Show by the bobba merrul ld SYNOPSIS dan blaar the 22 year eld eon of the fifty million dollar copper king of jovn mont la a guest at the english home of lady gallrey dan a lather had been courteous to lord gallrey during lila visit to the united states and the courtesy Is now being returned to the man the auth has an ideal girl in his mind lie meets lily duchess of breakwater a beautiful widow who Is attracted by his immense fortune and takes a liking to her IV hen dan was a boy a girl sang a solo at a church and he had never forgotten her the ga acres lily and dan attend a london theater where one letty lane Is the star dan recognizes her as the girl from his town and going behind the scenes introduces himself and che remembers him ha learns that I 1 rince Is eulator and escort to letty lord ga lorey and a friend named fuggles deter mine to protect the westerner from lily and other fortune hunters young blaar goes to see lily he can talk of nothing hut lett and this angera the duchess the westerner fanda letty from hard work but she recovers and ruggles and dan invite her to supper CHAPTER XI continued yes she accepted out of sight of blairtown Blair town and everybody I 1 ever knew I 1 went away the next day she lifted her glass of champagne to her lips here s one thing I 1 t to do she said but m going to just the earne I 1 m going to do everything 1 went this evening remember I 1 let you drink six glasses of chocolate soda once she drained her glass and her friends drank with her I 1 like this soup awfully what Is it jast touching it with her spoon hy ruggles hastened to tell her it aln t a party soup it s scotch broth but somehow it sounded good on the bill of fare I 1 fixed the rest of the dinner up for you and dan but I 1 let myself go on the soup it s my favorite she did not eat it however al though eho said it was splendid and that she was crazy about it did you come east thena dan re fumed to what she had been saying yes that week went to paris and ill over the place she instantly fell into a sort of melancholy mean choly it was easy to be seen that she did not want to talk about ter t er past and yet that it fascinated her jut think of he exclaimed 1 I never heard a word about you un I 1 heard you sing the other night the actress laughed and fold him that he had made up for lost time and that he was a regular sitter now at the gaiety said he took me every night to see you dance until I 1 balked miss lane still it s a perfectly great show mr ruggles don t you think soa 1 like it better than any part I 1 ever had I 1 am interested about it tor the sake of the man who wrote it too Us his first opera hes an invalid and has a wife and five kids to look after and replied oh gracious 1 feel better than ever having gone ten times although I 1 very sore about it before aln t you going to eat anything 9 she only picked at her food drink ing what they poured in her glass and every time she spoke to dan a took of charming kindness crossed her face an expression of good fellow ship which noted with inter est I 1 wish you could have seen this same author today at the rehearsal of the play letty lane went on he s too to walk and they had to carry him in a chair we all went round to his apartments after the theater he lives in three rooms with his whale family and he s bad so many debts and so much trouble and such s poor contract that he barnt made much out of mandalay but I 1 guess be will out of this new piece he hugged and kissed me until I 1 thought he would break my neck london had gone mad over letty lane whose traits and contour were the admiration of the world at large and well known even to the newsboys and whose likeness was nearly as daml lar as that of the of od her face was oval and perfectly termed with the reddest of mouths the most delicious and soft eat of mouths the line of her brows clear and straight and her gray eyes large and as innocent and appealing as a child s under their long lashea they opened up like flowers it was eald that no ddn could withstand their appeal that ehe had but to look to make a man her slave and as more ibin once she turned to dan smiling and grac louB watched her mutely g of what he had beard this day for after her letter came accepting their invitation he had taken pains to find out me things be ft anted to know it had not been As her race and form afe public on every post card and in every photographers shop so the actress reputation was the property 0 abe public As ruggles repeated these things to himself he matched her beside the son of his old friend they were talk ing rather eho was and behind the orchids and the ferns her voice was sweet and enthralling ruggles tried to appreciate his bill of fare while the two appreciated each other it waa strange to dan to have her so near and so approachable ills sights of her off the stage had been so blight and fleeting on the boards she bad seemed to be an unreal creation made for the public alone her dress cut fearlessly low displayed her lovely young bosom soft bloomy white as a shell and her head and ears were as delicate as the petals of a white rose low in the nape of her neck her golden hair lay lightly and from its soft masses fragrance came to him ruggles could hear her say roach came to the house and told my people that I 1 had a fortune in my voice I 1 was living alth my uncle and my step aunt and working in tho store and that same day your father sent down a check for five hundred dollars he said it was for the little girl with the sweet voice and it gives me a lot of pleasure to think that I 1 began my lessons on that money the son of old dan blaar said earn estly I 1 m darned glad you did I 1 m darned glad you did letty lane nodded so am I 1 but with some sharpness 1 I dont see why you speak that way I 1 ve earned my way I 1 made a fortune tor roach all right you mean the man you married married goodness gb gracious what made you think thata she threw back her pretty head and laughed a 1 I guess he is if hes like hla rather 1 she returned 1 I am trying to get a lot though out of him and when you asked me to dine tonight I 1 said to myself III accept tor it will be a good time to ask mr blaar to help me out in what I 1 want to do at ruggles face she smiled sweetly and said graciously oh dont think I 1 have come anyway but I 1 m awfully tired these days and going out to supper Is just one thing too much to do I 1 want mr blaar she said turning to ruggles as if she knew a word from him would make the thing go through to help me build a rest home down on the english coast for girls who get discouraged in their art when I 1 think of the luck I 1 have bad and how these things have been from the beginning and how money has just poured in why she said ardently it just makes my heart ache to think of the girls who try and tall who go on for a little while and have to give up you can t tell she nodded to rug agles as though she were herself a matron of forty you can not tell what their temptations are or what comes up to make them go to pieces ruggles listened with interest 1 I haven t thought it all out yet but BO many come to me tired out and discouraged and I 1 think a nice home taken care of by a good creature like my let us say would be a perfect blessing to them they could go there and rest and study and just think and perhaps she said slowly as though while she spoke she saw a vision of a tired self tor whom there had been no rest home and no place of retreat perhaps a lot of them would pull through in a different way now today she broke her meditative tone short I 1 got a letter from a hospital where a poor thing that he took me every night to see you dance until I 1 balked miss lane laugh with the least possible merrl ment in it oh heavens marry old job roach so they say that do they I 1 never heard that I 1 hear a lot but 1 never heard that fairy tale she put her hands to her cheeks which had grown crimson not true dan swore at himself for his tact less stupidity ruggles had heard both sides she was adored by the poor and as far as rumor knew she spent thousands on the london haupers paupers pau pers and the west erner who had never been given to reveling in scandals and to whom there was something wicked in spewing of a woman no matter whom she might be listened with embar ras to tales he had been told in answer to bis other questions and turned with relief to the stories ot letty lanes charity and to the stories of her popularity and her sue cess they were more agreeable but they make him forget the rest and now as he looked at her face across the bouquet of orchids and terns it was with a sinking of heart a great pity tor her and still a decided enmity he disapproved ot her down to the ground he let himself think how he felt but it was for the boy ruggles was not a man of the world in any sense he was simple and puritan in his judgments and his gentle nature and bis big heart kept him from pharisaical and strenuous measures he had been led in what he was doing tonight by a diplomacy and a common sense that few men east of the mississippi would have thought out under the circum stances tell mr ruggles he heard dan say to her tell him tell him and she answered I 1 was telling mr blaar that as he Is eo frightfully rich I 1 want him to give me some money ruggles gasped but answered quiet ly well hes a great giver alsa lane used to sing with mo in new york was dying with consumption all gone to pieces and discouraged and thera Is where your primroses prim roses went to she nodded to dan took them you don t mind and blaar with a warmth in his voice touched by her pity more than by her charity said why they grew for you miss lane I 1 dont care anat you do with them letty lane bank her head on her hands her elbows leaned on the table she seemed suddenly to have lost interest even in her topic she looked around the room indifferently the orchestra waa softly playing the dove song from mandalay and very softly under her breath the star bummed it her eyes vaguely fixed on some unknown scene to dan and to ruggles she had grown strange tho music her brilliancy her sudden indifference put her out of their corn mon place reach ruggles to himself thought with relief she doean doesn t care one rap for the boy anyway thank god shea got other fish to land and dan thought it s my internal money again but he was gen erous at heart and glad to be of service to her and was perfectly willing to be touched for her poor then two or three men came up and joined them she greeted them indolently bestowing a word or look on this one or on that all fire and light seemed to have gone out of her and dan eald you are tired I 1 guess I 1 had better take you home TO BE CONTINUED |