The Aberdeen weekly. [volume] (Aberdeen, Miss.) 1878-1933, 1920-07-16

and she drew back cautiously. In the
glow of the light she could perceive
four men in saddle halt in front of
the hotel. three of whom dismounted
and entered the building, the fourth
grasping the reins of the riderless ami
mails and leading them up the street
She heard the murmur of voices be-
low and the heavy steps of the men as
they came slowly up the stairs. Then
door opened creakingly and she
caught the sound of a 1omans voice.
rs that you, NedT
Sure; what are you doing up at
this hour?"
Never mind that Who have you
got with you?"
"Enright and Lacy-why?"
~ won't you all 10 come in here a
minute; don't make so much loise."
=. voice or two grumbled. but feet
! shuffied along the bare floor and the
/ door creaked again as il was carefully
/ closed behind them. Stella opened her
! own door a crack and listened; the
7 hall, lighted only by single Jil-lamp
at the head of the stairs, was desert
\ ed and silent. She stole cautiously for
ward. but the voices in Miss La Rue's
/ room were mufIled and indistinct. not
an audible word reaching her ears.
T The key was in the lock, shutting out
/ all view of the interior. Wei, what
was the difference? She knew what
was occurring within-the stolen tele-
/ gram was being displayed, and dis
/ cussed That would not delay them
/ long and it would never do for her to
( b1 discovered in the hall.
I Convinced of the use1eSsness of re-
/ mining. she returned TO her own
room, closing and boiling the door.
I This time she removed some of her
clothing. and lay down on the bed,
+ conscious of being exceedingly tired,
yet in no degree sleepy. She rested
there. with wide-Open eyes, listening
I until the distant door creaked again,
and she heard the footsteps of the
men in the hall. They had not re-
NAMED in the chorus girls room long,
nor was anything said outside TO
arouse her suspicious. Treasured,
Miss Donovan Struggled down into her
pillow, unable to distinguish where the
men went, but satisfied they had
sought their rooms. They would at
tempt nothing more that night. and
she had better gain what rest she
could It was not easy falling asleep,
i'm spite of the silence, but at last she
dropped off into doze.
Suddenly some unusual noise
aroused her, and she sat upright I'M
able for the moment TO comprehend
what had occurred. Then something
tingled at the glass of her window.
sharply distinct, as though a pebble
had been tossed upward. Instantly
she was upon her feet, and had crossed
the room her head thrust out. The
light in the office had been eXtin-
guished, and the night was black, yet
she could make out dimly the figure of
man close in against the side of the
house. a mere hulking shadow. At
the same instant he seemed to move
slightly, and some missile grazed her
face, and fell upon the floor, striking
the rug with a dull thud. SHE drew
back In alarm, yet Immediately
grasped the thought that this must be
some secret message. some cOmmuni-
cation from Westcott.
Drawing down the torn curtain,
she touched a match to the lamp and
sought the intruding missile. 1t had
rolled beneath the bed-a small stone
with a bit of paper securely attached
The girl tore this open eagerly, her
eyes searching the few lines.
Must see you tonight. Have
learned things. and am going away.
Go down back stairs. and meet me at
big cottonwood behind hotel; don't
fail. J. w"
Her breath came fast as she read,
and crunched the paper into the palm
of her hand. She understood, and felt
no hesitancy Westcott had made dis
coveries so important he must COM
municate thcm at once and there was
no other way He dare not come to
her openly at that hour. Well. she
was not afraid-not of Jim Westcott.
She paused in her hasty dressing. won
dering at herself. dimly aware that a..
new feeling partly actuated her desire
TO meet the man agatha feeling thor
oughly alien TO the Cavendish mys-
terry. She glanced into the cracked
mirror and laughed. half ashamed at
her eagerness, vet utterly unable TO
suppress the quickened beat of her
pulse.
She was ready almost in a minute.
and had blown out the lamp. She al
most held her breath as she opened
the door silently and crept out into
ii hall. Twenty feet down this pas
sage ended in a door. This was I'M
locked, and yielded easily to the grasp
of her hand. 1t opened upon mar
row platform. and she ventured forth. /
At the bottom she was in gloom al
most impenetrable, but her feet felt a
cinder path and against the slightly
lighter sky her eyes managed to dis |
tinguish the gaunt limbs of tree not |
far distant, the only one visible and |
doubtless the cottonwood referred to
in the note.
Shrinking there in the black shadow
Of the building she realized suddenly |
the terror of her position-the intense |
loneliness; the silence seemed to |
smite her. Still 1t was not far to the |
tree, and surely there could be no dan
ger at this hour. If there had been |
Westcott would never have asked her |