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Show r I It TV T 1 miiiiiiiiHiniiiiiiiniiHiiiiiHiiiinTi 1 he Masauerader 's (Continued from ynterday.) It opened at once and Ider atood befnfe him. The ocraeion wae peculiar. For a moment neither epnke; each involuntarily involun-tarily looked at the other with new eyea and under changed oondltiona. Kach had aaaumed a freah atandpolnt In the other'a thought. The passing aatonlskment, the . half-Impersonated rnrloalty that had previouely tinged their relationship, waa rant aekle, never to be rraaaunied. In each, the other saw blmeelf and something mora. Aa usual, IKlrr waa the first to recover re-cover himself. "I waa expecting von, ha said-"Won said-"Won t you eorne In?" The words were almost ha same aa hla words of the night before, birt his voles had a different ring; Just aa his fare, when ha drew back Into the room, had a different expression a suggestion sugges-tion of decision and energy that had been lacking before. Chilcote raught the difference aa he crossed the threshold, thresh-old, and for a bare second a flicker of something Ilka Jealousy touched htm. But the eensatlon was fleeting. 1 have to thank you!" he aald. holding hold-ing out hla hand. He waa too well bred to abow by a hint that he understood under-stood the drop In he other's'prlnciplea. But Loder broke down the artifice. "Let s be straight with each other, since everybody else has to be deceived," de-ceived," he said, taking the other's hand. "Tou have nothing to thank me for. and you know It. It's a touch of out one day and leave yon high and dry? What is to prevent .lohn chilcote from reallzing,foriy or fifty thousand pounds and then making himself scarce ?" "Tou won't do that," Chilcote aald. with unusual decision. "1 told you your weakness last night; and It wasn't money. Money Isn't the rock you'll split over." "Then you think I'll split upon some rock? Hut that's beyond the question. To get to buaineaa again. Tou'U risk my studying your signature?" Chilcote nodded. "Right! Now item two." Loder cpwnlril on his fingers. f'I must know be namea and faces of your men friends aa far aa 1 can. Tour woman . friends don't count. While I'm you, I you will be adamant." lie laughed again pleasantly. "But the men are essential the backbone of the whole business." "1 have no men friends. I don't trust the Idea of friendship " ' "Acquaintances, then." Chilcote looked up sharply. "I think we score there." he said. "I have a reputation for absentmlndednees that will carry you anywhere. They tell ma I can look through the most substantial substan-tial man In the house aa If be were gossamer, though I may have lunched with him the earns day." Loder smiled. "By Jove!" ha exclaimed. ex-claimed. "Kate muat have been con-atructlng con-atructlng this before either of us was born. It dovetails ridiculously. But 1 It's rather an ugly scar." He lifted hla hand till the light fell more fully on It. Above the eecond Joint of the third finger ran a Jagged furrow, the reminder of a wound that had once laid bare the bone. Chilcote leaned forward. "How did you come by it?" he asked. The other shrugged his shoulder "Oh, that's ancient history." "The results art present-dsy enough, very awkward! Very annoying!" Chllcote's spirits, at alt tlmea over-easily over-easily played upon, were damped by this obstacle. Loder. still leaking at hi. h.n dldn t seem to hear. "There's only one thing to he done." he said. "Kach wear two rlpgs on the third finger of the left hand. Two rings ouKht to cover It." He hade a epeculatlve measurement with the stem ot his pipe. Chilcote still looked Irritable and disturbed. "I detest rings. I never wear rings." Loder raised his eyes calmly. ."Neither do I," he satd. "But there's no reason for bigotry." But Chllcote's Irritability waa started. He pushed tack his chair. "I don't like the Idea." he aald. The other eyed him amusedly. "What a queer beggar you are!" he said. "You waive the dancer of a man signing your checks and shv at wearing wear-ing a piece of Jewelry, ill have a fair ahare of Individuality to study." the old Adam. Tou tempted me, and I fell." He laughed, but below the laugh ran a note of something like triumphthe tri-umphthe curious triumph of a man who haa known the tyranny of strength and auddenly appreciates the freedom of a weakness. "Tou fully realise the thing yon have proposed?" he added. In a different tone. "It's not too lata to retract even now." i Chilcote opened his lips, paused, thea laughed In imitation of hla companion; but tbe lauath sounded forced. "My dear fellow." he aald at last, ."I never retract." "Never?" No." "Then the bargain's sealed." Loder walked alowly across the room, and. taking up hla position by the mantelpiece, looked at his companion. The similarity between them as they faced each other seemed abnormal, defying de-fying even the closest scrutiny. And yet. so mysterious Is nature even In her lapees, they were eubtly. Indefinably different. Chilcote waa Loder deprived-of deprived-of one essential; Loder. Chilcote with that eeeentlal bestowed. The difference differ-ence lay neither In festure. In coloring, nor In height, bat In that baffling, illusive illu-sive Inner Illumination that aome call individuality, and others soul. Momethlng of this Idea, misted and tangled by nervous Imagination, crossed Chllcote's mind in that moment of scrutiny, but he shrank from It ap. k...l..lw must know your colleagues even If It's only to cut them. You'll have to take me to the house." "Impoeslble!" "Not at all!" Again the tone of authority au-thority fell to Loder. "I can pull my hat over my eyea and turn up my cont collar. Nobody will notice me. We can choose the fall of the afternoon. I promise you 'twill be all right." "Suppose the likeness should leak out? It's a risk." Loder laughed confidently. "Tush, man I Risk Is the salt of life. I must sea you at your post, and 1 must see the men you work with." He rose, walked across the room, and took bis pipe from the rack. "When 1 go in tor a thing. I like to go in over head and ears." he added, aa he opened his tobacco Jar. Hia pipe filled, he resumed hla seat, resting his elbows on the table In unconscious un-conscious Imitation of Chilcote. "(kit a match?" he said, laconically, holding out his hand. In response Chilcote drew his match box from his pocket and atruck a lierrit-Aa lierrit-Aa their hands touched, an exclamation escaped him. "By Jove!" he said, wrtti a fretful mixture of disappointment and aur-prise.. aur-prise.. "I hadn't noticed that!" His eyea were fixed In annoyed Interest on Loder's extended hand. Loder. following his glance, smiled. "Odd that wa ahould have both overlooked over-looked It! It clean eacnped mv mind. ..uin-ui univri reeiieaaiy. r.very- body knowa I detest Jewelry. "Everybody knows you are capricious. capri-cious. It's got to be the rings or nothing, so far aa I make out. Chilcote again altered hla position, avoiding the other's eyea At last, after a struggle with himself, tie looked up. "1 suppose you're right!" he said. "Have It your own way." It waa the first small, tangible concession to the. stronger will. Loder took, hia victory quietly. "Oood!" he said. "Then it's all straight sailing?" "Except for the matter of the the remuneration." Chilcote hazarded the word uncertainly. There was a faint pause, then Loder laughed brusquely. "My pay?" The other waa embarrassed. "I didn't want to put it quite like that." "But that waa what you thnuaht. Why are you never honest even with yodteelf ?" Chilcote drew hts chair closer to the table. He did not attend to the other's remark, but his fingers etrayed to hla waistcoat pocket and fumbled there. Loder saw the gesture. "Look here." he saJd. "you are overtaxing yourself. The affair of the pay lan't pressing; we'll shelve It to another nigbt. You look tired fut." i Chilcote lifted his eves with a relieved re-lieved glance. "Thanks. I do feel Aft . -. . "I I came to dlacuaa drfall"." ha ftaiil. quickly, croaalnir the apace that divided him from hla boat. "Shall we ? Are you 7 He paused un-eaUv. un-eaUv. "I'm entirely In your hands Loder poke with abrupt decision. Movinjr to the table, he Indicated a chair and drew another forward for himself. Both men sat down. Chilcote leaned forward, resting el. bows on the table. "There will be several sev-eral things to consider " he hean, nervously., looking across at the other. "Quite ro." l-oder glanced bark appreciatively. ap-preciatively. I thought about those, thlnjrs the better part of last night. To j begin with, I must study your hand- writing. I guarantee to get It right, but It will take a month." -A monthl" Well, per ha pa three weeks. We mustn't make a mesa of things." rhtlcote shifted hla position. "Th re week ! " hs repeated. "Couldn't you V "No; I couldn't." toder apoke authoritatively. au-thoritatively. "I might never want to put a pen to paper, but on the other 1 hand, 1 might have to strn a check one day." He laughed. "Have you ever thought of that ? that I might have to, or want to. sign a check?" "No. I con t that eeraped me." "Tou risk your fortune that you may keep the place ft bought for yon? Loder Lo-der lauahed again. "How do you know that I am not a blackguard T" he added, j "How do you know that 1 won't ciear I a hit fagged. If I may, ril have that whisky that I refused last night." "Why. certainly." Ider rose at once and crossed to a cupboard in the wall. In silence he brought out whisky, glasses and a syphon of soda water. "Say when!" he aald, lifting the whlaky. , -Now. And ril hare plain water . Instead of sods. If It s all the seme." "Oh, quite." . Uvder rerrnssed the ; mom. Instantly hie back waa turned ('hllrnte drew a couple of tahlnida i from his pocket and dropped Ihem Into hie glass. As the other came alowly bark he laushed nervouely. j "Thanks. Kee to your own drink j now; I ran manage this." He took the Jug unceremoniously, and care-I care-I fully guarding hla glass from the light poured in the water with excited haste' I "What shail we drink toT" he aald I-oder methodically mixed hla own I drink and lifted the glass. "Oh to the i career of John Chllroia!" he answered For an Irslant the other hesitated' There was something propchtfc In the I sound of the toast. But he shook the f.-eling r ff end held up his glass. . "To the career of John rhllrote' i he aald. with another unsteady laugh. ! i VII. It was a Vttle lesa Ihsn three weeks j since) Chilcote and Loder had drunk their toast, and again Loder waa seated 1 at hla desk. I (CvnUnned tomorrow.) |