Vernon Parish Democrat. (Leesville, La.) 1917-193?, 1920-08-05
CHAPTER lI-continued.

Cavendish leaped to his feet. his
hand gripping his cane.
"YOu damned black"
waltz and Enright arose also.
''Not so loud, please; your voice might
be heard in the outer office. 1 said
my services would cost you hundred
thousand dollars. Take the PROPOSE
tion or leave it, Mr.. John Cavendish." y
"But-but," the other stammered, all
courage leaving him, 81 haven't the
money"
"Of course not" the threat on En-
rights face changing to a smile. "But
the prospects that you will have are
unusually good. am quite willing to
speculate on your fortunes. A memo
randa for legal services due one year
from date-such as I have already
drawn up-and bearing your signature,
.will be quite satisfactory. Glance
over the items, please; yes, sit here
at the table. Now, If you will sign
that there will be no further cause
for you to feel any uneasiness-this
Tine, please"
Cavendish grasped the penholder in
MS fingers, and signed. 1t was the
act of a man dazed, half stupefied,
unable to control his actions. In a
way it was a confession of guilt, an
acknowledgement of his fear of ex-
posture, yet he felt utterly incapable
pf resistance. Enright unlocked the
1oor, and projected his head outside,
9omprehending clearly that the proper
time to strike was while the iron was
aot
Calling Miss Healy, one of his ste
aographers, he made her an official wit
Aess to the document and the sigma
ture of John Cavendish.
Not until ten minutes later when he
was on the street did it occur to John
Uavendish that the carbon copy of
the will, together with the rough notes
IN his Cousins handwriting, still re-
NAMED in Enright's possession. Vain
" he tried to force himself to return
and demand them, but his nerve fail
ed, and he shuffled away hopelessly in
the hurrying crowds.
AS Francois ValOis trudged along
he night streets toward his roOming
house he came face to face with
Trim young woman in a smart blue
lerge. ooh, hellO" she cried pleasant
", bringing up short. Then seeing the
puzzled look upon the Wallets face, she
said: Don't you remember me? I'm
Miss Donovan of the Star. came
up to the apartments the morning of
the Cavendish murder with one of the
boys"
ValOis smiled warmly; men usually
hid for Miss Donovan. 81 remember"
he said dolorously.
The girl sensed some underlying
sorrow in his voice and with profess
sional skill learned the cause within
a minute. Then, because she believed
that there might be more to be told,
and because she was big-hearted and
interested in every ones troubles, she
urged him to accompany her to a
nearby restaurant and pour out his
heart while she supped. Lonely and
disheartened, Valois accepted gladly
and within half an hour they were
seated at tiny table in an italian
cafe.
"About your dischargeY she queried
after a time,
81 was not even asked to accompany
Mr.. Frederick's body" he burst out,
"even though had been with him a
year. So stayed in the apartment
to straighten things, expecting to be
retained in John Cavendish's service.
I even did the work in his apartments,
but when he returned and saw me
there he seemed to lose his temper,
wanted to know why was hanging
around, and ordered me out of the |
place. Flung money at me, he did,
told me to get out, that he never
wanted to see me again. Since then |
have tried for three weeks to find |
work, but it has been useless"
While she gave him a word of sym
pathy, Miss Donovan was busily think
ing. She remembered Willis remark
IN the apartments, "Are you sure of
the dead mans identity? His face
is badly mutilated, you know" and
her alert mind sensed a possibility of
a newspaper story back of young
Cavendish's unwarranted and strange
act
"AIr. ValOis," she said kindly,
''would you mind if asked you a
question or two more"
mo" the man returned.
"AH right First, what sort Of a
man was your masterr /