Iron County record. [volume] (Cedar City, Utah) 1893-1982, 1915-08-13
CHAPTER VIIi-contlnued.

Well. the last I received only a
fortnight ago If you will wait mo-
ment l will go and get 1t. Ii was SO
strange that l haven't DESTROYED it,"
AND she went out, and heard by
the the frou-frou of her skirts that she
was ascending the stairs.
After five minutes of breathless anxi.
ETY. she rejoined me, and handing ne
the letter to read, said:
ut is not in her handwriting won.
der why?"
The paper was of foreign make, with
blue lines ruled in squares. Written
IN a hand that was evidently foreign,
tor the mistakes In the orthography
were many. was the following curious
communication:
My Dear Lydia:
Perhaps you may never get this letter
he last shall ever be able to send you.
Indeed. 1 run great risks In sending IL.
An! you do not know the awful disaster
shat has happened to me- all the terrors
and the tortures endure. But no one can
assist me. and ! am now looking FORWARD
to the time when 1t will all be over Do
you recollect our old peaceful DAYS I'm the
garden at Chichester? / think of them
always, always. and compare that sweet
peace of the past with my own terrible
suferings OF today. An how 1 wish 1
might see you once again; how that I
might feel your hand upon my brow, and
near your words of hope and encourage
ment! But happiness Is now debarred
from me, and 1 am only sinking to the
grave under this slow torture of body and
of soul
This will pass through many hands be-
fore II reaches the post. II, however. II
ever does get dispatched and you receive
IL, VIII you do me one last. favor--a favor
TO an unfortunate girl who Is friendless
and helpless, and who will no ongsr trou-
BILE the world? 1t is this: Take this let
ter to London. and call upon Mr.. Martin
Woodroffe at 9S Cork street. Piccadilly.
Show him my letter. and tell him from
me that through II all / have kept nv
promise. and that the secret Is still safe.
NE will understand-and also know why I
cannot write this with my own hand II
ne Is abroad, keep II until he returns
IL Is all l ask of you, Lydia, and I
know that IL this reaches you, you will
not refuse me. You have been my only
friend and conhdante, but l now bid you
farewell for the unknown beckons me,
and from the grave l cannot write Again
farewell. and for ever.
Your loving and affectionate friend.
EL4MA.
"A very strange letter. is 1t not?" re-
marked the girl at my side. 81 can't
make 1t out. You see there is no ad.
dress. but the postmark Is Russian.
She is evidently in Russia"
"In Finland" said, examining the
stamp and making out the post town to
be Abo. But have you been to Lon.
don and executed this strange commits
sion?"
mo. We are going up next week. |
intend to call upon this person named
Woodroffe"
l made no remark. He was, knew.
abroad. but was glad at having OBJ
tanned two very important clues: first.
the address OF the mysterious yachts.
man, Woodroffe, alias Hornby, and,
secondly. ascertaining that the young
girl sought was somewhere in the
vicinity of the town OF Abo, the Fin.
nish port on the Baltic.
Poor Elma, you see. speaks in her
letter OF some secret. Mr.. Gregg" my
companion said. "She says she wishes
this Mr.. Woodroffe, whoever he is, to
know that she has kept her promise
and has not divulged It, This only
bears out what l have all along sus.
pected."
What are your suspicions?"
well. from her deep. thoughtful
manner, and from certain remarks she
at times made to me. believe Elma
is in possession Of some great and ter.
rible secret-a secret which her uncle,
Baron Oberg, is DESTROYS of learning
know she holds him in deadly fear
she is in terror that she may inadver.
tently betray to him the truth"