New Britain herald., 1926-06-01
Ouicksands of Love
 Adele Garrisons New Phase of
Revelations Of q Wife
Studying PoiSons.

are, 1 said 10 Lucia Meredith " Ou are not crowding me in the lAast. am most comfortable"
 She cast a curious furtivs Aeok at me, and suddenly, psychicalIy was aware that she was wondering how much l had seen of the closely writ ten sheets of paper which she had been copying from the book that she had so carefully shielded from view In the old homely phraseology Lucia Meredith was "nobody's fool" and into her face I saw come the conclusion that if I had seen the sheets. an apparently frank ex- planation of them would be better than leaving my curiosity unsatisfied concerning them.
 "Tvc had all my trouble for nothinr," she said with apparent naiyete. q thought you were g stranger and l naturally didn't want anybody to see the book I was study ing
 i've an Itch to Write"
 With quick movement she turn cd it over and showed it toward me. My pulses quickened with lively curiosity mingled with a queer. little feeling of repellence as l saw that it was a woll-kuown and exhaustive work upon poisons of all kinds, familiar and obscure, together with their effect upon the human sys- tenn.
 "You didn't know had an itch 10 write fiction, did you?" she asked. Eve always been fascinated by those criminal minds which border upon the insane--association I sup pose with Halls work"
 She stopped and I frantically seized the first comment which oc- cured 10 me.
 As a famous alienist he certain ly has had contact with a great number of them"
 Ncs, hasn't he?" she countorod. and he's told me about so many of them that I've been ohsessed with the idea of using the knowledge in a series of storics But am too conscientious not 10 be a roalist, and as some of my stories deal with criminals who use posons. deter mined 10 make myself thoroughly acquainted with the subject. But il seems an endless task. I never knew before how many ways there were Of taking life"
 "TCll Me All About Yourself"
 That she had given me no hint of her real purpose in studying the sinister volume, and that she sim ply had seized the first idea which occurred 10 her, I was sure. All sorts of fantastic conjectures were floating around in my brain, but I put them aside and firmly concen- 'ratod my attention upon her eyes which held a fiercely tortured ey- prcssion, one which might come from either physical pain or mental stress. IL seemed to me that there was a message for me in those eyes and if l could but read it alright, and there was an uncanny compulsion upon me 10 interpret it.
 But, of course. l could make only the most Cursory comment upoR what she had told me.
 You are planning q whole series of poison stories, them" l asked.
 She looked at me with slow smile which but faintly masked the ConlemptuOus dislike which l knew she held for me.
 You say the word exactly as if it were a descriptive adicctiye,' she said. But | am vain enough 10 hope that you refer 10 the species and not the quality"
 That assuredly" I intcrpolatcd hastily.
 "Thore will be at least six of the tales of a master poisoncr,' she went on, and again l had the feel ing that she was making her story up as she went along. But enough of that subject I've done all l want to for today anyway. Why not come out with me for a cup of tea and tell me all about yourself and ka- thorine. 1 haven't seen her for all most two weeks. Shes with you, isn't she" But We mustn't talk here" as a wa,chful attendant, hearing her slightly raised voice, came toward Us. "1m stifling in here as it is.'
 Copyright, 1926. by Newspaper
 Feature Service, Inc,