The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1915-05-08

my former felloW~tTaVeller, Mr.. tsP PEN
ton, should be here tool"
She has come to stay" muttered
Dick dolefully, and the subsequent ar
rival Of vast trunks and hatboxes con-
firmed his fears.
Hers was an all pervading PERSONAL
ity and the quiet of the house was at
an end. Towards Dick she assumed
an air of proprietorship that he found
infinitely disconcerting, yet was I'M
able to combat. And the more she
filled the foreground the farther Alice
retreated into the background.
He knew that she misunderstood the
position, yet how on earth could he
explain? What was there to explain,
except that Mrs. Wharton was always
wanting, to consult him about some
thing, and that lie did not want to be
consulted?
This morning She swept into his
presence with a question as to stock
and shares, and a dissertation on the
difficulty Of finding an investment that
was both safe and profitable. SIS
Money is a terrible responsibility
was her signing conclusion.
1T can always be got rid Of" en-.
couraged Dick.
What ] mean is that when one is
well-off, one can seldom be sure OF
disinterested affection, one is the OBJ.
ject of all sorts of designs and snares
In connection with which | must ask
you something. Do you remember Mr.
Gibson, who came home on the same
ship with us? Have you ever seen
him since?"
mot I! Why do you ask?''
Because he took a strange, not to
say suspicious interest in you and
your movements" 5 !.
'My fatal beauty! But I. really
thought you were the attraction de
clared Dick, in round-eyed wonder, ant
Mrs. Wharton laughed heartily.
ooh, dear, no! How. could | be? He
is a married, man. He was watching
YOU. I had, almost said logging you
/ Have. you any idea .why?''
Not the slightest" said Dick, EN-
phatically. ,s - 80
Not though the fact that you own
some almost priceless diamonds is
public property"
Il take your meaning, but somehow
/ think you are wrong
"A woman's instincts seldom are
Mr.. Penton. They constrain me tc
warn you against that person."
Her interest was flattering, no doubt
but he was ungrateful enough to fine
it rather tiresome.
A day or two after that conversation
he returned in the quiet of eventide
from a lengthy ramble through Birk
dale, feeling a trife tagged, and as he
closed the. garden gate a lean figure
on the opposite pavement. caught his
eye; recognizing it, his, pulses mo
mentarily leaped. The coincidence
was remarkable, to say the least.
Come We in peace, or come We in
war? Things are. getting exciting,
he told himself, and he. seized first the
opportunity of sharing the sensation
with Mrs. Wharton; she was going tt
a concert and conveyed radiant i'm
preston of glossy hair and sparkling
eyes and pearly teeth and glfttering
4 sequins. ,--~ ..>
1T is queer said Dick, 'but / have
just seen the man we were speaking
about the other day-Gibson, mean.
Mrs. Wharton started She looked
alarmed.
ooh, Mr. Penton, what can it mean
Why is the man following your"
Next time | see him I'll enquire"
you might best consult your safe
ty by avoiding him." she urged.
Too much of Mother Eve in me fol
that. But am sorry told you if il
worries you," said Dick, in no wise
worried or disturbed, himself.
The matter affected him so slightly
that he sat reading in his sitting-roon
long after the others had retired, un
til the warmth and hush of the nigh
combined with natural fatigue to lul
him into deep and dreamless slum
Der.
He was Weakened by he knew no
what; the room was in darkness, anC
he heard no sound He was TOT
drowsy to stir or to keep his eyes un
lclosed, but when cautious finger!
sought his breast-pocket, he looked up
and less alarmed than irritated by be
ing disturbed, he administered a smar
'back-hander' to the face he vaguely
perceived .glimmering through tn,
!. haze Of s1eepfness and the dusk Of thu
i hour There was a suppressed ex
Exclamation, a rapid, rustling movement
then silence For a minute he sat mo
tionless, then stood up, and CROPPED
for matches. Light revealed nothing
the room was empty save for himself
no one was in ambush under table OF
couch. The window was open, as in
deed he had left it, but the street wa!
Iquite deserted, and all things were 81
still that he heard the swift fight of {
bird across the dark blue sky. HI
might have concluded that he hat
dreamed the episode, that the visitor
had galloped in on nightmare, as hi
expressed it to himself, but for The
fact that his fingers we're tingling yet
He survey them reflectiveIy; on one
was a ring with sharp facets.
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