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Show CHAPTER X 13 To the outside eye Anno had predated pre-dated no more dolorous and -i.lejec-t.ej an aspect tliau any of the others. No one, not even Ilassett, noticed that her demeanor was iu any way other than wliot might have been expected. Had they been ahle to see into her nu'ud the group ut Gull Island would tuve received its second stuggoi ing shock. jjjie kept as much to herself as she could without rousing curiosity. She und to think and to he alone whe ii he would focus her thoughts, hold them trained ou what she knew and what might develop. She wanted to U-i-p her mind on the main issue, inhibit in-hibit any fruitless speculations, wait and lie ready. Joe was on the island und with the guarded causeway would May on the island till after they had puie. Her hope, giving her strength to go through the automatic actions of behavior, was, that suspicion not being be-ing directed to him, he could lie hid-tit hid-tit n till they left and then make his jjciuwiiy. She knew that (.lubriel had gone to White Beach for a week's deep-sea fishing, und (Juhriel was the one person besides herself who knew Lhat Joe hud not crossed to the main-limd. main-limd. They surely would lie moved mvay helore a- week and If, during that time, the belief that he had gone remained unshaken, he was safe. So far she was confident that no m.-picion had touched him. She did not see how it could. They were all .-alisUed that he had left, her answer to Kawson had been accepted in good faith. There would be no investigating investigat-ing of ins movements for there would he no reason for doing it. lie had passed outside the circle of the tragedy, trag-edy, was eliminated as the actors were who had gone on the earlier boat. If they didu't find him ! Where was lie? Me itad entered the living room by the door that Jed to the kitchen wing and rear staircase. That would look as if he was in the house. Hut she knew thai no doors were locked on (Jull island and that he might have come from outside, choosing a passage through the darkened dark-ened building rather than expose himself him-self to the moonlight. If lie was in the house he must be in the vacant lop story and she was certain every sound of heavy footsteps had been noted by her listening ears that the men had not been there yet. That would argue that they felt no need of hurry. What conclusions were they . coming- to behind the closed doors of the library had they lixed on some one of the party, the obvious ones, 1 Inru or Stokes V She, checked these disintegrating surmises, drew her mind back with a fierce tug of will. That would come later. If Joe got away she would tell, "onfess It all, go to Jail. It didn't matter, what happened then. Only "hat was here before her counted now. When the search of the island started she went up to the side of the Kallery lhat skirted the line of windows. win-dows. The group of men came Into her line of vision, moving across the hat laud between life house and the ocean. She sat crouched, watching wllli set jaw. l'resently they dropped over tin. edges of the cliffs, then in-lo'ticulate in-lo'ticulate sin ges of prayer rose in her, ''Had pleadings; and, her hands clasped against her breast, she rocked back and forth as if in unus-niagahle unus-niagahle pain. But they always re-"IH'fared re-"IH'fared without him, went down "Kid", came up. scrambling through the stony mouths of ravines always lilaiut him. When lliey returned to ",e ''"use, she fell back iu the chair, ''er eyes cbised, whispering broken 'rds of thanksgiving. With her breath and her voice tin-iler tin-iler control she went downstairs. She M'vw now that he must be in the house. After lunch she drifted out on the l'uhiiy wiUi the others and from Ikere saw I'.assett nod the two ollicers 'f the law go down the path to the lum KrV(;, iM.llowing Sybil s move-"'ems move-"'ems on the I'oint thai would take some lime. Mrs. (niell said s'-e Was going to tile kitchen to help -M-ss I'inkncy (if u wasn't for lhat "''k she thought she'd go crazy), and lie advised Anue to go upstairs and h down. "You look like the wrath of (bid. ""tie.v." she said, hooking . iier hand ,:" 'Ugh Anne's arm and drawing her "li her. "You can't sleep, no one "in-cis (,IU yo ,.,lt snvtl.h IU 1 1"' bed and relax you get some "f rest that way." Ann.- went with her. Mrs. Cornell's 'ep dmppu, i ., ,T;n,-iI1:; v-u.v JS ' 'e.v crossed the lh ing i-,im. h,-r arm 'r.iw,n- Anne closer, her heart v voice '"'Milled lo whisper: Jon know anything?" "N' how should I? lo you think "'2 h-ivp any one In mind V I key have pvn. dearie, as we nil They had reached the do ,r '""'' s;ie opened It warily. "And one j'! ""''"' I'm thinking jrs one and the ' iiio:i,,.nl 'I'm thinking It's the '" ;'r ami i!v third moment I'm think-'' think-'' 'fs neither of th-m " ,V"'-V passed through the doorway went down the hull, slopping at ' foot or ihe stairs. Mis. Curiae! I V, ' '.?.r'Ml u ,llst consoling word: can be thankful for one thing, ""v. uot uelng here." ,1 1 H.';" . I'm r.ot saying he had nny-"18 nny-"18 to do u lt), it. Bu: these cases ' ByGERALDINE BONNER trSTr Service (Copyright by Tbe Ei.bba-Mcrrtll Co.) you read about them in the papers. Kvery little thing traced up. And she ifnd Joe having been at loggerheads logger-heads they'd be pouncing on Unit not telling you anything, sending up your blood pressure with their questions. You're spared that and it's worth keeping your mind on. Nothing so bad but what It might be worse." She went on down the hall. Anne, on the stairs, waited till she heard the sound of the opening door and Miss I'inkney's welcoming voice, then she "I Thought I Was Never Going to Get a Word With You," He Said. stole upward very softly. She did not go to her room as Mrs. Cornell had advised, but tiptoed to the end of the hall where the staircase led to the top story. She ascended with delicate carefulness careful-ness letting her weight come gradually gradual-ly on each step. Despite her precautions pre-cautions the boards creaked. The sounds seemed portentously loud in the deep quiet and she stopped for the silence to absorb them, and then, with chary foot, went on. At (he top she stood, subduing her deep-drawn breaths, looking, listening. The middle of the floor was occupied occu-pied by a spacious central hall furnished fur-nished as a parlor and lit by n skylight. sky-light. Giving on It were numerous small bedrooms, the doors open. The stirrings of the curtains, billowing out and drooping, were the only movements in the place. She moved to the middle of the room and sent her voice out in a whisper: "Joe,. Joe are you here? It's Anne." Her ears were strained for an answering an-swering whisper, her eyes swept about for a shape creeping Into view, but the silence was unbroken, the emptiness empti-ness undisturbed. She entered the rooms, peered about, opened cupboards, cup-boards, looked for signs of occupation. Again nothing vacancy, dust in a lil in on the bureau tops, beds untouched un-touched In meticulous smoothness. One door was closed, near the stairhead. stair-head. Opening this she looked Into .1 storeroom, a large, dark Interior lit by iwo small windows. They weie dust-grimed, and the tight came liv dimly, showing upturned trunks and boxes, pieces of furniture. lines '-if clothes hanging on the walls. "Here." she thought, and with her heart leaping In her throat, crossed the threshold : "Joe. It's Anue. I've come to help you." Nothing stirred In the encumbered space, no stealthy Ixxly detached itself it-self from the shadows. "Oh, answer m if you're there!" Her voice rose The h:ule of a tone. It cnnie buck from the raftered roof In smothered s-upp'icdion : the ilencu it had severed closed n.ciiin. deep and secretive. She fWiNsl to stay burner and slipped, wrailhllke, down the stairs. In tier room sh" sat down and considered. con-sidered. He must have been there. Where else could he bo unless In one of the mux.-eupie-d apartments in the lower floors. But he hardly would have dared that wi!h people coniin.-and coniin.-and going. l'e had been afraid, doubted her as lie had always done. s r possibly found a hiding place too shut away for her whisper to penetrate. pene-trate. Tonight she would have to get food to him. take k up when the men were in the library and the others safe in their rooms. She could do nothing more and went downstairs in the hope of feeing fee-ing Bassett. Since morning she had longed for a word with him. Xot that she had any idea of telling him. the direful secret was hers alone to be confessed later on some awful day of reckoning and retribution. But she wanted to see him. get courage from his presence, feel the solace of his arm about her. She was so lonely with her intolerable burden. The living room was empty, but listening ut the hall door she heard the murmur of men's voices in the library. They were In conference again and might be long. She parsed out into the garden and sank down on one of the benches. The breore moved among the flowers and sent shivers down the great wisteria vine trained up the house wall and ascending ascend-ing to the chimneys. She looked .it it, Its drooping foliage, stirred by a quivering unrest, showing ihe fibrous branches intertwined like rope.v an old vine such as city dwellers seldom see. There were clouds in the sky, hurrying- while masses driving Inland and carrying the breath of fog. They liad blotted out the sun and were sweeping their torn edges over the biue. If they kept on It would be dark tonight no moon but 'there was the man at the causeway. She sat with drooped head Immersed Im-mersed In thought, her hands thrust into the pockets of her sweater. It was . thus that Bassett found her. Life leaped into her face at his voice , and she stretched a hand toward him. "Oh, I've been hoping to see you," she breathed, already trained to a low wariness of tone. The words, the gesture, pierced his heart. She looked so disconsolate, so wan, her face the pallor of ivory, her i black hair always shining smooth, pushed back from her brow In roughened rough-ened strands. He had charged himself him-self to keep from her any knowledge of the interest in Joe, but had he been of the loose-tongued sort that unburdened unbur-dened itself, the sight of her devastated devas-tated beauty would have sealed his lips. "I thought I was never going to get a word with you," he said. "This is the first moment I've had. How are you ?" She asserted her well-being, and he studied her face with anxious eyes. "Dear Anne," he murmured, and lifting her hand, pressed it to his lips. The two hands remained together, the woman's upcurled- Inside the -man's enveloping grasp. "That faint, feeling last night. I suppose that will bleach you out for a while?" "Oli, I'm nil over that. It was a crazy thing for me to do, going down and then knocking the lamp over. They didn't think anything of it, did they?" "Anything of It? Why no, what would they think? You explained it to them and tlrey were satisfied with .what you said. And afterward I told Williams that he could absolutely trust your word." "I gave -i great deal of trouble and" Her voice was husky and she cleared her throat. After a moment she went on : - "I suppose you can't tell me anything any-thing anything of what they're do ing?" "No. it's nil a mess so far feeling about In the dark nothing sure." "But they must be feeling abou: after some one?" "Darling, what's the good of talking talk-ing about It? We don't get many minutes min-utes together and we don't want to spoil them. Let's try to forget Just while we're here." "Forget I" she exclaimed. "Nothing would make me do that but being dead myself." She leaned her head on his Rhou! iter mid drew her hand from his to clasp It round his arm. He said nothing for a moment, perturbed by her words and tone. He had though: of getting her away. h.-iing bee moved to llayworlh. Now he felt he must do It at once, the shadow of the tragedy was too dark on her spirit. "I've got to uet her out of here ' j I go to jail for it." he said to him j se'f. "She can't stand nun h inure of I thin." j (TO DC CONTINUED.) i |
