Belt Valley times. [volume] (Armington, Mont.) 1894-1977, 1923-04-26
CHAPTER XVIII


bedroom swiftly down into the stud
again what she was going TO do ther
she did not definitely know. Sh
heard, as she descended the stairs, tn
steward In the hall outside the stud
calling up the police stations of tn
neighboring villages and giving new
Of what had happened and instruc
lions to watch the roads; but as shI
reached the foot of the stairs, a serv
ant closed the study doors. The great
curtained room In Its terrifying dis
order was brightly lighted. empty. alb
solutsly still. She had given direc
lions that. except for the removal o.
Blatchford's body, all must be left a,
ft was In the room till the arrival o.
the police. She stood an instant will
hands pressed against her breast, star
ing down at the spots upon the floor
Was n of them Eaton'sf
Something within her told her tina
II was, and the fierce desire to 90 tC
him, 10 help him. was all she felt Just
now 1t was Donald Avery's and her
fathers accusation of Baton that had
made her feel like this She had been
feeling, the mornent before Donald
had spoken that Phillip Eaton had
played upon her that evening in max
ing her take him to his confederate
In the ravine In order TO plan and CON
summate something here. Above her
grief and horror at the killing of her
cousin and the danger to her father,
had risen the anguish OF her guilt
with Eaton. the agony of her betrayal.
But their accusation that Eaton had
killed Wallace Blatchford, seeing him,
knowing HMM the nght-had swept
all that away; all there was of her
seemed to have risen In denial of that.
Before her eyes, half shut, she saw
again the body of her cousin Wallace
lying In its blood on the floor, with her
father kneeling beside 1t, his blind
eyes raised In helplessness to the
light but she nav now another body
too-Eaton's-not here-lying some
where in the bare, wind-swept woods,
shot down by those pursuing him.
She looked at the face Of the clock
and then down to the pendulum to see
whether II had stopped but the pen
dulum was swinging. The hands stood
Mt half past one o'clock now she re-
called that, I'm her first wild gaze about
the room when she rushed In with
the others, she had seen the hands
showing a minute or so short OF
twenty minutes past one. Not quite
n quarter OF an hour had passed since
the alarmi The pursuit could not
have moved far away. She reopened
the window through which the pur
suers had passed and stepped out onto
the dark lawn. A half mile down the
beach she heard shouts and a shot
she saw dimly through the night in
that direction a boat without lights
moving swiftly out upon the lake.
Her hands clenched and pressed
against her breast; she stood strain
Ing at the sounds of the man-hunt. II
had turned west, Ii seemed; II was
coming back her way. but to the west
Of the house. She crossed the lawn
toward the garage. A light suddenly
shone out there, and she went on.
The wide door at the car driveway
was pushed open, and someone was
within working over a car. His back
was toward her. and he, was bent over
the engine. but, at the glance, she
knew him and recoiled. gasping. 1t
was Eaton. He turned at the same
instant and saw her.
"Oh: it's you |" he cried to her.
Her heart, which almost had ceased
TO beat. raced her pulses again. At
the sound she had made on the drive
way. he had turned to her as a hunted
thing, cornered, desperate, certain that
whoever came must be against him.
His cry to her had recognized her as
the only one who could come and not
be against him 1t had hailed her with
as bringing him help. He could
have cried out so at that instant
at sight of her II he had been tuilty
Of what they had accused. Now she
too, as he faced her. blood fow-
ing over his face; blood soaked q
OF his coat, and his left arm
dangling at his side; but now, as he
threw back his head and Strengthened
In his relief at finding 1t was she who
had surprised him, she saw in hin
IN exultation and excitement she had
never seen before-something which
her presence alone could not have
Tonight, she sensed vaguely.
'omething had happened to him which
had changed his attitude toward her
everything also
yes It's II" she cried quickly and
'ushed to him. TITS III It's l." wildly
The treasured bin. You're hurt 7"
Che touched his shoulder. you're
! knew you werei"
He pushed her back with his right
hand and held her away from him.
did they hurt your fatherY'
~Hurt Fatber1 No.
but Mr.. Hlatchford-"
~Dead,s she answered DULY. f,
'~They killed him. then I"
Yes. they" She iterated. He
telling her now-unnecessarily- ,
hat be had had nothing to do with II
/ Was the others who had done that.
He released her and wiped the blood