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Show v ' . ' : s . ... ".. . ' ; -- Ayr- . -;'. ' x-: ..r;:- - t-;- ; 7. ! fe-s liJK; .... v J :- I w r 1.-.,, -tr-,! .c . '., I . . ' troxrr-rr r.:J r --; j:r;' rr :i rre more tr.l r re t.uI.-I:-s Li hi$ few, I :..: rt:r-. rt:r-. ance. . II? ' -.1 bad r way' of fever-: z l z :..i c all CLe'i. .z It hr.:J, but no-.v a wiy Lai c; : t " hln, ar.i Is revel-J Li it. And at this firt:cu!ar L.-e te had a ce .v enerr.j; and is he walled a-c-l Li roca. while hi acccrrpLice finished the article that would ap- ' pear in the next copy of the paper, his hcl!:w ciieeks glowed with nuliffnant . delight, for .the vonaa at' , whom ths tlow waa to be struck by his deit haad waa Him Gwinn. whom he had dared to love, and whose '. tcornful unconsciousness of his low bad beta to hira, , the crudest suffering of hist life. - . - : . And Ldy Brisit.had Uoghed at him, aad Mrj. Gwinrr had utterly ignored tha feclis that meart so , .'much' to him. So, now that his time had come, Qzaae ,had not spared bet, and in three days' time all Lon-. . don -would know that. Alfred Gwiinj'f wife had twiot ,f;one alone to Graham Play fords rooms..- . , i; . When the typing was don and Rose Butler gon. Chase sat for an ho uf by 'the fire; anticipatinf with curiously mingled ioy the appearance ' of the next Dumber Of Tht Social WorlL : v . v - - . !-..: - 5 . .""r'. - . Ai he took 't Ha place at LadylWeltef's dJnnef tabl; the next evening but one, he turned to his hostess on whose left be sat, aod with one of his queer laughs, ai . quick to come and to go as his frowns, observed that those were right who accused the world of being Queer. . : "How original I But" why is it queer la particular to-night?" He laughed again, without answering, for vhe could hardly tell her. that having written for Tk ..Social lVrU an account of. her. visits to Graham Play- -ford's rooms, it was amusmg to' find himself sitting by Nina Gwinn and aearly opposite Playford himself I Chase, looked at her without turning. Her little, straight profile, her silky, dark hair, her dusky, colorless color-less skin, all these points -he knew by heart He no longer -loved her he hated ber; but to-night he waa less bitter-toward her than usaaL because she was ia his power, and to men of his type impotence to revenge re-venge one's self increases hatred a thousandfold. You have been away, Mr. Chase?" Mrs. Gwinn looked at him gravely as she spoke. "I have not seen -yon for a long time." " "No I have been ia town, but I have been busy. You are well, I see?" "I am always welL" Then she turned to her other neighbor and Chase was again silent His half-ruined nerves were apt to pby hira tricks, and he knew that it behooved him to be careful in his conversation. The articles signed Peeping Tom were naturally much talked about, and much wonder was expressed by every one as to who the unknown writer might be Playford, he saw, was behaving admirably. He had always watched Nina Gwinn with eyes full of artist's fdeasure; he now watched her, but neither more or ess than before. Chase envied him his well-balanced nerves. As to Nina herself, she too behaved much as usuaL She was absolutely without affectation, so that people were accustomed to her silent fits. Tonight To-night she had one, but no one noticed it On the other hand, the others at that end of the table were unusually noisy, and the room rang with :-r.-y rzrrs tl tirsa r.'.c!:i?" J: j U . wri-'vly tLt. , . "To-l rrow'i t'.s 1 dar," ' ret:-. zl s: -.e c--i 1 trt-v'-. C:i't yea Jul?. Kcf.en L::'s i--- i;-t W CLac, dcc;ly stung, was on the pc:.-t cf nu5dr , son Lndiscrest rejoinder whea !!rs. Gwir.a took v tve ctiJjclrar.d wenl ca quietly, T-t tuy area't-llca . Charl.s. That is jcst.what is wc3.':rfL . Thry an all true eyerr word the man wri s is tr.s.'. 11a ccvei ; v .mi'vcs a iritAe, never buries te lvir.z. tor res-jrrecti Mhe'dead, he tts the right 'shadowy third u.o the right - househeld the man knows what be is talking about, k and be-ksows bow to tell it - ; . , . After a xaac .t's silence Sir. Charles lac-ied. "I- believe yo tT JJeeping Tm yourself, Nina, he said, 7 : vand if you are, you are a scurrilous wretch T . . : .-.Every one laughed, and Chase, turning to- ber, re-. ;" marked, with brrck-colored flush en ma cheefc bones, that the fellowr whoever be was, would be pleased M ; - he could know of her defense. v ! ' ' "He will prohahhr bear of it," aha returned, fanning' : ; 'herself slowly, with ber black fan, and meeting his ' eyes ea5uaI3y,-"4for I ara" convinced that we aU know ' . hjnt". -. i-- . - Ite iiv th ereainff aoniehody aang. . ;. . . -; . Chase, who was sincerely fond of music, fled in horror hor-ror from ' the performance and found himself la the library with n. Gwirm, who bad gone: there to write . a note that she waa inst finishing. ' ."That woman ought to b strung' Bp by the thumbs . for torturing people' with her alommable Toice," he scried irritably, flinging himself into the nearest chaic . and closing his ears with his finger. , Nina smiled 'and addressed her note.' Thea' he saw her lips move, and listened to her. "You are frightfully nervous, Mr. Quae,, she said, kindly enough, why don't ypn take a rest-core?" "Rest-cure, rest-cure rubbish. I ant perfectly wtU, Mrs. Gwinn." Stadying bis nervously distorted face for a moment she shook her bead. "No, you' are sot but X am sorry I spoke of it as it annoys you." "It doesn't annoy me at all" be stammered, frowning frown-ing at her, "bat it bores me to talk about my beahX I ten you I nerer was better in my life 1 Opening a silver box on the table, she took from it a stamp, which she fixed to ber letter; men, taking up her gloves and fan, started toward the door. "Forgive me." she said, still inexplicably gentle in voice and manner, 'and b cartfL" "Be careful of what?" "Ofyour nerves. You nearly betrayed your secret to-night at dinner." Her dark-lashed green eye looked calmly into his as she spoke; she was so near that ber gown nearly touched him. "My secret" "Yea" He moistened his dry lips painfully and stared at her. "Why do yon think I have a secret ? "I have known ever since that evening at the Por-tescues'. Por-tescues'. I saw by your "face. You looked so-so proud" The singing in the next room bad ceased and some one was Laughing loudly. Suddenly, as though tip to that moment he bad never realised the enormity of his writing these ar- . ! 0 ; This Complete Story Gives the Reader tt A searchlight glimpse of a phase of what la known in England, its birthplace, as "Society Journal ism." M t v ii ' It lays bare with caustic pen the vilenesa of soul that permits the possessors of unworthily bestowed S j ' talents to convert themselvea into parasites living on the follies of weak women or weaker men. And g . w ' with master-stroke it pictures the effect upon one of those "Peeping Toms" when he looks upon his y U, : own soul in the light of -a good woman's eyes. . ' ' "The two Illustrations which decorate this page are by Ike Morgan, who. presents motive, incident Rand action in strong pictorial form. No expense has been Spared to have the illustrations the best that Q ' .' money can buy and to utilize every recent achievement of the engraver's art to preserve their attrac- i J , tiveneta through the many trying processes to which a fine illustration ia subjected when printed at S n high speed in a modern newspaper. ' g iesHr34:i V ? Coprrigtit, i soi, hr TVmu H. UcZm. letters-to the editor of the paper; she received all communications from him, at a post office in Baker Street; she cashed the checks sent to ber under a false name to the same place, and in return received one-third of the proceeds of their filthy traffic "Peeping "Peep-ing Tom" waa well paid in money; and, more than this, in spite of his fits pf shame about the matter, Chase, who was a malicious man, greatly enjoyed the writhings of his victims, many of whom necessarily looked on him as a friend. He bad always been peculiarly without charm; a sallow, lantern-jawed man, small and narrow-chested, and he was consumed with hatred for men who were big and strong and comely. Moreover, the poor wretch had had several sterile love affairs, altogether onesided, one-sided, for no woman had ever loved him. Two of these women he had asked to marry bim. i r. . , . fc y- V-v r T.'- .. " -.'-:.... . ,; -t'i ::vO-r-ivv;w-';f iM; ;d ;, v --..- 1' V -V v : , n , V.; -: :. - '- r,; . ' ;.. . - - -.'., r'V'.-i' '. i ' - ' " ' ' ;-rp3?, iVZ:v.J.v, if . .'-- l; " V-?' , ": V v ' ir'y y w ? i -V i'iA "-.V V- - rv:- v-v.--.-- " 1 . j i u- "N kl ;.r y . -x', --.-.,. f--- ' -W f: vvi V-' : -x '',' .' j ;;fifiVfrr' --rrrr;; h t S 1 A-' . iV-''-"-vi-." , ' v?, . .'ii i V ill- ' ... ,. f -ir-V- ;f ;'' f'f vvw:!v i-tv- ..xuJ.A ;;. - S-v.-.-v -f rt t-'Nl team ...iiv. . lAwv tf tM r .5'i,' i vH' '' r ii '.. VA'' J --- ,: -i'-i, L1 ,iftv i mTT. -N if Rose, you might come on time. II ' II ou kaow tha I have important engage- a H '- J ments " fi I.-J-- Chase did not rise from the low chair ' the fire as he spoke; and his pale, rviVous'face was stamped with the extraordinary net-; net-; work of dark wrinkles that frowning brought to it -The woman, talr and graceful in her simple dark frock, stood looking down at him as she drew off her gloves, with a curious little smile, hall speculation, half tolerant "Nerves again?" she asked. . "No, I am sick of the dirty business, and I "Easy enough to get out of the dirty business, if v you want to." "If I want tol As if I wouldn't give everything I have in. the world never to have begun it" The frown twisted his eyebrows closer over his eyes, ' his hands closed rigidly over the arms of the chair. "Ah, bah!" she returned, pushing her veil back over - her small hat and taking off her jacket "You have one of your bad days, that's alL Youll cheer up after ; a bit" "Hold your tongue P He shouted the words m one of his sudden rages, and rising advanced toward her threateningly as if about to strike her. She looked quietly down at him, for she was the taller, meeting bis angry eyes with her calm ones. "You didn't sleep at all, did you?" she asked, apparently ap-parently unconscious of his anger, and without a word be stumbled back to his chair and crouched there, tear- !. ing at his nails with his sharp, discolored teeth. 1 , And then happened the extraordinary thing that occurred oc-curred at each of their meetings. The man had sunk very low, but he was still enough of a gentleman to be desoeratery ashamed of the bond between this woman and himself. Their secret was an extraordinarily profitable and apparently safe one, but unscrupulous as he had always been, his very health was suffering under the shame be felt for what he was doing. Yet now, as she took a roll of papers from a locked leather box on the table before her, and began to read aloud. Chase sat up straigbter, the frown fajed from bis face, which seemed to grow younger as he listened, and when, at last her dark, mobile face broke into ' a smile of delight and amusement be too laughed aloud a laugh of shy pride in an achievement "It is splendid, Mr. Chase," she cried, "the best of aljthe very best!" . J le nodded. "Yes, it is good All the papers are IU y?k about tbem now. Even the Star says the style 'tfveriect" - - Rose Butler laughed. "I am not very long on style." ; she returned with a touch of the slang that curiously - enough,. lent her a certain well-bred air, "but the ma-' ma-' terial is certainly splendidly worked up ; I have nothing to suggest Shall I get to work on he tick-tick?" "Yes. You are absolutely sure of your facts?" he went on, as usual, nervously doubtful of her part of the work, now that his pride as to his own was satis- "Perfectly," she returned, seating herself before the :'- typewriter and switching on the electric light. "I saw her myself. As I told you, one of my sisters married the ball-porter there, and I saw her myself twice." "But you said she was closely veiled and it was - late afternoon," he persisted feebly, lighting a cigarette 4 with hands that shook. "You might have been mis- taken, and if it was a mistake the charm is broken, my-1 mean to say our prestige lowered. Our abso-; abso-; , lute accuracy has been She wheeled round and looked at him, her handsome face, in the glare of light, full of a riot unkindly scorn. "Now, don't you get nervous," she said. "I am per-' per-' fcctJsure, I tell you, uid if you go on like this youll ' know, I "know. Go on worAinij. I am tired ii ; out that's all" , , , ' For the next half hour he wa!ed restlessly up and I down the long room, listening to the deliberate click ef i the typewriter and smoking one cigarette after the ther- It was a curious alliance, that of Lady Bar- rimjton's maid and Tames Chase. It had lasted now . for four months, and. as has been said, had paid well. . Begun at Nutton, the place of Chase's elder brother, f where the Barringtons were visiting, through some harard of meeting, it had been purely one of profit. - Rose Bntler had a persuasive tongue, a quick eye ' and a retentive memorv. Chase had a curious gift of words, an easy flow of graceful language in writing. that was sharply in contrast to his meager, jerky style I ''of conversation. It was in fact a real literary gift ' ithat the man -had discovered in himself toward his fiftieth year and which with all his baseness, it bitter-! bitter-! ;iy hurt bim to put to the .foul .uses to which he had ' prostituted it, - So " the woman gleaning Trcm ' many nnderground I ' sourrfs the 'nucleus of somebody's secret, sotne hidden l gcafiL the 'man used the 'opportunities his social po-sitkv po-sitkv Vare Mm for observation and confirmation, and com'ning ber news and his. nsing his ears aad his eyes to follow tip the scent and mn the secret quarry to earth he moulded the whole mass of truth, supposition supposi-tion and slander into a biting, wefl-cmstructed chronicle chron-icle irv which much was said and more indicated, with iust the hair's breath of reserve that kept the publisher publish-er cf Th Scdzl World aaie frcalhc clntdtci of the . ticies, the suffering of shame $e had in reality rone through1 swept out of his memory by the flood of horror that rushed over him, he buried bis face in his hands and stood before her in a bitterness like the bitterness of death The woman was full of mercy, and she understood and compassionated him "Don't look at me li like that" he stammered, using his hands as fhough he would ward off the gae that hurt him. "Look, for God's sake, as as I deserve de-serve r "Ah, Mr. Chase." she answered, "how do I know what you deserve?" The truth of this observation struck them both so forcibly that for a moment his agony faded into a something that was bearable. "Yes," he murmured, "how do you know or any one ? But what I have done is abominable. I I knew it, and yet until now I didn't realize it" "Yes. It is abominable." she answered mildly. "Yon will not do it any more.' He did not seem to hear her, but stared at her with a fixed, apparently curious gaae. "Why," he said after another pause, "didn't you speak to me look at me hke that before?" Some one was playing an American "coon song" In the next room, and presently Charlie Welter began to sing, in the soft sweet voice that came so surprisingly from under his grim mustache: "Egypt if you don't want me. why will you haunt m the way you do?" Chase listened attentively. "If you don't want me, why will you haunt me the way you do?' I might never have realized what a blackguard I am, if you had not spoken so kindly to me. I what must I do?" "Oh, Mr. Chase, don't ask me I I am sorry I spoke. It was nothing to me, only you seem to me to be ill you are so nervous." He gave a short laugh. "I am not ilL Mrs. Gwinn. I 1 have enjoyed doing it writing those letters. As you said, I was proud of them. They art well done. And I was always a a malicious man, and enjoyed the power of hurting people. But I used to be a gentleman. And I have loved you for a year and a half. That is why your kindness made such a fool of me. "Loved me? I I am sorry, Mr. Chase." "Thanks. I " Breaking off, be listened to the applause ap-plause that greeted the ending of the song, and then, his almost grotesquely ugly face turned to her, his eyes piteous and intent. "You have my secret now tell me yours. Why did you go twice last week to Playford's rooms?" She started as though he had struck her, and reddened red-dened brilliantly. "What do you mean? If I thought you meant anything or that you were wholly ane " "Never mind about me," he hurried on, in a pleading plead-ing tone; "just tell me. In Christ's name, tell me!" "Then I went lo have tea with his sister who is atopping with him " Chase groaned He knew that she spoke the truth, nd he believed that it was too late. "I shall go home and shoot myself," he said indistinctly. indis-tinctly. "I I have written a letter about it it is to appear to-morrow " To his amaaement, after a scornful stare at him, she burst into a laugh. "I aro sorry for you. Your beautiful reputation for truthfulness will be ruined, for every one in town knows that Clara Gresham is visiting her brother, and that having sprained her ankle ten days ago she has been unable to leave the apartment ever since. Not only I, but all her and his friends have gone to see her. and on the two occasions when I went Alfred, my husband, fetched me. So you have overreached yourself." "You think I am not glad, perhaps! I have no right to beg your pardon r She looked down t him. still angry, but, worse stflT, amused. "No. you have not. You seem to me to have only ene right. Mr. Chase. But I, not having resented your scurrilous stories about other people, cannot now that you have turned your wretched poisonous arrows toward tow-ard me, pretend to a virtuous disgust You are a very horrid little man, but upon my word, I believe that you are not quite in your right "mind, so I forgive you." "You are g generous," he muttered, "not to remind me that I am in your power " She laughed again. "No, I am not of your kind. Your secret is safe with me." She was going, he saw, and yet he must say something more jylAif, but he could not let her go thus. "As every one know, it, at least will not hart you," he went on hurriedly. "Ot course, it will not hurt me! Now good-bye.' "Mrs. Gwinn one minute." Like an importunate beggar, he caught her skirt and arrested her. "You said I had only one right w what is that one?" Her face softened a little. "Don't touch me, please. The right to one's pity." "Then for God's sake, pity me 1" It occurred to her that his face, as he looked up at her, was like what that of the repentant thief on the cross must have been. "I I do pity you, Mr. Chase," she said, slowly. Good-bye." She left him then, and, without returning to the drawing-room, he crept out into the warm evening. .... "LOOK, FOR GOD'S SAKE, AS AS I DESERVE" law. This was the secret that was destroying Chase's nerves and putting into his .always empty pockets an amount of money incredible to those who do not know tie market. value of scandal in high life. "The .irotnaa tjped: bis' completed chronicle and the .'. and had been courteously refused. At forty he had fallen desparately in love with one of the most beautiful beau-tiful women in Ireland, and she, in her insolent con-sciousncss con-sciousncss of power, had-laughed at him. Embutxxeil, upjotciit, torn jitii jealous fury, he had laughter. To-morrow, wherever they were all dining. Chase thought, they would all be talking about Nina and Playford about his article, his! Then he caught the words "Peeping Tom," and, with a sigh of relief, laid down bis fork. |