Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1917-11-14


The Russians fingers twitehed In
spite Of him. The chief saw II and
smiled under his heavy mustache.
DO you mean that somebody shot
this-er-assistant you speak off That
is rather sad. Was there-much
money!"
"Seyenty.eight thousand dollars"
said the chief, and put his cigar back
in his mouth. There IL story be-
hind It, Boroday. and it's that story
am going to get, I'm warning you be-
cause you've played pretty square with
me. l needed that pearl In my BUSH
ness
Borodey rose.
"All right, chief" he said. 'I am
sorry about young Ward. hope he
wasn't killed"
He wasn't killed" replied the chief.
sand / haven't said his name was
Ward. If you haven't had your break
/ fast yet, we might breakfast together.
I oversight and haven't had time for
anything"
/
! Ward came back to consciousness in
the great four-poster bedstead in
which old Hilary Kingston had lain in
state. He felt very little pain and no
curiosity at all as TO his surroundings,
only an overwhelming lassitude and
WEAKNESS of life. Something-some-
thing that msttered very much had
gone out of existence. He could not
I remember what it was.
There was uniformed nurse by the
bed. He had q curious antipathy TO
asking her anything. He had made
a promise Of secrecy to someone
about what?
Toward evening he had managed to
evolve out Of his reviving conscious
ness some faint memory Of what had
happened to him. He remembered that
he was walking down a hill and that
he had fallen forward For quite a
half-hour. late in the afternoon, he
struggled to remember why ne had
gone down the hill.
Then he got it. He had been up at
the hall to see Elinor. It was Elinor
who had gone out of his life. Elinor!
Ennor.
He slept very little during the night,
and as his fever rose, he called the
nurse ''Elinor," and begged her fran
tically to tell him that something was
not true.
'Of course It is not true" said the
nurse, who was accustomed TO being
called various things.
"You did not mean It at all?" He
, eyed her wistfully. The nurse was
large and plain. with wide, fat face,
you, with the eyes Of saint" said
poor Ward, ''to try to tell me that You
are wicked. / see that it Is impos-
sible. think I<can sleep now
The nurse put her hand, which was
large and ill-shaped but very light and
: tender, on his head. And so he went
to sleep.
When he was quite settled, the nurse
went out into the hall where EIinol
was sitting on q straight chair. She
had sat there almost all Of the time
since Ward was carried up the night
before.
"He is sound asleep" she said smiI
ingIy. "He thinks I am someone
named 'Ellnor,' and he calls NE that
As my own name is Sarah it's rather
10 pleasant"
! Ward had been shot on Sunday
night. BY the following Wednesday
n he was out Of danger.
On that same Wednesday the reeto
"a of Saint Judes brought himself anC
his rheumatism back to his parish.
For three days Elinor had hardl,
"A slept or eaten. Never once had sht
"A been In Wards room, but always, da,
~ and night she was just outside. Whel
&c on that Wednesday evening the docto
70 said Ward would live, she went dow
once more into her garden.
,s Many times during those three day
had Elinor tried to pray to Ward
+. God and found herself yoiceless an
" inarticulate. But now, out Of tn
- depth of her great relief, came wellin
y the first prayer of her life. She stoo
=. waist-deep among her phlox and lari
a. spur.
Y 81 thank thee" she said. ~T than
thee"
Nothing had been heard Of Huf
The assault on the assistant rector {
~ Saint Jude's had been of line wit
~ the other mysterious happening
~ around the village The little tow
was hag-rldden with fear. Extra col
az stables had been sworn in, and fro
20 the hall. during her long night vigil
"s EIinor had seen many lighted wi
) lows, where there had been but Il
= one.
III The problem of her future began
-. obsess her. 1t was plainly impossib
to stay on here-not that she feart
exposure: she was quite past fear
az but the thought of going on with h
life was intolerable To meet War
ne to see again the scorn and ioathing
'ss his eyes, more than all, TO continue
oA deserve then-those were the thin
that TO Elinor seemed worse thu
death itself.
iiu All the philosophy that old Hila
had taught her failed her now. 7
nus revolt Of the individual against la1
made for the masses-what had
brought her but isolation and grie
OF what use was revolt? All must