Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1916-03-16

Odl GU u OSt ~ yum
WHAT"
why, then I could believe that Mr..
Bannon, your father could believe it
was his order that killed poor Roddyi"
There could be no doubling her hor-
rified and half-incredulous surprise.
"Roddy?" she iterated in a whisper
almost inaudible, with face fast blanch-
| ing. 'Roddy-"
Inspector Roddy of Scotland Yard"
! he told her mercilessly, was murdered
| in his sleep last night at Troyon's. The
murderer broke into his room by way
! of mine-the two adjoin. He used my
| razor, wore my dressing gown to pro-
! tect his clothing, did everything he
/ could think of to cast suspicion on me,
! and when | came in assaulted me,
! meaning to drug and leave me insen-
| sible, to be found by the police. For
! tunately-I was beforehand with him.
I left him in my place-drugged, in
| sensible-when l stole away and met
you there in the corridor. You didn't
7 know"
How can you ask" the girl
moaned
Bending forward, an elbow on the
! table, she gripped her hands together
until their knuckles shone white
| through the skin-but not as white as
| the white face from which her eyes
sought his with a look of dumb horror,
dazed, pitiful, imploring.
you're not deceiving me? But no
why should your" she faltered. But
! how terrible, how unspeakably awful"
I'm sorry" Lanyard mumbled. I'D
have held my tongue If 1 hadn't
thought you knew"
"You thought l knew-and didn't lift
a finger to save the MANI" She jumped
up. with q blazing face. ooh. how
could your"
"No-not that never thought that.
But, meeting you then and there, so
| opportunely-I couldn't ignore the
coincidence: and when you admitted
you were running away from your IA
Their, considering all the circumstances,
! l was surely justified in thinking it
was realization, in part, at least, of
what had happened that was driving
you away"
| ouC SuOOh nSI uCdu S1OW1y, uSI III
dignation ebbing as fast as it had risen.
II understand" she said; you had
some excuse, but you were not right.
I ran away-yes-but not because Of
| that I never dreamed"
| She fell silent, sitting with bowed
head and twisting her hands together
in way he found it painful to watch.
But please" he implored, don't
| take it so much to heart, Miss Ban
non. If you knew nothing, you couldn't
| have prevented it,
No. she said brokenly, Il could
have done nothing if l had known. But
| / didn't. 1t isn't that-it's the horror
and pity of it. And that you could
think"
But I didn't" he protested-"tru1y
I did not. And for what 1 did think,
for the injustice I did do you, believe
me, I'm truly sorry"
"You were quite satisfied" she said,
mot only by the testimony of appear
ances, but to a degree, in fact. You
must know-now l must tell you"
Nothing you don't wish to-" he in
terrupted quickly. '"The fact that l
| practically kidnapped you under pre-
tense of doing you service, and sus-
peCted you Of being spy of that Pack,
! gives me no title to your confidence"
Can blame you for thinking what
you did," She went on slowly, with
out looking up-gaze steadfast to her
| interlaced fingers: Nov, for my own
sake, want you to know what other
wise, perhaps, I shouldn't have told
you-not yet, at all events I'm no
more Bannon's daughter than you're
his son. Our names sound alike-peo-
pie frequently make the same mistake.
My name is Shannon-Lucy Shannon.
Mr.. Bannon called me Lucia because
he knew didn't like it and wanted to
tease me; for the same reason he al
ways kept up the pretense that was
his daughter when people misunder-
stood"
Buff that is so-then what"
'Why-it's very simple" Still she
didn't look up. I'm trained nurse.
Mr. Bannon is consumptive-so far
| gone, it's a wonder he didn't die years
ago-for months I've been haunted by
the thought that it's only the evil in
| him keeps him alive. 1t wasn't long
after I took the assignment to nurse
| him that / found out something about
| him. He'd had a hemorrhage at his
| desk, and while he lay in coma, and I
waited for the doctor, I happened to
| notice and in part read one Of the pa
| pers he'd been working over when he
| fell. And then, Just as l began to ap-
preciate the sort Of man I was en-
ployed by, he came to, and sav-and
knew.
81 found him watching me with
those awful eyes Of his, and though
he was unable to speak, realized that
my life wasn't safe if ever | breathed
u word of what l had read | would
have left him then, but he was too cum
ming for me, and when in time | found
chance to escape was afraid, knew
I'd not live long if ever l left him. He
went about it deliberately to keep me
frightened, and though he never men
toned the matter directly, let me know
plainly, in a hundred ways, what his
power was and what would happen if
told what | knew. It's nearly year
.now-nearly year Of endless terror