Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1923-05-16

|
| picture with the numbers printed In
below like that? Can't you guess yet
where your father must have sent for
that picture? Don't you know what
those numbers mean?"
What do they mean?'
They are the figures of his num-
Der in what is called The Rogues'
Gallery And they mean he has COM
mitted a crime and been tried and
convicted of it; they mean in this case
that he has committed a murder!"
"A murder!'
! For which he was convicted and
sentenced"
Sentenced !"
yes; and is alive now only because
before the sentence could be carried
out, he escaped. That man, Philip
Eaton, is Hugh"
| "Hughi"
Hugh Overton, Harryw
Hugh Overtonl"
Eyes; I found il out today. The
police have just learned it, too. / was
coming to tell 4 your father. He's
! Hugh Overton, the murderer of Mat
thew Latronl"
| "No; now
Eyes, Harry; for this man is GER
tainly Hugh Overton."
1T isn't so! l know 1t isn't so!"
"You mean he told you he was
some one else Harry?'
mo; 4 mean" She faced him de-
| family $40 tho,. Ia+ mo l-oo,o A. -
tograph. I asked him, and he said,
| Do whatever you wish with it, He
| knew l meant to keep It! He knows
who Hugh is, so be would not have
| said that if-if-'
She heard sound behind her and
turned. Her father had come into
| the room. And as she saw his man
fner 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 Hughs voice, had be.
| come curious about him, had tried to
place the voice in his recollection
| the voice Of 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.
| cumstancesA afterward had been for
| gotten. She knew why she, when she
| had gazed at the picture a few minutes
before, had been disturbed and fright.
eIed at feeling tito be kind Of pic
| ture unfamiliar to her and threatening
| her with something unknown and .er-
! 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. It ex-
| planned ali 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
was, the kind of man she knew him
to be-the man she loved-he could
not be murderer!
Her hands dropped from her face;
she threw her head back proudly and
Avery ar, 4Cher.
''I4a Z murderer of Mr.. Latron I"
she sried quietly. 'It isn't sol"
The blino 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 q 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 bis looA
expressed.
"Will you wait for me outside, Har-
riet?" be said to her. II shall not be
long,"
She hesitated; then she felt sud
denly the futility of opposing him and
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. She
heard her father-she could catch the
tone; she could not make out the
words-asking question; she heard
the sound of Avery's response. She
started back nearer the door and put
her hand on 1t to open it; inside they
were still talking. She caught Avery's
tone more clearly now, and it sudden
ly terrified her. She drew back from
the door and shrank away. There had