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Show ciTTTUDAY, NOVEMBEB 29,1924 AMERICAN FORK CITIZEN "SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 1924 -jg victor Rousseau Jm CHAPTER VI (Continued.) tTerwirU8 Ee started; he stared it her, and then fell back upon the niow,' hiding hli face. Joan turned way. Again she had touched some hidden spring of memory; what It was gin could not know, but It wa evident evi-dent that she bad wounded him to the quick. - ' , Perhaps It was the contrast between the office he held and the man be bad im Perhaps It was the knowl- edge of his secret bondage which had broken him down' at last" and driven him back to the Institute, and Myers. Miss Went worth, -1 - want you te jock my door and take away the key," he said. "I may nav a secret supply sup-ply somewhere.'' . 1 don't think you bare," answered Joan. "Yon have none In this room, have your -.-nor 1 believe that And, anyway, I am going to trust you. That Is part of your light I am going to trust you till tlx." -H ald..good night Jn. a low tone and turned away. Joan went up" to her room. She lay down, but did not undress. She was afraid, and she ad-mltted ad-mltted that she was afraid, and nothing noth-ing but Lancaster's desperate need of her would have kept her an hour longer In the Institute; - But she was exhausted from the day, and soon she was asleep. She slept that sleep which brings bo recrentlnn for the Jaded body or the overwrought mind. All the while she was back with Lancaster In his room be'ow, In spirit. She knew that,' i as lie had said, the drug bondage was only the climax of his difficulties. What had there been that had wrecked the man? Jenkins' hint at stolen funds? Of one thing she was) , sure: Lancaster, sunken as he was, was Incapable of dishonesty. No, she must have placed a wrong construc-- construc-- bob- on Jenkins' words. . J:" And In her sleep her brain went on puzzling over the problem. Only her body was quiescent, and It lay wearily In the bed like some chained captive. But suddenly the urgent summons of the brain shook from It the trammels tram-mels of sleep. Joan listened Intently, (wake upon the Instant, as some wild creature of the woods that senses danger. Somebody was coming along the corridor. The footfalls were so soft and stealthy that she might have thought she was dreaming but for the sense of Imminent danger, the knowledge of some malevolent design. The steps stopped and began again, the merest touches of sound against the alienee of night, the lightest patter of bare ' fat outside the door. Then the door began to open. There waa no moon, and the faint starlight outside only teemed to rente ren-te darker the obscurity within. Yet, through the darkness Joaa knew that hand lay on the door jamb, and that -a -figure- watched her across -th- room,- She leaped from her bed. "Who's tbrtr she called, la tones) that nmed to shock the silence. She could see nothing now, and ah dared not turn aside to light her lamp. tteknewttat the figure waa crouching crouch-ing somewhere. She heard the softest - Mwthlnj, but could not locate it In the room. She felt the atmosphere of that surrounded her. She started . to OTo the room, groping, with arms ""stretched. Then she found the Intruder In-truder and flung herself upon it Her left band closed about a wrist, Pple and strong. Her right hand held another hand. They wrestled in the darkness, their bodies tense but nationless, only the hands and wrist niusdt's at strife. Not a sound came from their Hps. 1 Jonn thought It was a woman's hands she held. Her fingers sought the menace In the closed fists. The Jeft hand of-the Intruder-was empty; Dt In the right was a Jagged piece of a broken tumbler that tinkled to . the floor." As it feu, the other leaped at her as strung upon wires. Joan saw, very the face of Mrs. Dana. She Wa in her nightdress, with her feet Dns. and the ferocity of her attack eemed atrocious in contrast with the xpi-esslonless, masklike features. Unly the eyes seemed alive, and they onrned with Implacable hatred, as If m ttef adltated revenge for all the a cumulation of a life's wrongs. tj. Woraan DOr backward. "" tompfel! crashing to h floor In debacle of splintered glass. A chair overturned. Mrs. Dana's handa ought Joan's throat, and they atrug-. atrug-. Jled ln the darkness, crashing her nd there, upsetting the water pitcher, . mahlng into the swinging door, underneath her Joan heard Mrs. Fra-moving, Fra-moving, and doors opening. Ther ere stepe on the stairs. fr a few "momenta ""Join " felt no atdi fw the onset of the madwoman. tWMrs. Dana's, Impnlsf was joog ex- fiausted. Joan got fior arms about her body, pressing down the other's arms to her sides. v Sirs. Danu suddenly became be-came passive, and the lights in the eyes seemed to go out like extinguished extin-guished candles as the brnln clouded. Joan got the womnn Into the corridor. At the farther end a little lamp was burning. Mrs. Dana went with her quietly, walking like a mechanical figure. At the head of the stairs appeared the matron, wearing a white wreppev. Behind, her. Joan saw the. startled faces of Myers and Lancaster. The girl led Mrs. Dana Into her room, and Mrs. Fraser came at her heels, breathing hard in terror. "Did she hurt you?" she gasped. "How did she get out? Who let her out? I should have told you she waa dangerous, but I never dreamed that she could pick that lock. Did she-did she-did she try to harm your "She had . a . piece ..of glass," said Joan, "but I took It away from her." "There was no glass In her room last evening," said the matron with conviction Lancaster was approaching. Joan was astounded to see the look' of anger on his face. "Who opened that door?" he sh'.mted. "It's all right now, Doctor Lancaster," Lancas-ter," came the matron's voice from within. But Lancaster was shaking w ith excitement. ex-citement. He swung round' upon Myers. "You ure responsible for this!" he cried. "You know my one point that hus to be carried out I told you to have a bolt put on the door after she got out before." "Now, "now, doctor, don't excite yourself," said the secretary soothingly. sooth-ingly. "You're a sick man, you know. It was unfortunate, but I'll see it doesn't happen again." Lancaster seemed beside himself with fury, far more angry, indeed, than the situation appeared to war rant "She might have killed Miss Went-wortfi Went-wortfi 1" he stormed. "I've stood enough from you without this. I've suffered you, God knows, until you've sapped my strength and crushed me under your feet, and made me less of a man than the meanest drunkard In Mlllville, but now It's ended. Get out of my sight I Leave the institute tomorrow to-morrow !" "Say," shouted Myers, "am I responsible respon-sible If that woman got out of her room? What'a the sense of pleklng on me? pidn't yon hire a num to take care of your patients. Ain't Mrs. Dana a patient? Now there's been enough said, I reckon. Ton know what I mean, doctor. Batter go back to your room and forget what you've said tonight" "If vr I aee your face after tonight, to-night, by O d Hi kill yon!" shonted Lancaster. Myers slunk swsy toward the stairs. "I reckon you'll be sorry tomorrow: But IH hold yon to what yoa've w-I w-I alnt going te see that nurse bust up say work here." He scowled fearfully at Joan aa he went down the stairs, a grotesque. -itmostefoTnH-fin,-JJ--'00, nnt Joan hardlv heeded the man. She did not know the" cause of Lancaster's sudden outbreak of rage, w .h. knew that It was part of the whole dreadful problem, and that, in fighting Lancaster's driving devil, she was at work upon the darkest corner of the dark mystery. "I think, Doctor Lancaster, you had better go and lie down again," she said. "No barm has been done, but I am very sorry you were awakened." n waa leaning against the wall. looking at her with a strange expression expres-sion upon his face. He breathed quickly, like a mun In uncontrollable agitation. Just then the matron came out of Mrs. Dana's room. ,"Eow did It happen, Mrs. FraserT" asked Lancaster. The matron snapped the key In the. lock before answering. "I don't know, Doctor Lancaster," she answered. an-swered. "The lock's all right It couldn't have been picked. And I swear I locked It last night Somebody Some-body must have let her out." "That hound I" began Lancaster, but Joan interposed. "She may have found a key she said. -;r The matron shook her bead. "No key would fit that lock, except the right oner she tiniwered. "Why should anyone tamper with that lock?" Lancaster muttered. Suddenly Sud-denly he broke down and covered his face with hlshihds. Hi shoulders shook convulsively. Joan put her hand on his arm. "Doctor .Lancaster, you must go back to your room now," she said. "It was nothing, and It Is all ended." , "Miss Wentworth,' if jou will stay with me tlllslx,lt.win Jjejpjne to, hrnneFTiiyseir. Tt leJBSl WweTr 51 yielding to morphine; It is my thoughts. If you knew how one's llf comes crowding upon one in the dark- "I'll stay with you." said Joan. "Let us wait on the veranda." aald Lancaster. "The air is stifling In this house. Put on a wrap and I will wait' for you there." Joan ran upstairs and slipped on her cloak. When she got back Lancaster Lan-caster had not moved from the door. The secretary was packing noisily In his room. They went outside together, closing the front door behind them, as If to shut in the evil Influences In the place. There was a. hint of morning In the air. In its freshness,. In the paling of the night above the eastern mountains. moun-tains. Lancaster led the way toward the chairs at the end of the veranda and wiped the dew from them with. hla handkerchief. "When f u came here," he said, as they sut down, "when on the Impulse I asked you to come here, I did not dreftm that my Impulse was the prompting of my good angel." "You said I was your good aageL" said Jonn lightly. "It as more than chance," said Lancaster seriously. "It was the hap piest thin that has ever come to me.".! "Doctor Lancaster! am only too J giaa to ouve. naq me opportunity ox being of service. It Is what every nurse would have wished." "No," he corrected her. "You hav brought more than service Into the Institute. Do you know what yon have brought? Hope!" She could hardly restrain her tears, so deeply was she "moved. She put her hand upon his. "Doctor Lancaster, Lancas-ter, jt must never leave you again," she answered. "Lift up your eyes ahdIookar the httls. How can- on help but hope? Hope lies all 'about you." "When a man lives In darkness," said " Lancaster gravely, "he cannot lift up his eyes. I was broken 4ong before I became a victim of that damnable drug. I fell Into the hands of unscrupulous men. I had nothing to live for. I dwelt In shadows, hardly hard-ly knowlng.the. dream from the reality, and all the men and women afioufme seemed like shadows until you came. Tm Hound I ' Bsaan Lancaster, but Joan Interposed. I could endure say life only because of its unreality; it was like a dream. a nightmare, which, I knew, could not last forever." 8 be did not answer, and re mained silent for a long time. It 1 "sn"toTXgnTen7 peered against the tops of the hills. A bird awoke and called; another an swered her. "But this Is bop," said Lancaster, taking Joan's hand. "Ton hav brought it to me, and I am never going to lose it again. I am going to wis ! my fight against the drug, and then I am going to regain all else that I hav lost" , He seemed upon the verge of a reve lation, but be said no more. And now the day was dawning. The hall clock struck six. Joan looked at Lancaster. His face waa twisted with pain, bis lips were blood-. less from compression. - "You have made a splendid fight, Doctor Lancaster." she said. "Now you shall "have your hypodermic." He rose up eagerly, and she could see the terrific strain that he was un dergolng In the trembling of his limbs, the eager look In his eyes. They went back Into the house. A light stlu burned In the secretary's room, but no sound came from It At the door of Lancaster's room he stopped. "Miss Wentworth," he said, "I have something to say, and something to promise. I am not going to take that dose.' Tonight, perhaps, but not now. If I take It and free my body from its suffering, I lose my soul again. I lose tbat hope which you have given me. And I want to give yon this." - Be handed ber a little bottl of. morphine, three-quarters fulL "It Is the bottle which yon took frbm the - drawerf my-desk. jester-day," jester-day," he said. "I stole tt from your pocket when you leaned over me last nlghtTwhen you told me I was winning. win-ning. Lwas a thief but I am a penitent peni-tent thiefrand I restore it intact" "No, Doctor Lancaster,", answered the girl, smiling as she took the bottle from him. "That has no bearing upon your character; It was a symptom of your disease;" .' "WoUt ljldnlt.take anjj!! saJd.Lan; easUrrwltlT" lh" transient ffaifi" of humor lighting np hla face. "I had the hardest conceivable battle over that bottle. I set It np before m. and I held my right hand back with my left, and I said. 'I am winning. In Joan Wentworth's name.' And at last the drug devil waa beaten. And no more morphine until' tonight "Doctor Lancaster, you have been brave and wonderful!" cried Joan, profoundly stirred. "Remember that I One of the tiravest men I have ever known. Never tell me again that you have lost your power of will. We are winning fust." He placed his hands upon her shoulders shoul-ders mid stood looking at her. Upon his face was an expression of Indulgence, Indul-gence, as If he was considering her cntlaiKlnsm In the light of his experience experi-ence of life, so much deeper , than hers, so riuii'h the more profound. Then the look passed; the years seemed to fall from him, and strength came Into bis fuce, "O.nl hless you, my dear," he said. and I '-nt mid kissed her forehead. She turned and ran upstairs. Her heart wus slnclns In her breast Tb .flood of sunlight that came through the eastern windows. Illuminating the dusty interior of the old building. seemed like a spiritual light flaming Into this dark place where shadows had dwelt so long. She went Into her room anj dressed for the day. na(i never felt so happy before. She And now the lire in Avonmoutn naa oe- conie as dim as a. dream, ami " she cared no longer whether she returned or not. A charge had been granted to her, a man's life put Into her keep Ing; that trust she meant to fulfill She had saved Lancaster, and ah would outwit Myers, and remove tb only obstacle to Lancaster's recovery, She knew the man Incited the doctor to drug himself. She would hav known that even without the matron's statement to her. : But why-should Myers wish Lancaster to drug himself to death? He must be acting for others. Whom ? No matter. Oneethe drug evil wns overcome; the plot -would b oevealed and overthrown. As she stood at her window Joan heard footsteps on the patn oeiow, Looking down, she saw the secretary leaving the house, currying a suitcase, Her heart almost stood still, anrety Myers had not acknowledged aeieai and taken Lancaster at his word? Surety he did not mean to go without another struggle? . She watched him cross the grass beside the chicken coop to wnere me weed-grown path Joined tne winaing road. He wus outside the grounds of the Institute now. and he was stm going In the direction of the station. He disappeared behind the hedges, appeared ap-peared again, a long way off, and vanished van-ished finally. He was gone, and the air seemed the sweeter, the day more glorious Joan nlmost dnncea aownsiaira 10 the dining room. Lancaster was at the table, waiting for her. Mr. Myers has gone away!" she cried. "Doctor Lancaster, your evil spirit has departed, suitcase and all." Lancaster looked at her gravely. I know," he said. "Did Jip come to you? Did you discbarge dis-cbarge him?" "He did not come to me. He did not tell the matron he was going, it looks tad." "No," said Joan firmly, struggling against ber conviction. "He waa afraid. You will never see him again." "You know" what the Bible says about the unclean spirit who loaves a man. and returns with seven others. when ha fin da bis home swept and garnished r "Doctor Lancaster, he has no hold on Ton. Ha can do nothing, and he will never dare to return." "Well, my dear, w hav respite, at all events." Lancaster answered. "So let ns eat our breakfast, and aft- through the woods, sod well hold the fort together until evening.' Chapter VIII Bythe-exi morning -thewn oo doubt tbat victory had been won. There waa color In Lancaster's face, a lightness In his step; snd, best of all. he was psychically whole. The drug devil still clung to the nervous refuges of Its physical domain, the bands still trembled, the man started at sudden sounds : but tbe shifty, furtive, lying spirit had 'taken Its de parture --- Joan only discovered afterward what Lancaster must have endured. The treatment had been more berole than Joan had known, with her own limited experience, and the antidotes which she administered, under Lancaster's Lan-caster's own directions, were purpose ly limited, for fear of supplanting one habit with another. Lancaster had gone through the worst of his ordeal; and yet certain features of his Illness were puzzling to both of them. The symptoms of morphine poisoning, eluslv and protean pro-tean as they are, seemed In this case irreconcilable with those classically accepted. There was Lancaster's complete com-plete prostration on tbe morning wben Joan discovered tbe nature of his Illness. Ill-ness. He told her afterward tbat h bad 'been conscious all 'the tlme but physically Inert, as If paralyzed. That And a certain let hargy Vemaf 0Sd""6he of the last symptoms of the case. The Intimacy of, the sick room, born of their struggle, had become the most natural thing to both of them.'' Tb passing of Myers had wrought an extraordinary ex-traordinary change In the atmosphere of the; "Institution, And somehow the news of Lancaster's recovery had spread Into Mlllville. Joan Inferred ' that even the cfttintipporjehnhev. cotted the Institute, bur now two mothers moth-ers brought their babies to Lancaster, I and It was amasing ana oeununui iv, Joan to see the doctor's trsnsforma-tlon. trsnsforma-tlon. his Jolllness and tenderntas to ward the children. . Tin oslng my respite." b aald whimsically. "1 want to get weu io face my narder battl." "It la no respite." answered Joan. "You are free now. Doctor Lancaster! It Is only a habit of thought that holds you." There ensued three wonderful flays after the secretary's departure, always to remain clear In the girl's memory. They were three days of uninterrupt ed recovery. After the second no more morphine was given. The flght was won; there was no questioning thnt ' "1 suppose yon will have to return to Avomnouth soon." Joan suggested. He turned a startled look on ber. -Yea sooh." he said, and fell into a gloomy meditation from wuicn sue could not arouse him. ' That afternoon a telephone message enme from Thompson, a hill village, fifteen miles .distant A farm-hand had been crushed by a falling tree; would Lancaster come at once and aee If anything could be done for him?- "Would you like to come with meT asked the doctor. "If I can be of help." - "Of Course yod can the greatest help. I shall need you badly, perhaps to- , administer an . anesthetic," b answered. an-swered. Lancaster telephoned to Jenkins for the buggy, and half an hour later they were driving along the country road Into th heart of th mountains. They They Traveled for the Most Part In : Silence. traveled for tbe most part In silence; Lancaster's thoughts were occupied with his prospective case, pnd Joan was content to sit quietly at bis side and watch the changing panorama of the land she loved and knew so well. Tbe road ascended continuously, un til at last, when the sun was low down In the sky, they entered Thompson, a tiny settlement in the' very heart of the mountain- peaks. It was a serious case, and the -patient was already comatose. Th tree hsd fallen across the chest, crush ing It and driving a rib Into a lung. i immediate operation offered ths only hop,) and th doctor decided t perform It In th cabin. . Joan, having bundled ont tb family and th neighbors, administered tb ether. Sh bad never been greatly Impressed by tb legend of tb skilled surgeon with tb wonderful touch; ber first operation at Atonmontb bad seemed to berCk sort of glorified pfombtsg, nnd th leisurely -manner ,sL, th surgeons bad reduced th art to a science la her estimation. Now ah revised ber opinion as, sestad at th patient's head, sh watched Lancaster worklnlrwlthin a compass of fraction al Inches, where a slip would hav been ' deadly.-- His' fingererwbldt bad trembled aa he btfl tb rains, were as steady as th steel Instruments he held, his deftness and precision were amazing; and wben at last the opera tion was ended, and tb patient's recovery re-covery announced as probable, sh could not conceal ber enthusiasm. They were to remain at the cabin overnight In case of a change for the worse, returning to th institute in the morning. After a scrappy meal they had wandered to the end of. th village, toward ,a patch of woodland that was encroaching on the tiny settlement set-tlement The long summer twilight still held the land, although the moun tain tops were already vague and shadowy.-They stood there, looking down toward tbe level country under them. "I think you are th most wonderful wonder-ful surgeon In the world," said Joan, "And you see I didn't faint this tlm," sh added. "Faint? Why should yon faint?" asked Lancaster, looking at her with a puzzled expression. "You seemed to regard my weakness weak-ness In the operating room as a sign of my Incapacity," ah replied, a little chagrined . that. h. should have dismissed dis-missed th matter from bis mind. Lancaster looked at her with that strange- glance whlch .seemed, always designed to hide his thoughts. . Then his face softened. "Jonn, do you know that I owe everything on earth to you to you, my dear?" he asked. And he took her in his arms and kissed ber. " " "That's what you mean to me," he said. "I can't lose you; I want you to. fl.lL tJia. Ufe that you hav given SATE I cents per word each Insertion Inser-tion payment mast accompany advertisement ad-vertisement FOR $1.00. SEIIVICE-Pure J.,F. Crompton. 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Thornton Drug Store Cenol Agency And at tbe touch of hla llpa on hers Joan knew that In truth sh lovea him ; all that she bad beard of th man's past his dissolute life, tb taut of Avonmoutb, waa forgotten, sn only knew that she loved him, not with the wild passion of which sh had heard, but with s quiet and abid ing fondness, hone the weaker for Its qualities of calmness; and it was tb ': 11 back to'fi. - I JT. J. J most natural thing in th world that -she, who had given him llf e again, ' should give her own llf also to this wonderful, strong man who bad rises above his wrongs and driven tb besetting be-setting devils from him by valorous strength. Ber heart was lifted upl serene and trustful sh returned bit kiss. ' .. "I lov you, too," ah answered.' 'Nothing of th past ahall ever com between us." They were at tb verg of th for est. upon height tbat overlooked Mlllvill and Lancaster, bill villages, bnt now outspread ' la tb shadowy iriaJn-bcnesikthejaJL could be dimly discerned rrom-tnst spot by daylight Far in tb distance were tb coastal lands, nearer tb cul tivated belt,' nearer stm tb llttl farms, and th matchless mountains all about them. It wan their bom country both of them were thinking . that ; the amell of th rich soli was In their nostrils, snd In their hearts th sense of bom. i "Joan, can a man begin to build up his life sgaln st thirty-eight, after b baa missed everything?" asked Lan caster, after a long alienee. ' "Yon have proved that he can ah answered. "But yon have not missed everything, my dear. You ar a very great man. and a man with a great work in the world. Many men hav gone along the path you took, but few have found the strength to turn back aa you have done." - - "Joan, I want to tell you something. I was engaged to be married once yeara ago.. She ran .awny on the evening eve-ning before our marriage day. It was the beginning of my downfall I thought t loved her." nis face was haggard. Divining his distress. Joan slipped ber hand Into his. .. "Joan, dearest" aald Lancaster, after a pause, "I have often thought that aome day I would tell you all tb wretched story of th past But X have been thinking differently today, 1 was entrapped by an unscrupulous man. 'who' robbed me -of - everything..' tbat made life worth living. But ...there, la. nothing that would mak m afraid to look my fellow mefl In tb face. It Is myself whom I hav shamed and humiliated. Joan, I want to say nothing, not because I would koep anything from you, but because I want to start my life anew. I shall never goack to tbe Institute." . , "You mean, dar?r , , . ' . (To Be Conttnutd) |