The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1924-11-23

that door and cried it three times Already.
Woman in pink dress, sir, and a long dark
cloak reachin' almost to the greund!'
"MargotF' said Cleek in an exultant
whisper. "Margot at last, by George"
'If you mean that French aparsh skirt
we run up against in the time of the
Red Crawl, gov nor" interposed Dollops.
you're backia the wrong horse. 1t aren't
her."
"Are you sureo' he whispered.
Rather! But she'll come back and you
can see for yourself. Shes went away two
OF three times before, but always come back
and tried the door, and jist struck her hands
together and rocked back and forwards like
she was half beside herself when she found
it locked and nobody there to meet her.
"Ive got something important on hand
for yeu. There's a ruin in the grounds of
this place, and that ruin / particularly wish
to have closely watched tonight. Miss
Lorne'-he turned to Ailsa-"will you
show Dollops the way to the ruin? After
ward, yen and 1 can meet again here.
''And you. Dellops, listen closely to what
l say. The chances are that some one,
either man woman, will secretly visit that
ruin tonight! If woman comes, ship away
from the place as quietly as you can, come
around to the shrubbery near the front en-
trance to the house, and boot like an owl
three times. But if it should be man
here lay hold of this pair-of handouts.
nv al tOots SSS titoSS thHSo Ou AAilu SAhA
then blow your police whistle"
Soon he heard the sound of fur5iye move
ments on the other side Of the wall, from
within the grounds of the grange! Some
one was coming to keep the tryst Another
sound broke the stiffness; cats new to the
life.
Eyes, am here" an eager veice shrilled
cut in sharp, keen whisper. "Oh, come
quickly or 1 shall go insane"
IF
sill2en garments. patter of footsteps, the
swift moving of figure across the lonely
lane, followed by the rattle and click Of a
key in spring lock, the creak of an in
swung gate moving upon its hinges, and
with these things the sound of an excited
man whispering warningly, ''Sh-h-h"' as the
woman swept down upon him in state bor-
dering hysteria.
''Oh, if you could but know what agenies
I have suffered, what horrors of suspense
have enduredr she said in wailing sort
OF whisper
And again the mans whispered "Sh-h-h!'
sounded, fuller than ever of excitement and
fear. But Cleek scarcely heard it. Other
and more startling things were claiming his
thoughts. He knew without anybody tell
ing him; knew in that first moment that
this yelled and night-hidden woman was Sir
Philip Clavering's wife! And the man she
was meeting, this crafty fellow who hung
pack IN the SnauCW OF the SOHQ gate, WHO
and what was he?
81 know it was mad of me to do this
thing" she moaned, ''but 1 couldn't sleep
until saw you, until had told you that /
know! l think foresaw 1t when you wrote
and warned me, and if l had not been a
coward, if fate had not sent him to Claver-
ing Close last night and let me see that it
was written he should come back into my
life again
81 knew you would kill him, knew that
you weuld"' she said Il felt it in my soul
the moment he looked up and recognized
me, and knew what what you-had to
dread. 1t was that that drove me out on
the common. | wanted to find you; I
wanted to stop you. But it was too late,
too late!
eff anything can palliate that, if God can
in any way excuse it, it will be that you got
the letters; that you tore them up, burned
them, did anything IN the world but let
them fall into that woman Margot's hands!
Oh, did you? 1 cannot sleep until know.
For if you did not"
Here her voice snapped again, but for
quite another reason this time, a reason
which made Cleek groan inwardly. Far
down at the other end of the dark alley
where he lay breathlessly listening, faint
TuStlinp sound had sllddan1v yisen-the