Newspapers / The Monroe Journal (Monroe, … / Jan. 26, 1915, edition 1 / Page 2
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DMAQLLQW I'iXSv? KATttARIXE makes me (eel lees lonely In my new and more than once I hare teen bim life." r I make a grimace of distaste when his "Mrs. Scoville, I am only too bap- j father nrged him forward. He wss py." It was bravely said, for the little only a buy. I know, but b'.s dislikes woman was in a state of marked em- meant something, and if it ever ban barrassment Could it be that the via- i pened that he spoke out bis whole itor had not recognized her as the nv:nd, you mey be sure that some very person who had accosted her on that , bl;ter words passed." memorable morning she first entered Was this lutant as an innuendo? Judge Ostrander's forbidden rates? ! "1 have been tcld " thiw Deborah j easily proceeded, "that for a small I house yours contains the most won derful assortment cf interesting ob-. Impossible to tell. Such nervous, fussy little bodies often possess uimds of unexpected subtlety. Deborah gars up ail Lore of understanding her. and, occeMtu,: i r statements at their face (CoprrifUt, li'H, be DuJJ, Me4 A Companj) SYNOPSIS. CHAPTER I-A curious crow.t of m-lch. bom invade the mysiurioun home uf JutiKe Ostnindir. comity Juils- uml eocri.tiiO recluse. I'olloivinR a nltl woman wii ha isuitn-d t-i.uam-e tl'rouirli ifu- K;it- of the ItiKh liocbk- l::ri i in aurrommmt! th plac. Tli woman Imb d-:-;i;irrd but the .Indue is found in a cutalt-pUe slat. H Ia. Ins si'rvant, uptvurs in a ilyn.j con dition and pn-vents outran. -6 to a so. -ret door, lit la din Tlu luil'e uwiikt-a. CH APT Kit It-Mlfw W.Hk.i exphilTW t the 1ml,;.' what h.is oo urn-d iliiniK hi elzur lb gwri-lly Uiovtj lue wm-re-abouts of th veiled woman. CHAPTER III-lavhiff his ruar.lel house at niirlit. Judte Osir.in.li-r :" through Iarn Hollow to Hie Clajniore in ) to visit the vulrd woman CHAPTER IV The velloj womnn r roves to be the widow of a man triid rfore the JudKe and HurtriH-uti d for mur der years btiore. Her duuitht.-r is en gaged to the indie's son, from whom he is estranged, hut the murder is between tho lovers. The widow plans to clear her husband's memory and asks the luJKe's aid. CHATTER V Alone In her room De borah F -ovllle reads the newspaper dip ping telling the story of the murder of Algernon i-.uu ri.ine oy jonn scoviiie in Dark Hollow, twelve years before. CHAPTER VI-The Judge and Mrs. Bcoville meet at Spencer s Kolly and she shows him how. on the day of the mur der, she saw the shadow of a man, whit tling a slick and wearing a long peaked cap, like her husband's. Until long after ward she did not know that her husband had not worn that cap on the fatal day. The Judge engages her and her daughter Reuther to live with him In his mysteri ous home. CHAPTER VII-Deborah and her law er. Black, go to the police station and et the stick used to murder Etherldge. Bhe discovers a broken knife-blade point embedded In It. Deborah and Reuther go to live with the Judtfe. CHAPTER VIH-Whlle cleaning the Judge's study under his eye, Deborah sees a portrait of Oliver, the Judge's son, Willi a black band painted across the eyts. That night she 11 mis. In Oliver's room, a cap with a peak like the shad owed one, and a kuile with a broken blade-point. CHAPTER IX Anonymous letters nn.l a talk with Miss Weeks Increase De. bora, is suspicions and fears. Sliu finds that Oliver was in the ravine on the mur der n.Klit. CHATTER X-TSlnck warns Debora'i that litr Inquiries may have serious ie stills and shows her other anonymous let ters hinting at Oliver's guilt. Jects. Where did you ever get them?" ! valuw. e?uslvely remarked: "My father was a collector, on a "ion must have a very superior very small scale of course, and my , mind .o draw such conclusions from mother bad a passion for hoarding I & l.ttlo you have seen. 1 bare heard which prevented anything from going out of this house after it had once come into It." CHAPTER IX. J Unwelcome Truths. SHenr-e. Yes, silence was the one end only refuge remaining to Deborah. Yet, after a few days, the constant self-restraint which it entailed nto like a canker into her peace and tin 'dermined a strength which she had always considered inexhaustible. Heu ther brsan to coiW her pallor, and f'e judge to look grave. She was forced to complain of n cold (and in t 's the was truthful enough) to ac fiaat for her alternations of feverish limpu'ro and deadly I.-usitude. The rouble fihe had suppressed was hav ing Its quiet revenge. Wes there no meaim course? Could fhe not learn where Oliver had been rn the nis;h of that old-time murder? :iiss V.'eeks was a near neighbor and aw everything. Miss Weeks never forpot; to Miss Weeks she would go. She had passed the first gate and vas on the point of opening the sec end one, when she saw on the walk before hr a errnll slip of brown pa per. Lifting It, she perceived upon it an almost illegible scrawl which she made out to read thus: For Mrs Scoville: Do tu t :n w.-inderlrt; n'A over the town for clues. Look cbiser to home. t, And below: Yp-i remember th old saying n'lnut J-impirur from the frying pan Into the f.re. J.et your daughter he warned. It Is b-.'t-Vr to be singed than consumed. Because Deborah's mind was ijultlt i" all flashed upon her, bowing her la i plrit to the ground. I'cuther hc.d been s'med Ly the knowledge of her father's ignominy, she would be con fumed if Inquiry were carried further tad this ignominy transferred to the proper culprit. Oliver n'otie could be J leant. The dcibts she had tried to iuppr"83 froin l.tr own mind wore shared ly ethers others! In five minutes she wps rrof.ilnt; the nad. hrr face composed, her manner tt enial. her tongue ready for any en counter. The truth mut be hers at i il hazards. If It could be found here, i!icn here would she seek It. Her long t truggle with fate had brought to tho fore ever)' latent power Fho possessed. Miss Weeks was ready with her i; reeiing. A dog from the big house r cress the way would have been wel- omed there. The eager little seam ; tress had never forgotten her hour iia the library with the half-uncon-i clous judge. "Mrs. Scoville!" she exclaimed, flut it.Ting and leading the way into the f?st room; "how very kind you are j give me this chance for making my ;cDolor,les. You know we have met L-ofore." "Have war "My hJsb.-nd " began Mrs. Sco- Tille, thoughtfully. Miss Weeks stared in consternation at Mrs. Scoville. who hastened to say "You wonder that I can mention my husband. Perhaps you will not be so surprised when I tell you that in try eyes he Is a martyr, and quite guiltless of the crime for which he was pun ished." "You thin!- that?" There was real surprise in the manner of the ques tiouer. Mrs. So-oville's brow cleared She was pleased at this proof that her affairs had not yet reached the point of general gossip. "Miss Yec'.;s. I am a mother. 1 have a young and lovely daughter. Can I look In her Innocent eyes and believe her father to have so forgotten his re sponsibilities cs to overshadow her life with crime? No, 1 will not believe it. Circumstances were in favor of his conviction, but be never lifted the stick which struck down Algernon Etheridge." Miss Weeks, who had sat quite still during the utterance of these remarks. fidgeted about at their close, with what appeared to the speaker, a sud den and quite welcome relief. "Oh!" she murmured; and said nc more. It was not a topic she found easy of discussion. The sadness which now spread ovei the very interesting countenance ol her visitor, offered ber an excuse fot the introduction of a far more mo mentous topic; one she had burned to introduce, but had not known how. "Mrs. Scoville, I hear that Judge Ostrander has got your daughter a pi ano. That is really a wonderful thing for him to do. Not that he is so close with his money, but that he has al ways been so set against all gayety and companionship. I suppose you did cot know the shock it would be to Mm when you asked Dela to let you Into the gates." "No! I didn't know. Put it is all right now. The Judge seems to wel come the change. Miss Weeks, did you know Algernon Etherldge well enough to tell me If he was as good and Irreproachable a man as they all say?" "He was a good man, but he had a dreadfully obiinate streak In his dis position and very set Mens. I havo heard that he and the Judge used to argue over a point lor hours. And he was most always wrong. For In stance, he vas wrong about Oliver." "Oliver?" "Ju b;e Ostrander's son, you know. Mr. Etheridf.e wiuited him lo study for a professorship: but the boy was determined to go into j iiirnnlism, and you sec what a success ho bus made of it. As a professor he would prob ably have been n f.iilure." "Was this difference of opinion on the culling he should pursue the cause of Oliver's leaving home In the way ho did?" continued Deborah, conscious of walking on very thin ice. Hut Miss Weeks rather welcomed than resented this curiosity. Indeed, she vas never tired cf eiilarging upou the Ostranders. "I have never thought so. The judge would not quarrel with Oliver on so small a point Bo that. My Idea Is, though I never talk of It much, that they had a great quarrel over Mr. Etherldge. Oliver never liked the old student; I've watched them and I've J U.f1 lfflxTOfi!:f''!'"" many explanations given for tha breach you name, but never any so reasonable." A flash frcn the spinster's wary eya. then a burst of courage and the quick retort: "And what explanation does Oliver himself give? You ought to know, Mrs. Scoville." The attack was as sudden as it was unexpected. Deborah flushed and trimmed her sails for this new tack, and insinuating gently. "Then you have heard" waited for the enlight enment these words were likely to evoke. It came quickly enough. "That he expected to marry your daughter? Oh. yes. Mrs. Scoville; It's common talk here now. 1 hope you don't mind my mentioning It." Deborah's head went up. She faced the other fairly, with the look born of mother passion, and mother passion only. "Reuther is blameless In this mat ter," she protested. "She was brought up in ignorance of what I felt sure would prove a handicap and misery to her. She loves Oliver as she will never love any Cher man, but when she was told her t name and understood fully what that name carries with it, she declined to saddle him with her shame. That's her story, Miss Weeks; one that hardly fits her appearance, which is very delicate. And, let me add, having once accepted ber father's name, she refuses to be known by any other. I have brought her to Shelby where to our own surprise and Reu- ther's great happiness, we have been taken In by Judge Ostrander, an act of kidness for which we are very grateful." Miss Weeks got up, took down one of her rarest treasures from an old etagere standing in one corner and laid It in Mrs. Scoville's band. "For your daughter," she declared. "Noble girl! 1 hope she will be happy." The mother was touched, but not quite satisfied yet of the giver's real feelings towards Oliver, and, after thanking her warmly, remarked: "There is but one thing that will ever make Reuther happy, and that she cannot have unless a miracle, oc curs. Oh, I do not wonder you smile. This Is not the day of miracles. But if my belief in my husbifml could be shared; If I should be ennblcd to clear his name, mlj-'ht not lova and loyalty be left to do ihe rest? Wouldn't the ingquietly for the door. "The Judge see Oliver suddenly raise" his flaC and shake It at old Etherldge; then. In great rage, slam down the window and disappear inside. The next minute, and before the two below bad dona talking. I caught another glimpse, of htm r.s he dashed around the corner of the house on his way to the ra vine." "And Mr. Etherldge?" "Oh. he left soon after. I watched hira as he went by. bis long cloak flap ping in the wind. Uttle did I think he would never pass my window again. So Interested were they both, that neither for the moment realized the strangeness of the situation or that It was In connection with a crime for which the husband of one of them bad suffered, they were raking up this past, and gossiping over its petty de tails. Mrs. Scoville sighed and, said: "It couldn't have been very long after you saw him that Mr. Etheridge was struck?" "Only some twenty minutes. It takes just that long for a man to walk from this corner to the bridge." "And you never heard where 01ivr went?" "It was never talked r.bout at the time. Later, when some hint got about of his having been in the ravine that night, he said ho had gone up the ravine, not down it. And we all be lieved him, madam." "Cf course, of course. What a dis criminating mind you have, Miss Weeks, and what a wonderful memory! To think that after all these years you can recall that Oliver had a cap on his head when he looked out of the win dow at big father and Mr. Etheridge, If you were asked, I have no doubt you could tell Its very color. Was it the peaked one?" "Yes, I could swear to It," And Miss Weeks gave a little laugh, which sounded incongruous enough to De borah, in whose heart at that moment a leaf was turned upon the past, which left the future hopelessly blank. "Must you go?" Deborah bad risen mechanically. "Don't, I beg, till you have relieved my mind about Judge Ostrander. I don't suppose that there is really anything behind that door of bis which it would alarm any one to see?" Then, Deborah . understood Miss Weeks. Hut she was ready for her. "I've never seen anything of the sort," said she, "and I make up bis bed in that very room every morn ing." "Oh! And Miss Weeks drew a deep breath. "No article of immense value, such as that rare old bit of real Satsu ma In the cabinet over there?" "No," answered Deborah, with all the patience she could muster. "Judge Ostrander seems very simple in his tastes. I doubt if ho would know Sat suma if he saw it." Miss Weeks sighed. "Yes, he has never expressed the least wish to look over my shelves. So the double fence means nothing?" "A whim," ejaculated Deborah, mnk- "Was the Difference of Opinion the Cause of Oliver's leaving?" seen. lie hated his comlns to the house so much; he hated the way his Mrs. Scoville did not ! father singled him out and deferred remember, but she emlled her best to Mm and made him the confident of rmile. "I am glcd to have you a his troubles. hea they went on k-ow ledge an old acquaintance. It Ihslr tzlk' Oliver a!wsh;in ltck. judge's objections, in that case, be re moved? What do you think. Miss Weeks?" "There! we will say no more about It." The little woman's nttltude and voire were tlmost prayerful. "You have judgment enough for two. He sides, the miracle has not happened." she interjected, with a -smile which seemed to say It never would. Deborah sighed. Whither or not it was quite an honest expression of her feeling we will not Inquire. She was there fcr a definite purpose end her way to It was, as yet, far from plain. The negative with which she followed up this sigh was one of sor rowful acceptance. She made heste, however, to qualify it. "Rut I have not given up ell hope. I know as well as any one how Impos sible the task must prove, unless I can light upon fresh evidence. And where am I to get that? Only from some new witness." Miss Weeks' polite smi!e took on an expression of Indulgence. This roused Deborah's pride, and, hesitating no longer, Bhe anxiously remarked: "I have sometimes thought that Oliver Ostrander might be that wit ness. He certainly was In the ravine the night Algernon Etherldge was struck down." Had she been an experienced actress of years she could not have thrown into this question a greater lack of all Innuendo. M'ss Weeks, already un der her fascination, heard the tone but never thought to notice tho quick rise and fall of her visitor's uneasy bosom, and so unwarned, responded with all due frankness: "I know he was. Rut how will that help you? He had no testimony to give In relation to this crime, or be would have given It." "That is true." The admission fell mechanic!'; f.'o::. IVoorah'i lips; she was not conscious, even of making It. Then, as her emotion choked her Into silence, she sat with piteous eyes searching Miss Weeks' face, till she d recovered her voice, when she added this vital question: 'How did you know that Oliver was In the ravine that night? I only guessed It." "Well, It was In this way. I do not often keep my eye on my neighbors (oh, no, Miss Weeks!), but that night I chanced to be looking over the may Just at the minute Mr. Etherldge came out, and Eox.cthlr.g I saw in his man ner end in that of the judge who had followed him to the door, and In that of Oliver who, cap on head, was lean ing towards them from a window over the porch, made me think that a con troversy was going on between the two old people of which Oliver was the obiect. This naturally Interested me. H'kos to walk at night when quite through with his work; and he doesn't like his ways to be noted. Rut he pre fers the lawn now. I hear his step out there every night." "Well, It's ro: .eihlng to know that he leads a more normal life than for merly!" sighed the little ludy as she prepared to usher her guest out. "Come again, Mrs. Scoville; and. If I may, I will drop In and see you some day." Deborah accorded her permission and mnrie her final adleux. She felt as If a hand which had been stealing up her chest had suddenly gripped her throat, choking her. She had found the man who had cast that fatal shadow down the ravine, twelve years before. (Continued In next issue.) W. J. TIU I.L & SOX, MOVIXd COXTI5ACTORS. Move any kind of building or other Object. Phone 4-J. Monroe, X. C. FOR THE YEAR 1915. You can't do better than to continue to trade with the "Old Itellnblc." And If you have not been dealing with him heretofore, we should Im pleased for you to try him rlht awny for you will he satisfied like all tho other good customers. Ituy what you have and sell you what you want. M; WALLER The Old Relinlile Grocer. Stale Drugs Have Little Power We Don't Use Them. fTTTTtHTTTTVtlllllllllllH STANDARD DRUGS HAVE A STAN DARD TRICE AND WE HAVE NEV ER BOUGHT A DRUQ THAT HAS BEEN OFFERED TO US AT A LOW PRICE. We have never taken chance with such materials In kdj prescriptloa and never will. 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The Monroe Journal (Monroe, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Jan. 26, 1915, edition 1
2
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