It was just past midnight when the three friends parted from young
Carleton and crossed the canyon to Sibyl's old home.
Chapter XL
Facing the Truth
As Brian Oakley had predicted, the disappearance of James Rutlidge
occupied columns in the newspapers, from coast to coast. In every article
he was headlined as "A Distinguished Citizen;" "A Famous Critic;" "A
Prominent Figure in the World of Art;" "One of the Greatest Living
Authorities;" "Leader in the Modern School;" "Of Powerful Influence Upon
the Artistic Production of the Age." The story of the unknown mountain
girl's abduction and escape was a news item of a single day; but the
disappearance of James Rutlidge kept the press busy for weeks. It may be
dismissed here with the simple statement that the mystery has never been
solved.
Of the unknown man who had taken Sibyl away into the mountains, and who
had escaped, the world has never heard. Of the convict who died but did
not die in the hills, the world knows nothing. That is, the world knows
nothing of the man in this connection. But Aaron and Sibyl, some years
later, knew what became of Henry Marston--which does not, at all, belong
to this story.
Upon his return with Conrad Lagrange to their home in the orange groves,
Aaron King plunged into his work with a purpose very different from the
motive that had prompted him when first he took up his brushes in the
studio that looked out upon the mountains and the rose garden.
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