The evening world. Newspaper, September 8, 1915, Page 15

*eWeet face, all flushed with indign: The Fought Pert Cerro et ty OW Deter & oe Chore OF PRED NO DeTALARITR Teta en! woatrice ar wari ey te eae Calvan of nn Amerionen, CHAPTER VII. Cowl \aued) fool's Paradise. ARION laurhed @ayly, and, drawing ber arm througa ber husband's, resumed thoir Promenade, “Well, now that you put it so plainly, 1 Wonder that 1 ever expected to keep it from you,” she said, “Yeu, dear; after that weird experience at Byot Cottage I wired to Quayne next morning to send sume one to the Yacht who could warn mo if the Am- @ricans turned up, and he sent the Rew sloward’s boy--diadger, He's & charming lille person—a sort of Miniature detective, Who amused me Much through those dreary imuntha When | sat at his masters window, Searching for your counterpart,” And jon ended with 4 aigh #0 ba. that Losite asked the reason, “I was thinking,” she said, “what e wy it is that Mr, Armytage—the reai Mr, Armytage, you kuow—turns Out to have been such & bad lot, He weemed wo Very, very nice, and yet that poor girl Who came to Maidéen- head on the duy of our wedding, mis- taking you for him, showed what @ person he muat be.” jonged to defend himself aguinat the charge which he felt sured should rightfully be brought "double," or at any rate He even opened hb to assert that any infamy fa respect to the girl should be at- tached to the name of Lukyn, and not of Armytage. Bul le pulled Bimself up short, remembering that @e Marion believed him to be Nige Lukyn, that would be to state a # ation which he would only be able to refute by making @ clean breast of his imposture, And looking down at his wife's tion for the wrongs of that poor un- known, he could not nerve himself to confession just then. If she could be ao angry at the ill-treatment of a stranger, he shuddered to think of how she would receive his deception of herself, He turned the subject back to Badger's fortunate recognition of the bogus nun, which enabled Marion to throw the Americans off the scent for a while. “Yes, dear,” she said, squeczing bis arm, “there is no fear of your being mado a scapegoat for that other's misdeeds for a considerable time. Mademoiselic Roumier and Company Will probably cool their heels at ‘Gib.’ for a week or two, in the expectation that the yacht will turn up, before they return to England.” be did not add that there was one Uttle doubt in her mind as to whether her alteration of the yacht’s cruise bad really been effective—a doubt based on the dawning distrust of Crispin, which had prevented her from letting the maid take the tele- gram to the office at Southampton, and which had arisen not only from Crispin's veiled eagerness to be the messenger, but from the fact that some one Inside the house must have left the curtained window at Byot Cottage unbolted on the night when the deadly phial had been introduced. If Crispin was a traitor, Marion Qrgued, she might, though she had failed to see the telegram to Quayne, havo informed the conspirators of the god destination of the yacht. Sho been in the saloon when the 6 had been mooted, There was c ce, from Badger’s chase by Frayne, that they had not cleared off altogether after Aunt Jane's disclos- ure of the programme, and Crispin might have communicated — w' Frayne on the quay. In which oc: trouble might be anticipated at Ex- mouth. Marion, for reasons of her own, kept the littie doubt to herself, for if any more intrusive nuns or obvious echemers tried to board the yacht she had shaped her plans, and the latter & might not meet with her husband's approval. She was by no means con- vinced wither of Crispin's treachery, and if she was mistaken in ft she would have disturbed the happiness of the honeymoon to no purpose by ‘nepiring ungrounded alarm, After all the chances that the mysterious trio would appear at Exmouth were infinitesimal, and in the halcyon calm of present security she endeavored to ignore them, So during the short winter day the newly married ir thrust thelr sev- ‘al anxieties into the background and lived only for the present, con- tent with each other, and therefore with all the world besides, By the time the Idalia reached her anchor- age off the pretty Devon town Leslie had quite completed his conquest of Aunt Jane. “My dear Marion, whatever hi happened to that spouse of yours I cannot imagine,” the old lady con- fided to her niece when Leslie bad left them alone in the saloon after tea, “I was never more mistaken in a first impression in my life. He must have bejn shy, or else his liver must have bem out of order that day when you brought him to the flat in the sum- Smer. 1 thought Him ativgant and dad tempered, but he has turned out posi- tively delightful, A man who can be as nice to an ugly old woman as he is to me is all too rare.” Marion, without admitting that there had been any fault to find with her husband on his first introduc- tion to Aunt Jane, agreed that he waa a “perfect darling" now. But tn her hear: of hearts she knew that Aunt Jane's verd®t was right, and that the man she adored to-day wasa vast improvement on what he was when his own mother consigned him to Dr, Beaman's care, The thought came over her that he might have #1 re gome temporary mental di which skilled treatment ha ally cured, co effectu- id, ‘The foreboding that he might ever rai: fave a relapse she put from her aa The Avengers The Adventures of a og he 4 By Headon Hil 4 to fear that he in th k be entertained for an instant, He wae s mate to be proud of and te be thankful for, #he told herself, that for her | it wae quite dark when the Ifalla ewung to her apcher in the tidal’ ortuary, & Qua’ a twinkling lamps camouth Kepla | nade. There was to be no communi- cation between the yacht and the shore that night, but ae Crispin was | waiting or mistrons in the #tate~ room before dinner she inquired with her customary demure respec whether she would have an oppo tunity of going into the towa im the ning “There are one or two smal! thin I want to buy for my own une, the explained “Kan out of hatreuriers, eh, Crie- pin?’ Marion replied pieasantiy, but with an odd ring in her voice. "Oh, you, 1 will that you get a chance \o- morrow | CHAPTER VIII. Badger versus Crispin. PTER breakfast next morn- ing Marion, who had been on the watch, ran Badger to the ground as. he was dusting the cabin known as “the ladies’ boudoir.” Bhe had G@acertained that Leslie was on the bridge, smoking an early elgar with Capt, Crawford, and that Crispin was having her own breakfast with the head steward and the chef, Aunt Jano wan toasting her toes before the fire in the main saloon, She had been careful to fix these Aispomitions before approaching her youthful ally, because she had a plan in her head, which, if her auspicions ‘were correct, would free he tions of the mysterious Ameri- . ‘Well, Billy, do you fee! larly spry to-day? eho HP ahaa Badger, thirsting to atone for what he considered his blunder at South ampton, eagerly affirmed that he was, Then there will be a chance for you to dintinguish yourself presently,” Marion vontinued. “My Criapia ¥ mald, Crispin, is Kolng ashore, and I want you to shadow her closely. I think it pos- sible that she may ryect one of the persons you know of, but atill more Probable that she will’ call at the post office for letters. If she does, do you think you could get any letter or letters ane may receive away from her before she has them teat read them, and bring “TL could have a folly try," Badger hopefully. “utd ounce, to mo ashore in the same boat with her. I rather reckon that she tumbles to mo as the chap that worked the lft at the Mansions, I've caught her looking at me curious and sort of spiteful.” ‘You're @ born detective, Billy Badger,” said Marion warmly, em- phasising her genuine admiration for the boy's smartness in order to stim- te his enthusiasm. “I will see that you go ashore separately. The head steward will land in one of the boats for fresh vegetables, and Cri ko with him, After they ha: shall remember that I specially want some forced strawberries, and I'll send you after them in the motor launch. ‘Then your ingenuity will have to do the rest.” “That won't do," Badger firmly re- piled. “If she lands first I mightn't eatch her up in time. Can't I go at once—now, While she’s at breakfast?” Marion saw the force of the sugges- tion, and at once adopted it. Sending the boy for the second officer, one of whose duth it was to attend to the launch, she ordered him to take Badger ashore in tt forthwith, “And, Mr. Saunder an afterthought, “the boy is going on @ confidential mission for me. He understands what my object is, so if he asks you to do anything—anything in reagon, of course, but a little un- usual—you will do it, wop't you?” The second officer, devoted like all the Idalla's crew ‘to thelr kindly young owner, would have looted the crown jewels at her bidding. He at once gave the requited assurance, and the launch was throbbing to- ward the shore long before Crispin had finished breakfast, Badger sat thoughtfully in the stern, and not till he was about to spring onto the landing place did he address Saun- ers. “The blooming boat'll start as soon 8 you push the button, won't It, sir?” he asked. “That's a bit of all right, then, You heard what she said.’ When I come back I ehall prob- ably be in a hurry, and it'll serve her if you start as soon as I'm aboard— no matter who's after me.” “"Pwon't be the police, I hope, sonny?” grinned the office: “Might be,” t certing reply. angry woman. With that he made off into th town, and, having discovered the post-office, proceeded to put into practice the first of the two schemes he had formed for obtaining posses~ sion of Crispin’s correspondence, It was the simple one of asking whether there were any letters for a person of that name, There were none. “*Twasn't likely she'd use her own bi he turned ay from the cbunter, to no great extent disappointed, Boy-like, he had @ greater faith in the second string to his bow—for the sufficient reason that it might entail @ little sport. Mindful that be was also charged to report if Criypin communteated personally with the Americans, he hhurrted back to the imuding-place 59 as to be in time to shadow her into the town, Keeping out of sight of Mr, unders in tbe moto! uneh, fdly tossing at the steps, he gazed across to the Idalia, and saw that one of her row-boats was just leaving the yacht’s side, He had cut tt rather fine, for inside ten minutes the boat was at the inl and the head steward was gallantly helping the lady's maid ashore, Badger shadowed the pair through the mean streets that le between the river front and the centre of the town, and just as he wi should hi footed man to deal with instead of a tight-laced female, he had the sat faction of seeing t reward politely his cap and, jen with his baskets, go off toward the shape ia Evening Wo Fore Street, Crispin dawdled about, shall keep in pe looking into windows till the steward self. “The visit of Miss Crispin's sub- letter she had procured by Badgers was out of sight, and then darted in- gti to the post-office, stitute will be something of a surprise assistance contained their address, Badger didnot follow her into building, but stationed himself side the swing doors in such a posi- tion that she would not see him as as she was within. Every nerve im was tingling, but he contrived to assifme an attitude that attracted pam TER lunch Marion informed no attention from passers-by. Marion's instructions had been to before they had been r cipient, and that was the point tl was worrying Badger. back himself to get the le the maid, but to get it unread was a different matter, the bs ” “auite friends, 1 expect.’ 1f possible, by the r Fe ult and go ashore for an hour or two. He did not like le to leave it to chanee, yet he could walking on the hurricane deck, which devise no other way. miscarriage jmade him bol risked being seen, and peered the glass doors, The fear of a The clerk had just higher structure on the yacht was aenaee Goce 3 eh vay she the bridge, at present unoccupied. The cents. Number 47 was in no way dis- Frlpea plea Pia rad agg psoas over the Haldon Hills, but it was a sstill bigh enough to bathe the pretty : on the pavement was a aaa watering-place at the river's mouth {4° hed the c nore were an alluring glow. ord , Marion cast a glance at the vacant blear-eyed old man in rags. the type well. Road, Lambeth, The boy fi twopence and thrust the coppers the loafer's hand, “Earn it, old ‘un,’ "Go inside and tell into ly trick, dating back four days only, to the dozen, which est chance of their doing me any WAtd propriett well-gloved fingers. ce, ‘The chase, which ensued, ended al- Temains- Most a8 soon as it began, without ju titying Badger's prediction that would return to the motor-launch pu sued by an angry woman, Cri natural cunning came to her ass! ance, and caused her to stop in six me 00d boy, won't you?” plea of guilty, it had been so adroit); the instance of her mistress. It was not addressed to her in her own hy ghared name, and her correspondents were thar not the sort of people to have anything compromi wisest ygan would be to treat the mat ter as a rude boy's jok dif Marion to her on shore; but as she made spoke to her about it, disclaim owner- such a point of it. é ship of the \gtter, PD A he consented to re She would say that tt had been | So tt was that Marion descended to hanaed to ner in error by the clerk, her or show of tntont and that she had been about to return th® ¢xpedition by. the sullen and "D it when it was snatched from her. But ri though there was notht ‘compromis- Was at her wits’ end for an excuse ing in the letter which rion read in for asking to accompany her, but she the seclusion of her stateroom twenty Could frame none that seemed ade- there was that in it quate. The traitress was consumed minutes later, alt with a desire to learn if Badger had {nreatened. ‘So you seo it is not M whi gave her supreme matiactics ‘he contents —e 5 oe ee ee a, peas,” Uitter’s manner afforded ‘no clue, Crispin ward's boat, tr: whether Badger had not on his own account, dropped a hint to Capt. Crawford that @ on no consideration whatever was her yacht remained at Exmouth, “That is poLD ARDS ” te Nee tee tees Wort! rson,” she assured he robbing her of her husband. That the Mademoisello Roumler and her and an order to their spy to n.cet them there she had little doubt. ‘The motor launch in charge of the second officer bore her swiftly to the landing stage. "You had better not walt for me, Mr. Saunders,” she said, “I may be a litue time among the shops. Come Leslie that she had a few Rass in an pene 2 fetch m ie siting Purchases to make in tho i RSS te Boy Srert wae from the steps and cleave the smooth town and that she proposed waters toward the yacht, at which to take the motor launch she waved her hand In the hope that her husband would see, ‘Then she turned away and inquired of the noar- it would do me good to stretch MY ost Iongshore loafer the way to Hol- too,” replied Leslie. They were yoyd Streot. ‘Tho thoroughfare in question proved was virtually the roof of the saloon to be at no great distance—one of CHAPTER IX. Cross Purposes. M rough and the other deck cabins, ‘The only #¢vera! rows of third-rate lodying houses hidden inconspic ly behind the most fashionable streets and cres- sun was alrcady elanting to the West tinguishable from the drab mediocrity of the other precisely similar houses on either side of the road, As sho eap electric belipush Marion thought that, but for a faint smell of the sea, Holroyd Street, mouth, might very weil be at ham Junction or Ball's Pond, A tawdry young woman, evidently the daughter of the house, appeared bridge, and then indulged in the wife- Pi ‘but already becoming a habit, of equeezing her husband's arm, he whispered, “L think it would be eater and wiser after some delay and eyed her with he lady at the pot, dear,’ oe that Mrs, Moarer any satisfied that the! wenn fl olyneux, no error, mind—wants to “ re o Mclyneus, po srton MBE listeners, “Our misled American pur- ay trom ‘The bibulous tramp spat upon his on their way to Gibraltar, staying here, I think?" she sald tenta- assed into the never knows: 1 should. fest Woo Svoly. Tpatiang t0ld Ope SBAt eunh & aited round the if you remained on board.” Corner, hia heart thumping nineteen — “But df thore Ia the slightest chance {eacherous maid) woul not go to Yes, the Job had come of these Yankees cropping up, you meet the conspirators alone. Crispin with the half-opened mustn't think of going ashore your- ™Méht be avaricious, ambitious and letter in her hand, came out onto the self,” sald Leslie, steps, looking about her eagerly— anywhere but at the letter, Badger promptly snatcheg from the harm, In @ second he ¢vasiveness of it was lost upon Lesile was off like the wind for the landing &t the time, “They h considerable disfavor. From this Marion argued that the “apartments” she said when she w. re were no possible suers are probably in a French train ,, You have @ lady from London pre-eminently “proper” person as her double faced, but she was of the ‘At any rate there isn’t the sight. *™Us order that respeota the out- % j “Yes, there's a lady here—Mra. was Marion's reply. The xojyneux," replied the Janitor. fe ho grudge “She's got @ gentleman visitor with ahe added, “and the fact N€F, but if you'll send in your name you will make ine miser. I'll ask if she'll aes you. I know ahe's able if zou insist on coming, and you ¢XPecting some one.” will make me more than happy ifyou "Miss Ruby Lennox," said Marton aay and do the civil to Aunt Jane promptly, giving the name on the while I buy a few things. Now, be a envelope ‘of the letter which Badger against m had captured from Crispin, What wae he to do but to yleld— The untidy young person vanished this husband-lover of a few-days-old into the house, but returned immed ‘o show anxiety to re-possess herself honeymoon? After all, what she had ately with an invitation to enter of the letter would be equivalent to a @ald Was perfectly true—that who- Marion followed down @ narrow ‘as she shrewdly ¢ver, Was the object of the Ameri- passage to the back of the house, pure cans’ vengeance it could not be her. where her conductress opened a door self, Besides, in his ignorance of on rispin'’s proved untrustworthiness, @ left, announced u pseudonym and ¢ is wife's professed view ing her in the presence er by Cris arted, leav~ of Berthe put at the persistent trio were by thig Roumler and sScorrier Voules. ‘The flying across the continent of well achooled features of the pair he Hurope on a falao scent, There could evinced none of the surprise they be no danger to himself, and still Jes# must have felt at the entrance of the mistress instead of the maid, but @ searcely perceptible signal flashed from HBerthe Roumier's fine eyes, At {ts bidding Voules, without any fuss if t aiuon whence he the room to @ position whence he spin. The maid could put himself between Marion and the door, She was too intent on her purpos to pereceive that her retreat wi main on board. atc-room and was arrayed for riively-curious ennox, or rather my m she began with a nervour There was nothing to show that Crie. ‘ugh to cover her eagerness, “I have iven the letter to Marion, but the ["by FL in came on board in the are was nothing to show that Cri#- come, quite in a friendly way, to point headt-stoward's bout, trying not to look Hier" mtstrens treated Her Just as out to you a very great mistake that h ‘. nakin that | am about the letter, leaving her in doubt what preceeipiod: nn mes MM Sou would greatly regret f you cats urioined it = Marion, alsi Marion overwhelming desire, you would greatly regret {f you car- ‘was consumed with an Tied It too far.” “Won't you slt down?” murmured Rerthe Roumler sweetly, placing the than to confront chair 60 as to increase her colleague's speedily as possible the deadly strategic advantage. three who, she feared, intended to dog — Marion sat down without hesitation, whieh I thelr ateps Ul) they lad sucopeded in No thought as to ber own geourity 4 ‘ V/ [ ann ry . { / - ~ | ee . —— ee ee ome calloue murderers, Whe were hounding down an unfortanste enemy | for some past folly, or it might be rime Mut that ane could not do -~ | without prematurely publighing to the -* — -* i the fact that the @eariy ioved ST ( DING Si it! 1AM GIVING HIM A DOSE OF HIS OWN MEDICINE. HE IS THE OSS OF THE FIRM WHERE Bosso In THE city PAWTE You SuPtRiOg aca Bust i? | maven F You ANY MANNERS WERE You RaLED « fren another mistake, and the peat Lone Armytame ie not the pereom | seminal whom thie terribie eredee te eid / || Herthe Rowmter inughed, and to (hough (here geemed to be the inughter, there wae uaded J for her on rtited lw one, Wail yonder, was & © of Che jaw, liable to be haied back the yacht TEP UVELy! he any! ‘at casi syoal oy | } sttuatie aid Herth Route re . leentiy. “Nefore giving you any A Re aS, Csi ur eeisas ae | Marion, though she why the assurance was pot |eiven to her there and then, CHAPTER X. In Suspense. * BATHE ROUMIER passed out and entered the front Parlor of the dingy lodg- ing-house, Scorrier Voules, who was Ite sole occupant, greeted bh with @ stifled explosion of mirth, in which Bertke joined heartily, Was there ever such an jnnocent— o walk straight into the Hon'’s den with a confirmation of the theory we have never doubted and have been steadily acting on,” ahe exclaimed. “It 1s too funny,” Voules agreed with a renewed chuckle, “Lukyn has evidently been humbugging her that Armytage, the ‘double,’ ought to be the recipient of our waplesaapt shinee comes to us Ww! oy rent te iden of shifting them into that quarter, Lf we had ad any lin- ering doubt ae to which of the two he had anarried, ahe would - fectually removed it by her charming candor.” (Tan ) GWiIng NY BOSS 4 DOSE Too position,” said Berthe thoughtfully. ere is full of infinite possibilities. we can do pretty nearly anything we ce with her, because she ts bound and foot from telling ber yarn i police, If she did, the firat thing the authorities would do ‘would be to drag Mr, Nigel Lukyn from her fond em> brace and restore him to the asylum.’ How would it be to suggest that sho should send for her husband to ‘ome here and corroborate her story, and then?”’—— Voules indicated Le ‘waning with & gesture significant of a dagger thrust, ‘ “My dear Scorrier, you ought to know Nigel Lukyn from h bd crossed her mind, “Of course I do better than that,” said Berth: do would hot ask you, oF expect you, to make last thing the cur would ono single admission: she’ went on, be to obey such Sn ee ot 6 “There Is no need that I should, fur presence-even at whe Vetalce vee Whatever you are engaged on tx no four-daye'-wed “eis usiness of mine, It is to prove that siderably se to you that I have come. You know after that dove of es he a ed that I am Mrs, Leslie Armytage, swallowed at Byot Cottage cht, the Idalia, arrived hore night. But there is an alternative nptom last night?" on the samo lines, which we can use pdierthe Roumier smiled and shruggot as, a. Lea) Teal er neat shoulders, “Surely to own “And tha to auch knowledge would be to make “A, little gentle pressure on the an adinission,” she said alyly Indy," replied Berthe, o. mint “So it would, How stupid of mo, force her to write such a letter to him Tiredlip, Wan eeliteninn te eran yOu nid Tull his auspleions and being Marion stammered, flushing at hor here WiNNOUE Any een ip thet obvious but quite unintentional “lead- bic a dus this ing question". “What 1 want to tell the anxious wife nae. pelt ae tee you in ull confidence is the history of YIME WiKiOM ih he would have iny marriage, which took place a few Knowing its Tilly, te ving her days ago. 9 time last spring 1 found some ne ‘should only be became engaged to a Mr. Nigel Luk. from tbe p os ty E. ere eran it yn, the yon of Lady Lukyn, of Lukyn {nclined to (nat Citnee, ort of an- Hull, Ho was uimoat immediately Paster returns Wit @ fee raly. the aftorward shut up in a lunatic asy- O'ner falire em ould lum by his mother, I at once set to Place or the hoste t ae work to liberate him by finding a ® QAI coup of Tie’ we window and inan go exactly like him that, without ,, Yolen serene’ to Let requented boring you with details, he could take Woked out upon the | Mniisaustees Nigel's place in the asylum. The mun #tfeet, along witch wikted ta 1 found was Leslie Armytage—an ex- were now shimmering at ss! # arnycofficer, whom I ought not to tervals, Had there been an audience Grumble at, as he served mq well, ‘9 this strange conerave the ananc but whom I have since had reason to Of this mild mannered man, iistoasly suspect of bearing an indifferent char- "uaning his taper fingers throug enter. nocen 1 enoian oe oelat work wae Marion paused and sighed uncon- ROCent enough. Net every, aclously ar aue thought ot her miles Pregnant Who murdec, | tube are placed liking for the man with whom Only the old landlady and Hor daugh- it had been a pleasure to plan Nigel's ‘¢f,in the house,” he suggested. tresdom. ‘True. You and Fayter could doubt- Well, Mre, Armytage?” Bertha 108,00, the trick, but we should be Roucaleh reroinded herr With @ gentle. Natege eth lO Wok SRS Rees emphasis on the name, that she had jot," replied Berths. “We want Nigel Bepken oe at the crucial point of the yn badl "y but we don’t want a oat une The young wife nerved hereelt for Nedun™ No, I propos eotkeep Mrs the final confession, which she fondly Armytai hoped was to protect her husband Wayter from the further attentions of these by his report. If he has succeeded in je. “There is not much more to converting the Idaila into @ flowtini ’ ‘feo 3 Aeeccapebinst yp ly mine we needa worry further an ‘ol oul have KUEKse rom can let the la 0." what I hinted about Armytage's use- "Frayne won't fy back for a couple fulness to me. Hy husband Ja really of hours at least,* mt Voules after not Leslie Armytage at all, He ré- a glance at his wat®. “He would mains In the asylum, personating the not be able to app. ach Me yacht tll man he 40 much resembles. The gen- after dark, and it t only ¢ sow. It tleman to whom I was married, and may not be so easy to. ‘ep sc if whe who ix with me on the yacht, is the insists on going, for Tp ‘sum ‘hat one to whom T was from first to last force la out of the bill.” engaged—Nigel Lukyn.” Berthe Roumler's face h, dens” She stopped, breathless, as though “I hope so,” she said, “But we must she expectec r hearers to exclaim use It if it ts necessary, Come, Boor. in their asto t. ‘Instead of Mer, we have left her too long. I that another telegraphic wiil try and pass the time pleasantly from Berthe Roumter ” for hor tll Payter returns, and If sho Voules, who abandoned hia strategic !# not amenable she, muat have the position and left the room. Berthe, other thing, A woman who could Who had been lolling in « low chair mate with a man like Nigel Lukyn by the fire, rose and stood neglgently deserves n rey, and I should wish leaning against the mantel-shelf her to know just why we are pros4~ “It ja no admission to express in- ing her so hard, You play up to my terest in such a story,” she said, look. lead." ing down at her visitor. ‘They returned to the room at the you take tb ae au mm back, where Marton bad risen and fo deeply interested as to Inquire Waa impatiently pacing to and fro, what your object i# in imparting it The delay In giving her an assurance to us. You seem to have omitted that that the persecution would cease was tmportant point—poasibly through in- minute by minute growing more unin- advertence,” s telligible to her, Of course she did not Marion glanced at her doubtfully. expect any compromising admission, There xeemod to be an undercurrent but if there were any bowels of com- of mockery in Mademoiselle Roumt- passion in these Americans they era pompous phrasing would surely be able to convey to her “That, {f there ix any reason in my that they intended no harm to a having sought you out, ought to be stranger who had done them no in- pretty obvious,” she jury, and whom they had confounded “T want the with another. of my husband to cease, : She advance’ upon them with a that I want {t transferred to the real look of keen inquiry, which, however, Leslie Armytage, for I should be met with no response, Voules, after sorry for any one to undergo what we holding the door for his companion have at your—I mean at the hands of to pass in, shut it and remained near those who have mistaken the one for it in a manner that began to inspire uneasingas, the other, Besides, perhaps there haa Marion with vague j “he question ts how to utilise the op, “Wow! you et down wd Koumjer “Tt #0 ake « time to verity matters - “But why! | cannot one that Foe Dave any reasun to doubt my werd,’ Marios retorted angriy. “Ball, if inaiat that there ie peed for you call it, | wal ge ows Make and return jeter Yo must ask you to re on\d Herthe Koumier, in a tone there Was Go mista it pa too ridieulous in pony apart menl-house in popular manide rex sort, but Marion recegnined that eho & prisoner, The woman's mane ry atutude of te = end in the who Desaahn ' ole OCU MARC Marriage becoming puldlioc pit”. mde decided om diplomacy, aad ‘oak As you are so very pressing.” she onid, forcing & smile, and woes rt) at the eublie influence wi riiay person and ber langue = Aeue Dewan to exerciae Over het, The personalities of both were tractive rather than otherwise, yet for the first time in her life she knew what fear wae~the kind of fear the unaeen and unknown that knees shaking and hands trembling, Berthe Koumier diagnoved her tal symptome with the skill that ow Be ieee ton for # four nd-mile Journey, at down posite her visitor phi + “I should like ‘to Ww you prefer wo be alist Mra. Arays tage for the present,” she began, one and ds quite as interesting as the have told my friend and me, 4 relative bearing on your own rative, But,” Jed e, with sola laugh, “if you care to hear it, path teh it without prejudice,’ wyers say, and as no adimisal you Understand? — “1 accept your reservation, ¢! Thad hoped that 1 had convinesd c that you had no interest in me or in anything that may be inte: you,” replied Marion coldly. Berthe Koumier soknow! the repudiation of linked concerns with @ bow that might mean anything Polite assent to satirical scepticiam, anhore waa 4 well born Haglishe man,” she began, “who two years ago arrived in America with the ed means, it Was morg than a liv: —it was a fortune—that he was and as @ fortune hunter he was a dead fatlure in a land where ble have to hustle to get dollars, iets months his capital was gone, had no means of ratsiug more. ‘Being in receipt of an from home, he was not absoll Denniless, but as he was addicted to pore In my Sonne. ée ay many secret organizations of mani tollera pledged counteract ~ the to - tyranny of capital, and one of the most strenuous of these was rep f its power felt among the finan magnates. What does our English gentleman do but aMiiate himself with the obnoxious society in order to bes tray ie secrete to its capitalist ive workers In the cause of labor; be divulged the plan of campaign of the society; in spite of his vows of ale legiance, taken on purpose to broken, he played the part of a traitor systematically, and with such diag bolical cunning that for a long he went unsuspected, But the sock has long arms and ears, and hi career Was cut short Just after it less “One of the most vigorous chiefs ia this particular labor society was; Iq his working hours, an employee of mighty trust controlling one of t world’s greatest dndustries, was considered dangerous by t capitalists, but they dared not ruil him by discharge, for fear of retal tion on the part of the soctety. The: devised a shorter and cheaper way drawing his honest teeth by trumph up 4 criminal charge of embezzlement against him, and for the purpose substantiating it they suborned false witness the treacherous lishman who had already fur his name and revealed his activit, ‘The labor leader was convicted an wentenced to @ long term of imprisons his old mother’s gray hati re sent in sorrow to the Krave, his wife and Cy ey By thrown o@ the charity 0! né “The traitor, heavily patd for hig . services, Was working Up casee against other members of the society when he learned that those whom betraying had got wind of hig doings, and he fled to England the day before his death was decreed by, the inner council of the organization, strictly in accordance with its laws lows to which he had himself gub- scribed and helped to administer, He may have thought that he was when he was clear of American but therein he fell into grievous erron The society does not #0 lightly loose grip of its enemies or abandon ite decrees, Delegates were despatohed to follow him to this country, and though they were at fault at Grst, they are on the right track at last, and wiil show no mercy—inake DO more mistakes.” Herthe Rournler concluded in the ndramatic key she had purposely struck, but Marion was not vialbly assed by it, In fact, her one paramount sengation was one of thankfulness that ber husband could not possibly have been guilty of the vile conduct that had prov lawless vengeance of the Knights of Industry, It Was a matter of surprise to her that “the real Leslie Army- tage.” as her remembrance of him went, could have acted in the base manner so graphically described, “Your story, though not an admf sion, is intended as a justification, suppose,” she sald, ‘Iam quite wil ing to take it without prejudice, for am really not concerned with it, @x- cept so far as it affects a man [ to do mo a certain service, I hoped that I had already convinced you of that.” ; Herthe rose and the bell. “Bring some tea, please,” she sald to the untidy daughter of the who appeared after «nm reuse ro Be Opmtinuedy