HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1933-05-05, Page 7JS
AY. 5, ,. 1933.
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1,4EGAL
Phone NO, 91
JOHtN J. HUGGARD
Barrister, Solictor,
Notary Public, Etc.
Beattie Block - - Seaforth, Ont,
HAYS & MEIR
Succeeding R. S. Heys
tI
.0
e KivE.r's
by JAMES .OLIVER CURWOOD
He drew a hand to his forehead
and placed a finger on the scar. "2'
s got that seven: years ago. It killed a
half of Dement Conniston, the part
that ahead have lived. Do you un -
y der.tand? Until to -night---,"
Dee eyes startled him, they were
grin*•ing so (big and dark and staring;
Hiving fires of understanding and
horror. It was hard far him to go
on with the lie. "For many weeks I
was dead,'' he "'struggled on. "A•td'
when 'I came to life physically, I had.
forgotten a great deal. I had my
name, my identity, but only ghastly
dreams and visions of what had gore
before. I remembered you, but it
was in a dreamt, a strange and haunt-
ing dream that was with me always-.
It seems to me that for an a.g'e I
have been seeking for a' face, a voi,se,
'something ,I loved above all else on
eerth, something- which was always
near and yet was never found. It
was you, Mary Josephine, you!"
!Was it the -real Derwent Conniston
speaking now? He felt again that
overwhelming force','• frrom. within
which was not his' own. The thing
that had :begup as a lie struck him
now as a thing that was truth. It
'was he, John Keith, who had been
questing and yearning and hoping.
It was John Keith and not Connis-
ton, who had returned' into a world
filled wrath a desolation of loneliness,
and it was to John Keith that a'bene-
ficent God had sent this wonderful
creature in an. hour that was black-
est in its despair. 'Isle was not lying
now. He was fighting: He was fight
ing to keep for himself the one atom
of humanity that ,leant more to
him than all the rest of the human
race, fighting _to keep a great love
that. had come to him out •of a world
in which he no longer had a friend
or a home, and to that fight his soul
went out as a drowning man'grilrs at
a spar on a sea. As the girl's hands
came to his face and • he heard the
yearning, grief -filled cry of his name
on her lips, he no langur sensed the
things he was saving,, but held her
close in his arms, kissing her mouth,
and her eyes, and her •fair, and' re-
peating over and over again that now
he had found her he would never give
her up. Her arms clung to him. They
were ,like tnvo children.lbrought. to-
gether after a long separation and
Keith knew that Conniston's. love for
this .girl who was his sister must
have been a'"'splendid thing. And his
lie had saved +Conniston as well as
himself. There had been no time ts?
question the 'reason for the English-
man's neglect -for his apparent des-
ertion of the girl' who had come a-
cross the sea to find him. To -night
it was sufficient that he. was Connis-
ton, and that to him the girl had
fallen as a precious heritage.
He stood up with her at last, hold-
ing her away from him a little so
that he could' look into her face wet
with tears and shining with happi
Hess. She reached up a hand to his
face, so that it touched the sear; and
in her eyes he saw an infinite pity,
a luminously tender glow of love and
sympathy and understanding that no
niieasuaernepts could conspass. Gent-
ly her hand stroked his scarred fore-
head. 'He felt his old world slipping
away from under his feet, and with
his triumph there surged over . him
a thankfulness for that inddfhable
somfet'hing that had. come to him in
time to give: him the strength and
the courage to lie. For she 'believed
hima, utterly and without the shadow
of a suspicion she 'believed him.
"To -morrow you will help me to
remember a great many things," he
said. "And now will you let me send
you to 'bed, Mary Josephine?"
She was looking at the scar. "And'
all those years I didn't know," she
whispered. "I didn't know. They
told me you were dead, but I knew
it was a lie. It was Colonel Re'pr
pin'gtors--" She saw something in
his face that stopped her. "Derry,
dcn't you remember?"
1°I shall -to -morrow. But to -night
I can see nothing and think of noth-
ing but you. To -morrow-"
She drew his head' down swiftly
and kissed the brand made 'by 'the
heated barrel of the Englis•hme.n's
pistol. "Yes, yes, we must go to bed
now, Derry," she cried quickly. "You
must not think too much. To -night
it must come out right, everything.
Ansi now you may send me to bed.
Do you remember--"
She caught herself, biting her lip
to keep back, the word.
"Tell me," he urged. "Do I re-
rnvni miter what?" .
"How, you used to come in at the
very last and tuck me in at night,
Derry? And how we used to whir=
per to ourselves there in the darkness
and at last you would kiss me good-
night? It was the kiss that always
made me go to sleep."
He nodded. "Yes, I
he said.
He led her to the spare room and
brought in her two travel -worn bags
and turned on the light. It *as a
man's room, but 'Mary Josephine
stooc1 for a moment surveying it with
delight.
Barristers, Solicitors, Conveyancer
and Notaries Public. Solicitors for
the Dominion Bank. Office in rear of
the Dominion Bank, Seaforth. Mone
t o loan.
BEST & BEST
Barristers, Solicitors, Conveyan-
cers and Notaries Public, Etc. Office
izi the Edge Building, opposite The
Expositor Office.
•
VETERINARY
JOHN GRIEVE, V.S.
Honor graduate of Ontario Veterin-
ary College. All diseases of domestic
animals+ -treated. Calls promptly at-
tended to and charges moderate. Vet-
. erinary 'Dentistry a specialty. OffLie
and• residence on Goderieh Street, one
, door east of Dr. Mackay'�s office,' Sea -
forth.
r
A. R, CAMPBELL, V.S,
(Graduate of Ontario Veterinary
College, University of Toronto. All
diseases of domestic animals treated
by the most modern principles.
Ghargea reasonable. Day or night
calls promptly attended to. Office on
Main Street, Hensall, opposite Town
Hall. Phone 116. Breeder of Scot-
tish Terries. • Inverness Kennels,
Hensall.
MEDICAL ,
DR. E. J. R. FORSTER
Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat
Graduate im Medicine,' University of
Toronto.
tate assistant New.York Opthal-
_mei and Aural Institute, •Mobrefield's
Fye and Golden Square Throat Hos-
pitals, London, Eng. At 'Commercial
Hotel, S.eaforth, third Monday in
each month, from 11'. a.m. to 3 p.m.
58 Waterloo Street, South, Stratford.
c
,
DR. W. C. SPROAT
Graduate of Faculty of Meddeine,
University of Western Ontario. Lon-
don. Member of College of Physic-
ians and -Surgeons of Ontario. Office
in Aberhart's Drug Store, 'Main 'St,
1Seaforth. Phone 90.
DR. F. J. BURROWS
Office and residence Goderich Street,'
east of the United Church, . Sea -
forth. Phone 46. Coroner"" for the
County of 'Huron.
Dr. C. MACKAY
1C. (Mackay, honor graduate of Trin-
ity University,' and gold :medalist of
Trinity Medical +College; member of
the College of Physicians and' Sur-
geons of Ontario. '
DR. H. HUGH ROSS •
Graduate of University of Toronto
Faculty of Medicine, member of Col-
lege of Physicians and Surgeons of
Ontario; pass graduate courses -in
Chicago Clinical School of Chicago;
Royal Ophtha1mie Hospital, London,
England; University Hospital, Lon-
don, England. Office -Back of Do-
minion Bank, .Seafortli. Phone No. 5.
Night call's answered from residence,
Victoria Street, Seaforth.
DR. S. R. COLLYER
Graduate Faculty of Medicine, Uni-
versity of Western Ontario. Member
College of Physicians and Surgeons
of Ontario. Post graduate work at
New York City Hospital and Victoria
Hospital. London. Phone: Hensel!,
56. 'Office, King Street, Hensall.
- DR. J. A. MUNN
Graduate of Northwestern Univers-
ity, Chicago, 111. Licentiate Royal
College of Dental Surgeons, Toronto.
Office over Sills' Hardware, Main St.,
Seaforth. 'Phone 151.
r•
DR. F. J. I3ECHELY
'Graduate Royal College of Dental
Surgeons, Toronto Office over W. R.
Smith's Grocery, Main Street, Sea- i
forth. Phone; Office, 185W; resi- '
denee, 185J. 1
AUCTIONEERS
OSCAR KLOPP ,1
1
,Honor Graduate Carey Jones' Na- I
tunad School for .Auetioneering, Chi-
cago. Special eourse taken in Pure 1
Bred LiJ'ie 'Stock, Real Estate, Mer- 1
chendis'e and Farm Sales. Rates in
keeping with prevailing markets. Sat- 1
ideation assured. 'White ,or wire, 1
Oscar Iilopp, Zurich, Ont. Phone: r
13-93. ea'...� .
v
,at%•.•a�..Ah ru,:,�&•:u..w..ixrfi. •.�:ULi."' $0�5ii�i �L+a,�3N:'i�.
•
remember,"
"It's home, Derry, real home,"' she
i spered.
He did net explain to her .that it
vas a borrowed home and that this
vas hie first night in it. Such nn-
miportan't details would • rest until
o -morrow. He showed her the bath
ind its water syste!mr and then ex-
ilained to Wallie that his sister was
n the house and he would have to
mn.k in the kitchen,. At the last he
ctuew what he was expected to-• do,
chat he must do. H.e kiss'ed, Mary
fosephine good night. He kissed her
wice. And Mary Josephine kissed
tim'an•d gave him a hug the like of
vhic�h he had never experienced until
his night. It 'sent him 'back to the
ire wi bh blood that danced' like a
Itunken man's.
ale turned the lights out and for
nett. e
len, W
lava hint .
t Ite undexetsl' >ai ill`
aizien, v;p until 'fax 9a>t tl tdl
that he had heard and ,pogo t .i, f4ee
4414 lif4ch that ILO passed ibe, en iIire;
and Maly Jcta+ ,mise. The Paahly ap=
erred windeW, the rand and- wet on
curtains and floor, and the cigaratte
etuba were, all to call Keith% atten;
,tion to the hox on the table.
Keith could) net hut feel a certain
(sort of a 1mlization or the China-
man. The two questions he must an-
svvello.' er ';row were, What was Shan
could ould aaway. The er nu wau44 Tunes +game,?. and 'What did Shan
,.. hint _-_ . ..__ gam. , „ Iw
Tung expect hie to do?
F ndtantly Miriam Kirksbone flash-
ed upon him as the possible motive
for Ishan Tung's visit. He recalled
her unexpected and emlbarraseing
question of that evening, in which
:she had expressed a suspicion and a
doubt as to John Keith's death. He
lhad gone to 'Miriamts at eight. It
must have been eery, soon after that
and after she had caught a glimpse
of the face at the window, that Shan
Tung had hurried to the shack:
'Slowly (but surely the tangled
'threads of the night's adventure were
unraveling themselves for Keith. The
main facts pressed upon him, no
longer smothered in a chaos of the-
ory and supposition: If there had
been no 'Miriam Kirkstone in the big
'house on the hill, Shan Tung would
have gone to , ,McDowell, and he
would have been in irons at the pres-
ent moment: IVleD•owell had been
right after .all. Miriam Kirke -tone
was fighting for something that was
more than her existence. The thought
of that "something" made Keith'
writhe and his hands clench.- Shan
Tung had triumphed but not utterly,
A part of the fruit of his triumph
was still just out of his reach, and
the two --.beautiful Miss Kirkstone
and the deadly Shan Tung - were
locked in a final struggle for its pos-
session. In some mysterious way he,
John Keith, was to play the winning
hand. How or `,vh.en he could not
understand. But of one thing he
was convinced; in exchange for what-
ever winning card he held Shan Tung
had offered him his life. To -morrow
he would expect an 'ens/were.
That to -morrow had already- dawn-
ed. !It was one o'clock when Ke`Tth
again looked at his watch. Twenty.
hours ago he had cooked his last
camp -fire breakfast. It was only
eighte'e'n hours ago that he had filled
himself with the smell of Andy Dug-
gan's bacon, and `still more, recently
that hehad sat in the little barber
shop on the corner wondering what
his fate would be when he faced Mc-
Dowell. It struck him as incongru-
ous and inspossible that only fifteen
hours had passed since then. • If he
possessed a doubt of the reality of it
all, the :bed was there to help con-
vince him. It was a real bed, and
he., had not slept in a real bed .for a
number of years. Wallie had made
-it ready for him. Its sheets were
snow-white. There was a counter-
pane with`a fringe on it and pillows
puffed up with' billowy invitation, as
if they were on the point of floating
away. Had they risen before- his
eyes, Keith would have regarded the
phenomileuon rather casually. After
the . swift piling up of the amazing
events of' those fifteen hours; a float-
ing pillow would have seemed, 'quite
in the natural orbit. of things. But
they did not , float: They remained
where they were; their white breasts
bared to him, urging, upon him a
commilon-sense perspective of the sit-
uation. He wasn't going to run a-
way. He couldn't sit up all nig-ht.
Therefore 'why not come to therm and
sleep?
There was something directly per-
sonal in the appeal of the pillows and
the bed. It was not general; it was
for shim., And Keith responded:
He made another nate d the time,
a half-hour after one, when he turn-
ed in. He allotted himself. four hours
of sleep, for it was his intention to
be up with the sun.
ER hour sat in the dying glow of the
birch. For the first thele since, he
had come from ' Mir+iam Kirkstone's
he had the opportunity to think, and
in thinking he found his brain crowd-
ed with *old and unemotional fact.
He saw his lie in all its naked im-
mensity. Yet he was not sorry
that he had lied. Ile had saved Con-
niston. He had saved himself. And
he had saved 'Connistton's+ sister, to
love, to fight for, to protect. It had
not been a Judas lie but a lie with
his heart and his soul and all tho
manhood in him behind it. T�� have
told the truth would have made him
his own executioner, it would have
'betrayed the dead Englishman who
had given to ]him his name and all
that he possessed, and it would have
dragged to a pitiless, grief the heart
of a girl for whom the sun still con-
tinu•ed to shine. No regret rose be-
fore him now. He felt no shame. All
that he saw was the fight, the tre-
� 'end'otis fight, ahead of • him, hi;;
fight to play the game as Conniston
would have him play it. The inspir-
ation that had come to hies as he
stood facing the storm from the
w'es'tern mountains possessed hint a-
gain. Be would go to the river's end
as he had planned to go before Mc-
Dowell told him of Shan 'Tung and
Mfriarn Kirkstone. And he would
not go • alone. -Mazy Josephine would
go with him.
It was midnight when he rose from
the big chair and went to his room.
The door was closed. He opened it..
and entered. Even as his hand grop-
ed for the switch- on the wall, his
no_trils caught the scent of something
which was familiar and yet which
should not have been there. It filled
the room;, just as it,had filled the big
hall at the Kirkstone house, the al-
most sickening fragrance. of egal-
loehum,'burned in e,cigarette. It hung
like a heavy incense.
Keith's eyes •glared as he scanned
the room under the lights, half ex-
pecting to see Shan Tung sitting
there waiting for him. It was empty.
His eyes leaped to _the two windows.
The shade was drawn at one, the
ether was up, and the window itself
was open an inch or two above the
sill. Keith's hand gripped his pistol
as he went to it and drew the . cur-
tain. Then he turned to• the table on
which were the reading lamp ,and
Brad'y's pipes and tobacco and mag-
azines. On an ash -tray lay the stub
of a fresh1Vburned cigarette. Shan
Tung hale coizre secretly, but he had
made no effort to cover his pres-
ence.
It was , then that Keith saw some-
thing on the table which had not been
there 'before. It was a small, rec-
tangular, t'ea'kwood (box no larger
than a 'half of the palm of his hand.
He had noticed Miriam Kirkstone's
nervous fingers toying with just such
a box earlier in the evening. They
were identical in appearance. Both
were covered with an exquisite fab-
ric of oriental carving, and thc� wood
was stained and ' •polished until it
shone with the dark luster of ebony.
Instantly it flashed upon hire. that
this was the same box he had seen
at Miriam's. She had sent it to' him
and Shan Tung had been her mes-
senger. The . absurd 'thought was in
his head as he took u:p a small white
square of card that lay on top of
the box. The upper side of this card
was blank; on the other side. in a
script. an exquisite in its delicacy
as the carving itself, were the word's;
"With the 'Compliments of Shan
Tung."
In another moment Keitli. had op-
ened the •box. Inside was a carefully
folcled .. slip of paper, and on this
paper was written a single line.
Keith's heart stopped 'beating, and his
blood ran cold ,as he read what it
held for him, a message of doom
from Shan Tung in nine words:
"What Happened To Derwent Con-
niston? Did You Kill 'Him?"
XI
Stunned by a shock that for a •few
moments paralyzed every nerve cen-
tre in his ' body, John Keith stood
with the slip of white paper in his
hands. He was ' disrovered- That
was the one thought that pounded lika
a hammer in his brain. He was dis-
covered in the very hour of his tri-
umph and exaltation, in that hour
When the world had opened; its •por-
tals of joy and hope for him again
and when life itself; after four years
of -hell, was once more worth the
living. Had the shock come a few
hours 'before, he would 'have taken
it differently. He was expecting it
then. He had expected it when he
entered McDowell's office the first
time. He was prepared for it after-
ward. D•is'cov'erw•, failure, and death
were possibilities of the hazardous
game he was playing, and he was un.
afraid, •because he had only his life
to lose. a life that, was not much
more than a hopeless derelict at
,most. Now it was different. Mary
Josephine had come like some rare
and wonderful alchemy to transmute
for him all leaden things into gold. in
a few minutes she had upset the
world. She had literally torn aside
for hint/ the hopeless chaos in which
he saw himself struggling, flooding
him with the warm radiance of a
great love and a still greater desire.
On his lips he could feel the soft
thrill of her good -night 'kiss and a-
bout his neck the embraEe of her
soft arms. 'She had not gone to sleep
yet. Across in the other room she
was thinking of him, loving him;
perhaps she was on her knees pray-
ing for him, even as he held in his
fingers ,Shan Tung's mysterious fore-
warning of his doom.
The first impulse that crt'wded in
Upon him wag that of flight, the sel-
fish impulse of personal salvation. He
tlr
rbiaNiibta
isti:iiltar :he
he was mentally castigating himself
for the treachery of that imspulse toy
Mary Josephine. His floundering
senses began to readjust themselves.
iWlhy ,,had Shan Tung given him
this warning? Why had he not gone
straight to �Inspeetor McDowell with
the astounding disclosure of the fact
that' the man suptpose•d to . he Der-
went Conniston was not Derwent Con-
niston, but John Keith, the murderer
of :Miriam Kirkstone's father?
The questions brought to Keith a
new thrill, He read the note again.
itt was a definite thing stating a cer-
tainty and not a guess. Shan Tung
had not shot et random. He knew.
He knew that 'he was not Derwent
Cenniston but John Keith. And he
believed that he had killed the Eng-
lishman to steal his identity. In the
face of these things he had not gone
to McDowell! Keith's eyes fell upon
the card again. "With the compli-
ments of !Shan Tung." What did the
word's mean? Why had Shan Tung
written them unless--w'ith his com-
pliments -he was giving him a
'warning and the chance to save him-
self? •
'His immediate alarm grew less.
The longer he contemplated the slip
of paper in his hand, the more he be-
came convinced' that the insdrutable
Shan Tung was the last individual in
the world to stage a bit 'of melo-
'dram.a without souse good reason for
it. There, was 'belt one conclusion he
•could arrive at. The Chinaman was
playing a, 'game of his own, and he
had taken this unusual''way of ad-
vising Keith tomake a getaway while
the going was good. It was evident
that his intention had been to avoid'
the possibility of a personal discus-
sion of the situatiion. That, at least,
was Keith's first impression.
He turned to examine the window.
There was no doubt that Shan Tung
had come in that way. Both the sill
and curtain bore stains of water and
mud, and there was wet dirt on the
floor. For once :the immaculate or-
iental had paid no' attention to his
feet. At the door leading into the
big room .:Keith saw where he had
stood for• some time, listening, prob-
ably when McDonnell and Mary Jos-
ephine were in the outer room wait-
ing for him. Sud'd'enly his eyes rivet-
ed themselves on the middle panel'''of
the door. • Brady had intended his
color scheme =to be -old ivory _ the
panel [itself was nearly white -end
on it •Shan Tung had written- heavily
with e, lead pencil the hour of his
presence, "10.45 'p.nil." Keith's am-
azement fund voiee in a low exclam-
ation. He looked at his watch. 'It
was a quarter-hour after twrelve. He
had returned to the Shack before ten
and the clever Shan Tung was let-
ting him know in this cryptic fashion
that for more than three-quarters of
an `hour he had listened at the door
and spied upon him and Mary Jos-
ephine• ,bhrou'gh the keyhole.
Had even such an insignificant per -
'son as Wallie been guilty of that act,
Keith would have felt like thrashing
him. It surprised himself that he
experienced no personal feeling of
outrage at Shaw Tung's frank con-
fession of eavesdropping. A subtle.
significance began to attach itself
more and more to the'. story.his room
was telling him1. He knew'that Shan
Tung had left none of the marks of
his presence out of bravado, but with
a definite purpose. Keith's psycholo-
gical mind was at all times acutely
ready to seize upon possibilities, and
just as his positiveness of Connis-
ton's spiritual presence had inspired
him to act his lie with Mary Jos-
ephine, se did the conviction possess
him now that his room held for him
a message of the most vital import-
ance.
'In such an emergency, Keith em-
ployed his own method, He sat
down, lighted his pipe again,
centered the full n'source of his
mind on Shan Tung, dissociating
himself from the nem and ,the ad-
venture of the nieet as much as
Tensible in his obiec'.ive analysis of
the inan. Four di -tinct emotional
factors entered into that analysis -
fear, distrust, hatter:, personal drift-
ing steadily into an 'inusual and un-
expected mental attitude. From the
time he had faced Shan Tung in the
inspectors ;office, h had regarded
him as the chief en'•my of his free-
dom, his one great r enace. Now he
felt neither personal 'O'nniity nor hat-
red for him..... Fear and distrust re-
niained, but the fear was imperson-
al- arta the distrust that of one whn
watches a clewed olll,'nent in a game
or a fight. His cli eption of Shan
Tung changed. Ile found his occi-
dental mind running paralygey with
the oriental bridging 'he spaces which
otherwise it never would have cross-
ed, and at the end i' seized upon the
key. It proved to -h'm that his first
impulse had been wrong. Shan Tung
had not expected him to seek safety
in flight. He had riven the white
man' credit for a Iii' ger understand-
ing than that. His desire, first of all,
had been to let lieith know that he
was not the only one who was play-
ing for frig stake, end that another,
Shan Tung himself. was gambling a
hazard of his nwi', and that the
fraudulent Derwent Conniston was a
trump card in that came. -
To impress this upon Keith he had
first of all, acquainted hili with the
tact that he had seen through his •de-
eption and that he knew he was
John Keith and not. Derwent Connis-
ton. He had also let him know that
he believed he had killed the lng-
lis'hnvan, a logical supposition under
the *ircurnstan'cos• This information
he had left for Keith was not in the
tone of an intimidation. There was,
indeed; sonuethin.g very near apolo-
getic courtesy in the presence of the
card 'beating Shan Turig's compli-
ments. The penciling of the hour on
a4
rhak4'es:
a
XII
Necessity had made of Keith a
fairly accurate hurman chronometer.
In the second year of his fugitivism
he had lost his watch. At first it
vas like losing an arm, a part of his
hrain, a living friend. Froin that
time until he came into possession of
Conniston's, timepiece he was his own
hour -glass and his own alarm clock.
He became proficient, -
Brady's bed and the t'irce•breast,
ed pillows that supported .hi. head
were his undoing. The morning af-
ter Shan Tung's visit he awoke, to
find the sun floodingin through the
eastern window of his room. ,The
warmth of it as it •fell full in his
face, setting hiseyes hlinking, told
him it was too late. He guessed it g
was eight o'clock. When he fumbled 1 c
his watch out from under his pillow's
and looked at it, he found it was a
quarter past. He got up quietly, his
mind swiftly aligning itself to. the
happenings of yesterday. He stretch-
ed himself until his muscles snapper),
and his chest 'expanded with deep
breaths of air from. the windows he
hail left open when he went to hed.
11'e was fit. He was ready for Shan
Tung, for McDowell. And over this
Physical readiness there surged the
thrill of a glorious anticipation. It
fairly staggered him to discover how
badly he wanted to see Mary Joseph-
ine again.
He wandered if she was still asleep
and answered that there was little
possibility of her being awake--eren
at eight o'clock. Probably she would
sleep until noon, the poor, tired, little
thing! He smiled affectionately into
the mirror over Brady's dressing -
table. And then the unmistakable
sound of voices in the outer room took"
him curiously to the dodr. They were
subdued voices. He listened hard, and
his heart pumped faster. One of
them 'was Wallic's voice; the other
was Mary Josephine's.
He was amused with himself at the
extreme, cnre with w-hach he proceed-
ed to dress. Tt was an entirely new
sensation. Wallie had provided him
with the necessaries for a cold
sponge and in some mysterious in-
terim since their arrival had brushed
and pressed ,the most important of
Conniston's things. With the Eng-
lishman's wardrobe he had brought
urp from barracks a small chest which
was still locked. Until this morning
1:0104.7600'
ook:t
to vrif*beesiiily o
copper 'tablet oke y
Keith 'retarded the: eat
swiftly gno wing . s eutlatz .. t
not a t1d g ozve w'aUTcl aids' gpq'
'sess. It was an object whiff scan
face oP it, was gptended to he in
viplete except to its, TheaterIrene.
holder of treasure, a rdiln
mystery en:d' elf precious seer*. ,'
the little cabins up on the, Barren co
nistton head' said rather indifferent)
"You may find something among
things down there that .will help y
,out." The words .lashed• bads
Keith. Had the Englishman, in tha
cast al and. uncommunicative way
his referred to the-contentts of
chbst? Was it not possible that
held for 'him a solution to the mys
tery that was facing him in the pees
ence of Mary Josephine? A se
of conviction began, to possess him
He . examined the lock more closed.
and found that with proper tools i
could be 'broken.
He finished dressing and completed'
his toilet by brushing his beard. On
account of Mary Josephine he found
himself regarding this hirsute tra'g
edy with a growing feeling of dis
gust, in spite of the fact that it gave
him an appearance rather, disting
wished arid military. He wanted it
off. Its ehief crime was that it made
him look older. Besides, it was in-
clined to be reddish. And it must
tickle and prick like the deuce
when --
He brought himself suddenly to
salute with an appreciative grin.
"You're there. and you've got to
stick," he chuckled. After all, he
was a likable -looking chap, even with
that handicap. He was glad. ,
He opened his door so quietly that
Mary Josephine did not see him at
first. Her 'back was toward him as
she bent over the dining -table. Her
slim little figure was dressed in some
soft stuff crinkly 'frotn packing.
Her hair, brown and soft, was piled
up in shining coils on the top of her
head. For the life of him ' Keith
couldn't keep his eyes from travelling
from• the top df that glowing head
to the little high -heeled feet on the
floor. They were ,adorable, slim lit-
tle, aristocratic feet with dainty
ankles! He stood looking'at her un-
til she, turned and caught hire.
There • was a change since last
night. She was older. He could see
it now, the titter impropriety of his
cuddling her up like ,a baaby in the
big chair -the im•poesi,bi.lity, almost:
'Mary Josephine settled his doubt.
With a happy little ery she ran to
him, and Keith .found her arms about
him again and her lovely mouth .held
up to be kissed. He ,hesitated for
perhaps the tenth part of a second;
if hesitation could be counted inthat
space.. Then his arms closed about
her, and he kissed her. He felt the
snuggle of her face against 'his
breast again, the crush and sweet-
ness of her hair against his lips and
cheek. He kissed her again uninvit-
ed. • Before he could stop the habit,
he had kissed her a third time.
Then her hands were at his face,
and he saw again that boli. in her
eyes, a deep and anxious questioning
aehind the shimmer of love in them,
something mute and understanding
and wonderfully • sympathetic; a
mothering soul looking at him and
praying as it looked. If this life
had paid the forfeit' the next instant
he could not have helped kissing her
a fourth time.
If :Mary Josephine had gone to bed
with a doubt of his brotherly inter-
est last night, the doubt was remov-
ed now. Her cheeks flushed. Her
eyes shone. She was palpitantly, ex-
citedly _happy. "It's you, Derry,"
she cried. "Oh, it's you as you used
to be!"
th0,i
Ia
n-.
y,
y
ye:
to
t
of
this
i
use'
t
She seized his hand drew him to-
ward the table. Wallie thrust :in his
head from the kitchenette, grinning,
and Mary Josephine flashed him back•
a meaning smile. Keith saw in an
instant that Wallie had turned from
his •heathen gods to the worship of
something . ,infinitely more beautiful.
He no longer looked to Keith for in-
structions.
Mary Josephine sat down opposite
Keith at the table. She was telling.
hint with that warm laughter and
happiness in her eyes; how the sur
'had wakened her, and how she hadhelped Waffle get breakfast. For
the first tithe Keith was looking at
her from a point of vantage; them
as just so much distance between
them, nn more and no less, and the
''„ht tvaa right. She was. to him,
.xquisite. The little puckery 'lime
.ame into her. smooth .forehead when
ie apologized for his tardiness by
explaining that he had not gone to
lied until one o'clock. 'Iler concern
was delightful. She scolded him.
while Wallie 'brought in the break-
fast. and inwardly he swelled with
the irrepreesible exultation of a groat
professor. He had never hart any-
one to scold him like that before. It
was a senlding which expresser] Mary
Josephine's immediate proprietorship
of hint; and he wondered if the Mea-
sure of it made him ]oak as silly as
Nom, sxti...R.r� txY:ru'ri:;„.;u.als`•'ji
Wallie. • His plans w'ere,. •al%
had intended to .play the
of one- who had partly lost Vs
cry, but throughout the bteel,fast,J
exhibited no sign• that he wan a,.
think but healthfuily''nertnal,
Josephine's ;delight at the irritposa'vee
ment of his condition, since lastrtgbb
shone lir her face and eyes, and :he
could see that she was strictly,' Milt
with appaarent unconsciousness, -
guarding herself against saying any
thing that, might - bring irp the. dread)
shadow between thein. She had al.
ready begun to fight her own fight
for'him, and the thing was so beautie
fien that he wanted to go round to •
her, and get down en his' knees, and'
put his head. in her lap, and tell hen
the truth.
•
is
(Continued next week,)
- The only time a )'gorse gets seared
nowadays is when he meets another
horse. --Typo •Graphic
* * *
•
Asked if he • might have the" last '
dance with her, she replied, "You've
just had it."
* * *
:He hasn't an enemiyr:in the world -r •
but all his friends hate him,... -.Eddie:
Cantor (roadie broadcast). •
* * *
The mother of a flying cadet at
Randolph Field waster: "Now, .Son, .
do be careful and whatever you .do
fly low and slow."
A bachelor is a man who never ,
makes,the same mistake once. - Ed.
Wynn:
* * •*
An old-fashioned •gi"rl blushes when
she is embarrassed; a modern girl is
emfbarrassed when she blushes. -,Ai
Bernard (radio broadcast). .
LONDON AND WINGHAM
South.
e--> P.M.
Wingham 1.55
Belgrave 2.11
Blyth ' 2.23
Londesboro 2.30
Clinton 8.08
'Brucefreld 3.27
Kippen 3.85
Hensel) 3.41
Exeter • ... 3.55.
North.
A.M.
Exeter 10.45
Hensel]. 10.55
Kippen 11.01
Brucefield , 11.09 •
Clinton 11.64
Londesboro 12.10
Blyth- 1 . 12.19 •
Belgrave 12.30' '
Wingham .. 12,51
Goderich
Clinton
Seaforth
Dublin
Mitchell
•
•
Dub i
Seaforth
Clinton
Goderich
C. N. R.
East.
West.
A.M.
6.45
7.08
7.22
7.33
7.42
P.M.
2.30
3.00
3.18
8.31.
3.43
11.19 9.32
11.34 9.45
11.50 • 9.59
12.10 10.255
C. P. R. TIME TABLE
East.
A.M.
Goderieh 5.50
Menset 6.55
McGaw 6.04E
.A u'hurn ' 6.11
Blyth 6.255
Walton 6.40
ArcNaught 6.52
Toronto 10..25
West.
A.M.
Toronto 7.40
'.McNaught 11.48
Calton 12.01
Blyth 12.12
Atrhurn 12.23
McGaw 12.34 •
Menset .,... 12,41
Goderich 12.45
DEBTS COLLECTED
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