Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1915-12-02

worthy Of her. and that nobody knows
1t better than l do. There are thous-
ands OF men who could offer her far
more than I an. and who would be
Eager to offer it. But when l asked
her to marry me, / though myself the
son of a wealthy man. When / foun1
nyseif a pauper, l wrote at once to re-
lease her. She replied that when h
wished her realise, she YOU ask for
IT; that 1t wasn't my money h was
in o with. Then l came out here
and had a talk with her father. He
was Kind enough, but pointed that
the affair could not go farther until
4 mad established myself. l agreed, Of
course; l agreed, too. when he sug-
gested h a it would only be fair to her
to leave her free-not to see her or
Write to her, or try to influence her in
any way. l wanted to be fair to her,
Since then, | have not seen her, nor
heard from her. But her fathers feel
ings have changed toward me-"
In what way"
Il thought he might be interested to
know what l was doing, and two or
three months ago. l called and asked
to see him. Instead of seeing me, he
white robe that neither he nor his
daughter wished to see me again"
His face was red with the relmem-
bered humiliation.
II wrote to Miss Vaughan once, after
that" he added, but my letter was not
answered.
Evidently she didn't get your let
ter
Why do YOU think SOP"
IF h had got it, she would have
known that o We're 10 longer at 1910
Fifth avenue. Her father, no doubt,
kept it from her"
He flushed still more deeply. and
started to say something, but | held
him silent.
He was justified in keeping it," 1
said. You had promised not to write
to her. And l don't see that you have
given me any reason why l should as
sist O against him"
Il haven't Swain admitted more
calmly, land under ordinary circum-
stances, my self respect would COM
pei me to keep away. l am not a
fortune hunter, but l can't keep away:
l can't stand on my dignity. When
she calls for aid, | must go to her, net
for my own sake but for hers, because
she needs to be protected from her
father far more than from me-"
What do you mean by that" l de-
manded.
Mr.. Lester" he said, leaning for
ward in his chair and speaking in a
lowered voice apa with great earnest
ness. her father is mad-I am sure of
it. No but a mailman would live
and dress as he does: no one but a
mailman would devote his whole time
to the study of the supernatural; no
il but Il mailman would believe in
the supernatural as he does"
But ] shook my head.
I'm afraid that won't do, Swain. A
good many fairly sane people believe
in the supernatural and devote them
selves to it's study-there is William
James. for instance
But William James doesn't dress in
flowing robes, and worship the sun,
and live with a Hindu mystic"
No" / smiled. The doesn I do that"
and l thought again of the mysterious
light and Of the two white clad figures.
Yes" said Swain, bitterly. AN
adept. or whatever they call it. He's
the fellow who kicked me out
Does he speak English?"
Better than do. He seems a finely
educated man"
rs he a lunatic, too?"
Swain hesitated.
Il don't know he said, finally. II
only saw him once, and / was certain
ly impressedI wasn't one, two, three
with him. l suppose mysticism comes
more or less natural to a Hindu; but
I'm convinced that Mr.. Vaughan has
s%oftening of the brain.
How old is he?"
About 60"
Has he always been queer?"
II has always been In
terested in t~elepathy and
mental suggestion, and all thai
sort of thing. But before his wife's
death he was fairly normal. 1t was
her death that started him on his su-
pernatural business. He hasn't thought
of anything else since"
Are there any relatives who could
be asked to interfere?"
None that l know Of"
l thought over what he mad told me.
We'll. u said at last. L can see no
harm in your meeting Miss Vaughan
n finding out what the condition Of
affairs really is. If her father is really
mad, he may be a good deal worse now
than he was when you saw him last
1t would. of course. be possible to have
his sanity tested-but his daughter
would scarcely wish to do that"
NO. of course not" Swain agreed.
Her letter tells YOU nothing?"
Nothing except that she is in great
trouble. and wishes to see me at once,
You are to go to the house?"
No; there is an arbor in one cor
ner of the grounds. She says that she
will be there at 1870 every night for
three nights. After that she says it
will be no use for me to come-that it
will be too late"
What does she mean by too late?' :"