Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1916-08-21


uriOuS chamber in a palace. And hi
laughter was established in an ad
Ioinng room whose fittings woulC
have satisfied a princess. They almos
terrified the poor habi;ant of cana
boat.
Royce decided to motor into the city
to fetch his surgical instruments ant
bring ont his assistant While he wa
gone Gloria stole into Irask'S room
to question him, but he had passeC
INTO a state between sleep and CONF
aud she dared not trouble him. She
I found that Nell had fallen asleep, too
/ rorn out with emotions of every
sort. Gloria stole away to her oWr
room. She was tired out, too. She
irlt that she was o., the brink OF dis.
covcries that would mean everything
to her. She was little afraid OF
them.
She paused at her window. and. sec
ing Dr. Royce just stepping into his
car. She unused ON him tic was an m
Crcaliugly interesting mystery to her,
very much at her beck and call III
some ways. and absolutely beyond
her control in Others
He looked back and waved his
hand. She thought he waved to her
and She answered IN, salute. Then
she saw that he was signaling to
someone else and had not seen her,
1t was woman he was signaling to,
for he lifted his lat Gloria wondered
who i, was and tclt an odd qulrk of
jealousy 1t needed her like stitch
in the side
She would have felt a sharper stab
il she had known that Dr. Royce was
waving at Lois. ! ois was with Gas
Mrs wife, reading to her and COM
fOrting the sick woman as best she
could. The sight had startled DR..
Royce as much as it had pleased him,
The wild and ruthless Lois had
given up her perilous intrigues. in
deed, if she could give herself to the
monotony of ministering to the lonely
and the sick and take pleasure and
pride in such service as substitute
for the amorous lawlessness that had
made her hateful in Royce's eyes.
As he rode on into the city he felt
a great citation. He was not a re
ligious man. but he loved a whole
some, hcalthful soul as we'll as body
that was clean and well. He had
kept Gloria from learning Of Lois af-
fair with Frencau. for Glorias own
sake. Now he believed that under
cover of the deception Lois own soul
had been enabled to redeem itself.
He felt that Lois had earned the
right to have back the letters she
had sent to Frencau. Whether she
should wish to destroy them or keep
them as reminder and warning from
her evil past, they belonged to her
and to no one else. Certainly Royce
had no further right in them.
When he reached his office and
gathered up his instruments he took
the package of letters from the safe
and put them in his pocket Then he
returned to the motor and sped back
to the Stafford country home
1t was long ride and he was
troubled about Gloria's determination
to probe into the secrets that could
mean only cruel disllusionment for
her, about the chances for Trasks re-
covery and the dangers that threat
ened the Staffords if the newspapers
or the police learned with what indie
pendence of the law the prisoner
Trask had been captured and held.
He wondered at his own connivance
in the matter, and he shuddered to
think how many illegal acts are con-
stantly committed by the most re-
spectacle people.
When he reached the Stafford es-
tate he stopped the driver of his car
and got out, telling the man to take
the case of instruments up to the
house. Royce had seen Lois strolling
about the lawn in a mood of solemn !
lty. He felt that the time was appro-
pirate for the surrender of the letters |
He wondered if he had the right to
deliver them over to her Yet he |
knew that he had no right to keep
them. 1t seemed that he had so tan
gled himself in the net of the Freneau
affair that anything soevcr he did
was bound to be wrong.
He hurried to Lois and called to
her. She turned to him sadly and
weakly. He knew too much about
her for her to face him without
shame. He brought a little smile of
relief to her along with swift blush
Of guilt when he said
Lois | have decided to give back
to you the letters you sent to Ere
neau. | read only one of them, and 7
have forgotten, | think, what it said
think you have earned them bach
and ! advise you to burn them up at
the first opportunity"
lie took the long envelope from his
his pocket and her hand was lust
moving forward to take it when he
saw her blush vanish in fash OF
oalor. ' VI
"My husband" she whispered.
Royce thrust the envelope back in
his pocket Just before he felt David's
1and on his shoulder and turned to
ook ltno David's smile of comrade-
ship
Royce had to play-act with all his
night to pretend cheer that he was
ar from feeling. Once more the
oathesome phase OF deceit was I'D
oermost, He could not control him |!
self under David's eyes and he made |!
IN excuse to move on.
y was looking for Gloria" he said,
She's over by the marble pool"
David answered. Royce moved on, Il
moving that he was watched. He /