Belt Valley times. [volume] (Armington, Mont.) 1894-1977, 1924-02-14
E. PHILLIPS OPPENEIEIM
coPyrigAs y LlrIis, Brown aaa caaaaav

he destroyed It. He carried the FIRST
message around Richmond golf course
with him, Intending to dispatch his
caddy with 1t Immediately on the con
clusioh of the round. The fresh air,
however. and the concentration re-
quired by the game. seemed to dispel
the nervous apprehensions with which
he had anticipated his visit, and over
an aperitlf In the club bar he tore the
telegram into small pieces and found
himself even able to derive a cetrain
half-fearful pleasure from the thought
Of meeting again, the woman who, to-
gether with her terrible story. had
never for one moment been out Of
his thoughts. Andrew Wilmore, who
had observed his action. spoke OF It
as they settled down to lunch.
$50 you are going to keep your en-
gagement tonight, FrancisT" he OBJ
served.
The latter nodded.
After all. why notq" he asked. lit
tie detiantIy. at ought to be interest
ing"
Wen. there's nothing Of the sordid
criminal, at any rate. about Oliver
Hilditch." Wilmore declared. Neither.
II one comes to think OF it, does his
wife appear to be the prototype OF
suffering virtue. / wonder If you are
wise to so, Francis7"
why not7" the man who had asked
himself that question a dozen times
already, demanded.
Because" WilmOre replied coolly,
underneath that steely hardness Of
manner for which your profession lie
responsible, you have a vein of senti-
ment, IT chlvalrous sentiment, should
say which some day or other is bound
to get you into trouble The woman
Is beautiful enough to turn any ones
head. AS a matter Of fact, believe
that you are more than half In love
with her already"
Francis Ledsam sat where the sun
light fell upon his strong, forceful |
face, shone, too, upon the table with
its simple but pleasant appointments, +
upon the tankard of beer by hls side.
upon the plate Of roast beef to which
he was already doing ample justice.
He laughed with the easy confidence
of man awakened from some haunt
ing nightmare, relieved to find his
feet once more firm upon the ground
Il have been a fool to take the
whole matter so seriously, Andrew"
he declared. Il expect to walk back
to Charges street tonight. disilIusloned.
The man will probably present me with
a gold pencil case, and the woman"
We'll. what about the woman VIII
more asked, after a brief pause.
"Oh. don't knowl" Francis de-
clared, little impatiently. "The wom-
an is the mystery, of course. Prob
ably my brain was little over-excited
when I came out OF court, and what
imagined TO be an epic was nothing
more than a tissue Of exaggerations
rom a disappointed wife, However,
I'm sure I'm doing the right thing to {
20 there"
The two men returned TO town to- [
yether afterwards, Wilmore TO the
hub and Francis to his rooms in
sarges street to prepare for dinner.
II a few minutes to eight he rang the
,ell Of number 10 b, Hill street, and
ound his host and hostess awaiting
linn in the small drawing-r0om into
which he was ushered. It seemed to
lin that the woman, still colorless.
gain marvelously gowned. greeted
i'm coldly. His host, however. was
lmost too effusive. There was no
ther guest, but the prompt announce
lent Of dinner dIspeiled what might
=beea=a=eeHL memea4sH GemAaH- l.
after Oliver Hilditch's almost
90 cordial greeting. The woman laid
er fingers upon her guests coat
Ieeve. The trio crossed the little
ali almost in silence.
Dinner was served in q small white
Georgian dining room, with every APP
OF almost sybaritic luxury.
he only light In the room was thrown
pom the table by two purpIe-shaded
lectric lamps, and the servants who
'afted seemed to pass backwards and
)rwards like shadows IN some mys-
srlous twilIght-even the faces of the Fl
Tree diners themselves were out Of
ie little pool Of light until they leaned
inward. The dinner was chosen with
Iste and restraint, the wines we're
ot only costly but rare. A watchful
itler, attended now and then by q
i'm parl0r maid, superintended the
.rvice. Only once. when she ordered
bowl Of flowers removed from the
bic, did their mistress address either nj
them. Conversation after the first sil
" amenities speedily became almost VI
monologue. One man talked whilst vi
e others listened, and the man who In
lked was Oliver HiidItch. He pos
ssed the rare gift Of imparting color sa
ID actually In a few phrases to the ne
range places OF which he spoke. Of I
inging the very thrill Of strange hap tn
nings into the shadowy room II on
emed that there was scarcely coun- an
! Of the world which he had not Wis all
d, country. that Is to say. where
= Z q.