Williams news., 1915-04-29

quite-quite yourself" she softly eX- plained, wondering at her own con- posture. Then quickly, as she saw his thoughts revert to the dead friend at his feet, "Bela was not hurt here. He was downtown when it happened; but he managed to struggle home and gain this place, which he tried to hold against the men who followed him. He thought you were dead, you sat there so rigid and so white, and, be- fore he quite gave up, he asked us all to promise not to let anyone enter this room till your son Oliver came"
 Understanding partly, but not yet quite clear in his mind, the judge sighed, and, stopping again, straight ened the faithful negro's limbs. Then, with sidelong look in her direction, he felt in one of the pockets of the dead negro's coat and, drawing out small key, held it in one hand while he fumbled in his own for another, which found, he became on the instant his own man again.
 Miss Weeks, seeing the difference in him, and seeing, too, that the doorway was now clear of the wondering, ave- struck group which had previously blocked it, bowed her slight body and proceeded to withdraw; but the judge. staying her by a gesture, she waited patiently near one of the bookracks against which she had stumbled, to hear what he had to say.
 q must have had an attack of some kind" he calmly remarked. Will you be good enough to explain exactly what occurred here that may more fully comprehend my own misfortune and the death of this faithful friend"
 Then she saw that his faculties were now fully restored, and came step forward. But before she could begini her story he added this searching ques- tion:
 Was it he who let you in-you and the others-I think you said others? Was it he who unlocked my gates?"
 Miss Weeks sighed and betrayed f1uster. It was not easy to relate her story; besides it was woefully incom- plete. She knew nothing of what had happened downtown, she could only tell what had passed before her eyes. But there was one thing she could make clear to him, and that was how the seemingly impossible gates had, been made ready for the woman's en- trance and afterwards taken such ad vantage of by herself and others. A pebble had done it ala pebble placed in the gateway by Bela's hands.
 As she described this and insisted upon the fact in face of the judges almost frenzied disclaimer, she thought she saw the hair move on his forehead Bella a traitor, and in the interests of the woman who had fronted him from the other end of the room at the mo- ment consciousness had left him! Evi- dently this intrusive little body did not know Bella or his story, or
 Why should interruption come then? Why was he stopped, when in the pas sion of the moment he might have let fall some word of enlightenment which would have eased the agitated curiosity of the whole town! Miss Weeks often asked herself this ques- tion and bewailed the sudden access of sounds in the rooms without, which proclaimed the entrance of the police and put new strain upon the judges faculty of self-control and attention to the one matter in hand.
 The commonplaces of an official in- quiry were about to supersede the play of a startled spirit struggling with problem of whose complexities he had received but glimpse.
 
 The library again! but how changed! Evening light nov instead of blazing sunshine; and evening light so shaded that the corners seemed far and the many articles of furniture, cumbering the spaces between, larger for the shadows in which they stood hidden. Perhaps the man who sat there in company with the judge would have preferred to see more perfectly that portion of the room where Bela had taken his stand and finally fallen; but from the place where he sat there was no getting any possible view of that part of the wall or of anything con- nected with it; and so, with every ap- pearance of satisfaction at being al- lowed in the room at all, Sergeant Doolittle from headquarters drank the judges wine and listened for the judges commands.
 Sergeant, I have lost faithful servant under circumstances which have called an unfortunate attention to my house. I should like to have this place guarded guarded, you understand-from any and all intru sions till I can look about me and se- cure protection of my own. May rely upon the police to do this, begin ing tonight at an early hour? There are loiterers already at the corner and in front of the two gates. I am not accustomed to these attentions, and ask to have my fence cleared"
 Two men are already detailed for the job your honor. I heard the order l.