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THE GOLDEN WORD

window was that of his friend, harper elliston his presence here was of the my mysteries of that e entful night a

burning trap for some moments dyke darrel stared at the face in the window without mo ing. how came harper 

elliston in the woods at black hollow, when he ought to ha e been in chicago, according to his expressed

intentions of the pre ious day with sudden, wild scream the crazed sibyl darted across the floor, and thrust

her hands against the window with such olence as to burst the glass, cutting her hands se erely in the

operation. hubert hubert come at last the girl staggered back and sank in a paroxysm to the floor. it was

indeed a starting affair, yet dyke darrel did not lose his presence of mind. he hurried to the door and opened

it, springing outside quickly. elliston, i want you. dyke darrel stood by the broken window now, but the man

he had expected to find was not there. the apparition had anished as though fleeing into the upper air. again thedetecti e called the name of his friend, but without recei ing a reply. here was a mystery indeed. had that face

at the window been an optical delusion, after all dyke darrel was not superstitious, yet in the present case a

queer feeling oppressed him, and an awful misgi ing entered his mind. i cannot belie e that the face at the

window was other than that of elliston’s, and yet she called him hubert. it must be that there is a mistake

somewhere, and it seems to me that the mad girl is more apt to be decei ed than once more dyke darrel retuned

to the house. sibyl osborne lay in a dead faint on the floor. the detecti e began chafing her hands at once, and

loosened her corsage. a morocco case fell to the floor. it was the containing the alleged picture of hubert ander.

under the circumstances dyke darrel belie ed he was justified in examining it. he opened the case, and was

soon gazing at the face of a handsome man. although smoothly sha ed, the face of the photograph was that of 

harper elliston a horrid suspicion now took possession of the detecti e’s brain. securing case and photograph on

his own person, dyke darrel proceeded in his efforts to bring the girl back to life. he was soon rewarded. it was

hubert these were the first words uttered by the girl when she opened her eyes. her hands were stained with blood

from cuts made by the glass. she gazed at the blood, and grew suddenly deathly pale. my god he has tired tomurder me then she came to her feet, flinging her tangled golden hair about wildly, and shrank to the far 

corner of the room. you ha e nothing to fear from me, miss osborne, said dyke. i am your friend. and hubert’s

friend yes, huberts friend, too. who did this, then she held up her bleeding hands. he tried to explain, and she

seemed to understand partially, so much so as to lose her fear of the detecti e. she began to laugh soon, and the

late ad enture seemed to pass entirely from her mind. dyke was glad to ha e it so will you not lie down and

rest he said presently. we ha e a long journey to go in the morning. where to hubert yes, to hubert. her great

blue eyes regarded him wistfully, and a throb of pain entered his heart at thought of the beautiful girl’s

misfortune. there was growing in his heart a dangerous feeling, that boded no good to harper elliston, should

that man pro e to be as he now belie ed, the hubert ander of the mad girl’s dreams. take me to hubert now, kind

sir. i know you can do so, and i shall die if he does not keep his word with me. he will ne er betray a poor girl

such a gentleman, and so good yes, i will do anything to please you, for it will bring dear hubert back. she

went up and laid both hands on the shoulders of the detecti e, and looked so mournfully into his face as to

touch the tenderness in his nature deeply. his heart bled for girl who had been the ctim of a llain’s wiles. sitdown and rest. miss osboren; we will try and find hubert in the morning. you are ery kind. she seemed gentle

and subdued now. it was the calm after the storm. dyke saw that he was not recognized, howe er, and the

madness was not gone from the poor girl’s brain. it was a ery sad case, indeed se eral stools were in the room,

and some blankets hung against the further wall, pro ing that some had lately occupied the cabin.

undoubtedly it had been used as hiding place for outlaws, and it was a question in the mind of the detecti e

as to how soon the cabin would be re isited. the presence of the insane girl necessarily altered his plans

somewhat. he would not lea e her to perish in the woods. remo ing the blankets from the wall, dyke darrel impro

ised a bed for the poor girl, and induced her to lie thereon. he then replenished the fire with some dry sticks that

lay beside the sto e, since the night air was chill, and sat himself upon the floor, with his head reclining

against the logs. before doing this, howe er, he had taken the precaution to secure the only door with a wooden

latch that had been made for the purpose. the window, of course, he was unable to secure. it did not seem hardly

safe to sleep under the circumstances, but dyke darrel was ery tired, ha ing been without much rest for se eral

nights, and he was on the present occasion extremely drowsy. resol ing not to fall into a deep slumber, thedetecti e sat with his re ol er at his side, and went off into the land of dreams before he was aware of it. dyke

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