The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1923-05-11
The Blind Mans Eyes !
By William MacHare Edwin Bamer

Copyright by Little. Brown and COMPANY q


convicted of it; they mean in this case
| that he has committed a murder!"
"a murder!'
For which he was convicted and
sentenced"
Sentenced 20
yes; and is alive now only because
before the sentence could be carried
out, he escaped. That man, Philip
Eaton, is Hugh"
"Hughr
Hugh Overton, Harry"
Hugh Overflow
"Yes; / found it out today. The
| police have just learned ii, too. was
coming to tell your father. He's
Hugh Overton, the murderer of Mat
thew LatrOn 20
mo; mol"
'Yes, Harry; for this man Is GER
tainly Hugh Overton."
at isn't so l know it isn't so !"
"You mean he told you he was
some one else, Harry"
"No; mean" She faced him de-
| family. "Father let me keep the pho
| tograph. l asked him, and he said,
| Do whatever you wish with it, He
knew l meant to keep it He knows
who Hugh is, so he would not have
| said that if-if-"
She heard a sound behind her and
| turned. Her father had come into
| the room. And as she saw his man.
ner and his face she knew that what
Avery had just told her was the truth.
| She Shrank away from them. Her
hands went to her face and hid it.
She knew now why it was that her
father on hearing Hugh's voice, had be-
| come curious about him, had tried TO
| place the voice in his recollection
the voice of a prisoner on trial for his
| life, heard only for an instant but
fixed upon his mind by the circum-
stances attending it, though those cir
cumstances afterward had been for
gotten. She knew why she, when she
had gaZed at the picture few minutes
before, had been disturbed and fright
ened at feeling it TO be kind Of pic
ture unfamiliar to her and threatening
her with something unknown and ter
rible. She knew the reason now for a
score Of things Hugh had said to her,
for the way he had looked many times
when she had spoken to him. 1t eX-
planned all that! 1t seemed to her, in
the moment, to explain everything
except one thing. 1t did not explain
Hugh himself; the kind of man he
| ~ 1t - oh Iy,, Il i'm
to be-the man she loved-he could
not be a murderer!
Her hands dropped from her face {;
she threw her head back proudly and
triumphantly, as she faced now both
Avery and her father.
"He, the murderer of Mr.. LatrOn -
she cried quietly 1T isn't SOP
The blinu man was very pale; he
was fully dressed. "A servant had sup
ported him and helped him down the
stairs and still stood beside him sus-
tanning him. But the will which had
conquered his disability of blindness
was holding him firmly now against
the disability of his hurts; he seemed
composed and steady. She saw COM
passion for her in his look; and COM
passion-under the present circum-
stances-terrified her. Stronger, far
more in control of him than his com
passion for her, she saw purpose. She
recognized that her father had come
to a decision upon which he now was
going to act; she knew that nothing
she or anyone else could say would
alter that decision and that he would
employ his every power in acting
upon it.
The blind man seemed to check him
self an instant in the carrying out OF
his purpose; he turned his sightless
eyes toward her. There was emotion
in his look but, except that this emo
ton was in part pity for her, she
could not tell exactly what his looE
expressed.
"Will you wait for me outside, Har
riet?" he said to her. 81 shall not BIZ
long"
She hesitated; then she felt sud
denly the futility of opposing him an(
she passed him and went out into the
hall. The servant followed her, clos
ing the door behind him. She stood
Just outside the door listening. Sit
heard her father-she could catch TIT
tone; she could not make out TIT
words-asking a question; she hearC
the sound of Avery's response. Sh,
started back nearer the door and pu
her hand on it to open it; inside the.
were still talking. She caught Avery
tone more clearly now, and it sudden
ly terrified her. She drew back from
the door and shrank away. There hal
y been no opposition to Avery in he
fathers tone; she was certain nov
q that he was only discussing wit