Graham guardian., 1922-12-26

ithNe Ndtuile tueFt III SdIe udlluS, Ill
the security Of home, however hum.
BILE, food would give him strength to
push on alone. West turned and has.
tened back through the woods. clam.
bering down the slope of the ridge in
darkness to the spot where he had
left the girl. For the moment he
could not distinguish her presence In
the gloom, and, fearing he might have
gone astray, called her name aloud.
YES" she answered. II am here;
to your right. am standing up. Have
you discovered anything?"
There Is house of some kind over
yonder in hollow just beyond the
ridge. We will have to stumble along
through the dark. Do you think you
can make it?'
"0f course, l can," anG she placed
her hand con1idingly In his. 81 am all
right now; really l am; guess all |
needed was to get my breath"
He grasped her arm, helping her to
Chamber up the steep bank, suddenly
becoming aware that the sleeve felt
dry.
"Why, Natalie, your clothes seem to
have all dried off already; mine are
soaked through" he exclaimed in sur
prise
She laughed, a faint tinge of mock
cry in the sound
mo mystery whatever. This light
etufT Ipias nn;nLIy o1-,,rDJ o., tbn ,i,
Did you think you had hold of the
wrong girl?"
The tone of her voice stung slightly,
causing him to make sober answer.
THAT would of course, be improb-
able, but / have been so completely
deceived, even by daylight that dare
not affirm that it would prove impos-
sible. Your counterfeit is certainly a
wizard
"She must be- But as she is miles
away from here, you might let the
suspicion rest. Is this where we go
DOWN."
She led the way, the action awaken
ing no question in his mind. If he
thought at all about her thus assum-
ing the initiative, the suspicion was
dismissed with the idea that probably
her eyes were more keen to discover
the best path. In this she was GER
tainly successful, and he contented
himself by following her closely. but
vaguely he felt that in some almost
Iimperceptible manner she had changed
her mood. He could not base his
thoughts on single word, or action,
yet he felt the difference-this was
not the Natalie of the raft She was
too irritable; too sharp of speech. But
then, no doubt, she was tired, worn
out, her nerves broken. So he drove
the thought from him, clinging close
to her arm. and vaguely wondering
how she was able to trace the path so
easily. By this time even West could
recognize that they were proceeding
along well-used path, and he was
not surprised when she announced the
presence of the house before them,
pointing out the dim shadow through
the gloom.
"That is no hut" he exclaimed in
surprise. at looks more like a man.
sion"
"And why notr pleasantly enough.
~ have always heard these bluffs
were filled with summer homes. Tn
fortunately this one appears to be de-
serted"
"But there must be some one about
here" West insisted. "For this was
the house I saw from the ridge, and
there was light burning then in one
of the windows, and there was a wisp
of smoke rising from chimney"
She stepped boldly forward and
placed her hand on the knob of the
door
"Why," she whispered, excitedly. "It
is unlocked; see, ] can open it. Per
haps something Is wrong here. What
shall we dof'
"Knock first; then If there is no re,
sponse, we can feel our way about in.
side. My matches are all wet"
She raped sharply on the wood
waited for some reply, and then called
out Not word reached them from
| within. West, his teeth clinched
stepped in through the open door, de.
termined to learn the secret of that
mysterious interior. With hands out.
stretched he felt his way forward, by
| sense of touch alone assuring himself
that he traversed hall, carpeted, his
extended arms barely reaching from
wall to wall. He encountered no fur
| niture, and must have advanced some
two yards, before his cropping dis
closed the presence of closed door
on the left, He had located the knob,
when the outer door suddenly closed,
as though blown shut by draught Of
wind, and, at the same instant, his
eyes were blinded by 8 dazzling out
burst of light.
This came with such startling, unex.
pected brilliancy that West staggered
| back as though struck For the in
stant he was positively blind; then he
dlmly perceived man standing be-
fore him-a man who, little by little,
became more clearly defined, recog-
nizable, suddenly exhibiting the fea.
lures of Jim Hobart, sarcastically grin.
! ming into his face.
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