The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1917-09-14

He glanced down at hes Quizzically
where's your mind, Eiinor3 II 20,
lose a dog and want 1t back, will an!
other dog do? Why2 Do you want tn,
thing yousself?"
II have given It away" said Elinor.
Under his golf tan Talbot turned
rather gray.
ITO wh0m7"
"The Jewels were always mine," pro
tested Elinor, defending herself. "You
have always told me that. / thought !
had a right"
ITO whomr"
II put 1t In the almsbox at Saint
Jude's this morning."
"Then 1t may still be theref'
II don't know
I'm the name of God - Talbot broke
out. "What possessed you to give the
thing away? Whim or no whim, you
have no right to risk the rest Of us. II
that thing is traced back to you, you
know what 1t means"
"Nobody saw me-"
But Talbot was pacing up and down.
"There's only one chance" he said.
""Tll send a special delivery to the
chief. telling him the thing Is in the
almsbox. II it's still there. he'll get it
and return 1t. If it's already been dis
covered, at least he can claim to have
known its hiding-place."
Talbot disgustedly relinquished his
golf, and in the library of the hall
wrote the anonymous letter to the
chief. Then, in his gray car, he set off
for the city to mail the letter.
When he was in the car, the engine
throbbing easily, Elinor ventured to
put her hand on his arm.
Last night" she said rapidly, "Wal-
ter threatened all sorts of things; that
he would get the morning collection at
Saint Ju1e's, that he would kill Mr..
Ward. / I'm frightened, Tallie."
Talbot patted her hand.
1--WE will get this fixed up so it won't
| be necessary and as for the other, you
| know Walter. He was mad with
jealousy last night. That's all talk"
On that wild ride Talbot had little
time to think, but. such as they were,
| his thoughts were Of Elinor and her
caprice.
Its the preacher, after ALL" he said
to himself. ITS enough to make old
Hilary turn over"
From that his mind wandered to
Walter. He knew Huff, the violence Of
his temper, the madness Of his passion
for the girl. Talbot was uneasy.
Elinor had an unexpected visitor
that afternoon. It was the Bryant
woman.
White, but very dignifed, Elinor
came into the drawing room. But Mrs.
Bryant had not come about the pearl.
you must forgive a Sunday visit"
she said. But l have taken Mr.. Bry-
ant to the country club, and / wanted
40 much to come to see you"
Elinor's color returned.
1T Is very kind Of you to come"
Mrs. Bryant's small, birdlike eyes
darted over the room. The house was
distinctly good form. Perhaps the girl
might be IN acquisition to the social life
Of the village. After all, religion was
becoming very broad. Even the best
people
1.-THE country club" said Mrs. Bry-<
ant aloud, us full Of disagreeable
memories to me just now. It was less
than q week ago that l was robbed"
"Ah" said Elinor. Robbed! How
Interestingly"
"All my jewels, everything ] pos
sessed that "a really worth WHILE"
But surely the police"
Mrs. Bryant flushed with anger.
'The police !" she said. TT wouldn't
surprise me at oil to discover that the
police are In with the thieves. Look
at the condition OF ibis country! It
has been terror-ridden for the last two
or three years. You yourself are q
victim. Your poor father"
Actually she had detested cid Hilary.
She sat forward on the edge Of her
chair and spoke with great JUNCTION.
There is a band Of organized, in
telligent bandits working in this neigh
borhood, Miss Kingston, a band Of MUIR
derers. In these days Of feminism, it
WOUluu I uSIUulSu LuC u dIk W OlSCOtCI
that some woman is at the head of it.
The things that have been planned
have been SC Bendishly clever!"
Mrs. Bryant rose.
1T shows how d~emoralizing such
things are" she said. II assure you
that l never look at a womah's throat
these days without expecting to see
my pearl"
From that dangerous ground she
stepped quickly to the burning Of the
parish house, which she believed was
the work Of militant suffragettes.
THE dear rector is not q feminist"
she said. Ellis assistant, I fear, has a
strong tendency in that direction. But
he is q wonderful person, really. Just
imagine. seventy-eight thousand dol
lars was collected In Saint Jude's
church this morning for rebuilding the
parish house.!
She turned at the doorway.
ITO re CONTTNJ1EDl