Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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?5= H Cbpyriqht by Edwir\Balmer (Continued (rem Utt week) l fTFrr CHAPTER IX. ^ ? "IF M. Walk Beside the Lake. "The name soe-jie like SherrM," the Interne agreed. "He said It before 1 when we had ban on the table up- I stairs; and he has said It now twice distinctly?Sherrlll." "Ills name, do you think?" "I shouldn't say so; he seems trying to speak to some one named Sherrlll. There ure only four Sherrllls In the telephone book, two of them In Evanston and one way out in Minooto." "The other?" "They're only ahout six blocks from where he was picked up; but they're on the Drive?the Lawrence Sherrllls." The Interne whistled softly and 1 looked more Interestedly at his patient's features. "Ile'll be conscious some time during the day, there's only a slight fracture, and?perhaps you'd better call the Sherrlll house, anyway. If he's not known there, no harm done; and If he'8 one of their friends and he should . . The nurse nodded and moved off. , Thus It was that at a quarter to [ five Constance Sherrill was awakened by the knocking of one of the servants at her father's door. Her father went down stairs to the telephone Instrument where he might reply without disturbing Mrs. Sherrill Constance, klmonn over her shoulders, stood at the top of the stairs and waited. It became plain to her at once that whatever had happened had been to Alan Conrad. "Yes. . . . Yes. . . . You are giving him every possible care? . . . At once." She ran part way down the stairs and met her father as he came up. He told her of the situation briefly. "lie was attacked on the street lute last night; he was unconscious when they found him and took lihii to the hospital, and has been unconscious ever since. No one can say yet how seriously lie is injured." She waited in the ball while her father dressed, after calling the garage on the house telephone for him and ordering the motor. When lie had gone, she returned anxiously to her , rooms: he had premised to call her j after reaching the hospital and us soon as he had learned the particulars of Alan's condition. It was ridiculous, of course, to nunc . .ui> responsibility j to her futher or herself for whut hud happened to Alan ?a street attack such j as might have happened to uny one ?yet she felt that they were in part responsible. They had let him go to live alone in the house in Astor street with no better ud\ isor tliun Wussuquam. Now, and per imps because they had not warned him, lie had met injury and, it might he, more than mere injury; lie might be dying. Something which hud disturbed and excited Alan hud happened to liiin on the Arst night he hud passed in that house; and now, it uppeared, lie hud been prevented from pussing a second night there. Wliut hud prevented liim hud been an attempted robbery upon tiie street, her father hud suld. But suppose it hud been something else than robbery. She could not formulate more def- i Initely thlu thought, but It persisted; 1 she could not deny It entirely and shake it off. i To Alan Conrad, in the lute after- I noon of thut duy, Ibis same thought I wan coming far more definitely and fur I more persistently. He had been awake i and sane since shortly after noonday. The pain of a head which ached throb- ' blngly and of a body bruised and sore was beginning to give place to a feel- i Ing merely of lassitude?a languor I which revisited Incoherence upon him | when he tried to think. The man who had assailed him had g)cunt to kill; he had not been any ordinary robber, i That pur]K)8e, blindly recognized and fought against by Alan In their struggle, had been unmistakable. Only the | chance presence of passersby, who had heurd Alan's shouts and responded to them, had prevented the execution of , his purpose, and had driven the man i to swift llight for his own safety. A little before six Constance Sherrtll and Spearman called to inquire after him and were admitted for a few moments to his room. She came to < him, bent over him, while she spoke the few words of sympathy the nurse i allowed to her; she stood back then while Spearman spoke to him. In the succeeding days he saw her ncarlv every dny, accompanied always by her father or Spearman; It was the full | two weeka the doctora hod Insisted on i Ida remaining in the hospital before he aw her alone. I They had brought him home, the day before?she and her father, In the , motor?to the house on Astor street. He had Insisted on returning there, refusing the room In their honse which they had offered; but the doctor had enjoined outdoors and moderate exerelse for htm, and she had made him prondse to come and walk with her. lie went to the Sherrlll house abont ten o'clock, and they walked northward toward the park. "There la something I hnve been wanting to aak yon," ahe said. "Tea." "That night when yon were hurt?It waa for robbery, they said. What do yon think abont It7" She watched him aa ha looked at her and then way; hnt his faco waa completely expressionless. "The proceedings were a,little too "I\0." She breathed n little more qulckljr. "It must he ft strange sensation," she observed, "to know thnt some one has tried to kill you." j "It mC/d, Indeed." "You mean you didn't think that be tried to kill your* "l wns hardly in a condition, Miss Bherrill, to appreciate anything about the man at all. Why do you nsk?" "Because?" She hesitated nn instant. "If you were attacked to be killed, it meant that you must have been attacked as the son of?Mr. Corvet. Then that meant?at least It Implied?that Mr. Corvet was killed, that he did not go away. You see that, of course." "Were you the only one who thought thnt? Or did some one speak to you about It?" "No one did; I spoke to father. He thought?" "Yes." I "Well, If Mr. Oorvet was murdered? Tin following what father thought, you understand?It Involved something 'It Must Be a Strange Sensation," Shs Observed, "to Know That Someone Has Tried to Kill You." ?ood deal worse perhaps than anything that eo;i!;l have been Involved If lie had only gone away. The facts we tad made It certain that?If what had Happened to him whs death ut the lands of another?he must have foreseen that death and, seeking 110 protection for himself ... It Implied, that he preferred to die rather than to isk protection?that there was some thing whose concealment he thought [nattered even more to him than life. It?it might have meant that he con* ildored his life was . . . due to whom* jver took It." Her voice, which had become very low, now ceased. She ivus speaking to Alan of his father?a rather whom he had never known, and whom he could not have recognized by light until she showed him the picture i few weeks before; t*Ut she was 1 speaking of his father. "Mr. Rherrill didn't feel that It was necessary for him to do anything, even ' though he thought that?" "If Mr. Corvet was dead, we cotild I Jo him no good, surely, by telling this to the police; if the police succeeded In finding out all the facts, we would he doing only what Uncle Benny did not wish?what he preferred death to. We could not tell the police about it without telling them all about Mr. Corvet, too. So father would not let himself believe that you had been attacked to be killed. He had to believe the police theory was sufficient." Alan made no comment at once. "Wassaquam believes Mr Corvet ! dead," he said finally. "He told me so. Does your father believe that?" "1 think he la beginning to believe It." "I've not told any one," he said, now watching her, "how I happened to be out of the house that night. I followed a man who came there to the house. Wassaquum did not know his name. Me did not knmv Mr. Corvet was gone; for he came there to see Mr. Corvet. He was not an ordinary friend of Mr. Curvet's; hut he had come there often. Wussaqunm did not know why. Wasftaqtiuin had sent the man away, and 1 ran out after him; but 1 could not find hliu." He stopped an Instant, studying her. "That was not the first man who came to the house," he went on quickly, as she was about to speak. "I found a man In Mr. Corvet's house the first ulght that I spent there. Wassaquam was away, you remember, and I was ulone In the house." "A man there In the house?" she repeated. "He was going through Mr. Corvet's things?not the silver and all that, hut through his desks and files and cases. He was looking for something?some' thing which he seemed to want v0ry much; when I Interfered, it greatly excited him. I frightened him. Ha thought 1 was a f^iost." "A ghost. Whose ghost?" He shrugged. "I don't know; some >ne whom he seemed to have known pretty well?and whom Mr. Corvet xnew, he thought." "Why didn't you tell ua thli before?" "At least?I am telling you now. Miss Rherrll). I frightened him, and he got away. Bat I had aeen him plainly. I can describe him. . . . You've talked flitter of the pen to me, a deacrlptloifof tEe man may . . . prove useful." Then clearly and definitely rs he could, he^escrlhed Spearman to her. She did not recognize the description; he had known she would not. Had not Spearman been In Duluth? Beyond thnt. wns not connection of Spearman with the prowler In Corvet's house the one connection of all moat difficult for her t> *..uke? But he saw her fixing ami recording the description In hei mind. They Were silent as thry went on to> vnrd Iter home, lie had snld nil lie could, or dared to say; to tell her that the man had been Spearman would uot merely have awakened her Incredulity; It would have destroyed credence utterly. A definite change in their relation to one another had taken place during their walk. The fullness, the frankness of the sympnthy there had been between them almost from their first meeting, had gone; she was quite aware, he saw, that he hod not frankly answered her questions; she was aware that In some way he hnd drawn hack from her and shut her out from his tlioucrhta nlmiit ?>i?, mm position here. But he had known that this must be so; It had been his first definite realization after his retufto to consciousness In the hospital when, knowing now her relutlon to Spearman. he had found all questions which concerned his relations with the people here made Immeasurably more acute by the attack upon him. She asked him to come In and stay for luncheon, as they reached her home, but she asked It without urging; at his refusal she moved slowly up the steps. Looking after him from the window after she had entered the house, she saw him turn the corner in the direction of Astor street. CHAPTER X. A Caller. As the first of the month was approaching, Wassaquam had brought his household bills und budget to Alan that morning directly after breakfast. To furnish Alan with whatever sums he needed, Slierrill had made a conslderable deposit In Alan's name In t ie j bank where he carried his own ac- | count; and Alan had accompanied Sherrill to the bunk to be Introduced and had signed the necessary cards In order to check against the Jeposlt. Alan had required barely half of the hundred dollars which Benjamin Corvet had sent to Blue Rapids, for his expenses In Chicago; and he had brought with him from "heme" a hundred dollars of his own. The amouQt which Wassaquam now desired to pay the hills was much more than Alan hud on hund; but that amount was also much less than the eleven hundred dollars which the servant listed us cash on hand. This, Wassaqunm stated, was In currency and kept by him. Benjamin always had had him keep that much In the house; Wassaquam would not touch that sum now for the payment of current ex |n;uoco* On the llrst of the month, therefore, Alun drew upon his new bank account to YVussuquam's order, and In the early afternoon Wassnquaiu went to the bank to cash his check?one or tne very few occasions when Alan had been left in the house alone; Wassaquum's luiblt, It appeared, wus to go uhout on the tlrst of the month uud pay the tradesmen in person. Some two hours later, and before Wassaquam could have been expected back, Alan, in the room which had become his, wus startled by u sound of heavy pounding, which came suddenly to hira from a floor below. Shouts? heavy, thick, and unintelligible?mingled with the pounding, lie ran swiftly down the stnlrs, then on and down the service stairs into the basement. The door to the house from the areawuy was shaking to irregular, heavy blows, which stopped as Alan renched the lower hallway; the shouts continued still a moment more. Now that the noise of pounding did not interfere, Alan could make out what the , man was saying. "Ben Corvet!"? the name wa6 almost unintelligible? "Ben Corvet! Ben I" Then the shouts stopped, too. Alan sped to the door and turned back the latch. The door bore buck nrinti tiim nnt 'rnm o nnoli Kn* ^ a weight without which bad fallen against it. A bit;, heavy man, with a rough cap and umcklnaw coat, would huve fallen upon the lloor if Alan hud not caught him. Ills weight In Alan's arms was no dull, ao Inert, that, If violence had been his intention, there was nothing to be feared from hlra now. Alun looked up, therefore, to see If any one had come with htm. The alley and the street were clear. The snow In the areuway showed that the mun had come to the door alone and with grcut dlfllculty ; he had fallen once upon the wulk. Alan dragged the mun Into the house and went buck and closed the door. He returned and looked at hint. The man was like, very like the one whom Alun had followed from the house on the night when he was attacked; eertulnty that this was the same iuuu mine quuitiy iu mm. lie xei/.eu Hie fellow again and dragged him up the stairs and to the lounge In the library, lie was, or had been, a very powerful man, broud and thick through with overdeveloped ? almost distorting? milsciex in Ills shoulders; hut his hndy had become fat and soft, his face was puffed and his eyes wutery and bright; his brown hair, which was shot all through with gray, was dirty and matted ; he had three or four days' growth of heard. When he sat up and looked about it was plnin that whisky was only one of the forces working upon him?the other was fever which burned up and sustained him intermittently. "'Lo!" he greeted Alan. "Where's shat d?n InJIn, hey? I knew Ben Corvet was shere?knew he was shere all time. 'Course he's shere; he got to be shere. That's shrlght. You go get 'Ira I" i "Who are yout" Afcn asked. "Say, who'r you? *IVhat t'hells ayou doln' here? Bfkver see you before . . . go?go ge#Ben Corvet. Jus' say Ben Corvet, Ltt?lake's shere. Ben CorvwtH know lake all right; al way ah, ahvnysh knows me. . . "What's^ tha matter with your Alan bad drawn back bat now went te the man again. The first Idea that this might have been merely some old sail L- . . . . . j ? man's lone?an arrbpa ?e"not lo be explained, entirely, by .vhisky or by tlie fever. "Ilow long have yov. : pn this way?" Alan demanded. "Wl"*ie did you come from?" lie |>nt his In. ' on the wrist; i It was very hot and ?'-y; the pulse; wus racing. Irregufcr. ; .tt seconds It seemed to stop; for ?t er seconds it was continuous. Tin i> low coughed and hent forward. ' "hat Is i?? pneumonia?" Alan ti.c,. to straighten him up. "Or me drink J . . do pet Ren Corvet. I tell you! . . . flet Ren Corvet quick! Say?y< shear? You pet me Ben Corvet; v >a better pet Ren Corvet; you tel! I !m I,u?uke's here; won't wait any more; poln* . t'have my money r ...... srleht away, your shear? Kir'; -ie out s'loon; I I guess not no more. :h? i Corvet pive me nil money I want l talk!" "Talk I" ; "Syou know It I I ain't poln' . . .** He choked up and tottered back; Alan, supporting him. laid him down and atayed beside him until his coughing and choking ceaseti. and there was only the rattling rasp of his breathing. tm. A i - A . ... - *> iren Ainn spoice ro rt a again, Mike's eyes opened, and he in crated recent experiences bitterly; till were hlnmed : to Ben Corvet's nhsei < ? ; Luke. who had been drinking heavily a few nights before, had hi thrown ont : when the saloon was ?' " >d; that was j Ben Corvet's fnult; If Ben Corvet had been around. Luke w -u d have had money, all the money : i one wanted : no one would have th^o?ii out Luke then. Lukp slept In tl now. all wet. When he arose, the s: b -n was open again, and he got more whisky, but not j enough to get him warm. He hadn't been warm since. That as Ben Corvet's fault. Ben Co,-v,,t better he 'round now; Lube wouldn't stand any more. Alan felt of the pulse again; lie opened the coat and under-flnnnels nnd felt the heaving chest. He went to the hnJl and looked In rlie telephone directory- He remembered the name of the druggist on the corner of Clark street end he telephoned him, giving the number on Astor m '.vet. "I want a doctor r'gkt away," he said. "Any good doctor; the one that you can get quickest." The druggist promised that a physk km would he there within a quart an hour. Alan went back to Luke, who was silent now exeept for the gnsp of his breath; he did not answer when Alan spoke to him, except to . sk for whisky. Alan stood watching, a strange, sinking tremor shaking him. Thtman had come there to make a claim ?a claim which many times before, apparently, Benjamin Corvet had admitted. Luke came to Ben Corvet for money which he always got?nil he wanted?tlie alternative to giving which was that Luke would "talk." Blackmail, that tneai of course; 8 A^Tonic~~K X For Women ft i ^ QU "I was hardly able to drag, I fk k^| was so weakened," writes Mrs. HT1 W. F. Ray, of Easley, S. C. T 'LJ "Th? doctor treated me for about H M two months, still 1 didn't get M j, |M any better. I had a large fam- M U fly and felt I surely must do yj 11 Qy something to enable me to take X fjj care of my little ones. I had . > m heard of T i CARBUI m The Woman's Tonic % \ Tj "I decided to try It," con- fiy | tlnues Mrs. Ray ... "1 took rj Wi eight bottles in all... I re- M I M gained my strength and have M M had no more trouble with wo- U XI manly weakness. I have tea UB H children and am able to do all CI Jfl my housework and a lot out- IT doors ... I can sura recooM mendCerduL" M nl TsJ? Carded today. It sdl m flsttfiahT B1 ranging over mm, 'always 'arming against It with the thousand dollars ready for this man, whenever he came. Meeting blackmail, paying blackmail for as long ns Wassaquam had been Ir. the house, for as long as It took to make the once muscular powerful tigure of the sailor who threatened to "talk" Into the swollen whisky-soaked hulk of the man dying now on the lounge. For his state that day the man blamed Benjamin Curvet. Alan, forcing himself to touch the swollen face I shuddered at thought of the truth un derlyitsg that accusation. Benjamin Corvet's act?whatever It might be that tlits null) knew?undoubtedly had destroyed not only him who paid the hlacknnill but bhu who received it; the effect of that act was stiJl going on, destroying, blighting. Its threat of shame was not only against Benjamin Corvet; It threatened also all whose names must he connected with Corvet's. This shame threatened Alan: It threatened also the Sherrills. What Sherrlll had told Alan and even Corvet's gifts to him had not been able to make Alan feel toot without qnes tion Corvet wus his father, but now shame and horror were making lion feel it; In horror at Corvet's act? whatever it might ho?and in shame at Covert's cowardice, Alan was thinking of Benjamin Corvet as Ids father. This shame, this horror wen- his in iiiuvtviiiaii which nor iniko liad tolc! of but wlrlcli Was- :<;uani too had admitted, as Alan now realized. Money for blackmail?thai s\ is the reason for that thousand dollars In cash which Itenjnmin Corvct# always kept at the house. Alan turned with a sudden shiver of revulsion toward hi: father's chair In place before the he rth; there for hours each day his lather had sat with a book or starli a into the fire always with what this man knew ADVERTISEMENT RELATING TO LC'J.T POLICIES TO WHOM IT MAY CONCfcliN; Notice is hereby given that Cotton Certificates Nos. 4.183 to 4.200 in elusive, (open policy 2,413) of tne Colonial Fire Underwriters, branch of National Fire Ins. Co., of Hartford, requiring for their vai.dity the countersignature of a duly authorized and licensed agent, hare been lost. Since these policies have not been regularly countersigned, issued or accounted for, nor any premiums received thereunder by Jiis Company, they will be valuless and void in the hands of whomsoever they may fall and any claim thereunder would be illegal and fraudulent. If found they should be returned to the office of the Company at Columbia, S. C. No claim any of natnre purporting to be based upon them will be recognized by the Company. The public will please take notice accordingly. Colonial Fire Underwriters, Branch of Nutional Fire Insurance Co., of Hartford. By Seibelr-, Bruce & Co. General Agents. C. J. Hunley. Local Agent, Chesterfield, S. C. 4t-18 herltance. He left Luke niul went to the window to see if the doctor was coming. He had called the doctor because in his first sight of Luke lie had not rerognlzed that Luke was beyond the aid of doctors and because to summon a doctor under such etrcumstuncos was the right thing to do; hut he laid thought of the doctor also as a witness to anything Luke might say. Hut now?did lie want a witness? He hud no thought of concealing anything for Ids own sake or for his father's; hut he would, at least, want the chance to determine the circumstances under which It was to he made public. He hurried back to Luke. "What is it, Luke?" lie cried to him. "What can you Ml? Listen! Luke-?Luke. Is h fdw.it the Miwaka?the Miwnkn? Luke!" Luke had mink ?nto a atupot; Alan shook htm and shouted in his ear without awakening 1 espouse. As Alan straightened and stood hopelessly looking down at him. the telephone hrU rang sharply. Constance Sherrlll's voice came to him; her first words made it clear that she was at home and had just come in. "The servants tell me some one was making a disturbance beside your house a while ago," she said, "and shouting something nhout Mr. Corvet. Is there something wrong tiiere? Have = you discovered something?" He shook excitedly while, holding ' ids hand over the transmitter lest I .. u kC ^ ^ sh? ^ ^ "Luke," Is It the Miwaka?the Miwakaf Lukel" should hear It. lie wondered what lie should say to her. "Please don't nsk me just now. Miss Shcrrill," he mnnaged. "I'll tell you what I can?later." His reply, he recognized, only made her more certnin that there was smoothing the matter, hut Iip could not add anything to It. ITe found Luke, when he went bnok to him, still In coma; the bloodshot veins stood out against the ghastly grayness of Ids face, and Ids stertorous breathing sounded through the rooms. * ? Constance Sherrlll had come in a few moments before from nn afternoon reception ; the servants told her at once that something was happening at Mr. Corvet's. They had hoard shouts and had seen a man pounding upon the door there, hut they had not 'nken it upon themselves to go over there. She had told the chauffeur to wait with the motor and had run at imco to the telephone and called Alan; his attempt to put her off made her "prtain thnt what had happened w-ns not finished hut was still going on. j Her anxiety and the sense of their re- j sponsiblllty for Alan overrode at once I fill other thought. She told the serv- j unts to call her father at the officp and tell 1dm something was wyong at ! Mr. Corvet's; then she called her maid ntid hurried out to the motor. ! "To Mr. Corvet's?quickly!" she dl- i rected. ' Looking through the front doors of her car as It turned Into Astor street. ..D >U" >? j.'uiif, ill, III); II n"l*- J tor's case. run up flip stops of Cor- . . ret's housp. Constance recognized ^ him as a young doctor who was start lug In practice In the neighborhood. lie was just holng admitted as sno and j her maid reached the stops. Alan sto<w1 holding thp door ojipn and vot block- * Ing entrance when site came up. "You must not come In!" he denied her; hut she followed the doctor so f that Alan could not close the door upon her. Ue yielded then, and she f and her maid went on Into the hell. ( NOTICE OF DISCHARGE \ On 16th May, next I will apply to 1 the Probate Court of Cheaterfielil t "^ ^n -^dUliiiiiiHiiii^^ -" '"Hiiii'siiijiuii 55?>' r\ new sin ^3 M . A r 1 mint gi J treat foi All art factories is the r Save the ) 7 | wrappers I I 1 * |jL^? Good for I fir valuable I V premiums j, J ca She started :i| i%e saw ilia 11 ir :; < i lpon the roilcli In tlie library. ami a*- I lie sound of its lienvy hreathin j eachcd lier; and the wild faney whirl. j ind coma to her when the servant ? ind told her of what was K<>lnir on i fnney that Unole nenrfy had enm< iaek?was banished instantly. Alan led her into the room neros; 'rom the library. "You shouldn't have come In," he 'aid. "I shouldn't have lot you in; rot?you saw hlrn." "Yes." "Do you know him?" "Know him?" She shook her head. "I mean, you've never seen him he- ! 'ere?" "No." "His name is Lake?he speaks of . ilmself by tlint name. Did you over t tour my father mention a man named Luke?" "No; never." Luke's voire rut suddenly llieir rou. ' rersatlon ; the do"tor probably hnd i riven him some stimulant. "Where'sli Ben Curvet?" Luke dennnded arrogantly of the dorfor. 'You po cot Hen Cnrvrt ! Tell Hen "*orvet I wimi think right nwny. FVM ten Cor vet I v. nut my thoussm' d >!nr . . . I" Constance furred swiftly to iter maid. "Co out t<> the car nnd writ 'or me." site commanded. Luke's muffled heavy voire went or ; . noments while lie fought for im?ntli nterrupted It. "You hear nte, yon d?n Injln ! . . . i fou co tell Hen Cnrvet I want nty j hnusnn' dollars, or 1 make It two ne\*' j line! You hear nte; you go tell H"n | Corvet. . . . Yon let me go. you j I n Injin!" . . . Tlirousrh the doorway to tho library hey could see the doctor forre Lit' e nek upon the couch; I uko foneht him Furious'*; then, sudth illy as lie hint ttrred to strenpth ami fury, Tatke eo lapsed npnlu. Ills voire went on a o omen I mor*, nnfl rapt liy gvowlrg veakor t "Ton tell Hen Oorvct T want my . noney, or T'Jl tell. He knows what | 'II tell. . v ?You don't know, you | njln devil. ? . , Ben Curvet knows. J ind I know*. . , . Toll hint I'll tell , . . HI tell . . . I ll toll !" The | hreatcning voire stepped suddenly. Constance, very pale, again faced ' \Jnn. "Of course, 1 understand," she 1 taid. "Hnole Benny has been paying j tlackmnil to tills ma*: 1*'or years, pet* i nips. . . ." Site repeated the word I ifter nn Instant, in n frightened voire j 'Blackmail I" W/vn'f i*/ut itliie u<? \rt*c ....... ...... ,. hW, .11.1-1 I ill?" Ainu ur^od her. "It was good If you to mine; hut you mustn't stay low, He's lie's dying. of course." She sented herself upon a chair. Tin going to stay with you," sl'.e snld ilmply. It was not. she know, to share ho walling for tho 111:111 In the next 00m to dlo; In that, of Itself, there onId hp nothing for hliii to feel. It | van to ho with him while realization , vhleli had eotne to her was sultllng 1 ipon him, too?realization of what his meant to him. He was realizing hat, slip thought; lie had realized It; j t made htm, at moments, forgot her vhlle, listening for sounds from the | ther room, lie pared haek and forth ipslde the table or stood staring iway, clinging to the portieres. Ho eft her presently, and went across the tall to the doctor. "Is he dead?" Constance heard htm IRK. "Not yet," the doctor answered j "hut t won't bo long, now." "There's nothing you enn do to make itm talk?bring him to himself long nough so that he will tell what he leeps threatening to tell?" The doctor shrugged. "Flow many , Imes, do you suppose, he's been drunk j 1 iid still not told? Concealment Is his . liitn*riiii? ? Pn tnl'<M ' Fruit, Peppermint! armint are certainly! elightful flavors tal WRIGLEY'S P-K?thJ *ar*coated pepper-l lm, is also a great! your sweet toothJ e from the Wrigleyl where perfection ule. ^T!\, WRifiLEYS^ 6 ptWBfel 17/ iu stdo. tiio pn.,\ or oi.su wns spret and wilhin ih" li.ui.sv it had f dark, ll v. a.- wry .pilot In the lib she c v.ibl not rvt'ii lour Luke'sbi Inp now. Then the doctor rame < thoni. "It's over." hv said to Alan. "T1 a law oov? rinjr those oases; you not ko familiar with it. I'll mnl; tbo death oortllioato?pneumonic a weak heart with alcoholism. Bi police have to he notified at once tune no choiee as to Hint. I'll niter those things for you, If v. at it." "Thank you; If yon will." Alan xvllli the doctor to the door and hlni drive av.*ny. Koturnlng, he the library portieres; then, c< hju-i.- in Constance, he picked ?i niutr and collar from the chair v she had thrown them, and hold lit to her. "fou'll co now, Miss Sherrlll said. "Indeed, you mustn't stay ?your cur's still walling, andwins.n't stay here ... in this ho' "Won't you come over home inc." she said, "and wait for f there til! n> can think this thin] fnir/tt |,av V Her swoe'.noss almost broke down. "This . . . together! 1 this out ! iih, It's plain enough, it V For years ?for as long as \V quain has hcen here, my father hee 11 seeiinr Hint maji and pi hhiekrnail to Idui twice a yeai least He lived in that man's p< He kept money in the house for always! Ii wasn't anything I mag hat hung over my father?or any erented in his own mind. It was t iliing real?real; ll was disgracegrace end worse?something h? Served; and that he fought with li mall money, like a coward! l)lsl ?cow; yd ice?blackmail 1" She drew n little nearer to "You didn't want me to know," said. "You tried to put me off wl railed you 01. the telephone; n| ......i . ..nnt- mi u, juu n go away before I heard. Why d you want me to know? If ho was father, wasn't lie our?friend? and my father's? You must le help you." As sin- approached, he hnd d hack from her. "N'o; this Is mine denied her. "Not yours or youi thcr's. You have nothing to do tlds. Iddn't he try In little eow| ways to keep you out of It? Jit couldn't do that; your frlent meant too much to him; lie cou keep away from you. Hut I can? ] do that! You must go out of house; you must never come in ami in I" Iter eyes filled, as she watched never had she liked him fo roue now. "I thought." lie said almost wh ly, "It seemed to me tlsat, whatev* had done, It must have been m against me. His leaving everythlt me seemed to mean that I was tlM that he hnd wronged, and that ho trying to make It up to me. pi Isn't that; it can't be that ! It }s a thing much worse than that! , Oh, I'm g'.nd I haven't used mn< his money! Hardly any?not . ] than I can give hack ! It wasnl money nml the house he left me mattered; what he really left me Just tlds . . . dishonor, shame . The doorbell rang, and Alan t? to the door and threw it open. Ii dusk the figure of the man outside not at all recognizable; hut as tM tered with heavy and deliberate passing Alan without greettnif golnt straight.to C?o?t?nce? (Continued on last D*t<) < L. H. TROTTI, Chesterfield. S, C. ilfcAt'iftiiirilfrMtoe n