The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1920-09-09

Suddenly some unusual noise
aroused her, and she sat upright, un-
able for the moment to comprehend
what had occurred. Then something
tingled at the glass Of her window,
sharply distinct, as though q 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 extln-
gulshed, and the night was black, yet
she could make out dimly the figure Of
a man close In against the side Of the
house, q 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 commune
cation from Westcott.
Drawing down the torn curtain,
she touched a match to the lamp and
sought the i%ntruding 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. ]. 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 them 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 q
new feeling partly actuated her desire
TO meet the man again-a feeling thor
Oughly alien to the CavendiSh myS-
terry. She glanced into the cracked
mirror and laughed, half ashamed at
her eagerness, yet utterly unable to
suppress the quickened beat of her
pulse.
She VAS 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
the hall. Twenty feet down this pas
sage ended in q door. This was I'M
locked, and yielded easily to the grasp
of her hand. 1t opened upon a mar
row platform, and she ventured forth.
At the bottom she was in a 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 a 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 p~OsitiOn-the intenS"
loneliness; the silence seemed to
smite her. Still 1t was not far to the
tree, and surely there could be no dam
ger at this hour. If there had been
Westcott would never have asked her
to come. The very recurrence Of his
name gave her strength and courage.
1t was a rough path, sandy, inter
spersed with small rocks, and led
down into a gully. The tree stood on
the opposite bank, which was SO steep
she had to grasp It's Outcropping roots
in order to pull herself up.
Even after gaining footing she saw
nothing of WestcOtt, heard no sound
indicating his presence. Suddenly
something moved to her right, and she
shrank back against the tree, uncer-
tain If the shapeless thing approach
ing was man or beast. He was almost
upon her before she was sure; then
her lips gave utterance to a little sob
Of relief.
"Ohi You frightened me SOL"
The man stopped, scarcely a yard
away, a burly figure, but with face in
distinguishable.
Sorry to do that" he said, "but no
noise, please"
She shrank back to the edge Of the
bank, conscious Of the grip Of a great
fear.
"You-you are not Mr.. WestcottY'
she choked. "Who are you? What Is
it you wantr
you've been playin' in a game
what's none O. your business. Now I
reckon it's the other party's turn to
throw some cards. Thought yer was
comm out yere ter meet up with Jim
Westcott, didn't yerT"
She made no answer, desperately
seeking some means of escape, the full
significance Of her position clear be-
fore her.
"Got a nice little note from JIM"
the fellow went on, ''an' lost no time
a gittin' yere. Well. WestcOtt is not
liable to be sendin' fer yer again very
soon. What Their h"
She had dashed forward, seeking to
place the trunk of the tree between
them, the unexpected movement so
sudden, she avoided his grasp. But
success was Only for an instant. An.