Show leg aa 11 1 I fry Y ty beey aza co ch li SYNOPSIS 1 at private view of the chatworth chatsworth Chat worth I 1 personal r r wo nal estate to be sold at auction the crew r idol mysteriously d sap pears harry bressy who was present describes the t ng to his fiancee flora G isey and her t aberon mrs clard clara britton as being abeln k ke aa a heathen god v v th a beautiful gaii sap ph re ro set in the head flora mora meets mr err an engi sl s1 man in discussing tl ti e disappearance ds i appearance arance of the ring the elpio ts of or in boolish thief farrell wand are re a I 1 led kerr tells flora a that he has met harry somewhere but cannot place him leward Is offered for the return of he ring harry takes flora to a cb ch nese s to buy an engagement ring an n exquisite sapphire set in a hoop of brass Is selected harry urges her not to wear it until it Is reset the possession of if the ring seems to cast a spell over 1 I 1 ora sl e 8 becomes uneasy and ampre flora is startled by the effect on oil kerr when he h gets a gl gi apse of the sapphire iipp tapp hire the poss biety that the stone Is part of the crew idol causes flora much anxiety unseen flora discovers ds d covers cars ara ransacking her dr dressing essing room flora refuses give or sell the stone to kerr and suspects him of being the cef h et sl e dec des to return the ring to j harry but he tells her to keep it for a lay day or two ella buller tells hora blora that C ara Is setting her cap for her father judge buller flora plora bel bei eves harry aus us pacts kerr and is waiting to make sure of the reward before unmasking the thief kerr and clara confess their love tor for lach each other clara is followed by a cl ina man harry admits to flora that he knew th the e ring was stolen he ile attempts 0 take it from her flora goes to I 1 the ban mateo place with mrs airs herrick and rites writes kerr and clara to come CHAPTER continued it was plain to flora from the mo ment she set foot over the threshold that the house was to be no mean al ly IY of theirs but mrs airs herrick vms a making it help them doubly in their hard interval of waiting alone to gether with unspoken unspeakable things between them things that for mere debeny of honor could not be uttered with nothing but these to think of nothing but each other to talk at they must yet in sheer desperation and suspense have ginev stably burst out with question and confession had not the great house been there to interpose its perso personal nall ty and the way mrs herrick was making the most of that the way immediately even before she had shown anything she began to ty fy the spirit of the place as the two women stood with their hats not yet off in the room that m as to be flora s talking and looking out upon the lawn and her silence with her espres elve sive self as well as with her words mrs herrick was reanimating it all the while they lunched and rested still in the upper looms overlooking the garden and later when they made the tour of the house holise she began unwinding from her memory in of its early beginnings pieces of its intimate personal history as one would make a friend familiar to another friend and these past his torlea tortes and the rooms themselves were leading flora away out of her anxious self were soothing her prying ampre hens lons were giving her a detach nent merit in the present till what she so anticipated lay quiescent at the back of 0 her brain but it was there and now and then when in a gust of wind the and shadows danced on the dim polished floors it stirred and at the sound of wheels on the drive below it leaped and all her tears fears again were in her face at such mo me ments the two women did look deep ly at each other and the suspense the premonition hovered in mrs her rick beks s eyes it was as unconscious as s involuntary as flora floras s start at the swinging of a door but no question crossed her lips she let the matter as severely alone as if it i had been a jewel not her own yet it came to flora all at once that here for the first time she was with one to whom ehe she could have revealed the sapphire on her neck and yet remain anchal ledged ah ali youre you re too lovely she burst out at last it is more than I 1 deserve that you should take it all like this as it there really anything I 1 the elder lady ladys s eyes wavered a little at the plain words I 1 im in too deeply doubtful of it to take it it any other way she said that Is why I 1 feel most guilty pora explained for dragging you into it and then bringing it into your bouse house she glanced around at the high quiet darn damasked asked room such a thing to happen here herel ah ali my dear mrs herrick s laugh was uncertain the things that have happened here the things that have happened and been endured and been forgotten and see she said laying her hand on one of the walls the peace of it now in spite of the consciousness of a friendly presence in the house her fears ears increased as the afternoon abed waned and her thoughts went back to what she had left behind her and forward to what might be coming the one person whom she so longed for or and so dreaded to see he might ie be on oil his way now he ile might at this moment be hurrying down the hedged tone lane from the station and when ne he should come and when they two were face to face there would be no other nex time for them everything was ci getting hard every thing vas was getting too near uie the end to be ital leable any more it ivas her last cam chance anc e t to 0 make him relinquish his un unworthy unwAr w thy purpose perhaps his last chance to save irom from cap she found she hadn t a thing left unsaid an argument arguin ent left un used the wind which had fallen with ap preaching evening was only a whis per among the trees the greenish white bodies of statues in the shrub bery glowed ruddy gathering their skirts from the griss that glittered with the drops of the last shower arm in arm the two women walked down the broad central gravel drive between ribbon beds of flowers from here numerous paths paved with white stone went wandering under snowball trees and wild apple losing themselves in shrubbery but one made a clear turn across the lawn tor for the rose garden where in the midst a round pool of water lay like a flaming bit of the sunset day among the bushes red and rose and white the elder woman in her black the young er in her gown more glowing with a veil over her hair walked and jeiter ing looked down into the water see ing their faces ref reflected I 1 acted and behind the he tangled brambles and the crimson sky they did not speak but at last their companionship was peaceful was perfect loud and shrill and shriller and more piercing from the west wing of the house overhanging the garden the sound reached them an alarm that hat set flora s heart to leaping startled apart they listened would that be is that for youa I 1 think its for me the words came from them simul and almost at the same in stant flora had started across the lawn the sight of an maid coming out on the veranda and peer ing down the garden set her running fleetly its a telephone for miss gilsey the girl said oh thank you flora panted she knew so well the voice she had expected at the other end of the wire ire that the husky boyish note which reached her attenuated by dis tance struck her with dismay and disappointment ella oh yes yes ella what w was as she saying ella was using the telephone as it if it were a cabinet for secrets clara told me you were down there she was explaining I 1 saw her this morning yes well and she could hear ella draw in her breath I 1 in so relieved I 1 thought you d be too to know I 1 was per factly right she was after him flora faltered after whom there flashed through her mind more than one person that by this time clara might possibly be after why after papa of course ella s injured surprise brought her back to the romance of judge buller her voice rose in sheer bewilderment well 9 ellas voice rose triumphantly I 1 got it out of her myself I 1 just came right out to her at last she seemed awfully surprised that I 1 knew but she owned up to it and what do you think I 1 bought her off bought her off offa 9 flora cried fach fact that ella brought forth seemed to her more preposterous than the last why yes its it s too ridiculous what do you think she wanted at that question flora floras s heart seemed fairly to stand still that was the very question she had been ask ing herself for days and asking in vain ella s voice was coming to her taint faint as a voice from another world she wanted that I 1 atle little picture that picture of the man called farrell wand don t you remember papa mentioned it at supper that evening at the club isn t it funny she kemem bared it all this timea well she wanted it dreadfully but harry wanted it too and papa said he had promised it to harry but I 1 got it first and gave it to her ella s voice end ed in a high note of triumph flora floras s if anything rose higher in despair oh ella t it seem ridiculous ella argued that it if she really wanted him shed she d give him up tor for thata ohno I 1 mean yes flora stam stain feied yes of course thank you ella very much very much the last words were hardly at addible dible the re receiver ceiler fell jangling into its bracket and flora leaned against the wall by the telephone and closed her eyes for a moment all she he could see was clara with that little little picture how well she could remember how clara had looked that night of the club supper from the moment judge buller had spoken of the picture how all three of them had changed clara and kerr and har y everything that had seemed so phantasmal then every thing she had put down as a figment of her 0 vs imagination had meant just this plain fact all three of them wanted the picture for his own reason kerr had turned aside from the chase but harry had stood with it to the last and now when finally the prize had been assured to him clara had it at this moment she had it in her hand at this moment she knew what was the aspect of the figure in the pic ture whether it showed a face and if a face whose floras hands open ed and closed oh she whispered to the great silence of the great house awaiting him where Is hea he why isn t he here all those terrible things which might be happening beyond her AI F t I 1 5 fa Z it I 1 C R t let Us be continental reach procession ed before her had clara already snapped the trap of the law upon kerra and if she t yet what could be done to hold her off offa flora turned again to the tele phone slowly she took down the re beiver and gave into the bright mouth piece of the instrument the number of her own house presently the voice of shima sp spoke ekr to her mrs britton bad gone out to dinner tell her shima flora command ed tell her to come down on the earliest train she hesitated then finished in a firm voice tell her not to do anything until she has seen me shima would tell her but mrs britton had been out all day he ile did not know when she would be back the words sounded ominous in flora floras s ears she turned away was everything to be finished just as she had light enough to move but before she bad had a chance the sound of spinning wheels on the drive started her to fresh hope and sent her hurrying down the stair it was the phaeton returning from the last train through the open door she saw the figure of mrs herrick expect tant taut on the veranda then the car ariage came into the porte cocheres and passed with a rush she reached the veranda and stood there looking after it she wouldn t believe her eyes she that it had returned again empty mrs herrick s voice was asking her what shall we doa shall we serve dinner now or wait a little longere oh its it s no use flora murmured he won wont t come to tonight night he hell 11 never come she drooped against the tall pillar 4 my poor child mrs herrick too her passive hand if sl e read in the profound discouragement of flora a face that something more had trans aired than a mere non appearance she did not show it but waited alert and quiet while they gazed together out over the darkening garden they clung to each other peering timorously down the drive A little gust of wind took the garden and be fore the trees had ceased to tremble and whiten a man had emerged from their shadow and was advancing upon them up the middle of the drive flora mora s heart leaped at sight of him all her impulse was to py fly to meet him but she felt mrs herrick II errick s hand tight en upon hor wrist as it if it divined her madness his light stick in his hand his step free and incautious as ever gray and slender and seeming to look more at the ground than at them the two women watched him drawing near his was the seeming of a quiet guest at the quietest of house parties to meet him flora saw she must meet him on the h gh ground of his reserve As he hel came under the light of the porte cocheres his look his greeting his hand were first foe to mrs herrick we were afraid we had missed you altogether said she it was I 1 who somehow missed your carnage carriage was hardly expecting to be expected at such an hour flora watched them meeting each other so gallantly with a trembling compunction mrs herrick who trusted her was giving her hand in sublime ignorance it was vain that flora told herself she had given warn ing she knew she had thrown the A II o 0 softening veil of her spiritual crisis over the ugly material fact had she said I 1 vant ant you to uphold me while I 1 meet a thief whom I 1 love and wish to protect hes magnificent in all other ways rays except for this one ob session she knew mrs herrick sim ply would have cried impossible out I 1 et there they stood to and as eis flora looked at them she could not have told which was of the finer temper kerr kerrs s bearing was so unruffled that it seemed as it if he had flown too high to feel the storm flora was passing through but when he turned toward her in spite of himself there was eagerness in his manner he looked question angly at her as it if no time had intervened as if a moment before he add said to her through the carriage window I 1 will give you 24 hours and now her time had come tp speak it was nas the appearance of the maid that broke their unity the last course was on the table the last taste of its pungent fruit essence on their tongues and what was the girl girls s errand now nowa 9 the eye of her mistress was inquiring some one has come mrs herrick the woman s proper formula seemed to fall her she looked as it if she had been frightened some one onea mrs herrick showed asperity what he ile is coming in As she spoke the girl shrank a little to one s de with his long coat open hanging from the armpits with ruffled hair and lips apart and jed from breathless ness a little smiling harry appeared in tl e doorway kerr leaned forward mrs herrick did not move moie she was facing the last arrival and she was smili smiling nL more flexibly more naturally than harra but it was vas floia who found the first word you 1 I 1 I thought it was clara she was mas struggling for nonchalance tor for poise at th tb s worst blow so un expected clara won t be down harry said advancing hoax ho d ye do mrs her rick how dye do kerra how dye d ye doa said the engi engl sh man without rising flora gripped the arms of her chair to keep from springing up in sheer nervous terror A possible purpose pi in harry s coming that even mrs her rick s presence would not defer shot gh her mind was he alone or were there others men I 1 ere for a fearful purpose w acting beyond in the I 1 alla but harry had t timed bis his back upon the door behind him with a finality that declared whatever dan ger had come into the ho he se be was A as corn com in h s presence I 1 ve d ned thanks be said but stripping off his greatcoat accepted a chair and the glass of cordial mrs airs herrick offered him the ruddy hard |