ot be mistaken in
him. It was Sam Welch, chief of the kidnapers. He was gazing at her from
a crowded street corner, but disappeared completely before Bonner could
set the police on his trail.

Commencement Day at Cambridge brought back hundreds of the old men--the
men famous in every branch of study and athletics. Among them was
handsome Tom Reddon. He came to see her at the Bonner home. Elsie Banks
was to return in September from Honolulu, and they were to be married in
the fall. Wicker Bonner eagerly looked for the confusion of love in her
eyes, but none appeared. That night she told him, in reply to an
impulsive demand, that she did not care for Reddon, that she never had
known the slightest feeling of tenderness for him.

"Have you ever been in love, Rosalie?" he asked ruthlessly.

"Yes," she said after a moment, looking him bravely in the eyes.

"And could you never learn to love any one else?"

"I think not, Wicker," she said ever so softly.

"I beg your pardon," he said humbly, his face white and his lips drawn.
"I should not have asked."

And so he remained the blind man, with the light shining full into his
eyes.

CHAPTER XXIX

The Mysterious Questioner

July brought Rosalie's visit to an end, and once more Tinkletown basked
in her smiles and yet wondered why they were so sad and wistful. She and
Bonner were much nearer, far dearer to one another than ever, and yet
not one effort had been made to bridge the chasm of silence concerning
the thing that lay uppermost in their minds. She only knew that Anderson
Crow had not "run down" his clew, nor had the New York sleuth reported
for weeks. Undoubtedly, the latter had given up the search, for the last
heard of him was when he left for Europe with his wife for a pleasure
trip of unknown duration. It looked so dark and hopeless to her, all of
it. Had Bonner pressed his demands upon her at the end of the visit in
Boston, it is possible--more than possible--that she would have faltered
in her resolution. After all, why should she deprive herself of
happiness if it was held out to her with the promise that it should
never end?

The summer turned steaming hot in the lowlands about Tinkletown, but in
the great hills across the river the air was cool, bright, and
invigorating. People began to hurry to their country homes from the
distant cities. Before the month was old, a score or more of beautiful
places were opened and filled with the sons and daug