Show 5 DARK HOLLOW I By ANNA KATHARINE GREEN I Author of The uThe L Case The liThe of the Whispering Pines Pine I Initials Only U Masterpieces of Mystery etc Serial rights right of It hI story controlled by the McClure Newspaper Syndicate IS T lie He and she must faco him the thc nan man whom she sho by bp her blind bUnd and untimely efforts to regain happiness for Reuther Reu Ecu ther had brought ht to this pass The ordeal was too bitter for her broken broko spirit and shrinking aside ehe she covered eo her faco face with her hands like one who stands detected in a n. guilty act 4 Par Pardon on 1 I she entreated for forgetting etting Reuther's Reuthers presence in her consciousness conscious conscious- ness nets of the misery she had brought upon her benefactor I never meant r 1 I never dreamed dreamed- Oh no Was Vas as this the judge jud e speaking The The- tone was an admonitory ad ad- monitory not a suffering one It was not oven that of a n man humiliated or distressed You have had an nn un fortunato fortunate experience but that is over o now and so must your distress 9 be Then as in her astonishment Bhe she dropped her hands and looked up he hc added very ery quietly Your daughter has been much disturbed about you but not at all II a about out Oliver or his good name She knows 1113 my son too we well wel and so do you and T I to b be lon long affected affect affect- ed b by the virulent outcries of a mob seeking fo for an object upon which to expend their s silken Swaying yet yet vet in body and mind quite unable in the tue turmoil of her spirits to reconcile this strong and steady y man with the crushed hell and despairing figure figulo she had Imd so to beheld lately shrinking un der er the insults of the crowd Deborah was vas glad to sit silent under this open rebuke and listen to Reuthers Reuther's ingenuous ous declarations though she knew that the they brought no conviction and distilled no real comfort either to his mind or orb b c r Yes I es mother darlin darling the thc young I girl irl was as These people have not ot Heu OI Oliver c in iu years but we have bae and aud nothing they ther can call say nothing that anyone can cau au say SHY but himself Immel could coul ever e shake m 1113 my belief cf in him as a man mar incapable in in- capable of n a really wicked act ad He HeJi might Ji ht be capable e of ot striking a sudden blow blow moat t men are under great reat provocation provo cation but but to conceal coneal stich a fact fact to to live hc for years ears enjoying the respect of ofa a nIl all who knew him II with the knowledge fc festering in his heart of another having suffered Buffered for his bis crime that crime that that would woul IJ be ha impossible blo to Oliver Some words worde ring rine in in th the heart lon long Jong after their echo ha has loft left the tho e ear car lr Impossible Im Iiii possible ible Deborah stole stoIc a n look Jook at the judge Rut But he hc was casing cazin at Kent Reuther her where he lie IC w well veil might ht gaze if his hiR sinking heart craved support or his a abashed mind sought ht to lose itself in tho of this pure soul with its lovin loving uncalculating un calculating instincts HAm Ant I not riot right mother Ah Au r must sh she answer that t Tell tho the judge who is as confident of Oliver cr ap i I I 1 am 1111 myself that you that t. t you ron arc are confident too That you could no more J e fi him of this thil abominable le act than you could believe it o of n mj my J father I 1 will the will tell the judge stammer stain stam- mer d the unhappy mother mottier Judge she she- briefly declared as she sho rose roso with the help of her daughters daughter's arm my mind agrees with vours yours in this matter mattor What iou you think think 1 t think And that was all she sho could say sax As she fell again into her seat scat the judge turned to Beuther Reuther Leave your m mother thor for a little while ho urged with thai rare gentleness gentle gentle- ness ho lie always showed her Let her rest here a low ow OJ minutes longer alone with me Yes Reuther Beuther murmured Deborah seeing no o way o or of a avoiding this inevitable ineita ble blo interview I am feeling bettor every minute I will t come soon The Tho young onu girls girl's i ils il's ls l's eye faltered inHered from from one to the other then tIlen settled with a strange and imploring look upon her ller mother lIa Had her clear intelligence pierced pierces at last to the core of that mothers mother's moth moth- cr's ers misery Had she he seen what Deb Deborah orah would have have- spared her at the cost costol of ol her ber own life It would seem seeni so sn for when the mother with great t re effort began some seine conciliatory speech the young youn girl irl smiled with a certain sad patience and turn turning ill I s Judge Ostrander said as she softly withdrew You have han been very ery kind to allow me Inc to mention a 3 name and discuss a subject you ou have hac expressly el I want tl to show 1113 my gratitude tude Jud Judge e Ostrander by never nover r referring ferrin to tot it again am without asking your our permission That you know 1113 my hero mind hero hero her head rose with a fort tort sort of lofty pride which lent a dazzling quality to hei usually quiet beauty beauty and anil that I know yours is quite enough for me md l A uA A noble girl a mate mato for the thc best fell feU from tho jud judges judge's es e's lips after a silence disturbed only by the faint far off oft murmur of a slowly dispersing throng throng- Deborah made mado no answer She could not yet trust her hr courage or her voice Tho The judge jude w who o wa was standing near concentrated his look Jook upon her fea lures tures Still she he made no effort to meet his e eye c Ho Ire did not speak and m tho the silence grew appalling To 10 break it ho hI stepped away and took a glance lance out of oi the window T There ere was nothing to tobe tobe be he seen there the fence hid hirl all allbut but but lip can continued tinned to look the UIO shadows from his soul settling deeper and deeper upon his countenance as e each ch heavy bea moment dragged b by When lit lu- finally turned it was with a powerful effort which communicated itself to her and forced her hr long lont bowed head to rise riso and her troubled mind to disclose itself You wish to express your di displeasure ure rind and hesitate on of Reu flu ther she fat faltered r d You You nee need nut We are arc quite prepared to leave house if it our presence reminds rewinds von vou too much of UI the calamity r I have o brought rought upon YOu vou bv In- mv inconsiderate rat revival ro of a past you ou had every reason to believe be lieve liev buried His reply was uttered with great reat courtesy Madam 1 a am said ho he I have bave never neer had a n thought from the first moment loment of J your our coming of any change ID in tho the arrangements ar ni- we then entered into nor noris noris noris is the demonstration wo have hae just witnessed wit wit- a 3 calamity of sufficient import importance ance to again divide ide this household To connect m my hi high h minded son with a crime crimo for which ho he had no motive and from which whir he could reap no benefit is if you will pardon my Y plain speaking at a moment so critical even greater foU folly than to exculpate after all these years tho man whom a conscientious jury jury found guilty Only a mob could so indulge itself in individuals will wiIl not dare She Sho thought of the tho letter which had been passed up to him in in court and surveyed him with an astonishment she made no effort to conceal Never had she felt at a n. greater disadvantage with him N Never eer had she understood him less Was this attempt at at unconcern so pitiably transparent to her made in inan inan an endeavor to probe her ber mind or to deceive his bis own 1 In her hor anxiety to determine she hesitatingly remarked Not the man who writes those anonymous letters 1 Letters i Involuntarily his hand band flew to one of his inner pockets Yes vou voLt have hao found them have c you not lying about the tho grounds K No o. o He Ho looked startled Ex Explain Explain Explain Ex plain yourself said aid he What lotters letters lot lot- Kot Not such as as- as Again his hand went to his pocket but shrunk hastily back as sho she pulled out a crumpled crumpled crumpled crum crum- pled bit of paper and began to smooth it out for or his bis perusal What have ha you 3 therel he ho cried c Such a letter as I sp speak ak of Judge e Ostrander I picked it up from front the thc walk a n day or so ago Perhaps you ou have come upon the like No why should I If He ETc had started ba back k but his eyo falling involuntarily in upon the wor words s sho had spread out him he rapidly rapid rap ly lr read them and aghast at their import im hu ha- ha port lort glanced th the paper to her tace and back baek again ngam crying He Ho means Oliver vcr Wo Wo have ha an enemy Mrs an In enemy 1 Do you know now know hero he ho leaned forward an and his eye no now burning with u-ith man many passions into hers hers hers- who hers who who this JJ enem enemy is is II Yes 1 es Softly as tho the word u-ord came carne it scorned seemed to infuriate ate him Seizing herby herby her herby by the tho arm ho he was about to launch against her the thc whole weight of his aroused nature when she sho said taid simply II ITo Ho Ho is a common common bill biU poster I I. I took pains to find this out I 1 I was as 35 inter lUter interested I ested as as you JOlt could be he to discover thc the theauthor author of such an outrage A A bill hill poster Yes Judo Judge Ostrander II What is his name I I do not know kno- I only know that he ho is resolved crt upon making you YOU trou trou- ble It was he hc who incited this riot He slid did it b by circulating anonymous m Us missives and ani by forgive bv-forgive forgive me for telling you this this ng scrawls of the same samo ambiguous character on fences and on walls and even ou on on-on- on Hero terror tie tied her hor tongue for his hand had bad closed about her arm in a forceful grip and tho the fire in in the tho ovo Oo holding hers was wits a consuming one the the rails rails rails-of- of of bridges s. s Tim Tho err cry was involuntary hut but not so tIll tho steady bottling of the tho lips which followed 11 it t and the tho determined poiso poise of 01 his body as ho lie waited for her next word Miss fiss Weeks time the little lady opposite i saw sa- the latter and tore toro it off But tho JUi mischief had alrea already y spread Oh o ome I me mc Send me from your house Ho HI gave n-e n no token of hearing her Why is this man my enemy he asked I do not know an- an any any- such per per- ton son a as you describe i c Nor Nor r. r she sho answered more mere quietly A A bill hill poster o ter Well VeIl ho he has baa done ono his worst I t shall hall think no more about him And the burning eye grow mild and the working lip calm again with witha a determination too devoid of sarcasm to be bo false falso It was 1 a change for which Deborah was in n no wise prepared Sho She showed her her amazement a as lD ingenuously as fiS achild u Ii child and he be observing it remarked in ina ina ina a different from any ho he had used yet et You Y do not look well vell You arc are still suffering from the tho distress and confusion sion into which this thit wretched swoon has thrown you ou Or can it bo he that you OU are fire not hot yet ot convinced of our wisdom in ignoring this diabolic attack upon one whose hose reputation m is is us mis dear to us a as our own vu 0 If that is Iii so 50 an and I too tee that it is ii let mo me remind you 3 of a i fact which cannot can can- not nol be hc now to you JOU if it is to others of happier memories that no accusation of this kind however plausible plausible and and this is not plausible plausible- plausible plausible-ean ible can hold its own for a da day without evidence o to back it it And Ana there thoro is no evidence against 1113 my son eon in this ancient matter of m my friend violent death save a atho tho the one coincidence known mown to man ninny that he ho chanced to bo ho somewhere in the tho ravine at that accursed hour A petty point i upon which to hang mu this lato into a and d elaborate dali- dali orate insult of suspicion And Aud hi his voice Oiti lau rang out in in a but hut not as it ill would have rung or oi- as Deborah thought it would havo havn had lii hits hit rung mind b been cn as fret as hi his words When it had quite ceased Deborah throw ot off tho lat hint remnant reUl of physical as ns well as moral weakness u and deliberately roso rose to ll her r feet She believed sho understood him hun no now and nUll sh she ro- ro the thu effort ho lie was wai making and aud audI won would III have havo it gladly had s she e I dared I But li dill did not dare clare If ha lie were fero really as i ignorant as ho lie appeared of or the extent ot of tho peril threatening Olier Olio Oli- er r 8 1 name if ho lie had lintl cheated during these long years into supposing that t the e secret which had undermined his own happiness was an un unshared oue one amid nud that his own vu conduct since that hour he had characterized as accursed had ou gi lu i no point to tho the cha charges they had j just t heard hurled burled aal against tit hisS his on sou ou thou he lie ought to bo La ln undeceived rant that right right speedily Evidence did ld exist connecting Oliver Olivor with this crime Crillie evidence as us t sure re un nay yet yet surer r than that raised against t her her husband and no mans man's s 's laughter no HO not oven even his fathers father's fathers father's least of all ali all his fathers father could could cover coyer up the tho fact or avail a against the tho revelations which leh must follow now that the tho scent was on Honoring as she did the tho man be he fore foro her understanding both hoth his misery nu and the tho courage courte he ho displayed in this superhuman ti effort to hide hi his ll own convictions ecu con tile she hc gathered up nil all her re re- sources un and with a n resolution no It less s brave bravo than his hia said firmly U You You are ue too much respected d in iu this town Judge Ostrander for or any allY c tiou tion of people eople however thoughtless or orrile orvIle orvile vile rile to to so tiO follow t the c lead of a 3 Jew Ion down miscreant as to greet I et you to your face with these damaging assertions unless ss they thou thought ht they had evidence and anti good evidence too with which to back these assertions It was the hurling of an arrow poisoned poisoned poisoned pois pois- at ut the point the tio la launching of a bomb into the tho very citadel of his security Had ho he burst into outbreak gripped ripped her n again ain or fiercely shown her the tho door she sho would not have hsc been astonished Indeed she ehe was prepared for sonic some such result but it did not come como On the contrary his answer was almost mild thou though h tinged for the first firt time with a touch of that bitin biting sarcasm sarcasm sar ear for which he had once been fa fa- fa- fa If they had not thought he re re- re- re If tf you had said if they had hadnot hadnot hadnot not knot known n then I mi might ht indeed havo smelt danger People think strange things Perhaps you ou think them too too n II Time The moment was critical aJ S She o saw now that ho he was sounding her had bad been sounding her ber from the first Should sho shu let Jet everything go eo and let him know kno her mind mindl or should she continue continuo con con- moo to conceal it itt 1 In either cither course lay danger if not to herself and Reu Ecu ther than to himself and Oliver Olier She decided for tho the truth Subterfuge e had bad had its day Tho The menace of the future called for the strongest weapons which lie at tho the hand of man She therefore answered Yes I have havo been |