The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-04-21
tCintnued from our last issue.)

His head was not aching; but
there throbbed within his head,
ceaselessly and enormously, pulse
that seemed to shake him at its
every beat. 1t was going knock,
knock, He began to have the feel
ing that If this frightful knocking
continued it would beat its way out.
Something would give way. He was
the father of Effie'5 child; he was
the murderer of Effie and her
child! He was neither; but the
crimes were fastened upon him as
ineradicable pigment upon his skin.
He was betrayer and a murderer,
and every refutatiOn that he could
produce turned to a brand in his
hands and branded him yet more
deeply. He writhed in torment.
Forever, he would carry the mem
ory of that fierce and sweating face
pressing towards him across the
table in that court. Mo- 1t was an
other fact that stood like flame be-
fore his eyes. Twyningi Twyning,
Twyning! The prompter, the goader
of that passionate mans passion,
the instigator and instrument of
this his utter and appalling destrI &C.
ti)n. Twyning, Twyning, Twyning,
He ground his teeth upon the name.
He twisted in his chair upon the
thought. Twyning. Twyning.
Twyning! Knock, knock, knock,
Something was going to give way in
a minute. 1t must be abated. A
feyerish desire to smoke came upon
him. He felt in his pocket for his
cigaret case. He had not got it. He
remembered that he had started for
Brighton without it, discovered
there that he had left it benin. Re
started to hunt for it. He remem-
bered a previous occasion of Sc rch-
ing for it like this. When? All,
when Effie had told him she had
found it lying about and had put it
of all absurd place for a cigaret
case-in the back of the clock
Fife. He went quickly to the clio TX
and opened it. Good 1t was here
He snatched it up Something else
there A folded paper. HIS name
penciled on it: Mr.. Sabre.
She had left a message for him.
That cigaret case business had been
deliberately donei
He began to read. Tears stood IN
his eyes. Pitiful, oh, pitiful- He
turned the pAge-knock, knock,
knock! The knocking sudd .nly
ceased. He threw up his hand. He
gave very loud cry A single note.
note of extraordinary exultation:
"Hai"
He crushed the paper between lis
hands. He cried aloud: Into my
hands. Into my hands thou hast d.
livered him.
He opened the paper an, read
again, his hand shaking, and now
most terrible trembling upon him.
Dear Mr.. Sabre,
wanted yo" 10 30 to Brighton so
/ could be alone to do what l am
just going to do. You see t. wUn't
let me keep my little baby and now
have made things too terrible for
you. So | see the only thing TO do
is to take myself out of it all and
take my little baby with me- Soon
| shall explain things to God and
then l think it will be quite all
right My heart is filled with graft
tude to you. | cannot express j.;
but | shall tell God when l explain
everything to Him; and my one
hope is that after l have been pun
lshed l shall be allowed to meet you
again, and thank you-there, where
everything will be understood.
He turned over.
feel ought to tell you now, be-
fore | leave this world what
never was able to tell you or any
one. The father of my little baby
was Harold Twyning who used TO
be in your office We had been
secretly engaged very, very long
time and then he was in an Off
GERS training camp at Bourne
mouth where ! was, and | don't
think | quite understood We were
going to be married and then he
mad TO go suddenly, and then he
was afraid to tell his father and
Then this happened and he was
more afraid. So flat was how it al
was. | do want you, please, to tell
Harold that l quite forgive him,
ONLY IN hin.