| Show f believed howard guilty why I 1 JG A S KLEIN C ARTHUR HORNBLOW f illustrations BY RAT r c M colwy 20 SYNOPSIS howard bankers son under the evil influence of aobert underwood fellow student at yale leads B life ot dissipation si marries the daughter of a gain bier who died in prison and Is disowned by hla father he Is out of work and in dr operate straits underwood who had once been engaged to howards stepmother allala la apparently in prosperous taking of Ms intimacy with allala he becomes a ort of ax lal highwayman discovering his true character allala denies harn the house hn sends her a noto threatening art dealers tor whom he acted w commissioner demand an accounting he iannot make good howard calls at I 1 Is aparto ants in an intoxicated condition to request a loan ot 2000 to enable him to take up a business proposition howard drinks himself into a maudlin and goes to sleep on a divan A culler Is announced and underwood draws a screen around the drunken leeper allala miters she demands a promise from underwood that her will not take his life he refuses unless she will renew her patronage this she refuses and takes her leave underwood kills himself the report of the pistol awakens howard HP finds underwood dead howard Is turned oer to the police t apt clinton notorious tor his brutal treatment of prisoners puts howard through tha tharl degree and anally gets n alleged confession from the harassed anan annie howard s wife declares her belief in her husband innocence and calls on jeffrees Jeff rles gr ha refuses to help unless sho will consent to a divorce to save howard she consents but when she finds that he elder docs not in tand lo 10 stand by his son except elnan really he orns his help annie appeals to ju iff attorney for jeffries ir to take howard a case he declines it la reported that annie Is going on the stage the banker and his wife call on brewster to find some way to pre ant it annie again pleads with brewster to defend howard CHAPTER XV continued ouro not afraid to help him the said 1 I know that you just aad so judge brewster raised his fist and brought it down on the desk with a bang which raised in a cloud the aci cumulated dust 0 weeks hla face set and determined he eadd youre quite I 1 m going to take your case annie felt herself giving way it was more than she could stand for victory to bo hers when only a moment before defeat seemed certain was too much for her nerves all she could gasp was ob judge the lawyer adjusted ahli eyeglasses blew his nose with suspicious energy and took up a pen goow don t pretend to be surprised you knew I 1 would and please don t thank roe I 1 hate to be thanked for doing what I 1 want to do it I 1 dian didn t want to do it I 1 through her tears she murmured id like to aay thank you well please dont be snapped aut he persisted tenderly she raid k may I 1 gay you ro the dearest kind eat judda shook his head no no nothing ot the kind most hearted courageous aishe went on the judge struck the table another formidable blow mrs jeffries he exclaimed she turned away her bead to hide her feelings oh how id like to have a good 7 she murmured it howard only knew judge Ure water touched an electric butta and hla bead clerk entered V sir jones said the lawyer quick ly get a stenographic report 0 the case 0 the people against howard jeffrees Jeff rles jr get the coroner s inquest the grand jury indictment and get a copy of the jeffrees Jeff rles confession get everything right away the clerk looked inquiringly first at annie and then at his employer then respectfully ho asked do we sir we do said the lawyer laconic ally CHAPTER XVI now my dear young woman said judge brewster when the astonished head clerk had withdrawn it we are going to get your husband free we must get to work and you must help me ills visitor looked up eagerly do anything in my power she I 1 said quickly what can 1 dot V ell first of all said the lawyer with some hesitation I 1 want you to see a certain lady and to be ex nice to her lidy echoed annie surprised hat lady mrs howard jeffrees Jeff rles sr he re 1 piled slowly howard s stepmother she A clerk entered and banded his cm i a card the lawyer nodded and said in an undertone show her in turning round again he went ou yes howard s stepmother she s out there now she wants to see you she wishes to be of service to you isow you must conciliate her sho may be of great use to us annie a face expressed considerable doubt perhaps so she said but the door was slammed in my face when I 1 called to see her nothing answered the judge she probably knows nothing about it in any case please kemem ber that she Is my client she bowed her head and murmured obediently remember the door ot the office opened and allala entered she stopped short on seeing who waa there and an awk ward pause followed judge brewster Drew ster introduced them mrs jeffrees Jeff rles may I 1 present mrs howard jr 1 alcicla bowed and somewhat haughtily annie remained eissed and on the defensive address ing the banker a wife the lawyer said 1 I told mrs howard that you wished to speak to her after a pause be added I 1 think perhaps leave you together excuse me he left the office and there was an other embarrassing silence annie waited tor mrs jeffrees Jeff rles to begin her attitude suggested that she expected something unpleasant and was fully prepared for it at last allala broke the silence you may think it strange that I 1 have asked for this interview she began but you know annie in herself she asked you dont mind my calling you annie do you the young woman smiled 1 I dont bee why I 1 should its my name and were relatives by mar arlage there was an ironical ring in her voice as she went on rela tires it seems funny it but we dont pick and choose our rela lives we must take them as they come allala made an effort to appear con dilatory As we are what we are lets try to make the best 0 it make the best of lt echoed an ante god knows I 1 m willing but I 1 TO had mighty little encouragement sirs when I 1 called to seo you the other day to beg you to use your influence with mr jeffrees Jeff rles not at home was handed to me by the footman and the door was slammed in my face ten minutes later you walked out to your carriage and were driven away 1 I knew nothing of this believe me murmured allala apologetically it s what I 1 got just the same said the other dryly quickly she went on but im not complaining understand im not complaining only I 1 did think that at such a time one woman might have held out a helping hand to another allala held up her hand protest angly how could P she exclaimed now be reasonable you are held responsible tor howards present po yes by the police retorted an ale grimly and by a couple of yellow journals I 1 dlan t think you d believe all the gossip and scandal been printed about me I 1 believe what was said about you alcicla started and changed color what do you meana she exclaimed haughtily what was said about me well it has been said that you married old jeffrees Jeff rles for his money and his social position old protested allala indignantly have you no respect for your husband s father biot a particle answered the oth er coolly and I 1 never will have till be acts like a father I 1 only had one interview with him and it finished him with me for all time ha aint a father he s a fish A fish exclaimed allala scandal iced at such lese maaste annie went on recklessly yes a cold blooded dut surely interrupted allala you respect his position his fo mm I 1 respect a man because he behaves like a man not because he lives in a marble palace on river side drive alicia looked pained this girl was certainly impossible dut surely she said you real iced that when you married howard you you made a mistake to say the leasta yes that part of it has been made pretty plain it was a mistake his mistake my mistake dut now its done and it can t be undone I 1 don t see why you can t take it as it Is and and she stopped short and allala corn plated the sentence for her and welcome you into our fam lly welcome me fo maam im adf welcome and nothing you or your set could say would over make me believe that I 1 was welcome all I 1 ask Is that howard s father do his duty by bis son I 1 I 1 do not think pardon my saying so interrupted allala stiffly that you are quite in a position to judge of what constitutes mr jeffrees Jeff rles duty to his son perhaps hot I 1 only know what I 1 would dochat my father would have done what any one would do if they had a spark of humanity in them dut they do say that after three gen erat tons of society life red blood turns into blue allala turned to look out of the win dow her face still averted she said what Is there to do howard has acknowledged his guilt what sac cices we may make will be thrown away annie eyed her companion with con tempt her voice quivering with in she burst out what Is there to do try and save him of course must we sit and do nothing because things look black ah I 1 gasn wasn t brought up that way iso ma am I 1 m going to make a fight it 8 useless murmured alcicla shaking her head judge brewster Drew ster doean doesn t think so replied the other calmly the bankers gilfe gave a start of surprise quickly she demanded you mean that judge brewster Drew ster has encouraged you to to he s done more than encourage roe god bless highe s going to take up the case allala was BO thunderstruck that tor a moment abo could find no answer what she exclaimed without consulting mr she put her handkerchief to her face to conceal her agitation could it be possible that the judge was going to act after all in defiance of her husband s if that were true what would become of her conceal ment would be no longer possible discovery of her clandestine visit to apartment that fatal night must come howard might still be the murderer underwood might not have committed suicide but her visit to his rooms at midnight would become known judge brewster Drew ster was not the man to ba deterred by cuttles once ho took up a case he would see the importance of finding the mysterious woman who went secretly to rooms that night of the tragedy he consulted only his own feel lna went on annie he bellevo la v hoail and hes going to delena I 1 him allala looked at her anxiously as II 11 trying to read what might be in her mind indifferently she went on the papers say there was a rel about you that you and mr un derwood were too friendly they am piled that howard was jealous Is this true its all talk cried annie indle bantly nothing but scandal lies there s not a word of truth in it howard never had a jealous thought 0 me and as for me why I 1 ve al ways worshiped the ground bo walked on dlan t he sacrifice everything for my eake he quarrel with his father for me he marry mel dlan t he try to educate and make a lady of me my god do you sup pose id give a man like that caus for jealousy 9 what do the pers carea they print cruel state ments that cut into a woman s heart without giving it a thought without knowing or caring whether its tru or not as long as it interests and amuses their readers you you don 1 really believe im the cause of hit misfortunes do you allala shook her head as she an kindly no I 1 don t believe me I 1 don t you were right when you said that at such a time as this one woman shoula stand by another im going to stan by you let me be your friend ie me help you extending her hand she said will youa annie grasped the proffered hand it was the first that bad been held out to her in her present trouble A lump rose in her throat much at fectea she said its the first kind word that she stopped and looked closely for a mo ment at ailcia then she went on it s the queerest thing mrs jeff ries but it keeps coming into my mind howard told me that while he was at that dreadful night he thought he heard your voice it must have been a dream of course yet ho thought he was sure of it your voice queer it why what a the matter allala had grown deathly pale and staggered against a chair annie ran to her aid thinking she was ill its nothing nothing stam alcicla recovering herself fearing she had said something to hurt her feelings annie said J haven t said anything anything out of the way have P it I 1 have im sorry awfully sorry im afraid 1 ive been very rude and you ve been so kind no no interrupted alcicla quick ly you ve said nothing done noth ing you ve had a great deal to bear a great deal to bear I 1 understand that perfectly taking her compan ions hand in hers she went on tell me what do they say about the woman who went to see robert un derwood the night of the tragedy the police can t find her we don t know who she is confidently she went on but judge brewster will find her we have a dozen detectives searching for her capt clinton accused me of being the woman you know he like me the bankers wife was tar too busy thinking of the number of detectives employed to find the missing witness to pay attention to the concluding anxiously she demanded supposing the woman is found what can she prove what dlf ferenc will it makee all the difference in the world ra piled annie she Is a most am witness firmly she went on she must be found it she dlan 1 robert underwood she knori who did but how cap she knowd argued allala howard confessed that h did it himself it he had not con fessel it would be different he did not confess replied th other calmly mrs jeffries h never confessed it ho did be know what be was saying allala was rapidly losing her self possession did be tell you that she gasped annie nodded yes dr bernstein says the po lice forced it out of his tired brain I 1 made howard go over every second of his life that night from the he left me to the moment le was ar rested there gasn wasn t a harsh word between them she stopped short and looked with alarm at allala who bad turned ashen white why the matter you re pale aa death you allala could contain herself no long er her benea were on the point ot giving way she felt that it she could not confide her secret to some one she must go mad pacing the floor she cried what am I 1 to do what am 1 to do I 1 believed howaad guilty why I 1 had no reason to doubt his own confession every one believed it his own father included why should I 1 doubt it but I 1 see it all now underwood must have shot himself as he said he annie started what did mrs jet tries meana did she realize the tre significance of the words she I 1 was uttering 9 As he said he would she repeat ed slowly yes said allala weakly annie bounded forward and grasped her s arm her face flushed almost unable to speak from suppressed emotion she cried TO BE CONTINUED |
