Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-07-11

FIFTEENTH INsTALLMENT.

| tempt; her next, tnat OF pity. But In
| flash she recalled the figure he had
| cut as he bestrode the raging Dracula
and all other impressions were wiped
from her mind to make way for CUM
plete bewilderment.
IT don't think you know what you're
saying" she protested. after what I've
already seen you do, 1t isn't reasonable"
He eyed her, haggard and ashamed.
You're giving me credit for what I
haven't got" In muffled voice, I'm
a coward--an arrant coward"
Her reply was calmly assured. mo
man could ride my stallion and be q
coward Get that idea out of your head.
The shrinking feeling which keeps you
from going into that hole must be some
thing besides fear. Let's try to figure
out what 1t Isl
The giant caught his breath. 'For
20 years I've been trying to figure it
| out--ever since was old enough to
realize that I was different from the
boys I played with"
Dlnerent?" Annassas short nose
wrinkled interestedly. How? In what
way?"
His answer was prefaced by a groan.
In every way. For example, all the
| children I knew had fathers and moth
ers. was q foundling-left on a door,
step when ! was 8 months old. If it
hadn't been for the Christian spirit of
the people who owned the doorstep I
would have been sent to an institution. ("
Ihere was pause. Then, 81 had good
treatment, all right. My foster parents
| were elderly, well-to-do people, They
had recently lost their only son. Not
| through death. Some other way. There
was disgrace attached to his going, but
I never heard what sort. I took his
place In their hearts. They grew to
love me-"
Annassa West laid her hand on the
khaki-colored sleeve, and the mans
fingers closed convulsively over it.
When I was years old, my colored
nurse shut me in a closet as a punish
ment Tor running away. had con-
| vllsion. After that every one knew
there was something wrong with me.
A dark place, q walled-in place drove
me out of my mind. And the worst
part Of 1t was the terror Of these things
grew with my growth. They became an
obseSSion. Doctors examined me, spe-
cialistS came from nearby cities. There
was nothing to work on. The roots of
my fear were in the past, and nobody
! knew what that past was. The only
| link which bound me to my real father
and mother was a note found in the
lining OF the cap had on when I was
picked up from the doorstep The pa
| per on which the note was written has
| gone to pieces, literally disintegrated
with handling, but the information it
contained can never be lost, because 1t
is written on my brain:
of Brides. '''0
He must ask no questions!
Annassa West caught her breath.
Brides House! Only that to 90 on
How did you find it?"
The man released her hand and fold
ed his arms across his chest in a ges-
| ture Of resignation.
1T has taken me three years. And
in that time I have combed the entire
| United States Every dollar my foster
parents left me has been spent. The
clothes you see me standing in are the
only ones possess. I'm a pauper."
i "Yes-but in the end, how?"
THE newspaper accounts of Claudia
Prentice's disappearance gave me my
| f1rst clue. was in New Mexico at the
time, To work my way back took
months"
And now that you are here" she
asked eagerly, what have you discov-
Nothing" he said, absolutely Moth
ing" Pointing to the wall beside which
they stood, UNLESS you count that"
She thought moment. At last, I'm
something Of an opportuniSt. I believe
that Fate serves us if we will only hold
ourselves in readiness to be served.
This tunnel is the last stage of long
journey. AT its end lies the answer to
your problem
The man did not laugh at the sug-
gestlon. Instead, he answered with
absolute seriousness. MY dark inheri-
lance. What an appropriate place to
keep itself-a hole in the ground"
pessimistically, Maybe when I've met
well enough alone"
cts too late to think of that now.
You'd hate yourself for ever and ever
If you turned back at the eleventh
hour" Persuasively, "Come, let's take
look before we go back upstairs.
Nothing like grabbing the bull by the
horns, you know"
The man shook his head.
If my life depended on it, I could
not go into that black unknown. The
fear that the walls were about to cave
in on me would drive me mad"
Unless you explore that tunnel
lightly, your dark inheritance will get
tired of waiting for you and will come
out and gobble you up"
II cannot help It,"
tell you what we'll do" the girl said
at last Wen think about it. Some
times thinking about things makes them
get easier. Let's put the packing cases
and barrels back. Just as we found them
and 60 over to the house. It must be
well past lunch time. You could tuck
away a bowl of Abby's Scotch broth,
couldn't your"
1t took but a moment to restore the
cellar to its former air of Uttered neg
lect. and they had turned to retrace
their steps to the ladder when the
sound Of voices from the floor above
reached Miss Vests ears. She prodded
her companion in the back.
Quick, they mustn't see us down
here. We don't want any one to ex-
plore that tunnel before we do. It's
Seth Toby and his men. / didn't real
lie they'd had time to get back"
Together they mounted swiftly to the
were In the barn before the chief Of
police saw them.
''Oh, Miss West" was his greeting.
"Ive been looking for you everywhere"
And as his eye lighted on the tall
stranger, Who's this?"
Annassa West looked from one man
to the other. Her voice, when she
answered, was carefully matter-of-fact.
Dave Smith, my new stable boy.
He's come to take Otto's place. I've
been showing him around"
The worried look did not leave Toby's
face. Can you vouch for this young
man. marm?"
Absolutely" 1t was said without the
quiyer of an eyelash.
The chief Of police rubbed the back