Lincoln County times. (Jerome, Idaho) 1911-1919, 1915-01-14


God. Sara!"
She came close to him and spoke
in halfwhisper. Now you know the
secret. Is it safe with your"
He opened his lips to speak but no
words came forth. Paralysis seemed
TO have gripped not only his throat
but his senses. He reeled She
grasped his arm in a tense, fierce way.
aad whispered:
Be CAREFUL No one must hear
what we are saying" She shot a
glance down the deserted hall mo
one is near. | made sure of that.
Don't speak! Think first-think well,
Brandon Booth. 1t is what you have
been seeking for months-the truth.
You share the secret with us now.
Again | ask, is it safe with your"
My God" he muttered again, and
passed his hand over mis- eyes. His
brow was wet. He looked at his fin
gers dumbly as if expecting to find
them covered with blood.
rs it safe with you?" for the third
time.
Safe? Safe?" he whispered, follow
ing her example without knowing that
he did so. II can't believe you,
Sara. 1t can't be true"
1T is true"
You have known-all this time"
From that night when stood where
we are standing now"
"And-and-she?"
Il had never seen her until that
night l saved her" .,..
He dropped suddenly upon the trunk
that stood behind him. and buried his
face in his hands. For long time
she stood over him. her interest divid-
ed between him and the hall. wherein
lay their present peril
Come" she said ut last Pull your.
self together. We must leave this
place. Ii you are not careful they
Will suspect something downstairs"
He looked up with haggard eyes,
studying her face with curious intent
ness.
What manner of woman are you,
Sara" he questioned. slowly, won
deringly.
i have just discovered that | am
very much like other women. after
ALL she said. For awhile | thought
| was different. that | was stronger
than my sex. But l am just as weak,
Just as much to be pitied, Just as
much to be scorned as any one OF my
sisters. | have spoiled a great act
by STOPPING to do a mean one. God
VIII bear witness that my thoughts
were noble at the outset; my heart
was SOFT. But come. There is much
more to tell that cannot be told here.
You shall know everything"
They went downstairs and out into
the crisp autumn air. She gave direc-
lions to her chauffeur. They were
TO traverse for some distance the same
road she had taken on that Inflated
night year and half before. In
course OF time the motor approached
a weil-remembered railway crossing.
Slow down. Cole" she said This
Is mean place-a very mean place"
Turning to Booth. who had been sit
ting grim and silent beside her for
miles, she said, lowering her voice: Il
remember that crossing yonder. There
is sharp curve beyond. This is the
place. Midway between the two
crossings, | should say. Please re-
member this part OF the road. Bran
don, when | come to the telling of
that nights ride TO town. Try to pic.
ture this spot-this smooth, straight
road as it might be on a dark, freezing
night in the very thick of a screaming
blizzard, with all the world abed save
two women"
In his mind he began to draw the
picture, and to place the two women
in the center of it, without knowing
the circumstances. There was some
thing fascinating in the study he was
something gruesome and full
OF sinister possibilities for the hand
or yirile painter. He wondered how
near his imagination was to placing
the central figures in the picture as
they actually appeared on that secret
night.
AT sunset they went together to the
little pavilion at the end OF the pier
which extended far out into the sound
Here they were safe from the ears
OF eavesdroppers. The boats had been
slowed away for the winter. The
wind that blew through the open ma
vilion, now shorn of all its comforts
and Injuries. was cold, raw and repeI.
ling. No one would disturb them here
With her face set toward the sinking
east, she leaned against one of the
thick posts, and in a dull, emotlonless
voice, laid bare the whole story of that
dreadful night and the days that fol.
lowed. She spared no details. she
spared not herself in the narration.
He did not once interrupt her. All
the time she was speaking he was
studying the profile of her face az n
fascinated by its strange immobilIty.
For the matter of a full half.hour no
sat on the rail. his back against a post
his arms folded across the breast ~
the thick ulster he wore. staring at
her, drinking in every word OF the
5tOrI she fold %