The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1915-08-12

could delineate or conceive. For Joan
there was also compassion, but 1t was
mildly contemptuous.
III did not know that you are in.
capable of doing such a thing. might
wonder II you are not drawing your
Joan from life. Mr.. Griswold." she said,
little coldly, on this same evening of
rehabilitations. "Since such characters
are to be found in real life. I suppose
they may have place in q book. But
you must not commit the objectionable
sin of making your readers condone
the evil in her for the sake Of the good
Please forget what / have said about
your Fidelia and-and your Joan. You
are trying to make them human, and
that is as 1t should be-"
Griswold could scarcely believe the
evidence Of his senses. He told him.
self fiercely that he would never be-
lieve, without the confinement Of
fact, that the ideal could step down
from its pedestal.
"You are meaning to be kind to me
now. at the expense Of your convic.
tions. Miss Charlotte" he protested
warmly.
mo-" she denied gravely. Listen,
and you shall Judge. Once. only a
short time ago. l was brought face to
face with one Of these terrible COM
promises. In single instant, and by
no fault Of my own, the dreadful shears
Of fate we're thrust into my hands, and
conscience-what I have been taught
to call the Christian consciencs-told
me that with them I must snip the
thread Of a mans life. And then chance
threw US together. A new world was
opened to me in those few moments. I
had thought that there could be no
possible question between simple right
and wrong. but almost in his first word
the man convinced me that, whatever
I might think or the world might say,
his conscience had fully and freely &C.
Quilted him. And he proved It; proved
It so that can never doubt 1t as long
as live. He made me do what my
conscience had been telling me ought
to do-just as your Fleming makes
Fidelia do
And he was taken?" he said, and he
strove desperately to make the saying
completely colorless.
HE was; but he made his ESCAPE
again, almost at once. He is still
free man."
Instantly the primitive instinct of
self-preservation, the instinct Of the
hunted fugitive. sprang alert in the
listener.
"How can you be sure of that?" be
asked, and in his own ears his vote
sounded like the clang Of an alarm
bell.
Again silence fell, surcharged, this
one. with all the old frightful posi-.
bilities. Once more the loathsome
fever quickened the pulses OF the man
at bay. and the curious needlelike
prickling OF the skin came to signal
the return of the homicidal fear.frenzy
The reaction to the normal racked him
like the passing OF mortal sickness
when his accusing angel said in her
most matter-of-fact tone.
Il know he is free; 1 have 1t on the
best possible authority. The detectives
who are searching for him have been
here to see me-or. at least one of
them has"
The hunted one laid hold of the par.
tial reprieve with a mighty grip and
drew himself out of the reactionary
whirlpool
1T is an outrage! hope It 10 an
annoyance past
His companion leaned forward in
her chair and cautiously parted the
leafy vine screen
those trees at the waters edge: do
you see him?"
Griswold looked and was reasonably
sure that he could make out the
shadowy figure of q man leaning
against one Of the trees.
THAT is my shadow" she said. low.
ering her voice; "Mr. Matthew Brof.
fin Of the Colburne Detective agency,
In New Orleans He has q foolish idea
that l am In communication with the
man he is searching for, and he was
brutal enough to tell me so. What he
expects to accomplish by keeping an
absurd watch upon our house and dog.
ging everybody who comes and goes,
can't imagine"
You have told your father?" said
Griswold. anxious to learn how far this
new alarm fire had spread.
Certainly; and he has made his pro-
test But 1t doesn't do any good; the
man keeps on spying, as you see. But
we have wandered a long way from
your book I've been trying to prove
to you that am not fit to criticize 1t"
mo; you mustn't mistake me.
haven't been coming to you for criti-
cism," was Griswold's rather incoher-
emit reply; and when the talk threat
ened to lapse into the commonplace,
he took his leave. Oddly enough. a. he
thought when he was unlatchlng the
gate and had shifted one Of the newly
purchased automatic pistols from his
hin pocket to an outside pocket st the