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Show j ; . a. a. 1 1 1 1 MM 1 1 1 ill 1 I IMI 1 1 1 1 ll t a I ll The Masnuerader X IX 1 T XtiUU UvlUVtV jlMIIIHHIIIIIMIIIIIIIIMM!I.MIlllI!IILI (Continued from yesterday.) "Tush, man! Tou don't know what you say. 'Tha fact of your being married bars It. Can't you sea that?" Again Chllcota caught his arm. "You mlsunderetand," ha aald. "You mlataka tha poaltlon. 1 tell you my 'wifa and I ara nomine to r" olher. Hha goes her way: 1 go mine. W hava our own frlanda, our own rooms. Marriage, actual marriage, doesn't enter th question. W meet occasionally oc-casionally at meals, and at other people's peo-ple's houses; sometimes w go out I together for the sake of appearances: i beyond that, nothing. If you take up my life, nobody In It will trouble you less than Eve I can promise that." He laughed unalaadlly. I.oder'a faca remained unmoved. "Even granting that." ha said, "th thing Is still Impossible." Whyr "There Is tha House. Th position' thera would ba untenable. A man la known thera aa ha Is known In his own club." Ha draw away , from his hand on the door: then, closing It quietly, he turned and look round th room. For a considerable space he stood there as If weighing the merits of each object; then very slowly be moved to one of tha book shelves, drew out "May's Parliamentary Practice," and cnrrvlnf It i lha desk raadllialfd lha lamp. vT All tha next day Chllcota moved in a fever of excitement. Hot with hope ona moment, cold with fever tha next, ha rushed with restless energy into very task that presented Itself only to drop It speedily. Twice during tha morning he drov to tha entrance of Clifford s Inn, but each time his courage cour-age failed him and he returned to Groe-venor Groe-venor Hquare to learn that tha expected ex-pected measag from Lower had not com. It waa a wearing condition of mind; but at worst It waa scarcely more than an exaggeration of what bis state had been for months, and made .but little Chllcota turned on him excitedly. "What the devil's tha meaning of this?" h said. "A battery of servants In the hous and nobody to open th hall door!" Allsopp looked embarrassed, "Crap-ham "Crap-ham la coming directly, air. II only left lh hail to gale Jeffries Chllcota turned. Confound Crap-ham!" Crap-ham!" ha exclaimed. "Uo and open thd door yourself." Allsopp hesitated, hie dignity struggling strug-gling with his obedience. Aa ha waited, th oell sounded again. I "Did you hear me?" Chllcota aald. ( "Yes. sir." Allsopp crossed the hall. As th door was opened Chllcot ssed his handkerchief from one hand to tha other in th tension of hop and fear; then, aa tha aound of his own nam in th shrill tones or a telegraph tKy reached hia eara, ha let the handkerchief hand-kerchief drop to the ground. Allsopp took th yllow envelop and carried it to bla master. "A telegram, sir." he aald. "And th boy-wishes to know if thera la an an-awer" an-awer" Picking un Chlicote'a handker- chief, ha turned aside with elaborate dignity. Chilcota's hands were ao unsteady that he could scarcely Insert his finger undsr tha flap of the envelop. Tearing Tear-ing off a corner, he wrenched th covering cov-ering apart and smoothed out tha flimsy pink papsr. Th measag waa very almple,- consisting con-sisting of but seven words: "Hhall expect you at 11 tonight. Loder." H read It two or three times, then fa, looked up. "No answer." h said, mechanically; and to his own eara tha relief In hia volca eounded harsh and unnatural. Exactly aa tha clocka chimed II Chllcota mounted tha stairs to Loder's rooms. But thia.tlme thera waa more of hast than of uncertainty In his ateps, and, reaching the landing, he crossed It In a roup! of strides and knocked feverishly on th door. (Continued tomorrow.) J I "Very possibly. Vry possibly." Chllcot laughed quickly and-excitedly. But what club ta without Its eccen-trlo eccen-trlo member? I am glad you spoke ' of that- I am glad you ralasd that point- It waa a long time aio that I hit upon a reputation for moods as !a shield for for other things, and. I tha mora uaeful It haa become, th mor I hava let It grow. I tell you you might go down to th House tomorrow to-morrow and apend th whol day without speaking to. even nodding to. a slngls man. and aa long as you war 1 to outward appear-anccs appear-anccs no ona would raise an eyebrow. j In tha aame way you might i vole In my place, ask a Question, make a speech If you wanted to" At the word speech loder turned Involuntarily. In-voluntarily. For a fleeting second the coldness of hia mannsr droppe and his far changed. Chllcote. with hia nervoua quickness of perception, aaw the alteration, and a new look crossed his own fac. -Why not?" h aald quickly. "Tou one had ambitions n that direction. Why not renew the smbltlons?" "And drop back from tha mountains Into the gutter?" Ixdr smiled and slowly shook his head better to llv on day than to exist for a hundred!" Chllcot' voice trembled trem-bled with anxiety. Kor th third tlm he extended hia hand and touched the other. This tlm Loder did not shaks off the detaining hand: h scarcely seamed to feel It pressur. "Look here." Chlicote'a fingers tightened. "A little whll ago you talked of Influence. Her you can step Into a poaltlon built by Influence. You might do all you one hoped to do" oovious oiueiancs in am ub.iii v. manner. In tha afternoon he took his place In tha houae, but, though It was hia first sppearanc alnce his failure of two daya ago. ha drew but small personal notice. When he choe. hia manner could repel advances with extreme effect, ef-fect, and of late men had been prone to draw away from him. In ona of the lobbies he encountered Kraide surrounded by a group of friends. With his usual furtive hasts he would hava paaaed on; but. moving away from hia party, th old man accosted ac-costed him. He waa always courteously courteous-ly particular In his treatment of Chllcote. Chll-cote. as th husband of his ward and godchild. - Better. TThllcota?" h said, holding out his hand. At th aound of th low. rather formal for-mal tones, ao characteristic of th old statesman, a hundred memories rose to Chlicote'a mind, a hundred hours, distasteful dis-tasteful In th living and unbearable In th recollection; and with them the new flash of hop, th new possibility of freedom. In a sudden rush of confidence con-fidence ha turned to his leader. "1 believe 1'va found a remedy for my nerves." he said. "1 I bellevs I'm going to be a n wman." He laughed with a touch of excitement. Frelde pressed his fingers kindly. That Is right," he said. "That la right. I called at Orosvenor ttquar this morning, but Ev. told m your Illness of the other day was not serious. 8hs was very busy this morning she could only apare ma a quarter of an hour. Bha la Indefatlgsble over the social so-cial aid of your prospects, Chllcot. You ow her a, larg debt. A popalar wifs means a great deal to a politician." lder auaueniy llltea nia naau. nv-surd!" nv-surd!" ho aald. "Absurd! Such a scheme waa never carried through " "Precisely why it will succeed. People Peo-ple never suspect until they hav a precedent.' Wil lyou consider It? At least consider It. Remember, If ther Is a risk. It Is who am running tt. On your own showing, you hav no poaltlon poal-tlon to Jeopardise." The other laughed curtly. "Before I go tonight will you promise prom-ise me to consider K?" . you will send ma your decision by wire. I won't take your answer "'Zoder freed hla arm abruptly. -Why not?" he asked. Chllcot smiled nervously. "Because I know men and men s temptatlone. We are all very etrong till the quirk la touched: then w all wince. if morphia with on man. ambltiona with another. In each cas It's only a mat- I ter of sooner or later." H laughed In his satirical, unstrung way, and hsld out his hand. -You hav my addrsss,-said addrsss,-said "Au rerotr." Ixxler pressed th hand and dropped "it. "Goodbye," he aald meaningly. Then ha crossed the' room quietly and held th door open. "Goodbye," h I said again aa th other passed him. As he crossed th threshold. Chllcot pauaed. "Au revolr." b corrected, with emphaala. I Until th last echo of his visitor's e.ne had died away Loder stood with ! ' Th steady yea of his companion disturbed Chllcote. He drew away hla hand. "Kve la unique," he eald vaguely. Fralde smile. -That Is right." he ssld sgain. "Admiration Is too largely excluded from modern marriages." And with a courieoua excuae he rejoined his frienda. It waa dinner tlm before Chllcote could desert the house, but ths moment departure waa poaslbls b hurried to Uroenenor atquar. A he entered the house, ths hsll waa smpty. He ewor Irritably under his breath and preeeed the nearest bell. 8lnre hia momentary exaltation In Fralde'a presence, his spirits had steadily fallen, until now they bung at ths loweat abb. A he waited In unconcealed Impatience for an answer an-swer to his summons, hs caught aight of hla man Allsopp at th head of th stairs. "Com hr! h called, pleased to find someone upon whom to vent hia Irritation. "Haa that wire com for sr - "No. air. I Inquired flv minutes back." -Inquire again." "Yea, sir." Allsopp disappeared. A second after his disappearance th bell of the hall door whisaed loudly. Chllcot started. All sudden sounds, like aU strong lights, affected him. Ho half moved to th door, the) stopped . himself with a short exclamation. All the asm Instant Allsopp reappeared. I |