The Elbert County tribune., 1917-04-13

mOItO.
Gloria studied him a moment. This
was the partner of her murdered
| lover. He was too amiable OF mien
to be accusable Of such crime. She
acquitted him of wishing to do away
with Freneau. In fact, the papers
said that Freneau's death had nearly
| wrecked the firm. Mulry did not look
bankrupt. Gloria did not know that
her father had given n large sum Of
money to Freneau few days before
his death and that Murly was living
on that.
There was a shifty flippancy in
Mulry's eyes and manner that made
Gloria dIstrust him. She felt a little
added distrust of her dead lover for
having such man as partner. The
hateful proverb about birds of
feather" ran through her mind like
tune In any case, here at last was
the Fan she sought, and she was I'M
patient to question him. There were
too many people on the crest of the
hill to permit of conversation there.
So she dared him to toboggan ride.
He accepted. She got aboard and
he steered. They swooped like a de-
scending airship. But at the foot of
the hlll the toboggan careened and
slid them deep into the drift before it
capsized.
Mulry, for all his bulk, was agile
and he was soon helping Gloria to her
feet.
THANK you a million times. Mr..
Mulry," she said. you saved me from
drowning in the snow"
He beamed and congratulated him
self on making such success with this
pretty creature. He had not recog-
nized her. He had seen photographs
of her in Freneau's possession and he
had seen her at the opera. But she
was disguised to him now by her
close-fitting cap, her rough sports suit
and. most of all, by her coquettish
smiles. Suddenly he had to leap for
his life to escape another scooting to-
boggan. On 1t were David and Lois
and young man from the same house
party of which Mulry was a member
Hurt yourself, Gloriaf" David
sang out.
Did you get hurt. Miss Stafford?v
the other young man cried.
Gloria shook her head and called
after them, not noticing that Mulry's
eyes were popping and his jaw droop-
ing. He had pieced the name to-
gether. "Gloria Stafford ~ He had
come up here to escape her and he
had just coasted down the hill with
her, and she knew his namel He re-
membered Doctor Royce's warning of
the danger of meeting Gloria face to
face.
He pretended to be suddenly Ill. He
begged Gloria's pardon and said that
he must go home. He was too big for
Gloria to hold and she could not run
after him without attracting atten-
ton. She stood bewildered while he
got away.
Later she telephoned to his host
and asked to speak to him. She
learned that he had Just taken a mo-
tor to the train.
Gloria forgot her suspicious of Lois
in her 1ewer suspicious of this man
Mulry. He was evidently running
away from her. Therefore she must
pursue him. His flight was evidence
of some mysterious guilt.
Gloria cut snort her visit to the
country and announced her intention
of going back to town at once. Her
father and her brother were used to
her whims and did not oppose them
nowadays out of pity for her.
The next morning Gloria made an
other journey to Mulry's Office. She
went early within business hours. The
stenographer told her that Mr.. A1ulry
had gone to Palm Beach the night be-
fore with a rich client who had in
vited him to be his guest.
Gloria was furious at this new es-
cape. She pondered 1t all the way
home. When she saw her father she
told him that he was not looking al.
all well he needed some golf and surf
bathing. He ought to go to Palm
Beach. He accepted the suggestion
heartily. He was more than willing
to u rtake the golf and he was
eager 10 get Gloria out of the region
of her sorrow. He was so worried
over her swift alienation of gloom
and gayety that he invited Doctor
Royce to came along as a member of
the family party. He did not have to
ask Royce twice.
Gloria had not been to Florida dur
ing the last five years. To her it was
not so much flight from her romance
as a return to its birthplace. 1t was at
Palm Beach that she had met her fate.
1t was there that she had made her
girlish escapade In David's racing car.
and wrecked it in the everglades. 1t
was there that she had wandered into
the heart of the wilderness aud into
the heart of the young Seminole chief
who would have forced her to be his