor before II occurred to him 10
| explore them. He turned back
II meant TO glance into those nlches,"
he said
II was a better detective than You:
did So she replied hastily.
II didn't notice tho fact" said Craig,
lnwardly sure that no action OF hers had
escaped him.
You aren't very observant, arc you7''
she asked smllingly.
Craig noticed that her lips did not
strnishten; they curved softly into the
Cupid's bow. of which he had read, but
wn'ch ne had doubted until now. He mar
veled inwardly at this new charm which
had escaped him hitherto; and rnarvellng
no forgot that his eyes had not left her
Tor an instant on their Journey rp and
down the stairway, and the curtained
inches could not have been examined
without his observing IT,
Tho room to which she now led hin,
occupied the width of the house. on the
second floor, and was designed evidently
as study "A nat-topped desk stood In
the middle of the floor. n graceless
thought perhaps convenient piece of
furniture with two tiers of drawers It's
only ornament was the nnely-mounted
head OF Rocky Mountain goat.
'Gcorge, what bully specimcn!" ex-
claimed Craig, his hunting instinct
aroused Who got him? Where did he
come from7''
Mr.. Talcott shot HMM the Rockies,
1 believe"
"A beauty-but look at this--it's a down.
right shame! He's such an unusually fine
fellow, it's a pity he isn't perfect"
rutherford was looking with lively re-
Sret Mt the tip end Of one of the long,
curved horns. 1t was broken off. He
reached out and touched the blemish.
Mrs. Talcott. who had been standing be-
side him. moved away uneasily.
1T was probably broken in some wicked
fight he had with another mountain
beast" she said hastily.
Then. as If unwilling to continue the
subject. she sat down at tho desk, opened
drawer, and laid the pistol in it. Ruth
erford realized for the first time that she
had carried the weapon with her during
the exploring tour. The knowledge
piqued him
"L'td you carry that with you to pro-
teot us both, I'm case there should be any
one In the house2" he asked, with trace
of sarcasm in his voice.
She glanced at him before replying, She
had trick of reading all his moods by
the tone of his voice, and her own mood
seemed instantly to respond.
'No-l-perhaps L am becoming too
much victim of my own fears" she
said hesitatingly
DO you not trust me?" he demanded
bluntly.
"oh, how can you ask that when I am
trusting you here-when I have trusted
you all along!" she breathed.
Hardly knowing what he did, Craig
reached out and took both of her hands
in his. He was not an anchorite; he was
only human; and the lure of her droop-
ing lips. the nearness of her hands, the
perfume of her hair. the tired look in her
eyes, were too much for him. He only
knew that he wanted to take her I'm his
arms and comfort her-this lonely, brave,
helpless misguided little woman! She
flushed, and struggled to free her hands.
Let me try the telephone she pleaded
breathlessly.
"Will you listen to me, them" he asked.
She nodded, without raising her eyes to
his He released her hands. He had
made up his mind to tell her that he
cared for her so much he would guard her
from all the rest of the world and he
would also guard her from-himself He
would make It perfectly clear to her that,
although he could not longer conceal his
love. 1t would be devoted to silent service
for her, and would ask nothing in return.
I1lS lONo was SoilltAilAHB VI WHICH Ht was
not Misunderstanding which she need
not fear-something she could lean upon
at any time of stress.
She reached for the receiver of the
deslS-teIephone; then, instead of taking
It. her free hand shot out and pressed one
of the three buttons that were imbedded
in the desk.
Again Craig experienced quick re-
vulsion OF feeling. This girl, while pre-
tending to trust him, was letting him
make a fool of himself He had meant
to reassure her. and she would not listen
to him-she was summoning aid
by heaven, I viii speak," he cried.
SELLING her hand again.
She did not seem to hear him. and for
the moment did not try to disengage her
hand. She sat listening, poised, ex-
peetant.
At the same instant a voice, angry ex-
ultant, was heard in the lower hall:
Trapped! Caught like a rat in a trap!"
CONTINUED TOMORROW