Graham guardian., 1922-11-14

~ b. Welt hFtt ot htis tTustin& III tniS
man Hobart"
She lhughed, her eyes glancing up
quickly into his face,
"And why not, pleasef Remember
your confession; may think this only
Jealousy
you are not 30 silly as that"
earnestly. Moreover, may as well be
perfectly frank. did confess an In
terest In you. and In measure, still!
feel eager to serve you In every pos.
sibie way; but you have changed so
greatly. Miss Natalie. that my conf
dence In you has been severely tried"
You no longer believer"
Il hardly know fail utterly to un-
derstand YOU OF late: you seem an en-
tirely different girl. For one thing, you
have deliberately deceived me-"
Indeed in what7'
'ln your visit to Arch street with
Perciyal Coolidge. That was no mis-
sion Of charity to a poor widow and
children"
'What thenf"
"An arranged conference with this
fellow Hobart He rented that cottage
for no other purpose, and left 1t the
next day. You made q mistake when
you took me along"
She Strengthened up slightly in the
chair, vet spoke rather indifferently.
her voice cold.
''No doubt l did," she said tersely.
Indeed have already discovered,
Captain West, that made an even
greater mistake when first took you
into my service. You have proven al
together too inquisitive. Now will be
plain with you. Whatever need I once
supposed had for your services ended
with the explanation received in that
Arch street cottage. I told you sd very
distinctly after our return home, You
recall that interview, no doubtf"
He bowed, waiting for her to go ON.
"You were then and there. dismissed
from my service. That should have,
been sufficient. knew nothing OF your
silly feeling Of personal interest In.
me; nor did ! realize any occasion for
discussing with you the reasons .caus
ing me to change my plans. You were,
my employee. and i discharged you !.
that was all. II is true Pereival
Coolidge took me to that cottage to
have certain mysterious things ex.-
planned and they were explained to
my complete satisfaction
'By HobartT
"Yes."
"You knew the fellow beforer
She hesitated slightly, although
there was no perceptible change in the
answering voice.
''For several years; he was In
my fathers employ; the-the whole
trouble originated in Joke. and--and
was quite amusing. once understood.
OF course, after that, had no further
need for you. Why did you persist In
annoying rhe?"
West hesitated an instant. his mind
struggling with the situation. Was she
honest, truthful, In this statementf
Could he say anything which would
change her viewpoint? She must have
been deceived by these men, yet how
could he expose them so she would
comprehend? He was so little certain
Of the facts himself, that he had moth.
ing but suspicion to offer.
"Why do you not answer, Captain
west?"
The girls eyes were clear, insistent,
a little amused; they somehow aroused
his determination.
81 will endeavor to make you under
stand, Miss Natalie" he explained
slowly. 81 would not have you feel that
/ deliberately pushed myself into this
affair. When l left Fairlawn after
your dismissal, l had no thought of
ever seeing you again. have already
told you the interest had felt in you
up to that time, but your abruptness
during our last Interview left me
angry, and with no inclination to seek
your presence again. You can scarcely
blame me for such feeling2"
NO" she confessed. Il was 80
excited and nervous I was not very
nice"
you certainly hurt me, departed
with sense OF wrong ranking, and no
desire TO come back But fate inter,
yened, You know, perhaps, that 1 over,
heard the shot which ended the life Of
Percival Coolidge. and was the first to
discover his dead body, supposed 1t q
case Of suicide. and so bore witness at
the inquest. The whole matter would
have ended there; but the next day
you discharged Sexton also. and the
man sought me out at the cidb." Il
She leaned forward. her lips
parted, a new Iight in her eyes.
"He told you something? He made
you suspiciousf" she asked breathless.
ly
He caused me to see the affair from
a somewhat different point of view-a
point Of view which, l confess, revived
my interest In you. began to believe
you had been deceived, and your treat