New Britain herald., 1924-03-13
NOW GO ON WITH THE STORY

nlSht composing manuscript.
 NOW GO ON WITH THE STORY
 He sat bacithen in his tall chair. and stared straight before him, q man hemnsed. considering. Thus awhile. Then from an inner pocket Of his doublet he drew tasseled yellow glove that was slim and long and sorely rubbed and stained with age. He sighed, and d tear, wrung by the anguish of this renunciation from his hardened, adventurer's heart, fell on his hand.
 Abruptly then he sat forward. and, snatching up the quill again, he scrawied at fierce speed on the foot of the last of the written sheets:
 Here is a glove that you bestowed on me in the long ago. wore it. us your knight wearing his lady's favor in the lists Of life, proudly by the right of your gift and my un- sullied honor. For years it was an amulet against all trials and tcmpta- ,ions. Now that it has failed of this purpose through my own cowardice and nnworthincss. you may not wish me to retain it longer"
 That manuscript--tor it is hardly to be termed a letter-still survives. Its faded characters cover some thirty pages Of paper that the cen turies have tinted yellow. It has boen--as you will surmisc--in my possession. It has supplied me with more than the mere elements of this history. which without it could never have been written.
 He folded tho sheets together, en- closing the glove within them, wrapped a thread of silk about the package. and on the knot of this he made n disc Of wax which he sealed with his thumb. He superscribed .he package, quite simply. "ro Miss Nancy Sylvester" and stood it there on the table against the stem of the candle-brsnch within view Of the first person who should enter that room.
 Next he drew forth his still we'll filled purse. and cmntied its contents on to tho table. One-half he re- placed; Of the other he made two pockets.addr casing one to pr. Eeam- ish and the other to Mrs. Dallows. Softly then he pushed back his chair and rose. lle iiptoed to the window, and peered down into the shadows where the watchman kept his post, propped in a corner Of the padloeked doorway. A sound Of snoring came to inform IIolles that. as he had rockoned, tho fellow slept.
 Holes went lack. He took up his hat and cloak. Then. acting upon n sudden thought, he sought his baldric. and to tho empty scabbard that was attached to it he fitted the slender dress rapier that Buckingham had left behind him.
 Having passed the baldric over his head and settled if on his shoulder. he blew out the candles. and a moment later he was at the window again.
 He scarcely made sound as he straddled the window.sill: then very gently he let himself down. until he hung at full length. his toes not more than three feet above the kidney stones of the dark. empty, silent street. He dropped very lightly. and as he was wearing no spurs, he made practically no noise at all. At once he set off in the direction of sermon Lane.
 Nevertheless. the evasion Of ITollcs had not gone as entirely unpcrceiyed as he imagined. Slight as had been 1 the noise he made. yet it had reached the window Of the room immediately above. and bv that window-which was tho window Of Nancys room sat Nancy. driven to that vigil by thoughts that rendered sleep impos- sible.
 ! Her attention aroused by those fur | tive sounds below, she had leaned far out from the easement and pecrpd down into the darkness. She had heard the soft thud Of feet as Holes | dropped to the street, and immcdi- 1 atey thereafter inc batter Of his re 1 treating footsteps. Very faintty she ] thought she made out at the same time the receding figure Of a man. a deeper shadow amid shadows. Bnt i however little she may have seen with i the eyes Of the flesh. she saw all with | the eyes Of her imagination. She was on the point Of crying out but suddenly checked herself. fearful of rousing inc watchman and setting afoot a pursuit which. if successful. | might he attended by direct consc- quence for Hoiles.
 With trembling. fumblng fingers | she kindled a light. Then with a rug wrapped about her over her ] night-rail. she made her way below. i Thus she descended the stairs for the l first time. and as she went she l biamnd herself bitterly-in her con siction that she would find things as she feared-for not having earlier taken this step and gone to seek him who remained SD obduratcly absent When on the following morning an anxious Mrs DaIIows entered the dining g-room in fearfu quest of her charge, she found her there, at once to her infinite relief and infinite dis | fress. Nancy sat on the daybed under the open window. Reside her was a candiestick in which the single candle had been burnt to the socket about her the floor was strewn with 1 the sheets Of Holles' letter, which had slipped from her nerveiess fingers. CHAPTER XXv.