Rural Retreat times. [volume] (Rural Retreat, Va.) 1892-1918, 1915-07-09

Va dudlIS, Delng woman. Having
had no real romance herself she de-
lighted IN having a secondhand one,
as you might say. She intercepted
many glance and pretended not to
see the stolen hand pressures The
wedding was already full drawn in her
minds eye. These two young people
should be married at Susan Farlow's
when the roses were climbing up the
sides of the house and the young rob-
ms were boldly trying their fuzzy
wings. 1t struck her as rather strange,
but she could not conjure up lat this
1edding) more than two men besides
the minister, the bridegroom, and the
butler.
By forsaking his accustomed haunts,
under the advice of Jones, the hidden
warfare ceased temporarily. You can't
very well kill man when you don't
know where to find him. He ate his
breakfasts haphazardly, now here,
now there. He received most of his
assignments by telephone and wrote
his stories and articles in his club, in
the writing rooms of hotels, and in
variably dispatched them to the office
by messenger. The managing editor
wanted to know what all this meant:
but Norton declined to tell him.
1t irked him to be forced to rear.
range his daily life--his habits It
was revolution against his ease for
he loved ease when he was not at
work. He had the sensation of having
been suddenly robbed of his home, of
having been cast out into the streets.
And on top of all this he had to go
and fall in love!
There was no longer shadow op
posite the apartments of the Princess
Perigoff Braine came and went night
ly without discovering any one. This
rather worried him. 1t gave him the
impression that the shadow had found
out what he had been seeking and no
longer needed to watch the coming
and going of either himself or the
Countess Perigoff
"Olga. it looks as If we were at the
end of our rope" he said discouragedly,
eve have failed in all attempts SO far
The devil watches over that girl
COR God" replied the countess
gloomily. In nearly every instance
their success has been due to chance.
Somehow I'm convinced that we be-
gan wrong. We should have let Har.
greav escape quietly followed him,
and made him last when the right op.
portunity came. After month or so
his vigilance would have relaxed; he
would have arrived at the belief that
he had eluded us" M
Indeed" ironically. "He wasn't
vigilant all these years in which he
did elude us. How about the child he
never sought but guarded? Vigilance!
He never was anything else all these
seventeen years. The truth is, sue
cess has developed coarseness in our
methods. And now it is too late for
finesse. We have tried every device
we can think of; and there they are
the girl free, Norton unframed, and
the father as secure in his retreat as
though he wore an invisible cloak. My
head aches. / have ceased to be in
ventive."
"The two are in love with each 9th.
err"
care you sure of that?"
81 have my eyes. But l begin to
wonder"
"About what?"
whether or not Jones suspects me
and is giving me rope to hang myself
with Not ,nce have the police been
called in and told what has really hap
pened. They re totally at sea. And
what has become of the man over the
way?"
"By the Lord Harry" exclaimed
Braine, clapping his hands. 81 believe
I've solved that. We shot man COM
ing out of Hargreave's. Since then
there's been no one across the way.
One and the same mani"
But that knowledge doesn't get us
anywhere
mo. You say they are in love?"
Secretly. l don't believe the butler
has an inkling of it. 1t is possible,
however, that Susan has caught the
trend of affairs. But, being rather
romantic, she will in no wise inter
fere."
Braine smoked in silence. Pres
emily smile twisted his lips.
"You have thought of something's"
she asked
"You might try it," he said. "They
have accepted your friendship;
whether with Interior purpose remains
to be learned She has been to your
apartments two or three times to tea
and always got home safely"
"No," she said determinedly. Moth
ing shall happen here. | will not
take the risk"
"Wait till I'm through. Break up
the romance in sue way that the
girl will bar Norton fror the house
That's what we've been aiming at; to
get rid of that meddling reporter
We've tried poisons. Try your kind"
What do you mean?"
Lies"
"Ah! l understand You want me
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