The Washington times., 1918-05-31

married nluf yet L cOulQ not Tree
myself from the AdderIey associa-
tions, so made the excuse to Guy
that I had certain obligations to
the family OF my late husband
which I was obligedto observe. The
dear, old fellow believed me i'm
plicitly. and never. Inquired toe
closely into my movements
Then my real husband. Frank
Willoughby. turned up and began
to blackmail me, so I left Guy and
resumed by true name. Poor Guy
never appreciated until a little
while ago that IL was for his own
beneft / left him: probably ne had
no good thing to say Of me TO YOU
then-but I loved him all the tina,
nevertheless.
at seems as IL were telling you
the history Of my life, Esther. Sc
let me bark back to Adderley, for
II Is there that your interest lies.
And before come to your own con-
nection with the place I want 70
tell you how I made an attempt to
probe that inner mystery OF which
I have spoken, and what came q
my attempt"
It was getting dark in the room,
for the winter was OF short dura-
tion. The heavy snow Of the morn
ing had given way to q gusty sleet,
which beat pitHessly against the
window. The two women sat IN the
hrehght, and neither Of them
evineed any desire to move. both
anxious, perhaps. that their faces
should be in shadow.
But at last the driving rain on
the window became more than
Esther could endure. The monoto-
nous sound aggravated her beyond
endurance. She rose and drew tho
curtain; then she switched on an
electric burner that had been cor
nected with a well-shaded lamp
standing In one corner Of the rooms
with this they were stili in semi
obscruity. She drew her chair
closer to the fire, leaning forward
and gazing into the glow intentlgs
though her thoughts were far away.
Lillian had not stirred from haR
place in the low, easy chair.
''Now, will you 60 on plea1aE
said Esther a. last
Takes Up BIystery stOFy.
Il was telling you that I maAS
one attempt to probe the inner
mystery Of Adderley-of the Bora
dale Curse" said Lillian, in the
same even tone which she had
adopted during the whole nara
tive, "and 1t resulted in utter fall
ure- know nothing OF it-for
surmiss is not proof Others have
attempted to fathom It even as I
did. and have thought best to de-
sist. Quite recently = detective
Edgar Swan. tried to throw light
upon the dark places OF Borradals
history, he found out all about the
three brOthers-all. in fact. that
I am telling you-but, like me, ho
reached the fringe OF this Inner
Curse-if so il be-and then made
no attempt to lift the curtain All
this he told to Guy. He said that
what lay beyond that curtain was
so exclusively an affair Of the Bor-
radales themselves that no useful
purpose could be served by raising
the curtain"
What made you suspect the eE-
istence OF this mystery which yOu
call the Inner Cursor asked Esther
breathlessly.
"It came to me by degrees Re-
member that very much Of what ]
am telling you is-surmise, and only
reached by putting two and two to-
gether. I do not know the nature
Of the Borradale Curse-though We
talk so glibly about it I only know
that the late Mr.. BOrradale had
three sons, whom he secluded from
- -
what you have heard. He must
have anticipated some such fata
for them. He placed them under
the control Of this man Grimstead
and never saw them himself. The
fourth son. your Harold. he kept
apart, representing him to the
world as his only son. After his
death his wife continued this
policy.
Certainly she was anxious for
Harold to marry" continued Lillian.
yet he was always brought up -
the idea that when he reached the
age Of thirty. or upon his marriage,
impaired to him"
Il remember" cried Esther ex-
citedly Mrs. Borradale once said
she had hoped to spare him the rev.
elation Of this secret. It was thea
I was forced to tell all I knew.
Does that not point to the fact that
she was certain in her mind that ne
was free from the curse?"
at does-in a way" was the
guarded answer, but this Is what
fear, Esther; Mrs. Borradale may
not be in full possession Of the
secret. II is not she who will make
the disclosure to Harold-it n
Grimstead. She may not know OF
the inner curse"
What makes you think thatF
Esther bit her lip impatiently.
Playing a Double Roll
Because I know that GrimsteaA
played a double game. Ostensibly
he acted solely for the late Mr.. Bor-
radaIe. and after his death for his
wife. but I am sure that in reality
he obeyed another infuence-that
influence which have not been
able to fathom. Certainly he never
reported truthfully to Mrs. Bora
dale the state of AFFAIRS at Adder
ley, and she. poor woman. doubtless
felt that the briefer his reports the
happier she was. Do you think she
desired the marriage OF Cyril and
Basil? ] am quite sure that she
knew nothing OF these schemes
| (To Be Continued Tomorrow
ICODyriEht By W. R. HsArsLl