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Show is SYNOPSIS. At a private view of tha Chalwortl poinohiil ratala, to b aoht at auction, tin .'rw Idol niyaterlouisly dlaappoara. llnrrj sfsy, who win jreiient, ihtarrlbi-s tin iin to III fiancen, Flora Clllaey, and hti hapiT(in, Mm. Clara llrtttnn, a belim Ilk.' a heathen Rod, with a beautiful imp phlrn apt In the IkikI. Flora meets Mr Kirr, an KiiKllahirmn. In rilaiunitltiif tin jflmtppeitraiK of tha rln, tlm rxplolta ol n KiigllKh Ihli f, Farrell Wand, ara ra- ailed. Kerr ti-lla Flora that he ha mi'l Harry aouiewl.ere, but cannot plae turn .n,ij reward Im offered for I he return ol ih rlntf Harry take Flora to a Clilnrs -KolilMiiltli'a to buy hh i-iif!iiKnie!it rlnif An cxiiilMil aupphlie act In a Imop o bratm la eleet.-d. Marry uric-a her not ti wur It until It I reaet. 'the poHifiodoii of I ho rlnx ai'iiiiN to eaut a pi II tuer ir'toru. Sh' beeonea imeiiny ant) apprehensive. appre-hensive. Mora la auutled 'by the eft.-et on Kerr when ha xi-ih a trtliiipm- of tlm wupphlrn. Tlm ponHlliiltty tluit Hut atone i !art of the Crew Iilol enuaea Flora mm-li anxiety. 1'imwn, Flora dmeovem Clam rariaai klnit her ilr'UxInK room. Flora refusea to utva or sell tin- atone to Kerr, and atiapeetM htm of tx-lnir tha ihlef. Khe iliHiiha to return tlu rlnc to Marry, but h If Ha ber to kn p It tor a lfy or two. Flla llullcr tell Flora that Clara In petting her rap for her fattier, Jiiiliin Duller. Flora In Uv-m ll.irry aua-Jhm aua-Jhm t Kerr and la wulllnir to make aura of tlm reward before iinuiuKktnu the thief. Kerr nod Cliira ronfeHa (heir love for a' ti other. Clara la followed by a Clilna-nan, Clilna-nan, CHAPTER XIX Continued. "Well, for a fart, I know it In stolen!" De loaned toward her; and his arms, still flung out with the hands open as argument lind left them, seemed to her frightened eyes all ready for her, ready with his last argument, ar-gument, hi strength. She pressed back aralnst the glass until she felt It hard behind her. "Harry," alio whimpered, "If yotl caro anything, If you ever want ni for youra, you'll tak your hand away." Hhe meant It; who wan sincere In that moment, for all Khn Hhrutik from him. Iter body and mind would not have been too great a price to give him for Jho Kitpphlre. Tin n all at once ahe felt his arm around her neck. She couldn't move Iter body. She could only turn her x'ad from bin hot breath. For a moment mo-ment ho held her, and yet another Moment; and then, terrified at what this nirango Immobility might mean, ho rained her eyeg and ttuw he was not looking at her. Though he held lier fiiBt he. wan not connciouti of her. "HtraJglit over hr head ho looked, through the window and down Into tin? garden. Her pyea followed. It Say beneath, the wonder of Its morning morn-ing attpect all blanched and dim. She aw Ilia Hhouette of rotu) branches In black on the nky. 8ho saw the flowers -and buHhes all one dull tono. Hut in tho-midst of them the oval of tho path hntt white; and there, ai In the aft- prnooTi, Btandlng, ltniklng upward, wa the dark figure of a man. Her heart gave a great leap, Juat no Bhe'd been summoned once before that day, but wbat infernul freak had letched him back to repeat that dan-jeerouti dan-jeerouti sally, and brotiRht hlni finally .Into his enemy's grasp? She tried to make a gesture to warn hint, and Juat there Harry releaaed her, dropped her tut that she half fell upon the w lndow-neat, lndow-neat, and made a duab across the room for the light. In a moment they were In darkness. In a moment, to Mora pretmed HKulnwt the window, the garden sprang dear, and on the form-, form-, less figure below the face appeared, white In the starlight looking up. Kbe cried out In wonder. It was not Kerr. It was the blue eyed Chinaman. After her haunted drive, after her escsno. after Shlma's search, he was there, still Inexorably there; small, diminished di-minished by the great facade of the I house, but looking up at It with his f calm eye, surveying it, measuring lis height, numbering Us doors, trying Its r windows. Harry was beside ber : again, lie was tugging frantically at the window. It resisted. She saw his hands trembling while he wrestled with it. Then it went shrieking up ' and he leaned out. ' "What do you want?" he called, ' and, though he used no name, Flora ' saw ne knew with whom he was speaking. The Chinaman stood Im-' Im-' mobile, lifting bis round, white face, ' whose mouth seemed to gape a little. ' Harry leaned far out and lowered bis voice. "Go away, Joe! Don't come here; never come here!" There was a quiver quiv-er in his voice. Anger or apprehension, apprehen-sion, or both, whatever -his passion was, for tho moment It overwhelmed him, and bb the Chinaman stood unmoved, un-moved, unmovlng, at bis commands, Harry turned sharp from the window and dashed out of the room. Flola heard him running, running down the stairs. She hung there breathless, waiting to see him meet the motion-lens motion-lens figure; but while she looked and waited that motionless figure suddenly sudden-ly took life. ' It moved, it turned, It flitted, It mixed with shadows, became n shadow; and then there was nothing noth-ing there. In her turn she ran, up and up a twisted side stair, shortest passage to her own rooms. At least lock and key could keep her safe for the next few hours. After that she murtt think of something else. ! CHAPTER XX. I Flight. fly five o'clock in the morning she ' was already moving softly to and fro, ! ko softly as not to rouse the sleeping l Marrika. By seven her lightest bag was packed, herself was bathed, brushed, dressed even to bat and gloves, and standing at ber window with all the listening alert look of one In a walling room expecting a train. She was watching for the city to begin to stir; watching for enough traffic below In the streets to make her own niovenu rit there not too noticeable. no-ticeable. Vet every moment she waited wait-ed she was in terror lest her fate should take violent form at last and ai-nall her In the moment of escape. She listened for a foot ascending to her room with a message from Clara demanding an audience. She listened for the penl of the electric bell under Harry's hasty hand Harry, arrived even at this unwarranted hour with heaven knew what representative of law to force the sapphire from her. But all her household was still tm-llrrlng tm-llrrlng when at last she went, soft step after step, down the broad and polished stair and across the empty hall. She went quiet, direct, determined, deter-mined, not at all as she had fled on her other perilous enterprise only yesterday. yes-terday. She shut the outer door after was a stern cote In Mrs. Jlerrlck'i Voice. "I'm afraid I didn't quite realize bow much I was asking of you. Y01 have been very good even to listen tf me. It's right, I suppose, that I shouk go alone." Mrs. Ilerrick looked at her in dls may. "But that is impossible!" Then as Flora turned away, she kept hei hand. "Think, think," she urged, "how you will be misunderstood." "Oh, I shall have to bear that from the people who don't know." "Yes, and even from the one fot whom you are spending yourself!" Flora gave her head a quick shake "He understands," she said. "My dear, he Is not worth It." Flora turned on her with anger "You don't know what he Is worth tc me!" Mrs. Herrlck looked steadily at this unanswerable argument. Her hold oi Flora's hand relaxed, but she did nol release it. lier brows drew together, "You are quite sure you must go?" Mora nodded. She was speechless "Did Mrs. Ifrltton know you were coming to me?" "No. She doesn't even know that I am going out of town. She must not." Flora protested. "Indeed she must. You must not place yourself In such a false position. Write her and tell her you are going to San Mateo with me." "Oh, If you would!" Tears sprang to Mora's eyes. "But will you, even If 1 can't tell you anything?" "I shall not ask you anything. Now write her Immediately. You can do It here while I am getting ready." She had take authoritative command of the details of their expedition, and Flora willingly obeyed her. She was still trembling from the stress of their Interview, and she blinked back tears before she was nble to see what she was writing. It had all been brought about more quickly and completely than she bad hoped, but it was in her mind nil the while she indited her message to Clara, that Kerr, for whom It had been accomplished, was not yet Informed In-formed of the existence of the scheme, or the part of giient he was to play. Yet she wns sure that If she asked he would be promptly there. She wrote to hltn briefly: At San Mnteo, at the Herrleka'. I want you there to-iilKht. I have mml up my mind. As she was sealing It she started at a step approaching In the hall. She had wanted to conceal that betraying letter before Mrs. Herrlck came back. She glanced quickly behind her, and saw standing between the half-open folding doors, the slim figure of a girl slimmer, younger even than the one who had passed her at the gate but like her, with the same large eyes, the same small Indeterminate chin. Just at the chin the likeness to Mrs. Herrlck failed with the strength of her last generation but the eyes were perfect; and they gazed at Flora wondering. With the sixth sense of youth they recognized the enactment of something strange and thrilling. Another instant and Mrs. Derrick's presence dawned behind ber daughterand daugh-terand her voire "Why, child, what are you doing there?" and her hands seemed apprehensive In their haste to hurry the child away, as if, truly, In this drawing room, for the first time, something was dangerous. 4 uSsca r,f .trrwray ' f -jk " ",J . L .u ' CHAPTER XXI. 1 The House of Quiet. The day which had dawned so still ' and gloomy was wakening to something some-thing like wlldness, threatening, ' l. brightening, gusty, when they stepped out of the train upon the platform of the San Mateo station. Clouds were . piling gray and castle-like from the 1 east up toward the zenith, and dark fragments kept tearing off the edges 1 and spinning away across the sky. But 1 between them the bright face of tho ; sun flashed out with double splendor, . and the thinned atmosphere made the sky seem high and fur. and all form . beneath It clarified and Intense. 1 There upon tho narrow platform Mrs. Ib-rrlck hesitated a moment, . looking at Mora. "What train do you , want to meet?" she ai-ked. Flora stood perplexed. "I hardly ; know. You see I can't tell how soon my letter would reach would be received." re-ceived." "Then we would better meet them all," the elder woman decided. They drove away Into the face of the wet, fresh wind and flying drops of rain. Flora, leaning back In tho carriage, looked out through the window win-dow with quiet eyes. Tho spirited movement of the sky, the racing of Its shadows on the grass, the rolling foliage of the trees, seen tenfpestuoui agaliiHt flying cloud, were alike to her consoling and Inspiring. She had never felt so free as now, driving through the fitful weather, nor so safe as with this companion who wan sitting sit-ting silent by her side. She was driving driv-ing away from all her complications. The house, when finally It loomed upon them, with Its irregular roofs topped by curious square turrets, with its deep upper and lower verandas, ver-andas, looked out upon by a multludi of long French windows, seemed too large, too strangely Imposing for a structure of wood. But whatever of original ugliness had been there was hidden now under a splendid tapestry of vines, and Flora, looking up at. the rose and honeysuckle that panoplied. its front, felt her throat swell for sheer delight. For a moment after they had left the carriage they stood together In the Mrte-cochere, looking around them. Then half wistfully, half humorously, Mrs. Ilerrick turned to Flora. "I do hope you won't want to buy It!" "Oh. I'm afraid I Bhall," Mora murmured, mur-mured, "that Is, If" She left her sen-tence sen-tence hanging, as one w ho would have said "If I come out of this alive," and Mrs. Derrick, with a quick start of protection, laid her hand on Mora's arm. "If you must," she said lightly, "if you do buy It, then at least I shall know It Is In good hands." (TO UK CONTINFKD.) Exceeding Rapid. "Were the colors fast on the new goods you bought?" "Fast? My di.ar, they fairly ran Into one another, they were that fat." her without a sound and with great relief breathed In tho fresh and faintly faint-ly smoky air of morning. She walked quickly. It was a cross-town cross-town car bound for quite another locality lo-cality that she climbed aboard. It was filled only with mechanics and workmen with picks and shovels. She sat crowded elbow to elbow among odors of stale tobacco, stale garlic, state perspiration, and looking straight before her through the car window watched tho aspect of the city, still gray, grow less gleaming and formal and finally quite dirty, and quite, quite dull. This was all as she had Intended, very much In the direction of her errand, er-rand, and safe. But In Market street the car line ended, and she was turned out again In this broad artery of commerce where she was In danger dan-ger of meeting at any moment people she knew. She mude straight across the thoroughfare to Its south Bide, turned down Klghteenth and In a moment mo-ment was hidden in Mission street. It was ten o'clock In the morning, three hours since she had left her bouse and a most reasonable time of daylight, when Flora turned out of the flatness of "south of Market street" and began to mount a slow-rising hill. As site neared the hilltop she glanced at a card from ber chatelaln, consulting the address upon It. Then anxiously she scanned the house-fronts. house-fronts. It was not this one, nor this; but the square white mansion she came to now stood so far retired at the end of its lawn that she could not mnke out the number. As she peered a young girl came down the steps between be-tween tho dark wings of tho cypress hedge, a slim, fair, even galted creature crea-ture dressed for the street and drawing draw-ing on her gloves. As she passed Flora made sure she had seen her before. be-fore. There was something familiar In the carriage of the girl's head and hands; something also like a pale reflection re-flection of another presence. Bale as it was, it was enough to reassure her thnt this wan the house she wanted, This appearance of the place began to bring before Mora the full enormity and Impertinence of her errand, but though her heart beat on her side as loud as the brass knocker upon the door, she had no mind lor turning back. A high, cool, darkly gleaming Interior, Inter-ior, mellow with that precious tint of time which her owu house so lacked, received her. And here, as well as out of doors, all the while she sat walling she felt that protected peace was still the deity of the place. To Flora's eager heart time was streaming stream-ing by, but the tall clock facing her measured it out slowly. Its longest golden finger hud pointed out five mln-utos mln-utos before the sweeping of a skirt coming down the ball brought ber to her feet. Mrs. Ilerrick came In hatless, a honeysuckle leaf caught In ber gray crown of hair, geraniums In ber hand. Mora had never seen ber so Informal and so gay. Mora apologized. "I knew If I came at this hour I should Interrupt you, but really there was no help for It." She glanced down at her satchel. "I had to go this morning, and before 1 went I had to see you about the house. I'm going down to look at It and and to stop a while." Mrs. Herrlck hesitated, deprecated. "But you know Mrs, Britton wasn't satisfied with the price I asked." "Oh," said Mora promptly, "but I shall be perfectly satisfied with it, and I want to take possession at once." Tho positive manner In which she waved Clara out of her way brought up In Mrs. Derrick's face a faint flash of surprise; but it was gone In an Instant, supplanted by her questioning, ques-tioning, puzzled consideration of the main proposition. "Oh, I hope you haven't come to tell mo you want It changed," she protested. pro-tested. "You know It's quite absurd in places quite terrible Indeed. It's 1S70 straight through, and French at that; but even such whims acquire a dignity If they've been long cherished. You couldn't put In or take out one tiling without spoiling the whole character." char-acter." "But I don't want to change It, I want It just as It Is," Flora explained. "It bm't about the house Itself I've come, It's about going down there. You see there are some people, some friends of mine. I haven't promised them tosbow the house, but I have quite promised myself to show It to them, and they are only here for a few days more. They are going Immediately," She was looking at Mrs Derrick all the while she was telling her wretched wretch-ed Be, and now she even managed to smile r.t ber. "I thonght how lovely It would be If you could go there with me. I should like so very much to be In It first with you. to have you go. over It with me and tell me how to take care of It, as It's always been done. 1 should bate to do it any disrespect" dis-respect" Der hostess smiled with ready answer. an-swer. "Of course I will go down. I should be glad, but It must be in a day or two. Indeed, perhaps It would be better for you, to have your people first, and I can come down, say Monday Mon-day aftrnoon or Tuesday." Mora faced this unexpected turn of the matter a little blankly. "Ah. b it the trouble is I can't $to down !on' " It wa Mrs. Derrick s turn to hy.k blank. "Hut Mrs Britten" "Mrs Britton Un't g!ng with tae; she can't" "I Mrs Derrick with a long, soft scrutiny seemed to l. akig in more thaa Fiora's meie mn.'f repre- 11 aia" -y 1 sented. "And you wouldn't put it oft until sho can?" "I couldn't put It off a moment," Mora ended with a little breathless laugh. "I do so wish you would come down with mo this morning, for I mutit go, and you see I can't go alone." Mrs. Derrick, sitting there, composed, com-posed, In her cool, flowing, white and violet gown with the red flowers in her lap, ft 111 looked at Flora Inquiringly. Inquir-ingly. "But aren't there some women wom-en In your party old enough to make It possible and young enough to take pleasure in It?" Mora shook her head. "Oh, no," she said. Her house of cards was tottering. tot-tering. She could not keep up her brave smiling. She knew her dlsttess must be plain. Indeed, as she looked at Mrs. Herrlck she saw the effect of It. Der heart sank. If only she had told the truth even so much of it as to say there was something she could not tell. What she had said was unworthy un-worthy not only of herself but of tho end sho was so desperately holding out for. Now In the lucid Riue confronting con-fronting her she knew all her Intentions Inten-tions were taking on a dubious color, stained false, like her words, under the dark cloud of her own misrepresentation. misrepre-sentation. Yet they were not false, she knew. Der motives, tho end she was struggling for, were as austere as truth Itself. Sho could not give up without one bold stroke to clear them of this accusation. "Do you think there's anything queer about It?" sho faltered. "Queer?" To Mora's ears that sounded the coldest word she had ever heard. "I hardly think 1 understand what you mean." "I nien Is It that you think there's more in what I'm asking of you than I have said?" The two looked at each other and before that flat question Mrs, Derrick drew back a little In her chair. "I have no right to think about It at all," she said. "Well, there Is," Mora insisted. "There's a great deal more. I am sorry. sor-ry. I should have told you, but I was afraid. I don't know why I was afraid of you, except that In this matter I've grown afraid of every one. It's true that there may be people going down nt least, a person. But It Isn't, as I let you think It, a house party at all. It's for something, something that I can't do any other way something," she had a sudden flash of Insight, "that. If I could tell you, you would believe In, too." Mrs. Derrick's look had faded to a mere concentrated attention. "You mean that there Is something you wish to do for whoever Is going down?" "Oh, something I must do," Mora insisted. Mrs. Derrick considered a moment. "Why can't he do It for himself?" she threw out suddenly. It made Flora start, but she met It gallantly. "Because be won't. I shall have to mnke him." "You!" For a moment Mora knew that sho was preposterous In Mrs. Derrick's eyes and then that she was pathetic. Der companion was looking at her with a sad sort of humor. "My dear, are you sure that that Is your 10-sponslbllity?" 10-sponslbllity?" Mora's answering smile was faint. "It seems as strange to me as It seems absurd to you, but I think I have done something already." "Are you sure, or has he only let you think so? We have all at some time longed, or even thought It was our duty, to adjust something when It would have been Barer to have kept our bands off," Mrs. Derrick went on gently. "Oh, safer," Mora breathed. "Oh, yes; Indeed, I know. But If something had been put into your hands without your choice; If all the life of some one that you cared about depended on you, would you think of being safe?" Mora, leaning forward, chin In hand, with shining eyes, seemed fairly to Impart a reflection of her own passionate pas-sionate concentration to the woman before her. Mrs. Ilerrick, so calm In her reposeful re-poseful attitude, calm as the old portrait por-trait on the wall behind her, none the less began to show a curious sparkle of excitement in her face. "If I were Bure that person's life did depend on me," she measured out her words deliberately. de-liberately. "But that so seldom happens, hap-pens, and It Is so hard to tell." "But If you were sure, sure, sure!" Mora rang It out certainly, Mrs. Herrlck in her turn leaned forward. for-ward. "Ah, even then It would depend de-pend on him. And do you think you ran make a man do otherwise than his nature?" Mora answered with a stare of misery. mis-ery. "I know w hat you must be thinking think-ing what you can not help thinking." she said, "that the whole thing is tin-beard tin-beard of outrageous especially for a girl so soon to to be " She caught her breath with a sob, for the words she could not speak. "But there Is nothing In this disloyal to my engage-tin engage-tin nt, even though I cannot speak of it to Harry Cresay; and nothing I hope to gain for myself by doing what I am trying to do. If I succeed It will only mean I shall never se bini the other on tiRain " Mrs. Herrb-k rose, In ber turn b-seechlnf. b-seechlnf. "Oh, I cst't help you go into It! It is too dubious. My dr. I know so much better than you what the end t.ay me.m." "I know wbat the end may Bean, and I can't keep out of it " 1 "Pitt I cannot go with j. ; " Tfcere j e i : .But Ail Hr Household Was Still Us stirring When at Last She Went Stp by Step. i ,' llir If , Ch, I m Afraid I S"H," Fiers t.'ur mured; "That I I," |