TIE
The
Dark
Mirror
by
Louis Joseph Vance
iH
[FET
Author of “The False Faces,”
«The Lone Wolf,” Etc.
Illustrated by
IRWIN MYERS
B
(Copyright, 1920, by the Author.)
CHAPTER EIGHT
The Day of Grace.
I. TEMPTATION.
— Bornes
she is dead . . .
"
“Dead
Leonora is dead
The words, barely audi ble, hardly
more than moans, breathed frome«the
lips of the woman lying in hypnosis,
Fosdick, sitting by her side, on the
edge of the couch, bending over her,
conned her face intently, The long
lashes were fluttering, tears welled
from under lowered lids, the lips
writhed with grief. She moaned again,
en inarticulate pure note of woe pass-
ing speech, and shuddered in her
trance.
He captured her two wrists as her
hands twitched up, groping as one's
hands will who walks in darkness,
and Imprisoned them gently in the
clasp of one of his own.. The other
he pressed again upon her forehead.
“Priscilla!” he called in an even but
urgent voice—*come out of it! For-
get vour vision. See nothing
Do you hear me?”
The anguish of the face of the sleep-
er grew transiently then
faded as he repeated the unanswered
question: “Do you hear me?
time the girl responded dully:
“You understand what I
ing?
“Yes, Philip.”
“You are to see nothing more , .
Do you see anything now?”
There was a slight pause;
sleeper stated without
see nothing now.”
more acute,
am
8ay-
Now you will sleep,
without drea
“Good,
sleep quietly,
thirty mifnutes. Then you
up rested, refreshed, calm,
Do you understand?”
“Yes, Philip.”
“Repeat what you
In a tonel
cited
without
you will
ming
will wake
rational
are ge ir
less voice
“1 am gol
dreaming,
ng to deco
for thirty mir
Then I am going to wake up rested, re
ed, rational.”
Do so”
calm,
fresl
Fosdick 1
She mide no response than
The
upon those exquisite
ready
DOW grew a
breathing
and deep rosy
ber
Fosdick sighed
countenance
care, brows
pressed, the
pain,
What was his duty?
It was in his power to renew in
Priscilla the condition of hypnotic sus.
ceptibility long enough to erase
suggestion all waking memory
vision. By so doing he might spare
her much suffering, much distress; the
pity and horror of that lonely death,
and the mystery of it, would not prey
more
profourd sigh. stamp of sorrow
features had al-
been modified ; thelr
The ag
mssed into the steady,
tated, gusty
slow
siration of natural sium
his
with
lips ¢om-
in relief; but
continued grave
knotted, the
eyes harboring a look of
the
of her
ture. And, believing Leonora still to
be living happily with the man Mario,
her husband, Priscilla might in time
grow reconciled, school herself to re-
nuneciation, forget, and ultimately re
build her life upon the foundation of
a saner, surer love,
But if Priscilla were permitted to
come back to herself with full knowl-
edge of what she had seen in her
trance : believing Leonora dead, what
would the effect be upon her life?
She wonld be sad, she would mourn,
it would be long before her days
would be undarkened by shadows of
dread and distrust,
But she would not dream, there
would be no more journeys of the
spirit through the hollowness of night
and space In futile search for that af-
finity which had gone out of life.
Against this the consideration
warred that, no longer needing to
reckon with the claims of Leonora,
Priscilla would less readily disem-
barrass herself from the tolls of an
fnsane and impossible infatuation.
With Mario free, no reason existed
why she should seruple to give him
all her love '
Dared one risk perpetuation of that
passion?
11, THE LINK.
Yosdick pressed a call button on his
desk and put the telephone recelver to
“his ear. His assistant responded
promptly. Fosdick asked:
“is there anybody waiting to see
me?”
“Mr. Andrews, I told him you
couldn't possibly see him today. He
sald he'd walt till the cows came
home.”
Fosdick fastructed:
drews in.”
When Andrews came in, a folding
gereen shut off the couch and its occn-
“Send An-
pant from the rest of the room; Fos-
dick was behind his desk, amiable,
keen, composed,
“Well, Andrews?”
“@Q'daft'noon, doc. Just blew In
from up state—Dutchess county,” he
announced, “The party you're inter-
ested in—"
“Mother O'More?”
“Yeah: she's up there in a private
inst'ution for the aged. Bought her
way In 'bout ten years ago. Seems she
gets an annulty from some insurance
company, enough to pay for her board
and keep. Must be a sick Insurance
company; the old dame’'s a hunner-
daneighty if she's a day and ain't so
much as thinkin' of kickin' out.”
“Did you see her to talk to?”
Mr. Andrews corrected gravely: “I
seen her to talk to her, but that's as
far's I got.”
“Is her mind elear? I mean, do you
think she remembers—1
“Remembers? Say, that old lady
remembers more'n you and me'll ever
forget, Her mind's as clear's con-
summy soup in a French table de
hote.”
“Won't she talk? Why?
“Cussedness,” Mr, Andrews opined
—*or else she's been paid to keep her
trap shut. I got a hunch she bought
that annuity with hush money.”
“Will anything make her talk,
you think?"
“Jack might™
“Jack who?”
“No, not Jack anybody—just jack—
colin, yunno—money."
“Oh!” Fosdick's smile swiftly faded
into a look of: thoughtfulness, “Pre-
sume. I'd better see her myself.”
“Would, if I was you. She hasn't
got no use for me atall—spots me for
a detective at sight and spits like a
mad cat every time I opens me mouth.”
“Where do you say she is?"
“Place near Pawling—there's the
add-ress,” Mr, Andrews gave Fosdick
a &lip of paper. “Visitors' hours every
afternoon, three to five,”
wil her tomorrow,” - Fosdick
do
Ree
sald. “Meanwhile, you can be work-
ing on another lead. There's reason
the girl I'm looking for-
is or has been for sev- |
living in the Catskills
vate probably rented, |
of Kingston. Her
down to New York to- i
according to my Information and |
and Is returning tonight” i
run up thes
» first thing tomorrow.”
eral days
pri
somewhere
up
camp,
back
husband came
be on the |
eT
‘TH
jot
J
re tonight,
AFTERMATH,
himself off.
watch,
the folded and set it aside.
Priscilla had not yet moved,
by every sign the subconscious monito
i,
Andrews took
need at his
sCreen,
Mr.
fturne
was reminding her that the half hour
had elapsed. Her breathing
the sliken
less upon her ches
watched lifted,
was less
inshes were rest
While Fosd
disclosing con
ns,
they
Rec him, she sm!
k uttered he
her
tting positior
©, took
feel now
You--3
“Yes, "Cills
“Was it difficult
“On the
the mos
contrary, you proved one of |
t willing subjects I've
~=went like a
the first suggestion.” ]
He filled a glass of water from the i
silver pitcher on his desk; but
he took it to her she was on her feet,
her eyes desperate.
“Philip!” she cried
dead—Leonora-— 1" }
“I know; that is, 1 know you think |
$0; you told me.”
She did not answer, she was heed |
less of the meaning of his words; but
it intolerable i
ever had |
iY $i 1¢ 0
off shot, practically at
when |
gustily—"she iz |
brushed aside the glass of wa-
ter, and with a stricken face stumbled
past him into a wide and deeply re-
cessed window,
For several minutes she stood there,
her back to Fosdick, looking out blind-
ly, slender shoulders shaken with si-
lent sobs, a hand with a handkerchief
dabbing at her eyes,
A wise physician, Fosdick offered no
phrases of false comfort.
That the storm of her emotions
spent itself swiftly, that it was not
long before she was able to talk calm-
iy, was no revelation of heartlessness,
but largely the work of the suggestion
implanted in her while she was in hyp-
nosis.
“The pity of it,” she said after a
little time: “oh, Philip! the pity of it!
She was so happy-—and now she is
dead.”
“Perhaps.”
Priscilla swung sharply round.
“Why do you say that? I know-I saw
her—1 saw her lying drowned in a
pool—"
“I know, you told me.”
“But how could I?" She was star.
tied out of her sorrow. “I haven't had
time, I've only just remembered"
“You told me while in the hypnotic
trance, 1 questioned you and you told
me gll you knew, everything you ex-
perienced. You were talking almost
continuously until I threw you Into
normal sleep. So I beard about your
vision.”
“Strange!” she said in a stare of
ing of that.”
“Not so strange; your speech was
something purely automatic; once
started, it went on, just as your heart
went on beating and your lgngs inhal-
ing and exhaling alr, while your atten
tion was absorbed in other matters.
It's like the automatic writing that
people produce, believing themselves
under the influence of disembodied
spirits. Not necessarily even under
the hypnotic Influence; their attention
is elsewhere, they may be talking or
reading on utterly immaterial subjects,
while their hand, without thelr knowl-
edge, writes and goes on writing—just
so you went on talking"
“I don't understand. It's—it's In-
comprehensible, Not that 1 doubt
what you say. I must have told you
what I saw, there in the forest. . . ."”
Her eyes filled again, tears ran down
her cheeks. She averted her face.
“Oh, the pity of it?’ she repeated.
“Just when life seemed about to com-
pensate her for all had never
had... ."
“Don't let go like this, 'Cilla.
member, nothing Is certain.”
“No—you are wrong. I saw her, 1
know." ’
“You think so.”
“Why do you persist in saying that?
Have my dreams ever proved ground-
less 7”
“We don't know, yet; perhaps some
of them were, But this wasn't one of
what you call your dreams; it was a
vision, possibly a hallucination, in hyp-
notic trance. It may have been a true
phenomenon of telesthetic communi-
cation: assuming that Leonora was
really dead, your spirit may have
found some means, by some extraor-
dinary effort, to surmount the obsta-
cles, whose very nature is unknown
to us, that stand between the lving
and the dead, prohibiting communica-
tion . . But we don't know.”
He argued earnestly, with Intention,
seeing he had already engaged her
interest to such extent that she was
forgetting to grieve,
“On the other hand, we do know
it's easy to fool ourselves, Remember,
you have gone about all day fretted
by a feeling that something was wrong
with Leonora, some danger threatened
her happiness, You passed into the
hypnotic trance already prepared to
see the worst, You saw it. But the
question remalos unanswe eq,
the time being unanswerabl
truly, did you
by
by
14 only th
try?
ut he was
she
Re-
ROE or seée a fantasy
your own imagination
fear?”
“If I cou ink that 1
“Shy not
hilip— 1"
arg gainst his own
his arg lacked con-
oe aw wg
Giving Me a Lift"
viction. Her drooping head described
a movement of rejection.
“No,” said, “the
I know But the
she trouble ig
mystery and the
Philip:
who could have kil ”
“If she is dead, as you think—need
we accuse anybody of murder? It
might have been sulecide—"
“Oh, no,” she Interrupted almost
scornfully—“never! Why should she
do such a thing? She was 50 happy,
she loved Mario, he loved her de
votedly.”
“Or an accident, perhaps
She seemed to try to adopt
theory, she pondered it at length,
in the end conld not accept it
“No,” she declared; “it was neither
suicide nor accident, it was what she
had been afraid of all along, death by
violence . , J”
ied her?
his
but
IV. DEFIANCE.
Late In the evening the telephone
interrupted the supervision of her
packing, with which Priscilla was on
deavoring to divert her weary thoughts
and with no great success,
Her maid being busy at the moment,
I'riscilla answered In person, and suf-
fered a slight shock when she heard
the studied accent of Mr. Harry Chil-
vers-—s0 completely had she forgotten
the man. Mr, Chilvers chirped
briskly :
“Oh, hello, Nora! This is Harry.
What happened to yon this afternoon?
Forget our date for tea? Or did some
thing get In your way?’
Quite evidently Mr. Chilvers was
prepared to be a good fellow and over.
look that slight. But Priscilla replied
with an apathy nothing short of cyn-
eal:
“Migs Maine is not at home.”
An onth of reséntful incredulity was
cut In two as she clicked the receiver
into its hook ; but the picture suggest.
ed, of the Nut raging at a mute and
unemotiohal telephone, failed to excite
even the ghost of her smile.
The death of Leonora had bereft the
man of all claim upon her considera:
tion, rendering him hopelessly incom
petent for harm, He had become noth-
ing to her, less than nothing. The
incline served merely to rerind her
that she had neglected to tell Fosdick
nbout the fellow, his effrontery, the
insolence of his ill-velled threats,
Now the bitterest melancholy ope
pressed her, a desolation Indeserib-
able; the vision of the pool was cons
stant In her imagination, obscuring
even material objects that passed une
der her regard ; the sense of loss, a liv.
ing anguish from which thére was no
escape, .
Only in sleep did she find surcease;
then there was oblivion of a sort in
a sleep heavy and hot and thick, in
which she lay Inert like something
submerged in a tepid, black, viscous
fluid, from which she emerged with
throbbing head and sluggish pulses,
unrested, enervated, despondent,
Fosdick called up about mid-morn-
ing and, hearing her report on thé
effect of the drug, told her to discon.
tinue it, promising to bring a sub-
stitute when he called In the evening.
She promised to be at home to him
alone,
Later her maid summoned her to the
telephone a second time. Mr, Chil
vers was on the wire. “Tell him I've
left town for the summer,” Priscilla
said, too depressed to feel annoyed by
his persistence.
But when she was leaving Altman's
in the afternoon after an hour or twe
of perfunctory shopping, Mr. Chilvers
waylald her in the carriage entrance
He saluted with a wide
his beaming topper and a
poisonous amiability.
“Saw your car up the street,” he
smirk
you wouldn't
She
shrewd,
mind givin’
stopped, readiog
narrow, rat-like
me a
darkly
face,
binck, close-set
without a public
no escaping the
manded.
She shrugged,
to the
waiting across
chauffeur
surmising
scene there could be
interview he de
eyes,
alk. Her car was
the way. Seeing her,
pulled round the
sidew
fo
Mr. Chilvers = gallant hand
in, but be
Priscilla
lipped a
he follow
door to mediately his mam
ger, he
idea?”
Know bel
gyDp without
“What's the
“You
hig
shit
ean
oug {to
you me
struggle.”
“There
replied
will be no
y
quietly. tall
for of
before vesterday, i
eho iy
You see, reasons
{ante
think
These
voy bell
8OM
you to of
¥ -
ig DOW « And bef
again,
out the truth
put her Luger
Vise )
Priscill
on
let me ads
about
She
bution
“Let go of th doer,
looking calmly into his
“Will yo
I send my chauffeur to
man over there
gf moment?’
Mr. Chilvers opened his mouth, but
shut ft without speech. A vecond at
fempt was successful.
“If vou think you can put
me like this—1!"
But Priscilla
into the telephone:
“All right, Arthur;
please.”
rinted
ask the police
to step this
inare
it over
already
Was
to the
that Mr. Chilvers was a
foose his hold,
Satisfied that she had seen the last
of him-bhe would hardly find a sec
ond opportunity to annoy her
day,
she had advised and tomorrow
would see her well beyond his reach
tn Southampton-=she sank back in her
sent and once more delivered up body
and mind and soul to melancholy.
At the mouth of the alley she dis
missed the car. “Mrs. Trowbridge
will nse you for the rest of the after
noon,” she told Arthur. “I'll call a
taxi to take me home when I'm ready.”
Her business In the studio proved
mare exacting and fatiguing than she
had anticipated. Weary to start with,
she worked steadily, heedless of the
passage of time. It was something
past six, when pausing to survey the
result of her labors, she discoveren
there was little more to do, At once
she realized her weariness like a drag.
ging weight, and felt that it would be
utterly Impossible to continue before
she had rested for a little,
The invitation of the divan proved
too tempting. She lay down, sighing
Sleep possessed her without any
warning, without an instants
grace . .
ATO BE CONTINUED)
“Scot Free”
To get: off scot free is to escape
without payment of tax, Scot was a
tribute or tax levied upon all subjects
according to their ability to pay; lot
means the allotment or portion al
jotted to you, so that to pay scot and
jot is to pay the ordinary taxes and
also the personal tax allotted to you.
If you succeed ln evading the tax you
got off scot free.
ATE
The Kitchen
Cabinet 7i™
HHHIRNNINnnaannnmnnus
There 18 no other happiness In the
world except that of a soul! content
with its pwn cindition., This is the way
to carry heaven about with you.
Alphonsus de BHarasa
Fumi. |
finn
A
MORE THINGS TO EAT,
Rarebits are emergency dizhes which
are liked -by almost everybody and
make a hot dish
which may be pre-
pared in a short
time,
Mexican Rabbit
--Melt one table
spoonful of but.
ter; in it cook one
green pepper cut
ju When softened a little
add one pound of common cheese, cut
i2 small bits, and stir constantly until
melted; add two-thirds of a cupful of
fresh or canned corn, one-half tea-
spoonful of salt, one half teaspoonful
of paprika, two eggs well beaten and
two-thirds of a cupful of tomato. Stir
and cook until smooth and well
and when thoroughly hot,
rounds of toast, toasted on
Serve the rabbit on the un-
squares,
serve
one
on
ide,
wi |
of nan onion finely minced
tablespoonfuls of butter until
Add four tablespoonfuls of flour,
cupfuls of milk after the
been well blended,
salt, one-fourth of a teaspoonful
pepper and one or two boull
provided they are not ninety-nine
cent salt; if so, add no salt until
after the cubes are added, Sad ex-
perience with bouillon cubes
mf Cook until the
thickens and add pint
put through nder.
whole boll up and
croutons,
Green Cheese ~—Take two ©
fresh
in
of
on cubes,
ike us wise, mixture
Ofer of sweet
a cols
once serve
noes of
parsiey, ane ounce of fresh water
Dry the
we fire erisp so
be crumbled,
its
add
with four
Season with ea
put through a col
all che
not until
color. Chop the
the crumbled parsley
UNCes
enne
and ander,
ito Bm
wes to pass with
cheese mixture which is a
‘ { ES Fas
ile Is OCream
upfal or two of
cheese m
Amer
and caven
grated
ne,
mixture in.
¥ 3 MNGi pats,
DNecorste wit
lives,
your back
not to
ax wir
think abou
aigh
er Citron
or iemon
Meared easily
ing an few
water, tl
the meat
When
ters with
and a
reel
by
wn put through
grinder,
baking
broken
spoonful of
fill the con bils
honey.
A long handled
toaster
furnace
corn
or broiler.
and broil
Use in the
Gilt frames may be
of turpentine, Rub
ifter dusting well,
Celery salt may
home,
cleaned with oll
on with
be prepared
ery seed, add ten times the
stir and mlz well and put into
fn bottle,
A dark blue cover made of denim
or gingham is good to slip over the
ironing board to save It when press
ing sults or dark clothing.
A child's small sadiron is
useful in ironing baby's dresses,
Very pretty and dainty baby shoes
may be made from old glove tops
Take the long white kid gloves, have
the wrists perfectly clean and press
out carefully with a warm iron to re
move all wrinkles, Cut the soles and
gides In one piece, making the soles
wide enough in front to come up over
the toes. Put a seam In the back and
gather the fullness where the sides
do not meet. Line with soft silk:
eyelets may be put in or they may bo
worked by hand. Trim with a shirring
or hind the tops, lace with ribbon and
the shoes are ready.
Cooked dried apricots, cottage
cheese and mayonnaise makes a most
delicions salad,
Keep lemons for several weeks by
putting them in a fruit jar and sealing
them tightly.
When warming over coast meat
place in the oven with slices of bacon
over the top. Dake until the bacon
is crisp.
For eciaire shape the paste Jour
and one-half Inches long and ona ach
wide. Bake, split at the side snd All
with coffee, vanilla chocolate or
whipped cream filling,
For Bavarian puffs brush the puffs
just before taking from the oven with
beaten ogg and sprinkle with chopped
nuts,
Newie Mag wert | “BX En HE
most
Catarrh Can Be Cured
Catarrh is a local disease greatly influ.
enced by constitutional conditions, It
therefore requires constitutional treat
ment, HALLE CATARRH MEDICINE
is taken Internally and acts through
the Blood on the Mucous BSurfages of
the System. HALLS CATARRH
MEDICINE destroys the foundation of
the disease, gives the patient strength by
improving the general health and assists
nature in doing its work.
All Druggists, Circulars free.
A aa ‘& Co., Toledo, Ohlo,
in a Tignt Corner.
Jud Tunkins says it's so hard for a
man to keep from joining many
societies that he finds hi in-
dorsing both sides of the same ques
tiom.
80
imrelf
ymportant to Mothers
Examine carefully every bottle of
CASTORIA, that famous old remedy
for infants and children, and see that it
Bears the
Bigoature of
In Use for Over 80 Years.
Children Cry for Fletcher's Castoria
A man
until
fight
is “just as young as ever”
he begins to puff on the third
of stairs.
Hands Yongh? Mystte Cream, that's the
What
foned man
of the
cn
old-fash-
his knees to
has become
who got
Weak, Nervous,
Following Influenza
Montrose, W. Va.—"“Last spring
after having the flu 1 was very weak
and nervous. 1
got one bottle of
Dr. Pierce's Gold-
en Medical Dis
covery and two
bottles of Favor-
ite Prescription
and they. helped
me so much i
am 67 years oid
and did lots of
work last summer
and am doing my
bousework and washing this winter
for four in family.”"—MRS IL R.
WILMOTH, R. FD. 2
Dr. Pierce's medicines have been
sold by druggists for the past 50
years. Send 10 cents to Dr. Pierce's
Invalids’ Hotel in Buffalo, N. Y., for
a trial package of any of his med-
leines.
S.Pat Off
Carb olated
where there
are chi n
AVOID SUBSTITUTES
LOND ATEO} MFG. co.
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16799
DIED
in New York City alone from kid-
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—
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BULL
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tobacco makes 50
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