The Morgan County press. (Wartburg, Tenn.) 1916-1926, 1916-12-28

1
evaporation, threw his hat to chair
and dropped to his knees beside the
woman. 1t seemed as If the high gods
were hardly playing fair, to throw a
fainting woman on his hands just then,
at time when he was all preOccupied
with his own absorbing tragedy.
Even while this thought was rum
ming through his mind, he was gather
ing the slight young body into his
arms; and he found it really astonish-
ingly easy to rise and bear her to
the bed. Then turning to his handbag,
he opened 1t and produced q small,
leather-bound flask Of brandy; little
of which would go far toward shatter-
ing her syncope, he fancied.
1t did, In fact; few drops between
her half-parted lips, and she came to
with disconcerting rapidly, opening
dazed eyes in the middle of spasm of
coughing. He stepped back, stoppering
the flask.
"That's better" he said pleasantly.
'Now lie still while I fetch you a
drink Of water"
AS he turned to the washstand his
foot struck the tumbler she had
dropped. He stopped short, frowning
| down at the great, staring, wet, yell
low stain on the dingy and threadbare
carpet. Together with this discovery
he got Whit of an acrid-sweet
eff1uvium that spelled "Oxalic Acid
or Jyoh 1u did tho
druggists label on the empty packet
on the washstand.
In another moment he was back at
the bedside with clean glass Of wa
ter, which he offered to the girls lips,
passing his arm beneath her shoulders
and lifting her head so that she might
drink.
She emptied the glass thirstily.
"Look here" he said almost roughly
under the lash Of this new fear-"you
didn't really drink any of that stuff,
did your"
Her eyes met his with look of
negation clouded by fear and bewilder-
ment. Then she turned her head away.
Dragging a pillow beneath 1t, he let
her down again.
"Good," he said in accents meant to
be enneartentng; "yOu'll be all right |
in a moment or two" -
Her colorless lips moved In, a
whisper he had to bend close to dis
tinguish.
"Please ="
"Yes?"
"Please don't call anybody. :"
81 won't. Don't worry"
The lids quivered down over her
eyes, and her mouth was wrung with
anguish. He stared, perplexed. He
wanted to go away quickly, but
couldn't gain his own consent to do
SO. She was in no condition to be
left alone, this delicate and fragile
child, defenceless and beset. A strange
girl, to find in plight like hers, he
thought: not pretty, but quite I'M
usual; delicate, sensitive, high-strung,
bred to the finer things of life-this
asst was self-evident in the fine SIM
olicity of her severely plain attire.
A variety of impressions crowded
Upon his perceptions in little more {
han a glance. For suddenly Nature
ook her In hand; she twisted upon her [
'ide, as If to escape his regard, and {
covered her face, her palms muffiing G
leep tearing sObs while waves of pent- G
lp misery racked her slender little 1
'ody. t
Whitaker moved softly away. t
Once, pausing by the centre-table, S
e happened to look down. He saw | c
title heap Of the hotel writing-paper, d
ogether with envelopes, a pen, bot a
lie Of ink. Three of the envelopes Il
yere sealed and superscribed, and two
7ere stamped. The unstamped letter
yas addressed to the Proprietor of the
house. n
OF the others, one was directed to C
Mr.. G. w. Morton In care of another y
erson at a number on lower Sixth "
venue, New York; and from this 81
began to understand the sin W
llar manner of his introduction to the e,
rong room; there's no great differ fe
ice between Morton and Morten,
specially when written carelessly. W
But the third letter caused his eyes W
widen considerably. 1t bore the es
Ime of Thurlow Ladislas, ESQ.,, and N
Wall Street address. th
Whitaker's mouth shaped stiIl-born Il
histle. He was recalling with sur rn
Using distinctness the fragment Of
alogue he had overheard at his club pt
e previous afternoon. ST
ar
CHAPTER IiI. nj
tn
Mrs. Whitaker. on