Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-06-24
Ree O 8
Patent Om0


| had become of him.
Dingwall murmured something, but
the younger man paid no heed.
II am sorry If ! have intruded
! personal matter into your investiga.
| ton" he said. rising and going to a win
dow, from which he drew the blind so
that he might peer out into the night
Somewhere out there is one of two
faithful souls who loved me when I
was an outcast: They love me now
that 1 am no longer poor and have
| bright prospects of regaining my good
repute. One Is a woman. the other
is only dog, yet II my dog does not
return alive and uninjured his loss
will nearly break my heart"
| For a moment there was tense
silence in the room. The lawyer was
moved, though he hardly knew why.
His glance fell again on a passage IN
Eileen's letter:
IF you see why I hate to have you
| even write to me as other than the
girl you have always written towel,
| that should explain much"
1t certainly did explain everything.
1t did not need that she. Alistair's
wife. should sign herself Eileen
Grant" to make clear her loathing of
the cruel deceit she had spoken OF
earlier. "One is A woman" Mr.. Ding
!
on that branch of the inquiry. So
he rose. too.
! II am obliged to you for having
been so candid, Mr.. Panton." he said.
1t will help materially. Sometimes
We lawyers are thankful to be told
what to avoid. imagine I shall
! never have better instance than the
present one. OF course. your evidence
tomorrow will be essential. May 1
suggest that you allow me to question
you, and that your answers shall not
60 outside the scope Of my questions
in any respect?"
John turned and looked at him
| fxedly.
You are being very kind" he said.
What puzzles me now Is that every
one l come in contact with is so con-
could not some such God-given spirit
have made itself felt in the supreme
crisis of my life? Then I was left
TO fend for myself, and did 1t very
badly Now. when 1 am eager to
fight. find friends in the most I'M
expected quarters"
A knock on the door heralded the
appearance Of Lord Oban, Lansing,
Frensham and Furneaux.
I'VE were told YOU were here.
John said his lordship cheerfully.
IF Mr.. Dingwalls inquisition Is ended
perhaps you will both come to the
drawing room. Lady Lansing and
Betty want you there"
1t was amazing how he had changed
in a few hours The excitement of
the previous day and night had made
was carrying himself with the air OF
a man who had found the elixir of
youth and was shedding the years
with the passing minutes.
John was so struck by the altera-
ton in his father that. for the
moment, he hardly realized the onis-
sion of Eileen's name. Then. since
in the hall or billiard room. he missed
Col. Grant.
Eileen isn't too Ill to show up to-
night?" he asked quickly.
mo. She crossed the loch with her
father this afternoon. I have no
doubt she left a message with Betty.
But. in any case. none Of US could
persuade her to stay. My own notion
Is that she and Grant will return
when-when all this present turmoil
is ended
The underlying cause Of Eileen's
sudden fight was quite obvious. Her
position in Inverlochtie was intoler-
able After being married to a man
whom she had defantly refused TO
regard as husband. she was now, in
the eyes Of the outer world, an IN
constable widow. In the hours Of
supposed grief at Alistair's loss her
because Of her lovers nearness. No
wonder, therefore, that she sought the
seclusion of her own old home.
John admitted the force Of these
considerations. yet he found them
irksome. There seemed to be always
some perfectly good reason why he
and Eileen should be separated. He
sighed whimsically.
II have hardly set eyes on Betty
yet" he said. land Lady lansing
have not seem at all. What about 1t.
Mr.. Dingwall? Anything else you
want to know? Don't worry about
speaking out in front Of my father
and my friends. I have nothing to
conceal"
1T don't think We need say another
word about the affair tonight, Mr..
Panton." said the lawyer.
Excuse me one moment" put in
Furneaux DO I understand. sir,
that you are the procurator f1scal?"
Yes"
An This is most interesting. I
have never before met one in the
flesh. though he is parsonage often
encountered in Scottish history and
fiction. When you have minute to
spare you must tell me how your title
came in being
Dingwall. having heard already
something as to Furneaux's peculiari-
ties, suspected this suave address. 1t
might be an instance of the gentle
art of leg pulling. On the other hand.
it might not.
at is an ancient and. honorable Of
f1ce.'' he said. ut combines many
roles which. across the border. are
filed by different individuals. II you
have ever witnessed a performance OF
Gilbert and Sulivan's opera, The
Mikado,' you will recall a character
known as Pooh Bah we'll
1ca.--ash4 hr n,ii. Tracv