The Tabor independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1913-19??, 1915-06-03
CHAPTER Ns-(Continued).

no move 10 depart, nou ranBe
enough, both were thinking Of IL at
the very moment he put the question.
"Goodness!" murmured Mary In
wonder. gt...
The grim face of the newcomer re-
Taxed into q smile OF self-praise. He
took note OF the curious expression In
Eric's eyes.
mo. I'm not a mind reader" he said,
answering the unspoken question, but
offering no reason for his deduction.
which, after all, was not so wonderful
when you stop to consider that the
Biagden dinner hour was close at
hand.
ITS our dinner time" explained Eric,
arising. Say, Mr.. Adams, you've got
me guessing about certain things"
What, for instance"
"Oh. 1 fancy vol know"
Il was getting some high class legal
advice" said Adam, again answering
an ~unspoken question. b the way,
did you happen to see your cousin out
) along Stone Wan an hou or so ago?"
NO." cried the M~idthornes.
Adam leaned back in the rustic
bench and blew smoke into the air. i
just wondered. that's all" he observed.
WAS he out there" demanded Eric.
"He asked me to meet him out there
at four-thirty. Guess he forgot about
It." said the other. more complacently
thar you would expect of a man who
had taken q long walk to no purpose.
As a matter of fact, he knew that
Chetwynd had gone to the rocks to
keep the appointment, but had slipped
away or discovering that his cousins
were there before him. Whatever his
business with Adam Carr nay have
been. he did not choose to have them as
possible witr esses to the transaction.
what did he want to see you for?'
asked Eric eagerly.
rE an lllnsk nax- roDIfaH Adam Carr
soberly.
What Is the mystery begged Eric.
There's no mystery about 1t" said
the other truthfully. 1t had ceased tc
be a mystery SO far as he was con-
termed. You'd better skip along now,
Or u aunt win Jack you up for be-
ing late to dinner" There was finality
in the remark, and Eric know him too
well to pursue the subject. A few min
utes later, he and Mary took their de-
p~arture, old Jabez accompanying them
to the gate.
Adams a mighty curior %feller," the
old man explained apologetically.
They glanced over their shoulders at
the motionless man on the bench. He
had stopped smoking and was resting
his elbows on his knees. staring in
tently at the ground, apparently
obiivious to all that was going on
around him.
At the dinner table that evening,
Chetwynd was unusually sullen and
~preoccupied. He chafted at delays
and in two OF three instances spoke
sharply to the waitress when she
seemed to be longer than necessary In
transit from pantry to dining room. For
him for this display or irritation, but
was painfully silent himself. Eric,
covertly watching his cousin, was
struck by the worn. peevish look in his
face and the ard line between his
brows. He did not fail to observe that
Chetwynd deliberately avoided looking
at him. .
From time to time, he shot a
%sinGularly penetrating glance at
Mary, whose gaze seldom left the plate
before her. Eric felt his blood boil.
There was a menace in every glance
that Chetwynd bestowed upon the girl.
Immediately after the meal came to
an end. young Bladgden took UP his
hat, and with a curt word or two to his
mother, left he house. Eric knew
whittier he was bound.
He heard his cousin come in at 3
o'clock or a little after, and go quietly
to mis- room, without stopping in the
liLrsiy where his parents were reading.
La, so on. Mrs. Blagden passed down
the i.alI and tapped on her sons door. f..
Have you another headache tonight
dear?" he heard her ask. after she had
tried the knob of the locked door. He
could not catch Chetwynd's reply, but
her next words were significant. Well
don't snap my head off, please"
Eric lay awake for hours, Specializing
on whgt had t~ranspired at Judge
Bright's house. The early return home
of Chetwynd was satisfying in n
sense, but disturbing in another. The
) isit plainly was not OF a social nature
nor friendly, IL might be reasonable TO
surmise. He could not nave been at
Judge Brights for more than a an
hour, a circumstance which made 1t
plain that there was no pleasure in the
visit. q eg. E~,
The conviction grew lin Eric's
feverish mind that the judges summons
to Chetwynd was the result Of h in
terview with Adam Carr. " &.
In that case, there was something
sinister behind it. @
Eric was disturbed by the dread that
whatever 1t was. he and perhaps Mary,
were to be dragged into 1t. Enough
had beer said to Joan to convince him
that they were under discussion. Could
1t be possible that Judge Bright had
called on Adam Carr TO investigate the
stories told by his aunt and Mrs.
Presbrey? Was the half-hour's inter-
view with Chetwynd a part of the eff
fort to get to the bottom of these ugly
stories? The occurrence OF h last few
days had thrown young Midthor1e In
to a wretched state of uncertainty and
doubt. As he lay there that night, wide
eyed and troubled, he could see naught
but foreboding shadows ahead OF
him. IL was impossible to go to sleep
with that sinister chill creeping through
his veins, q chill that turned him sick
with the nausea OF dread. Near dawn
he dropped off into a fitful doze. but
was aroused at z by his uncle, who
never missed calling the entire house
hold at that hour, breakfast being set
for 1880.
After breakfast. I'm a state Of
wretched uncertainty, he made his way
but not without some diffidence, to
Joan's home. driven by h desire to
find out how he stood with her since
the mysterious visit Of his cousin.
There was something disquieting IN
h fact that Chetwynd did not appear
for breakfast. pleading a headache. Mrs.
Blagden had her coffee and toast In
her sons room, which left the two Mid
tEornes to breakfast alone with their
uncle. Not more than a dozen words
were uttered In conversation during the
meal. MI. Blagden. a shade grayer In
the face than yesterday. 1t seemed to
Eric. read the morning paper while he
drank his coffee in sharp, jerky little
sips. Mary, In q covert glance, made
the tdiDcovery toward the end OF the
M TTT AI-~N~