Show THY I 1 AR i W U gimle ca curative Nura tive e life L 11 by CHARLES KLEIN and ARTHUR HORNBLOW illustrations BY RAY WALTERS w copy right IW hw br bir 0 vf company 23 SYNOPSIS 1 howard jeffries bankers son under tho the ovil evil influence I 1 fluence of 0 robert underwood follow fallow student at yale lends leads n life of dissipation si marries the daughter of 0 a ga gambler disowned who died in prison and is disowned by ills his fattier father ile he Is out of 0 work and in desperate str straits alts underwood who had onca i been engaged to flo howards wArda stepmother mot lier alicia la in apparently in prosperous ca reu instances taking advantage advant aBe or of lla his intimacy with alicia he becomes a sort bort of ochal discovering hla fits true character al allala cla denies hi him m I 1 the h 0 house ito ho sends vier her a note threatening suicide art dealers for whom lie he acted fin an commissioner demand an accounting ile ho cannot make good howard calls at his apartments in an intoxicated condition t to 0 o request st a loan of 2000 to enable I 1 a him to take it up p a business R proposition howard drinks himself int into 0 a maudlin condition and goes to sleep ot on n a divan A caller Is announced and underwood kraws a screen around tho the drunken drun len steeper alee por alicia enters she demands a promise r on tan from underwood that lie ito will not ra take k e fits life lie he refused unless she alie will renow renew her patronage this she refuses find takes her leave underwood kills nini malf Bulf the report of the ho pistol awakens howard he I 1 e finds underwood dead howard Is turned over to the tolice police capt clinton notorious for hla his brutal treatment of 0 prisoners puts howard through the th third degree and finally gets an alleged confession from the harassed man annie howards wife declares her belief in ner husbands innocence and calls on jeffries sr ile he refuses to help unless site she will consent to a divorce to save aavo howard she consents hut but when sho she finds that tho the older jeffries Jeff rles does not intend to stand by his son eon except financially she scorns acorns his help annie appeals to judge drowsier brewster attorney for jeffrees Jeff rles sr or to take howards case lie he declines it la ia reported that annie Is going on the stage the banker and his fits wife call on judge drowsier brewster to find some way to prevent it annie again pleads biti alt brew ster abter to defend howard ile he consents alicia Is greatly alarmed when she learns mAnnle fro that bronster Brow Bro ster water has taken the case bite confesses to annie that she called on underwood the night of his death and that she has his letter in which he threatened suicide but begs bega for time before giving out the information annie promises brew ster to produce the missing woman at a meeting at his home Drew brewster Bre water ster accuses clinton of forcing a confession from howard annie appears without t the he witness and refuses to rive give the name allow arrives capt clinton declares annie has tricked them alicia hands him letter annie it lets t s clinton belleve believe ohp letter etter was written to her she Is nr ar rested bated CHAPTER the jeffries Jeff rles case suddenly entered into an entirely new phase and once more was deemed of sufficient sulli clent public interest to warrant column after column U inn of spicy comment in tho the newspapers the town awoke one morning to learn that the long sought for witness the mysterious woman on whose testimony everything hinged had not only been found but proved to be tho the prisoners own wife who had beert been so active in his defense this announcement was stupefying ying enough to overshadow all other tiava of the day and satisfied the most jaded palate for sensationalism the first question asked on oil all sides was why had not the wife come for ward before the reason as an glibly explained by an evening journal of Bome somewhat what yellow proclivities was logical enough tho the telling of her mid visit to a single mans mana rooms involved a shameful admission which any ally woman might well hesitate to mako make unless forced to it as aa a last extremity confronted however with the alternative of either elther seeing her husband suffer stiffer for a crime of which he was wars innocent or maring making public ac know of her own frailty she had chosen the latter course naturally it IE meant divorce from the bankers eils son and undoubtedly this was the solution roost most wished for by the family the whole unsavory affair conveyed a good lesson to reckless young men of wealth to avoid entangling themselves ir in undesirable matrimonial adventures ven turea dut but it was no less certain went 6 oh n this journalistic mentor thair this wife unfaithful as she had proved herself to be had really rendered her husband a signal service in her present scrape the letter she had produced written to her by underwood the day belore before his bis death in which he stated hla his determination to kill irm mm self was of course a complete vindication for the man awaiting trial hlf his liberation now depended only on how quickly the ponderous machinery of the law could take cognizance of this new and frost important evidence the new turn of affairs was naturally moat distasteful to the police if t there was one thing moro more than another which angered capt clinton it was as to take the trouble to build up a case only onix to have it suddenly demolished ho he scoffed at the suicide letter safely committed to judge brew custody and openly branded it ns aa concocted by an immoral woman boman for the purpose of defeating the ends of justice ile he kept annie a laoner and an d tile the coi counsel inzel for roi t alio 0 defense to do essl worst judge brewster who loved tho the fray accept ed ad tho the challenge ile he acted promptly ile he secured annies release on habeas corpus proceedings and ills his civil suit buli against tho the city having already begun in tho the courts ho he suddenly called capt clinton 0 to o the stand and gave him a gril grillini livi which more than atoned for any chinh the pollee police tyrant had previously undo made hla his victims suffer in the limelight of a sensational trial in which public servants were charged with abusing positions of trust he showed capt clinton a bully and a grafter a bribe taker working hand and glove with dishonest politicians not hesitating even to divide loot with thieves and dive keepers in his ats greed for wealth lid he proved him to be a consummate liar a man who would stop at nothing to gain his own ends what jury would take the word of such a man as this yet this was the man who still insisted that howard jeffries was guilty of the shooting of robert underwood Underwo I 1 dut but public opinion was too intelligent Inte lIl to be hoodwinked for any length of time by a brutal and ignorant policeman li ceman there was st it clamor bof tho the prINo prisoners ners release role aae the evidence was such that further delay was waa inexcusable the district attorney thus urged took an active interest in the case and after going over the new evidence with judge brewster went before tho the court and made formal application for the dismissal of tho the complaint A few days later howard jet jef fries left the tombs tomba amid the cheers of a crowd assembled outside at hla 18 side walked his wife now BOW smiling through tears of joy it was a glad homecoming home coming to the little flat in harlem to howard lifter after spending so long a time in the narrow prison quarters it seemed like paradise and annie walked on air so delighted was she to have him with liar her again yet there were still anxieties to cloud their happiness the close confinement with its attendant worry had seriously undermined howards health ile he was pale and attenuated and so weak that lie he had several fainting spells much alarmed annie summoned dr bernstein who administered a tonic there was nothing to cause anxiety he said reassuringly surin gly it was a natural reaction after what hor her husband had undergone but it was worry as much as anything else howard worried about his father with whom he was only partially reconciled he worried about his future which was as precarious as ever and most of all he ha worried about his wife he was not ignorant of the circumstances which had brought about his release and malle bile liberty was sweet to him it had been a terrible shock when he first heard that she was the woman who had visited rooms he refused to believe iter her sworn evidence how was it possible Why should she ehe go to rooms knowing knowin gh he 0 was there it was preposterous still the small voice rang in his ears perhaps ashes untrue it haunted him till one day he asked collit blank for an explanation then sho told that she had perjured herself she was not the woman who she really was she could not say he must be satisfied for the present with the assurance that it was not his wife with that he was content what did he be care for the opinion of others ile he knew that was waa enough in their conversation on the subject annie did not even mention alician All Ali clas cias name why should she weeks passed and howards health did not improve he had tried to find a position but without success yet every day brought its obligations which had to be met one morning annie was b astling about their tiny dining room preparing the table for their frugal luncheon she had just placed the rolls and butter on the table and arranged the chairs when there came a ring at the front doorbell early visitors were not so BO infrequent as to cause surprise so without waiting to remove her apron she we wont nt to the door and opened it dr Bernat bernstein Dern stein eln entered good morning mrs afro jeffries Jeff rles he be said cheerily putting down his medical bag he asked how flow is our patient this morning all right doctor he had a splendid nights rest ill call him never mind I 1 want to talk to you 11 seriously he be went on mrs airs jeffries your husband needs a change of scene lies hes worrying that fainting spell the other day was only a symptom im afraid hell break down unless unless what she demanded anxiously ile he hesitated for a moment as it unwilling to give utterance to words he knew must inflict pain then he quickly continued your husband ts Is under a great mental strain ills his inability to sup gup port you his banishment from his proper sphere in the social world to Is mental torture to him he feels his position keenly there is nothing also to occupy his mind but auf thoughts of his utter and complete failure in life I 1 was talking to io his bis father last laet night and and what she demanded drawing herself up she suspected what was coming and nerved herself to meet it now Nov dont regard me as an enemy said bald tho the doctor in a conciliatory tane mr jeffries Jeff rles inquired after his bid AOU believe me hes bes very anxious ile ho knows he did the boy a great injustice Ju Atice and he wants to make up for it oh ue does she ehe exclaimed exclaim eL sarcastically casti cally rally hesitated for a moment before replying then he said lightly suppose howard goes abroad for a ifer months with his father and mother Is that the proposition she demanded the doctor nodded 1 I believe mr jeffries Jeff rles has already spoken about it to his son ho he said annie choked back a sob and crossing the room to conceal her emotion stood with her back turned looking out of the window her voice was trembling its as sho she said lie he wants to separate us I 1 know hed give half his fortune to do it perhaps hes not altogether wrong things thing s do look pretty black for me dont they everybody believes that my going to see underwood that night had something to do with his suicide and led to my husband being falsely accused the police built up a fine romance about mr underwood and mo me and the newspapers every other day a reporter cornea comes and asks us when the divorce Is going to take tak e place and who la is going to institute the proceedings howard or me if everybody would only mind their own business busine as and let us alone he might forget oh I 1 dont mean you doctor youre your roy my friend you made short work woric of capt cant and his confes slon I 1 moan people outsiders strangers who dont know us and dont care whether were alive or dead those are the people I 1 man they buy a one cent paper and they think thin it gives them the right to pry into every deta ilot our lives she paused for a moment and then went on so you think howard la Is worrying I 1 think so too at first I 1 thought it was because of tho the letter mr air underwood wrote me but I 1 guess its what 1 L L placed the rolls and butter on the table you s say ay ills his old friends wont have anything to do with him and hes lonely well ill talk it over with ith him yes talk it over with him did you promise his father ask me she demanded no not exactly he replied hesitatingly ta annie looked at him frankly howards a pretty good fellow to stand by mein me in the face of all being said about my character he doctor and im not going to stand in his light even if it exactly make me the happiest woman in the world but dont let it trickle into your mind that fra ito doing it for his fathers sake 0 at that moment howard entered from the inner room ile he was surprised to see dr bernstein how do you feel today to day asked the doctor first rate oh im all right you see im just going to eat a bite wont you join us ile he sat down at the table and picked up th the e newspaper while annie alo busied hersea with carrying in the dishes no thank you laughed the doctor its ita too early for me ive only just had breakfast I 1 dropped in to see how you were taking up his bag he said goodby good by dont get up I 1 can let myself out but annie had already opened the door for him and smiled a farewell when she returned to her seat at the head of the table and began to pour out the coffee howard said heer hea a pretty d decent f follow ellow he be yes she replied absentmindedly absent mindedly as sap passed a cup of cottee coffee he made a monkey of capt clinton all right went on howard what did he come for to see you of course she replied OL im all right now he replied looking anxiously at his wife across the table tabib he said youre the one that needs tuning up I 1 heard you crying last night you thought I 1 was asleep but I 1 I 1 say anything because well 7 I 1 felt kind of 0 blue myself annie sighed and leaned tier her head on her hand wearily she s aid 1 I was thinking over all that weve been through together and what whai saying about us j howa howard threw down his hl newspaper impatiently let them say any what they like why should wo care as long as were happy ills his wife smiled sadly badly are wo we happy she asked gently of course wo we are replied howord howard she looked up and smiled it wits good to hear him say so but did he mean it was she doing right to stand in the why way of his career would he not be happier if she left him ho he was waa too loyal to suggest it but perhaps in his heart he desired it looking at him tenderly she went on 1 I dont question your affection for me howard I 1 believe you love mo me but im afraid that sooner booner or later ask aak yourself the question till all your friends are asking ashing now the question everybody seems to be asking ashing what question demanded howard yesterday the bell rang and a gentleman said he wanted to see you I 1 told bold him you were out and ho he said id do just as well ho he handed me a card onit on it was the hamd of the newspaper he represented well ile he asked me if it were true that proceedings for a divorce were about to be instituted it so when and could I 1 give him any information on the subject I 1 asked him who wanted the information and he be said the readers |