American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1921-07-22
CHAPTER X
The Proof Of Murdcr-The Back Room
Of Costiaan'a

The Proof Of Murdcr-The Back Room
OF c~ostiean's
watched her through the glass
doors until she vanished among the
crowd IN the lobby. l could not per
NIT her 10 go away like this; to get
beyond my sight and knowledge-yet
| hesitated too long, until she had
merged into the swirling crowd and
was lost.
II was indeed a strange feeling of
loneliness which swept over me In
that moment, Never before had / felt
such depth Of interest In a woman. or
experienced such regret at parting.
With no apparent effort, seemingly ut
teriy Indifferent, she had nevertheless
become intwlned with MY life, her
presence a necessity for my happiness.
The soft pressure OF her body, the
touch OF her hand, was intoxlcation /;
the glance Of her eyes sent the warm
blood pulslng through nay veins. She
had become to- me a IN inspiration, a
memory to dream over, a hope no
longer to be reslsted.
This was strange, So strange as to
be beyond understanding. l argued
II with myself, but to no result. The
fact would not be denied. Here was
an unknown woman, original and
beautiful, to be sure, yet m whose
very identity was shrouded' In mys-
terry. To all appearances she was ac-
lively engaged In conspiracy against
the government Of Chile; In a crime
against human life. She was unques-
tionably the authorized agent Of a
gang Of revolutionary piotters-T had
Witnessed their reception Of her as
cne Of their own, and could not dbuhs
the evidence OF my own eyes. She
had borne them instructions, and stood
tn their midst, In secret conclave;
speaking as n having authority.
More than that, even, she had refused
TO deny this connection, to reveal her
name, or acknowledge any other pur-
pose. She had used me to further her
ends, whatever they might be, prey
ing upon my personal interest in her,
and yet refusing to lift a single fold
Of this curtain of mystery.
What could IL mean, but that she
full understanding? The thought of
the stolen money, the murder of Aivs,
REQUIRED to me the invitation / had
overheard for her to accompany him.
on his fatal trip, and her accept.
anceS the positive assertion of Harris
that she bad done so; her confessed
knowledge shat the money had actual
ly been given into the. possession OF
the Chilean captain the nature of the
weapon with which he had been
Killed. her remaining in New York i'm
stead Of returning to Washington. /
could mot blot these things out, no
matter how hard | ~endeavOredl to
reconcile them with her denials. I
trusted her; ! would continue to trust
her against the world, yet deep down
In my heart fingered a question UNI.
answered III she was honest, square,
actuated by some worthy purpose, why
did she sim refuse to con1de In met
Surely I had been sufficiently tested
and she knew who | was. II she was
the sister Of a classmate whom l knew
and bowed, what necessity remained
for the eoncealment OF her name9
What, indeed, except shame 'att the
part she was playing In this sordid
drama OF life? Some of my earlier
suspicion had been eradicated. for now
n was clearly demonstrated that II
could not have been her knife which
had pierced Alvn's heart. Whatever
else ! might believe against her this
evidence mo longer existed, for she
stil1 the dagger In her hat Becu'
liar as the design was, the weapon
locked I'm my vnlise, which L had
picked up blood-stained on the floor
OF the ear. was not hers; IT, had been
welded In its deadly work by some
other hand. But whose2 Did she
knowt Did she even suspect, the as.
sassinr Was she even nov endeavor
ing to conceal his identity1 These
questions were unanswerable; L ooald
only partially drive them back bs
memory OF the girl herself; It was