The Monticellonian., 1917-04-12

| keep 1t closed ana forget each other!
She shrugged contemptuously. How
can l forget! You refused me honest
love and a clean name"
Her voice chilled him. In q few
months" he fenced, weakly; 81 shall
probably be able to settle upon you a
sufficient sum to make you always in
| dependent. Won't that suffice?"
There was a note of jealousy in the
nervous laugh which followed. $50
you expect to marry the Dare millions !!
Is that it?''
That's t!' he admitted, after de-
faint silence.
Her manner swiftly changed. The
mask of the worldly woman disap-
peared from her face flushed and re-
vealing an outraged heart. She start
ed from the sofa and then for the first
time his widening eyes saw plain
gold loeket attached to chain at her
| throat.
For few disturbing seconds Brent
COMPOUNDED it with the one in which
the government chemicals had been Sc
creted and given to his. unfortunate
brother officer.
He sprang to his feet Just as she
wrenched the locket from its fastening
and pressing a spring disclosed its
contents to him.
! The locket contained his miniature
signed, dated and inscribed
To My Darling Wife"
He drew back uttering an oath.
She turned away, swapping the lid
shut. IF l were you, Thornton" she
drawled with studied irony; 81
wouldn't calculate on those Dare mil
lions to provide me with an income"
Brent sprang upon her in swift and
uncomfortable rage, his vision blurred,
seeing only that forgotten inscription
of an impulsive and sentimental mo-
ment of years ago.
The loeket rolled on the floor and
out of their reach. Bertha was about
to Shrek when knock on the door
brought Brent to his senses. Bertha
recovered the locket while he reluct-
antly answered the summons.
AT the threshold, saluting, stood an
orderly from the war office.
Compliments of the chief of staff
and instructions to headquarters in
| full dress uniform, SIR" said he from
respectful distance.
"Wait below !" Brent shut the door
in his face to avoid discovery of
| Bertha, who, taking advantage of the
| situation, slipped out when a safe exit
was assured.
She Immediately went to the hotel
| office. Here she deposited the locket
with the clerk for safe keeping The
| clerk gave her the usual duplicate re-
eeipt, numbered and In blank, on which
| her signature in her own handwriting
was a necessary requirement. She put
| this in her purse and turned away
with feeling of security. Incuriously
she observed the orderly from the
war Office awaiting the major Then
she went to her own room. Hardly
had she entered when from the pave
ment rose the shrill cry of excited
newsboys.
The hoarse, believing voices in the
night air rudely Jared upon her over
wrought nerves. Straining her ears
she was unable to catch any meaning
or even an Ineligible word in this sud
den vocal outburst. She took dime
out of her purse and going downstairs
to see what the clamor was about, pur-
chased a paper. 1t contained a brief
account of the tragedy at the Granada
an embassy.
The hotel lobby was seething with
excited people. Bertha did not escape
| the thrill of the moment. In awed ST.
lence she re-entered the elevator. AS
1t went upward it passed Brent ready
to descend. He ignored her passing
smile of mocking sweetness. She
laughed to herself.
She opened her purse to put the
change away and discovered, to her
amazement, that the duplicate invoice
for her loeket, which she had placed
there but few moments ago, was
gone! Instead was gold locket I'm
able to believe her eyes, she opened it
: at once-her priceless miniature of
Thornton Brent was missing!
Fumbling again through her purse
she found this explanatory note penned
on the private stationary of Capt.
Ralph Payne:
Guard the packet in your travelling case.
Fly to the Paso del Norte on the Grana-
dian frontier. There further instructions
await you. Wear the locket for identifi-
cation and Brent's miniature will be yours
again
1t was some minutes before she
gathered that an inexplicable turn of
| events was injecting her. whether she
| willed or not, into the affairs of the
man whom Major Brent had set out to
remove, if possible, from the life of
Pearl Dare.
Bertha opened her travelling case.
| There lay a neat, oblong package re-
sembling a silken envelope. 1t was
sealed and unaddressed. She looked
at it thoughtfully.
For one thousand dollars in crisp
| new bills, held together by rubber
band, also lay in conspicuous place
| in the case.
Still smiling she went downstairs
| and paid her account out of this mys-
| teriously acquired wealth.
"Have you ever had anything forged
on your" she queried of the cashier,