The Tabor independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1913-19??, 1919-04-17

did. Now ! know what / have to
fight againstl And you, Mr.
Stone, do you think rae q muir
derer7"
Pauline cringed not at all. She
locked more like an avenging god
dess, as she confronted the two
men, and her blazing eyes and
frowning face ~challeged their re
plies. .'s
IT do not, Miss Stuart" said
Stone, quietly, but Pauline re.
sponded, Glow do I knowf If
you did, you'd say you didn't! ]
have no friend, no one to stand up
for. 1 shall send for Carr. He
will defend me-" .....Ia' .t..g
With a disdainful glance round
she left the room. The two mer
looked at one another.
Guilty" said Hardy.
"Neverl" said Stone, and then
the two went their different ways
Hardy's way led to police head
quarters, and his report there
which included Stones story OF
the tested glass, was heard. with
interests ,fl4tN 1a.#. ~n BIZ
He demanded Miss Stuart s i'm
mediate arrest, claiming that only
lshe could have persuaded her
aunt to swallow the poisoned
draught. - T.
Inspector Brunt was not quite
willing to order arrest, but he set
machinery at work which he
hoped would bring decisive re-
suits Of some sort.
1t did. ~
That same evening, Pauline
went to Fleming Stone. The two
were alone. Standing before him
in all her somewhat tragic beau
ty, Pauline asked. "You don't
think me guilty, Mr.. Stone?"
He looked deep in the great.
dark eyes that seemed to chal-
lenge his very soul, and after a
moment steady glance, he re-
piled, 81 know you are not, Miss
Stuart"
Scsn you prove it1" Il
II hope to-" u a.
"That means nothing. Are you
sure you cant" a.
Fleming Stone looked troubled.
Never before in his career had he
been unable to declare his surety
of success; but with those COM
polling eyes upon him he couldn't
deny a present doubt.
Shaking himself, Is if to b.
freed from a spell, he said, at last,
miss Stuart, / am not sure. I
am convinced of your innocence;
but the only theory of guilt that /
can conceive of is so difficult, so
almost impossible Of proof, and so
lacking in FEASIBILITY, that it
seems hopeless. If determination
and desperate effort can do it, you
shall be exonerated. But there
are many circumstances not in
your favor. These I shall over
come, eventually. But, to be hon
est, until / can get a clue or a
link of some sort to join my
purely imaginative theory to some
tangible fact, L can do little. 1
am working day and night in my
efforts to find this connection 7
seek, but it may take a long time
Meanwhile-"~
Meanwhile, I may be arrest
ed?" Pauline voice was a mere
whisper; her face was drawn and
white with fear. To Stone she
did not look like a guilty woman:
but like an innocent girl, fright.
enedi at thought Of unjust suspi-
cion and te~rrorized by magma
ton of the unknown horrors that
might come to her.
cob, help mel" she moaned,
"Mr. Stone, can't you help met"
'tPauline !" he exclaimed, tax.
ing her hands in his; Pauline
Cor he cried tensely: ~ will,
save you, but until I do, keeI
away from me! You unnerve me
[ cannot think !"
II understand" and Pauline
slowly drew her hands from his
~ will keep away from YOU"
Stone let her go. He closed the
door after her, locked it, and
threw himself into a chair. What
had he donef Full well he knew
what he had done. Hardy was
right. He had fallen in love with
Pauline Stuart! He realized it
quietly, honestly, as he would
have realized any incontrovertibl,
fact. His subconsciousness was
that of a deep, still gladness; but,
strangely enough, his isurfac,
thought was that since he had fall
en- in love with her, so undenia-
bly,, so irrevocably, she must be
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