Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-03-13
CHAPTER IN
TIM NlEING'S TOWER

THE NIEING'S TOWER
r7IiERI; IN the middle of the afternoon
tho butler brought her note. Fo
, moment ber,,"c sha read the su"er
srrirtion. II wild rush ot somethlr'
which m'ght have hccn JOY YET coul'
no, be. sent vale huSh OF color 'nt'
nor cheek. But she glanced at tn
onyclope caralesslv. and when the maj
had goue. quickly opened 1t.
n was from John Iti2Zio. signed Wit
the familiar initials and begun withou
either name or Qualification:
YOU will think it strange. perhanS,
that should write TO you after the
events Of last night, because the mod
csty OF a woman Is the last thing that
forrivos. Nv action is beyond apol-
ogy and 7 offer none for fear that 1t
may be construed into hCpe--a sell
fish hone on an unimaginable forgive
uess. Hope has .passed-that with
tho others but something else re-
mains something less selfish than
hone and more vital than self-interest
and that is whole hearted wish that
your honor may be Kept free from
the taint of the dark and furtivs
things with which 1t has come into
contact.
am not a man. as YOU know. to
boast of disintereStedneSS ! have lived
Il life in which my own affairs were al
ways paramount, my own aims al
ways most important. ! am telling you
this to warn you that my generosity
TO Hammersley is not actuated by any
love of a man who, has spoiled my
dearest ambition. but by the continued
esteem with which ! still regard your
self.
! do not love him: and my own
wish, my duty. my own honor, my
loyalty to England all acclaim that
he should be delivered at once to those
I.p A,.I O. H.. Il
for YOU. Doris But 7 have learned
that II Is in communication with
il and that Crenshaw of Scotland
Yard is on the alert | may not be
able to save him.
This is an appeal TO the one person
who has the most influence with him.
and | ask that you use whatever
power over him you possess to bring
him TO a sense of the impossibility of
his mad plans. II you still have doubt
as to the character Of the work he
has undertaken. ! ask that you go to
Ben-a-chielt tonight and listen Sc
crctly to convincing proof of what he
Is. For tonight at | o'clock on the
cliffs near the old Vikings Tower, he
viii meet personal messenger from
t..
appeal to you for England-but
more than for England. for--yourself.
Yours,
J. II.
Doris read the note through agair
and again, her thoughts blurring un
pleasantly, like a photograph out o.
focus. II seemed impossible that sh,
could do what he asked of her. Every
instinct. wounded and sore from hei
last encounter revolted at the though
OF meeting Cyril again under the con
ditions presented. 1t was impossible
that she should go. Cyril would onl,
laugh at her or, what would be worse
show her the callousness and brutalltl
that he had done this morning. Rizzlt
asked her to do what she could WHY
should she save him? What had HI
done to merit such a sacrifice of prid,
on her part? The past? That was deat
and Cyril buried with II. Engla nd
She put her head forward into her hand
and pressed her fingers to her temples
England
As the afternoon faded into night tn,
conviction grew In Doris's mind that tn,
situation made personal consideration
unmportant, After dinner she excuse,
herself and. dressing warmly, toward /:
O'Clock went downstairs past the lbrary
door and out TO the stables. She foun,
sleepy groom and, giving him lib
eral fee as the price Of his silence, ha,
"a slde-saddle put on a good horse an,
made her wsy-in the direction Of Ben-a
Chielt. She knew the road well, for sh,
had Travelled II many times with Cyri
and Betty during the previous summe
when all the world was gay and sh,
and Cyril were lovers. She was littl,
nervous at being alone on the moo, 1,
the darkness, but not frightened, Sh
gave herself greater hardihood by fry
Ing to remember that Cyril and Rizzi,
were gentlemen, one OF whom she ha,
thought she could have trusted with he
llfe. the other "A friend who wanted /,
be trusted with it--and now proteste,
he held her honor dearer than hIs own
Not her enemies. surely: and the though
or physical harm from either of them
the only thing that could have deterre,
her from this midnight venture. did no
occur to her. But as she came TO Salt
nam Rocks. the scene of CyriIs las
nights encounter, she pressed forwar,
more rapidly with a keen eve upon m,
gray. blur OF the road. She reached III,
crossroads. her breath coming "A litti,
more rapidly, pulled her horse down 1,
walk and turned In upon cyrii's prop
erty. going forward more slowly. Unti
nc present moment ehe had forrnulHfe,
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