Show V V ca 11 pa M ean C CD D rhodes 15 1914 OP t 0 2 compan ta CHAPTER XVI continued lie ila was pointing again but in A very I now As AB her anxious eye ec sought bought tho the place ho he indicated her face flushed ausher crimson with evanescent joy just whore where the open ground of 0 the gully melted incited again into the tor for est eat the figure of a roan man could bo be seen been moving very quickly in another mo ment it had disappeared amid the foliage straight Sra ight for the station announced volin ced mr sloan and taking out lila ilia watch added quickly the train Is not due for 15 minutes hell catch it the ilie train south yes and the train north they pass here mr air black turned a startled eye upon the guide dut but routhers Reu thero face was still alight she felt very happy their journey had not been for naught lie would have six hours start of hla his pursuers ho be would be ba that illich sooner in shelby ho he would hear bear the accusation against him and refute it before she bhe saw him again out but mr air blacks thoughts were less pleasing than hers hem lie ho had never had more than a pasil passing tir hope of olivers innocence and now ho he had nono none at nil all tho the young soung man had fled not in response to his fathers telegram but under tinder the impulse of his own fears they nley would not und find him in shelby when they returned they might never cover find fand him anywhere again A pretty story to carry back to the judge As lie ho dwelt upon tills this thought his bis reflections grew more and more gloomy and he had little to say any till he reached the turn where the two men still awaited them lu in the encounter which followed no attempt was made by either party to r disguise the nature of the business which thus had brought them to gother the man whom mr air dlack black took to be a shelby detective nodded as they met and remarked with a quick glance at reuther so youve come without halml im sorry for that I 1 was in hopes that I 1 might he be spared the long ride up the mountain mr black limited his answer to ono one of his sour hour smiles whose horse Is this came in per demand from the other man with a nod toward the animal which could now bo be seen idly grazing by the wayside way aide and how camo came it on the road load alono alone we ve ran can only give you these facts rejoined d the lawyer it ramo came from lodge it started out ahead or of us with the gentleman we had gone to violt on its back we ve did not pass the gentleman on the road and it if he his has not passed you ou lie he must have left the he road somewhere on oil foot fool lie he did not go back to the lodge mr air black 1 1 I am telling you ou the absolute truth make what you will of it IL ilia his father desires him home and sent a roes mes sage hage this message this young loung lady undertook to deliver and she did do liver it with the con consequences sequencer I 1 lieve 1 1 it if you doubt me take I 1 oui our me glo it Is not an easy one and tile iho only man roma remaining ining at the lodge la Is deat deaf as a post mr dlack black has told the whole etory averred the gulde guide they looked at reuther 1 I 1 have nothing to add 11 said bald she 1 I have hao been ter terrified rifled lest est tile the gentleman you iou wish to seo see was thrown from the horses back over the precipice hut but perhaps he found some way of setting getting down on oil foot lie ho is a very ver strong and daring man the treel tree ejaculated tile the detec lives companion ile ho was from a neighboring locality and remembered t one natural ladder up tip the ho side aide or of the kully gully yes ves the tree acknowledged mr it sloan that or a fall lot let us hope it was not a fall As he be ceased a long screech front from an approaching locomotive woke up tip tile the echoes ot the he forest it was answered by another from the opposite dire tion thith noth trains were on time the relief felt by reuther could not be con can healed the detective noticed it it im wasting asting time alina here said he excuse tare me mr air dlack black it if I 1 push on head ahead of you ou lt if we don dont t meet at the station we shall meet in shelby mr air blacks lacks ll mouth twisted grimly lie ho had no doubt doubton of the latter fact next minute they the were all cant bantering cantering ering in the lie one direction the detective detec the very ery much in the advance alet let me go with you to the station entreated reuther ts as mr black held beld up U i B s arms to lift her from her horse at we door of the hotel allut his refusal was peremptory ill be back in just five minutes said tie he and without waiting for a secona pleading look he be lifted her gently off and tarried carried her in aben he returned return eil as aa ho he did to in the time he be had bad but ono one word tor tar lier her nono said he be thank god she with a boje la ie pot list a smile to add to hers to A yr yer w withdrew I 1 I 1 h d row y rn e brif gone north CHAPTER the curtain lifted it was dark when mr dlack black came into shelby shelbi and darker still when h ho rang the bell of 0 judge Ost randers house dut but it was not late and his agitation had bad but fow few minutes in which to grow before the gato gate swung wide aldo and he be felt her hand in his bis sho she was expecting him thero there was no necessity for preliminaries and he could ask at once for tho the judge and whether he was strong enough to bear disappointment deborahh Debo answer was disconcerting ive not seen him lie ho admits no body when I 1 enter the library ho he retreats to his bedroom I 1 have not oven even been allowed to hand him his letters I 1 put them on in his tray when I 1 carry in his meals mt als 1 I am afraid he never will bear from oliver the boy gave us the slip in the most remarkable manner I 1 will tell you iou when wo we get inside when she bhe had heard him through shu she looked about the room they atre wt ro in with a lingering abstracted gaze he hardly understood till he saw it fall with an indescribable aspect of sorrow upon a picture which had lately been found and relating upon tho the wall it was a portrait of olivers tn mother another 1 I 1 am disappointed she murmured in bitter reflection reflect lou iou to co herself 1 1 I did not expect oliver to clear himself but I 1 did expect him to faco face his bis accusers it if only for his bis fathers sake what am I 1 to say now to the judge nothing tonight in the morning we will talk tho the whole subject over I 1 must first explain myself to andrews and it possible learn his intentions tent ions then I 1 shall know better what to advise did the officer you ou met on your return from tempest lodge follow you to shelby 1 I have bae not seen him that Is bad lie he followed oliver it was to be expected oliver Is in canada undoubtedly which means delay then extradition its that follow fellow flannagan who has bag brought this upon us the wretch knows something which forbids us to hope alas yes and a silence followed during which such entire stillness rested upon the house that a similar thought rose in both minds could it be that under tinder this same root roof annd only separated from them by a partition there brooded blooded another humin being helplessly awaiting a message which would never come anti and listening but how vainly for the step and voice for which lie he hungered bunger cd though they were we tho the prelude to further shame and the signal for coming punishment so strong was this thought in both their minds that the shadow deep ened upon both faces as though a presence hid had passed between thorn them arid and when mr dlack black rose rus as ho he very soon did it was with an evident dread of leaving hw her alone with this thought they were yet set in the hall tile tho good night nigh faltering on oi their lips when hen suddenly their eyes flashed to gether in mutual question and deborah bent her car toward the street an ali automobile was up stopping stopping before the gateas deborah turned and looked at mr air black ciack then tho the bell rang never had dad it sounded so shrill and trat ing never had bad it rung quite such a ai summons through this des desolate house I 1 recoiling r ec she made a motion of en treaty go CO she whispered opeal I 1 cannot quickly he obeyed she eard card him pass out and down the bo walk and through the first gate then there mine line a silence followed by the open ing of the second gate then a sound like filhe smothered greetings rec tings followed by quickly advancing steps and a voice she knew how flow Is my father Is lie ho well I 1 annot enter till I 1 know it was oliver oilier come from some dis mot station or from some othar line fit 1 tell he bo hel hed believed unwatched tumultuous 11 rs her thoughts were she dared not I 1 indulge in them for a moment or she way to gratitude or any 0 ther other emotion there were words to I 1 tie be said words which must bo be utter ei I 1 on oil the instant and with as much tri ln as his own throwing the door wido she called down don the steps yeb he b Is 13 well come in mr air Os oil tr ander and KU ru too mr air black instructions instruction have been given me by tho the judge which I 1 must deliver at once lie he expects you oliver she went on as aa the two maa men bleeped in he bade mo me say to you immediately upon your entrance that much as aa ho be would like to bo be on hand to garpet you ho he calinet see you tonight for tonight at and up to r P certain hour tomorrow you tire axe to keep heep your own counsel when certain persons persona whose names he has bas given me ino can be gotten together in this house bouse lie will join you giving you your first farat deett meeting ng in ill the presence of othera afterwards ho he will eee bee you alono alone it if these plans dia heiress trOss you if you find the lie delay hard I 1 am to say that thai it Is IF oven even harder for him that it can be for or you hut but circumstances compel him to act thus and nd ho he expects you to understand and bo be patient young Os bowed 1 I have no doubt of 0 the facts he be hs her with an unsuccessful effort to keep his bis trouble out of his voice out but BS as my father allows mo me some explanation I 1 shall bo be very glad to hear what has happened hero here to occasion my imperative recall mr air dlack black glanced at deborah who was wae slipping away when they found theIn selves alone together olivers manner altered one moment said he before mr air dlack black could speak 1 I should like to ask you first of all if miss scoville la Is better when I 1 left you both so suddenly at tempest lodge she was not well I 1 I 1 sho she Is quite recovered mr air Os t tr rander onder involuntarily their glances met in a question which perhaps neither desired to have answered then oliver remarked quite simply my haste baste seemed warranted by my cay f fathera message five minutes one minute oven even Is of great importance when you have but fifteen in which to catch a train and by such a route you know my route A short laugh 0 escaped him 1 I feared delay possibly the interference but why discuss these unimportant mat matters teral but your reason for these hasty summons that Is what I 1 am ten ready dy now to hear and ho he hal aa lown iown but in such a way na as to throw As 3 face very ory much into the shadow this was a 1 elcome circumstance to the lawyer ilia his task promised to bo be hard enough at the best black night had not offered too dark a screen between him and the man thus sudden ly ay called upon to face suspicions the very shadow of which Is enough to destroy a life the hardy lawyer shrunk from uttering the words which would make the gulf imaginatively opening between thorn them a real it if not net impassable one something about the young man appealed to him something apart from hla his relationship to the judge something inherent in himself perhaps it was waa the misery he bo betrayed perhaps it was the memory of reu faith in him anil and how that faith must suffer butter when she ahe saw him next instantaneous reflections but epoch making in a mind like alko his alanson black had bad never hesitated berate before in he war pointing ting again but in a different direction now the foce of any duty and it robbed him of conil confidence dence out but lie he gave no P proof root of this in voice or manner as pacing the floor in alternate approach and retreat he bo finally anally addressed the motionless figure he could no longer ignore you want to know what has happened hero here it you mean lately I 1 shall have to explain that anything which has lately occurred to distress your father or make your presence here desirable has its birth in events which date back to days when this was your homo home and the bond between yourself and father the usual and natural one silence in that shadowy corneal but this the speaker had bad expected and must have exacted even it oliver had shown the least intention of speaking A man was killed here in the old d 4 tys pardon me it I 1 am too abrupt and another man wes executed for this crime you were a toy boy but you must om ozember ember ile ho paused one must breathe between the blows blob he inflicts even it if a one tie Is a lawyer that was twel a 0 bears ears ago not so BO long a unit as aa ba elapsed since you met a wait of 0 tho the streets and chastised him for somo some petty annoyance hut but both events the great and tho the little have been well remembered iera in shelby and when mrs 9 co villo camo came amongst us a month or so ago with her lato but substantial proofs of her husbands innocence in the matter of Ethe etheridgee ridges death there came to her aid a roan man who not only remembered the beating lie had received na AS a child but certain facts facia which led him to denounce b by pame name tho the pirty party destined to bear at v this his 1 lato day tile the onus of 0 the crime heretofore ascribed to scoville that name he 1 wrote role on brier end walla lad nd one day when your rather father left the courthouse a mob followed him biro shouting loud words which I 1 will not repeat buc but which you must understand were such as must be met and answered when tile the man so assailed to Is judge ostrander have I 1 said laid enough it if no ral your hand and I 1 will desist for to kight til glit iut aut L no movement took place in the shadow cast by olivers Ollre rB figure on I 1 tao wall before which mr black baa paused and presently a yoke was heard beard tron frow cher he be sat oat saying baying you are too merciful I 1 do not want generalities but the naked teth what did the men shout you have asked for a fact and that I 1 feel free to give you they shouted where Is oliver your guilty son BOB oliver you saved him at a poor buas expense but well have halve him yet yel you yott naked asked me for the words ur gontran der yes the pause was long less bet bat the yes came at last then another silence and then this peremptory domand ma nd out dut we cannot stop her mr black it if I 1 am to meet my fathers wishes tomorrow I 1 must know the ground upon which I 1 stand what evidence lies back of these shouts if you are my friend and you have shown hewn yourself to be such you will tell me tho the whole story I 1 shall say may nothing more mr air black was not walking now he be was standing stock still and aad in tho the a shadow hadow also and with this space anti and the double shadow between them alan ajao son black told oliver ostrander why the people had shouted wo we will avill have him yet when he be had quite finished he came into the light when ho he had bad quite finished he be came into the light ile he did not cot look la in the direction he had avoided from the first but his voice had a different note dote as he be remarked 1 I am your fathers friend and I 1 have promised to lits bu yours youra you nay may expect mo me here |