Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1915-02-11

the great chair. you were not !
quite-quite yourself" she softly ex-
planned, wondering at her own COM
posture. Then quickly, as she saw his
thoughts revert to the dead friend at
his feet, ''Bela wes not hurt here. He
was downtown when it happened; but
he managed to struggle home and gain
this place, which he tried to hold
against the men who followed him.
He thought you were dead, you sat
there so rigid and so white, and, be-
fore he quite gave up, he asked US all
to promise not to let anyone enter this
room till your son Oliver came"
Understanding partly, but not yet
quite clear IN his mind, the judge
sighed, and, STOPPING again. straight
ened the faithful negro's limbs. Then,
with a sidelong look in her direction,
he felt in one Of the pockets Of the
dead negro's coat and, drawing out
small key, held it in one hand while
he fumbled IN his own for another,
which found, he became on the instant
his own man again.
Miss Weeks, seeing the difference In
him, and seeing, too, that the doorway
was now clear of the wondering, awe
struck group which had previously
blocked it, bowed her slight body and
proceeded to withdraw; but the judge,
staying her by a gesture, she waited
patiently near one of the bookracks
against which she had stumbled, to
hear what he had to say.
81 must have had an attack Of some
kind" he calmly remarked. 'Win you
be good enough to explain exactly
what occurred here that 1 may more
fully comprehend my own misfortune
and the death Of this faithful friend"
Then she saw that his faculties were
now fully restored, and came step
| forward But before she could begin
her story he added this searching ques-
| ton:
"Was it he who let you in-you and
| the others-I think you said others?
! Was it he who unlocked my gates ?"
Miss Weeks sighed and betrayed
! fiuster. 1t was not easy to relate her
story; besides it was woefully incom-
plete. She knew nothing Of what had
happened downtown, she could only
| tell what had passed before her eyes.
But there was one thing she could
make clear to him, and that was how
the seemingly impossible gates had
| been made ready for the woman's en-
trance and afterwards taken such ad-
vantage of by herself and others. A
| pebble had done 1t ala pebble placed
in the gateway by Bela's hands.
AS she described this and insisted
| upon the fact in face of the judges
| almost frenzied disclaimer, she thought
she saw the hair move on his forehead.
Bella a traitor, and in the interests Of
the woman who had fronted him from
the other end Of the room at the mo-
ment consciousness had left him! Evi-
IDENTIFY this intrusive little body did
not know Bella or his story, or
Why should interruption come then
Why was he stopped, when in the pas
sion of the moment he might have
let fail some word of enli ghtenment
which would have eased the agitated
| CURIOSITY
Weeks often asked herself this ques,
ton and bewailed the sudden access
of sounds in the rooms without, which
proclaimed the entrance Of the police
and put new strain upon the judges
faculty of self-control and attention
to the one matter IN hand.
The commonplace of an official in
: quiry were about to supersede the play
of a startled spirit struggling with a
; problem of whose complexities he had
received but glimpse.
The library againi but how changed!
Evening light now instead of blazing
sunshine; and evening light so shaded
that the corners seemed far and the
many articles of furniture, numbering
the spaces between, larger for the
shadows in which they stood hidden
Perhaps the man who sat there II
: company with the judge would have
, preferred to see more perfectly thai
! portion of the room where Bella hat
taken his stand and finally fallen; bu
} from the place where he sat there wa:
= no getting any possible view of tha
! part of the wall or of anything con
nected with it; and so, with every ap
pearance of satisfaction at being al
t lowed in the room at all, Sergean
Doolittle from headquarters drank thu
i Judges wine and listened for thu
! judges commands.
r Sergeant, I have lost a faithful
2 servant under circumstances which
have called an unfortunate attention t.
D | my house. l should like to have thi
+ place guarded-carefully guarded, yol
2 understand-from any and all intru
s sions till I can look about me and Sc
i cure protection of my own. May
i rely upon the police to do this, begin
ing tonight at an early hour? Their
f are loiterers already at the corner an
S in front of the two gates. I am no
b accustomed to these attentions, an
s ask to have my fence cleared"
e 1.-TWO men are already detailed 70
d the job, your honor. heard the orde
:, given just as I left headquarters"
The judge showed small satisfaction
s 1.-TWO men! Couldn't I have three
e One for each gate and one to patrc
n the fence separating these ground
from the adjoining lot?''
: IF two men are not enough to il
t sure you quiet sleep you shall hav