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

"Mrs. Morten."
1t was three In the morning before
Peter Stark, having to the best of his
endurance and judgment tired Whit
aker out with talking, took his hat and
his departure from Whitaker's bach
elor rooms. Whitaker shut the hall
door and turned back YEARLY into his
living-roOm. 1t was three in the morn
ing; his body ached with fatigue, yet
he made no move toward his bedcham-
Der.
Picking his way across a floor lit
tered with aliases, charts, maps and
guide-books, he went to the bathroom
and took bottle of choral from the
medicine closet.
What he took brought him three
hours of oblivion. He rose at eight,
ordered his breakfast up by telephone,
bathed and dressed. When the tray
came up, his mail came with 1t. Among
others there was one letter in which
he read:
Dear Hugh: I can call you that, now,
because you're Peters dearest friend and
therefore mine, and the proof Of that Is
that I'm telling you first of all of our
great happiness. Peter and found out
so we're going to be married the first of
June and :. :"
Whitaker read no more. He could |
guess the rest, and for the moment |
he felt too sick a man to go through |
to the end. Indeed, the words were +,
blurring and running together beneath
his gaze
After, long time he put the letter
aside, absent-mindedly swallowed a
cup of lukewarm coffee and rose from
an otherwise untasted meal.
"That settles that, of course" he
said quietly. "And it means I've got
to hustle to get ahead of Peter"
Whitaker packed handbag with
few essentials, not forgetting the bottle
of choral. He was not yet quite sure
what he meant to do after he had de-
finitely put himself out of Peter Starks
sphere of influence, but he hadn't much
doubt that the drug was destined to
play q most important part in the ulti-
mate solution, and would as readily
have thought of leaving it behind as
of going without toothbrush or rail-
way fare.
Leaving the bag in the parcels-room
at the Grand Central Station, he went
downtown to his Office. Happily his
partner, Drummond, was out of town
for the day. He worked expeditiously,
having no callers until just before he
was ready to leave. Then he was
obliged to admit one who desired to
make settlement. He took Whitakers
receipt for the payment In cash, leav-
Ing behind him fifteen One-hundred-
dollar notes. Whitaker drew his per
sonal check for the right amount and {
eft 1t with a memorandum under the i
on Drummonds desk; v
put q match to q shredded pile of per- O
;onal correspondence in the fireplace; g
md caught a train at the Grand Gen. 8
raj at one-three.
Not until the cars were In motion did
le experience any sense of security W
rom Peter Stark. He had been ap- d
rehensive until that moment of some W
Unforeseen move on the part of his o.
rfend; Peter was capable of wide but Il
ure casts of intuition on occasion, ly
specially where his affections were In
Duched. But now Whitaker felt free, IN
rec to abandon himself to meditative W
Cold horror crawled in his III
rain like q delirium-horror of him. a
elf, of his morbid flesh, of that MORT M
und body unfit to sheathe the clean M
re of life. 81
At about four o'clock the train In
.opped to drop the dining-car. Wholly
waved by blind impulse, Whitaker got st
D, took his handbag and left the car.
On the station platform he found
mself pelted by a pouring rain. He
prisoned himself in the body Of an an
red and decrepit four-wheeler, and
they rocked and crawled away, the
Ind windows wspt increasingly. and ak