The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1916-02-03
THIRTEENTH lNSTAlLMENT
THE PROFESSORS TREAcHERY.
breathing

Presently Celestias breathing
sounded slow and regular.
She's asleep" thought Mrs. Guns
dorf. the time has come and she
began cautiously to edge herself out
sideways from under the bed But
Ceestia was not quite asleep and the
noise Mrs. Gunsdorf made walked her,
and just as Mrs Gunsdorf was Begin
ming to rise from the floor, Celestia
slipped from the bed, eluded hand
that clutched at her dress, snatched
from the bureau heavy silver hand
mirror. the only weapon of defense
that was in sight, and darted into the
observation compartment.
In the center OF the place was a
heavy table covered with periodicals.;
behind this Celestia took her stand,
ready, like n child playing tag, to dodge
I'm either direction. Her eyes, wildly
excited, but fearless, strove to meet
and master the eyes of her assailant,
but could not, SO bound was Mrs.
Gunsdorf by the knowledge that She
must look anywhere but at those eyes.
Mrs. Gunsdorf was at n disadvan-
tage Not much older than Celestla,
she was heavier less alert, and she
dared not make full use of her eyes
Her face averted. so that with the
tails of her eyes she only had partial
glimpses of Celestia, her rushcs were
more or less at random. Once she
threw herself headlong half across tho
table and stabbed, as a snake strikes
only to find that she had miscalcu-
lated the distance entirely.
There was another pause.
"Why do you want to hurt me?"
asked Celestia. "Why won't you look
at me?"
Mrs. Gunsdorfs only answer was an
other rush. Celestia threw n chair in
her way and once more succeeded in
keeping the heavy table between
them.
She was getting angry, What right
had anyone TO chase her with knife?
If the woman would only look at her!
Mrs Gunsdorf, thwarted, and MUIR
derous was nonpluscd at the ease
with which, so far, Celestia had eluded
her. Her eyes, downcast, had for
their momentary range of vision a
pile of reviews Just in front of Ce-
lestia, and a portion of Celestia's
dress.
Quick as thought Celestia laid the
hand-mirror with which she had armed
herself face up upon the pile OF re-
views. and, behold, in the depths OF
the shining refractor the eyes of the
two women had met at last with q
great effort to collect her swimming
senses, Mrs. Gunsdorf jcrkcd her head
up and found herself looking into the
eyes themselves. Catastrophe was
upon her: she had no longer the pow
er to look away.
at least" said Celestia, you shall
go away thinking that you have done
what YOU came to do-Celestia, who
has done you no harm in this world
but whom you wish TO stab to death
with that knife, is asleep on her bed In
her stateroom. She is very tired and
very sound asleep; stlll you must
move cautiously"
And Mrs. Gunsdorf, her eyes fixed
and dead, but the rest Of her features
wearing a wicked, murdcrous express
sion, began n horrible, grotesque, tip
tocd advance toward the open door of
Celestia's stateroom. Then in her hyp-
Noticed brain, she seemed to see Ce-
lestia asleep upon her bed; and then
she was driving her knife many times
TO the hilt In the beautiful white
breast.
once more for luck" said Celestia
with kind of awful grimness. make
It bakers dozen. Thirteen. now she's
dead Into the bathroom and get
the blood off your hands and of the
knife. The lefthand tap is the hot
water Hurry! There is no time TO
lose"
So Mrs. Gunsdort hurried and hur.
ried and washed and washed, and Ce'
I,stia stood grimly ty and looked on.
1T is curious that 1t doesn't all come
of. but then there was such a lot OF
II. Try the pumice stone, try that
little bottle; it's for removing ink
stains. I'm afraid it's no use-youll
always see those spots on the hand
that held the knife. You'll really have