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Show Ifppie LASH of I 11 CIRCDMSIANCE ifl$T 5v Harry Irving Greene wJJM Aidhor qTYosotxAq of the Wilderness" 2??t&rj HhjTrw.TtovMi jv Magnu CJ. Keftriar" "And of Court the Car la Your," I Went' on With the Recklessness of a Croetut. period, and It waa teldom Indeed thai hla last quotation waa not higher that tbe one of say half an hour before. II went darting skyward In the eccentric tig tags with which a kite mounta In a gain, and within a fortnight ! found myself richer by thousands added tc thousand. The glittering helghta ol fortune seemingly hung clone over me; the end of the rainbow with Iti great bag of gold waa within mathematical mathe-matical atrlklng distance; and taking greater chancea than ever for the aako of greater gains, I plunged wild ly aa I reataked my winnings on every throw. And day by day the Mldai touch waa mine and I won, won, won Then grown money reckleaa by my con-atant con-atant auccess, I permitted myielf another anoth-er piece of extraragance for the allurement allure-ment of the woman I loved and tba greater opportunitlea It would give m to be with her. I bought a handaome motor car upon which I had had my eyea for tome time, housing It In a public garage and telling nobody but her that I had purchased It I took Mrs. Dace out on the first evening after I had mastered my new acquirement for a long ride country-ward. country-ward. The weather waa Ideal, the roads In splendid condition and we apel along to the low whir of the machine with the soft night air fanning fan-ning our facea. It had long been understood un-derstood between ua that she waa to carefully guard all my confidences, and I kept few things from her. Exultantly Ex-ultantly I spoke of my Increasing wealth and magnificent prospecta. Her arm slipped under mine. "Rood, good." she cried with a schoolgirl's enthusiasm. "I congratulate congratu-late you from the bottom of my heart. It makes me happy to know about It I told you that I should exercise my aorcery to command your auccesa. When you win I feel that I have won also." Her tacit confession that she considered con-sidered herself aa a close partner of mine, and that ahe was backing me to the winning of a prize which we should share together in the long time to come, combined with the delicious de-licious sense of comradeship awakened awaken-ed by her arm pressure, became as an Intoxicant. In that moment I would have pawned my soul to have pos-BCBHed pos-BCBHed her. 1 threw my arms about her and held her to my breast almost fiercely. "My Cod, how I love you, Matle. Tell me that you will'marry me yon must," 1 crlt'd. as I found her lips and drained them as a drunkard drains his cup. I lor arm hung upon my shoulder; her upturned lips seemed seem-ed to be clinging to mine; I could feel the ebb and swell of her bosom so closely was she drawn to me, and In that position I held her until a slight warning swerve of the machine temporarily restored my sanity. I quickly removed my right arm and clutched the whel, but still kept the other around her waist as I begged her !n the name of my great passion to make me the happiest man on earth by her answer. ImpasHlon-edty ImpasHlon-edty I recalled to her my long nights and days of torture when I was half sick with despair of ever possessing her. For the first time since our ac- 1 gasped ft out with the unbelief of on who by a teeming miracle ees tb I dead restored to life. She patted my ! cheek. i "You may ao consider ua If you I wish under that condition. Put II must for the time being remain ' ttrlctly our secret." Half doubting that I waa still of 1 this earth I steered onward aa In a trance. Then, unless my tenses were tricking me, this most glorious o( 1 women wa to become my close com- panlon through all the days to come; ' tbe one whose head should rest upon ' my shoulder through the long nights; whose bosom ahould pillow my face In ' hours of weariness; who ahould be my wife, the mother of ray children. ' My eyea filled with the moisture of 1 happiness and through tbe mlat the 1 chalky roadway blurred before me. A 1 feeling almost of awe filled my soul. Never again will auch a great thank- fulnesa possess me, and silently I blessed God that In his Infinite goodness good-ness he had permitted me to be born. In front of an out-of-doora garden frequented by the better class we stopped and dismounted. Long lines of motor cart and carriages extended away on either Bide, and the music of an European orchestra floated over the walla of the encloaure. We passed through the palm-lined entrance and took our Beats at a table beneath a tree whose low hanging limbs almost brushed It. A thousand well-dressed people were rating and drinking around us aa they Idly chatted or listened listen-ed to the music. It waa the soul of Ileethoven throbbing In our ears out of his grave. I ordered champagne In honor of our bethrothal. I seemed to be floating In the air. AH weight, all consciousness of the physical left me, and the music waa ethereal vibrations wafted to me from Infinite distance. I could only liken ry sensations to those of one occasion occa-sion long before when feeling badly I had by mlstako taken a alight overdose over-dose of a drug, and for aome houra thereafter had Roared amongst the clouds In an ecstasy which the earthly born are Incapable of experiencing except ex-cept through the wizardry of the chemist. Her hand lay Idly upon tho table close beside mine, and with a quick glance around to make sure that no one was observing us I covered cov-ered It with my own. "The ring, sweetheart, you shall have tomorrow. During my day dreams I have sometimes some-times amused myself by looking at tlietu In the diamond shops as In my Imagination I selected one for you. And only tho other da7 I found the one you shall have. It is flawless; as perfect In Its beauty as a gem as as you are aa a woman. In the uncountable un-countable centuries of tho pnst when the world waa being molded this stone was created for you. and yours It shall be. Uut you must loan mo ono of yours for a few days that I may luve it fitted to you." She laughed In her low, delicious way aa I slipped a diamond from her finger. "Of course, I thall be proud to wear It proud and happy. Hut please don't be too extravagant, Tom. Ilemember I do not want you to go SYNOPSIS. Abner Italllday, a miserly mllllnnalra. In found n((d, bound and Inaenalule In his room, hi aafe rifled and 40,im0 tularin;. tular-in;. Th thread of th alory I taken up by hla nephew Tom. I.lvlnt In th nam a houn ara other relative: reekle Hrurt Hnlllday and pretty Clara Wlnton. Ilruea. alio la a bond broker, haa been trying to rma tlo.Otm to put throutli a deal and aava hlmaelf from financial ruin. He haa applied to hla mleerly unci and to other (or the loan hut haa been refused Tom da for William llnic, an old-tlma friend rnnnerted with a dkteetlv asenc-y, In relating- the atory Tom reverts to hla acnuaJntanr with a Mrs. iai-a, a wealthy wlilow. whoae bualneaa agent la Kh'hard Maekay, a bondler and polltli-al Imea. Tom la jealous of Mackay and la deeply In love with Mrs. Iaca. Hruce HallMay ararna him to ahtin her aa an advenltireaa. Tom e Mr. Iac and Mack ay tnfet liar, li-ar, lie afterward meet the woman at a horae rape. and. happening to mention that lirut-e had a Hp on the winner, aha gtvea him to place on the race. The Up Roe wroiia; and ahe loaea her money. Later Tom Inveata In atorka. He make una money, and return the hmt .n0 to Mr I tare. It I at thl Juncture that th theft of th M",0 from old Abner Halll-1y Halll-1y oecura, Ix !uc meet Clare and llrure. He learn that th key which I'lure had to the limine la mllnf. Mac-kay'a Mac-kay'a dealltiK with Mr. Dare make Tom more Jealou The detective Intimate a uaplrlon anulnat Hruca Halllday a the thief. Thl Clara Wlnton Indignantly repudiate. re-pudiate. CHAPTER XII (Continued.) , "And the door at the head of the ltalrs which leads from here Into the kitchen, was that disturbed?" I asked tier as my first sensations faded.- Sho was panting from excitement and the baste of her movements. "No, the door was locked and Just ts I left It last night with the key still on the Inside. He could not , have gone up higher than the head 3f tho basement sialr. I just happened hap-pened to remember that I had left a broom down here yesterday, and when I came down after It I noticed this loor right away. Who on earth do j you suppose could hnve done It?" She was wringing her hands weakly, the perspiration of nervousness popping , Troin her forehead. ' flclng In total darkness myself. I made no attempt to enlighten her as , I carefully examined the place. Out-tlde Out-tlde of the scanty supply of coal that , remained from last winter's supply '.he basement contained little save an accumulation of odd and ends am) in old chest of mine that contained ' articles that I had stored nway years before. However, I stilt retained tho ' ey to It, and I now opened It and made a careful .Inspection of Its In- ' terlor. So far aa I could discover by i mlntito scrutiny the articles within it had remained untouched since I had ' st plated them there, and satisfied ' in that point I shut and locked It ' gain without having as yet received J the faintest ray of light to assist ' ai y search. I must have spent at ler.si ' half an hour In my examination of the ' plant and my questions of the bouse-teeper, bouse-teeper, but at tbe end of that time 1 wat compelled to give up with abso- 1 tately nothing learned that I had not ' Inown to start with. Another thing r (hat perplexed me somewhat wat aa to whether or not I should inform my 1 ancle of this new crime. I did not (! ie that anything would be gained by 11 telling hltn, while It would most cer- 1 Inly agitate blm and lead to further 8 autbursts; therefore I decided to c ave him In Ignorance of It and re- " luested Mrs. Tebbets to do the same. r f also decided to see Iel)uc and get tit opinion on the matter, and repair- n Ing the outraged doors as best I could " tth hammer, boards and nails, and " tootling the housekeeper by my as- mranctss that the Incident was a trlv-ialty trlv-ialty to which she need pay no further attention, I went upstairs and fat " Iciwn to my breakfast with Undo Ab-tier Ab-tier a usual. Hut an hour later when ' bad reached my office 1 telephoned 11 the detective w ith the request that .he 1) meet ire at the noon hour. He readily isntl a.i 1 I then went about my r Lilly work, a He mtt me at luncheon and I ex " plained tte matter to hint without prelitfV He looked serious minded a it I flr.lahod. "What da you tlir.k of r I'.?" I skd. la hi aVUrs-;on he SeUyed his reply for pt rhas 3D sec- P and. "It seems peculiar. Uut I am more h inclined to co:i!der It as a separate ind distinct o?ence rs'.ier than aa an afterr.;a:h of the original happening happen-ing Further than that 1 don't be- ! '.leva I Lave aey theory to advance at vet. However. It may all come out In tl the fni to'utlon, provided there la n :me. an) la the meantime I would dls- a mist 1: from my mini If I were you. h If you find that difficult, you may t look upon It la this light. If I re- member, we had a sharp shower last o night-the thunder awoke me. It la h not utireaiontbU to assume that tome back-yan't prowler caught In the y storm may hare forced hit way In 7 merely to acjre a dry nest In which h to eletp," While I did not take much P tock In that explanation and so In- formed him. ! added that being in a receptive rrcxid I would file It In my b mind far future reference, and then h began laterrcgatlng him at to his own g movtn:tcu since we had last fore- a gathered. Out when It came to that he had little to tay and at first teemed disinclined to part with even that Later on as we a'.e, however, he became t trifle more rommunl- r eatlve. Under tbe warming Influence b f totacco and coffee be began to u make more satisfactory replies to n.y b iulaa!etj,but if be bad learned any- t thing cf importance be did not betray r IC Since the day upon which he had taken an active Interest In the case and I had heard hit low whistle at tbe mention of Mackay't name, curiosity curi-osity had filled my mind at to what his researches would be in that direction. di-rection. I had gone to Mrs. Dace't with tbe mention of LeDuc't name that the might underttand why I had repeated to blm conversatlona which had occurred between herself and myself, that the might not feel that I had tattle-taled our private talka without explaining the reason to her. Hut though I had paved the way by which he might have had a confidential confiden-tial business chat with her. If he had availed himself of the opportunity It had not come to my knowledge. That LeDuc might now have full Information Informa-tion of what I had done and feel at liberty to Interview her should he desire, I now told him of my talk upon the aubject with her; telling him that she had denied absolutely having repeated my half confidences to any one, and bad seemed to be amused at the Idea that Janet was anything more or lest than an automaton. Thla Information In-formation he received without comment com-ment beyond the paradoxlal remark that he could not remember that he had forgotten anything. "What else have you got to tell me?" I urged In finishing. He cloaed hit lips to tightly around hla cigar that It resembled re-sembled a nail driven Into a crack and appeared to be filling himself to his toes with smoke as he reflected. Presently he expelled the emoke from his mouth after the manner of a nursery nur-sery dragon. "I don't know whether I am acting wisely or not, but under your promise to divulge nothing you may learn from mo without my consent I am going go-ing to rifk it. I know that you believe be-lieve In your cousin Hruce'a honeBty." "Impllclty." "Hut do you hnppen to know that he haa somehow or other managed to roinu Into active control of enough money to resume his operations on 'change on a rather liberal scale?" he queried with a thin smile. I was astonished as-tonished and told him so. "Well, he has," ho pursued assertively. assert-ively. "Furthermore, he Is carrying on his operations under some name which does not Bound at all like his own. Vou look aurprlsed. That's the way I felt when I first found this out." 1 ruminated. "Hut certainly he would not be fool enough to openly snd notoriously and under our very noses begin the use of money dlshon-rstly dlshon-rstly obtained utmost the day after the commission of a crime which bf knows he haa not absolved himself jf?" I cried. IjcDuc looked at me jueerlv. "That la what almost any one sotild think under first impulse. Hut hcn you are dealing with criminals rou must remember that they do not eason and act Just as do honest men. Vhen a sane man takea his life and Iberty In hla hand and commits a lesperate crime, he la of neceaslty nore or less regardless of conse-luencet, conse-luencet, as well aa being driven by trong pressure. And In nearly all aset It Is because of this recklesa-iea recklesa-iea that we catch him. He may ommlt the crime Itself with a skill .n d caution that Is almost more than itiman, yet the next day Is apt to go ut and do something so foolish that t Instantly attracts attention to him. 'or Instance, having had no money icfore, he now begins to spend It avlshly; or becoming under the In-liience In-liience of liquor boast or let things Irop that sound queer. If It were not or these peculiarities of the criminal nake up, anil the fact that he general-y general-y makes a confident of some wotniii i ho betrays him, the road of tho rlmlnai would be comparatively safe nd that of the detective an unhappy inc." "Hut 1 cannot believe that there Is nythlng crooked about Hruce. eit Is foreign to hit whole nature." ly friend thrust one hand in his ocket. "Ikiea he ever tmoke cigarettet?" e smiled. "Frequently." "Any particular brand?" I paused to reflect. "I think to. At remember, those that I have seen ere Invariably a Turkish abomlna-Ion abomlna-Ion with a serrated gilt band for a louthplece. What ia your reason for sklng me that?" He withdrew hit and from beneath the table and ossed a half smoked specimen of the peclea which I had been describing n the table before me. 1 looked at im Inquiringly. "I found that in the hallway of our house near the closet where our uncle had beeo-conflned. Per-apt Per-apt you noticed at the time that I i icked up something which 1 did not i how you." Silently I sat trying to read hla i lank eyea. Hut aa for divining what i ny behind them I might at well have , ;azed at window back of which the hade a were draw n. CHAPTER XIII. I Directly after thlt seance with 1 i uc the afock which I had margined i 4'gan that sertea of kangaroo leapt pward which will never be forgotten 1 y those, who by reason of their in- I rest, watched the marvel. I probably i ailed my broker up not lest than half i dozen timet a day during thla playmate. She looked up at me with i a start. "Do you really mean to give It to me, dearest?" she Inquired with a quick Intake of her breath. "Dearest!" The word ran through me like wine. My clasp tightened around the warm hand I held and my reason ran riot. "I most certainly do. I bought It merely to rlease you. Perhaps you had better keep it at the Arcadia where it will be handy for us on pleacant evenings." Sho leaned forward and looked at me, her magnificent mag-nificent eyea glowing softly. "You are very good to me better than I deserve," she murmured In a momentary lull of the music. "I shall not tell you how much I appreciate your generosity; I shall show you Instead." Nothing but the presence of the crowd restrained me from repeating repeat-ing my physical demonttratlon of the hour before. "And I will alwaye be good to you. anl you will be happy with me, won't you?" I breathed, full of anxiety. Her long lashea fell until they swept her cheeks and screened the royal blue eyea from mine. "I think ao given certain conditions." condi-tions." "And those?" She looked at me again, smiling now. "If we ahould be married, Tom, dear, I should demand nearly all your time aa my own. I should want you nearly alwayt where I could reach out my band and touch you. That privilege you could not grant me If you were engaged In Borne occupation which demanded much of your phyla-leal phyla-leal attention. Also, in order to make me contented, you would have to be able to take me where I wanted to go and at such times as I cared to be there. I don't care for Italy In the summer and I despise St. Petersburg In winter. Furthermore, we both love the beautiful things of this world. Its flowers. Its music and Its luxurtea. and could we enjoy them together I believe be-lieve that I would he a happy woman. Hut I don't believe that we would ever bo content were we tied down to a flat In a narrow street. Therefore, I want you to understand me, dear. If you winh otir lives to be rich and filled with tho Joys of living you munt succeed. And In this ago success means money. Having made your fortune for-tune the world will cheerfully admit that you have brains, and a man who at your age hat achieved wealth and the consequent respect of the world has few other difficulties to overcome. over-come. These are the reasons why I so earnestly beseech you to make the most of your opportunitlea now that you are well on the road w hich leads to all that both of ua crave. Whip your talentt and courage to the uttermost; ride them mercilessly, but wisely and with patience." I followed her quickly and anxloue-ly. anxloue-ly. "Hut suppose, dearest, that I should be unfortunate; auppose through some financial cataclysm which man Is at unable to forsee aa he Is to prevent I ahould become ruined and left dependent upon what I could earn by work. Would you then love pie any the less?" She smoothed the rose upon her bosom, her eyes falling. "I have not meant to Intimate that life in a cottage would make me love you the less. Neither would I expect you to believe me If I said that It would have a tendency to make me love you tbe more. Anyway, I uo not fe-I that such an existence Is taen-tlal taen-tlal to my happiness, which you say Is of the utmost solicitude to you. Therefore. I mention these things not as a condition to govern our future relations, but as Incentives for you to strain yourtelf to your best e.Tortt at though you were fighting for your life; to overlook nothing which you may turn to your advantage; to think; to act; to succeed succeed I am fonder of rcu than of any other man for many reasons. You have been devoted to me and believe lu me; you are strong and handsome and have an alert mind. Hut to make our lifelong life-long happiness assured you must lift ua above the sordid vexations of the world. We are both hopeful and ambitious, am-bitious, and I doubt if we could la content should we have to give tip our Ideals for commonplaces. I do not say that I should not love you In adversity, ad-versity, but I abhor It and I know that our lives would be greatly marred If you bad to slave for me and I had to cook for you. I am speaking frankly to you aa my prospective husband. For our mutual happiness you must win." Tho realization of all this had ridden rid-den me like an old man of the sea from almost tho beginning of my acquaintance ac-quaintance with her, and it waa because be-cause of Its realization that I had played so desperately. And now confronted con-fronted so vividly by tbe consciousness conscious-ness that she also realized It I fell from the clouds like a plummet to solid earth again. Once more I sst before her a normal human being, conscious that I had weight and much of It, and that Instead of floating Ideal-Istlcally Ideal-Istlcally I must tread the earth like any other man. The dream faded and grim actuality took Its place. Instead In-stead of soaring to the glittering mountain peak In eaglelike flight I must climb there. Yet by abandoning the winding and beaten roads I could thort cut It over the cliffs and the Journey would not be long. I would offset the added danger of the bee lino by courage and skill. I would leave the plodders to the longer, safer road as I mounted steadily up the precipices preci-pices while they wandered through tbe canyons In their gradual ascent. I set my teeth aa I twore to myself that I should not fall. I do not believe be-lieve that any man was more coldly determined to win, no matter the danger dan-ger or difficulty, than I was that moment. mo-ment. I emptied the remainder of the contents of my wine glass upon the gravel at my feet and saw faint wonder come creeping into her faco ns she watched. I stiffened my shoulders shoul-ders and sat erect in my chair. "I am glad that you spoke to me as you did. You have awakened me to a fuller realization that I have no right to ask you to entrust yourself to my keeping until I have proven that with my arms around you, you will be protected from the vulgarities and petty troubles of life as a woman of your kind should be protected. Therefore until I have proven thlt my wine glass shall remain turned down." She clapped her hands softly soft-ly and picked up her own glass by Its reed like stem. "Ilravo. I give you my moral support sup-port by following your good example." She pushed It, half filled, to one side aa I expottulated. 'Hut It Is not necessary that you should deny yourself simply because I do. Yours Is not the atruggle. It It but the waiting" Her hand slid over mine In a fleeting caress. (TO BE C'ONTINt'ED.) An ttklmo's Dwelling. We do not look for any great amount of Inventive genlua among the Esquimau., Esqui-mau., but for yeart they nave employed em-ployed a rather complete respirator, used in the preparation and taslng of a vapor bath, as a meant of protection Ironi the dense tmoke This Esquimau Esqui-mau respirator Is a little basket wovm of twisted strands of f,n grass It It placed with Iti shallow side agalnat the mouth, and a wooden peg. wbica arises from tbe center of tbe bieet. f la held between the teeth For this purpose water It evaporated over a big fire In t very low Hut. w nu n Is tightly Closed to Keep n the beat this aiming atmophere the employ ment of a respirator Is abeoiutny ota Caaary "Furthermore, He It Carrying on Hit Operatlont Under Some Name Which Does Not Sound at All Like Hit Own." gualntance began tne waa visibly agitated by my pleadings. "You aay that you love me with all this great love and tell me that 1 must answer your question, Tom. dear," the said very softly. "Very well. I will answer you. I will marry you upon one condition." "And that?" I cried wildly, feiing myself grow weak In tfie tunpenae. "That you will not importune me now to fix the date. You mtiat leave that entirely to my discretion. When I think the right time haa come 1 will manage in tome wy to l.t you know that I am ready. Until then you must be patient with me like the dear boy that you have alwayt been." "Then we are ready engaged r 1 to extremes," she cautioned. In my then state of mind money was but glittering dross, worthiest except In Itt power to bring her pleasure. Had I iKssesed a million I would have poured It over her at prodigally at Hruce deluged Clare with rosea. "And of course the car Is jourt." I went on with the recklessness of a Crmsus. . "I will so Instruct them at the garage, and when you wish ft you will have but to telephone and have It brought to you." It wat a present made under the Impulse of the moment mo-ment and absolutely without thought of the future; bestowed as a child In a spontaneous outburst of generosity generosi-ty and affection thruttt bis meet priceless tot Into the hands of a |