The Idaho Springs siftings-news. (Idaho Springs, Colo.) 1905-19??, 1916-01-21
CHAPTER ViiI-Continued.

We'll. the last received only a
fortnight ago. If you will wait mo-
ment | will go and get It. 1t was SO
strange that haven't destroyed it."
And she went out, and heard by
the the frou-frou OF her skirts that she
was ascending the stairs
After five minutes Of GREATNESS anxi
ETY. she rejoined me. and handing me
the letter to read said:
1t Is not in her handwriting won
der why?"
The paper was OF foreign make, with
blue lines ruled in squares Written
In hand that was evidently foreign,
Tor the mistakes in the photography
were many, was the following curious
communication.
Ny Dear LSJb.
Perhaps you may never gv< ttis letter
the last / shall ever be able to send YOU
Indeed. | run great risks in sending t.
An you do not know the awful disaster
that has happened to me, all the terrors
and the fortunes l endure. But no one can
Essist me, and i am now looking forward
To the time when It viii all be over. Do
you recollect our old peaceful days in the
Always, always, and compare that sweet
peace of the past with my own terrible
sunerings o: today. All, how I wish I
might see you once again; how that I
might feel your hand upon my brow and
hear your words Of hope and encourage
menti Blu. happiness is now debarred
from me. and am only sinking to the
grave under this slow torture of body and
of soul
This will pass through many hands be-
fore 1t reaches the post. IT. however II
ever does get dispatched and you receive
II. Will you do me one last favor-a favor
TO an unfortunate girl who is friendless
Ind helpless. and who will no longer trou-
BILE the world2 1t Is this: Take this let =
ter to London. and call upon MI Martin
Woodrof1e at IS Cork street Piccadilly
Show him my letter, and tell him from
me that through IL all 1 have kept my
promise and that the secret Is still safe
BE will understand-and also know why I
cannot write this with my own hand II
he is abroad. keep 1t until he returns
1t Is all ! ask of you. Lydia. and I
know that II this reaches you you will
not refuse me. You have been my only
friend and conf1dante. but l now bid you
farewell. for the unknown beckons me,
and from the grave cannot write Again
farewell. and for ever.
Your loving and afYectionate friend,
ELMA.
"A very strange letter, is 1t not?" re-
marked the girl at my side Il can't
make it out. You see there is no ad-
dress. but the postmark is Russian
She is evidently In Russia"
I'm Finland" | said. examining the
stamp and making out the post town to
be Abo, But have you been to Lon
don and executed this strange commits
sion?"
No. We are going up next week. |
intend to call upon this person named
Woodroffe"
/ made no remark He was, | knew.
abroad, but l was glad at having OBJ
tanned two very important clues: first.
the address of the mysterious yachts
man. Woodroffe. alias Hornby, and.
secondly, ascertaining that the young
girl l sought was somewhere in the
vicinity Of the town OF Abo, the Fin.
nish port on the Baltic.
Poor Elma, you see. speaks in her
letter of some secret, Mr.. Gregg" my
companion said. she says she wishes
this Mr.. Woodroffe, whoever he is, to
know that she has kept her promise
and has not divulged it. This only
bears out what l have all along sus-
pected."
What are your suspicions?"
We'll, from her deep, thoughtful
manner, and from certain remarks she
at times made to me, | believe Elma
Is in possession of some great and ter
rible secret-a secret which her uncle,
Baron Oberg, Is DESTROYS OF learning
l know she holds him In deadly fear
she is in terror that she may inadver-
tently betray to him the truth"