Show the destroying ANGEL by louis joseph vance A can you imag ne yourself dead for ive years suppose at the end of that time you turned up suddenly 4 among old friends in new york city asked for an accounting of your estate and announced your intention of finding the girl you had married under presume pre soure sure before you d sapp eared much to their shocked sur that S the position in which we f and nd hugh whitaker in this installment how his plans ruin the important plans of 4 ethers others about him how he creates a furore at a big theatrical performance and how he finds h s w fe is told w th 10 dramatic effect 0 1 CHAPTER V continued 6 whitaker laughed quietly and turned the conversation accepting the mana ger s pseudo confidences at their face value that ih Is as pure bluff quite con tsi stent with the managerial pose they rose presently and made their way out into the crowded blatant night of Broa broadway dAay well we 11 walk wall if you don t mind mas max L suggested it isn t far and I 1 d like to get a line on the house as it goes pk in la he sighed affectedly heaven snows when III see another swell snell au an alence mobbing one of my attractions I 1 they pushed forward slowly through the eddying tides elbowed elbow ed by a match ats tess ess motley of humanity deafened by its thousand tongues dazzled to blind ness iness by walls nalls of 11 lining ving light whitaker experienced erlen ced a sensation of participate 61 ff rag ng in i royal progress max was plain f ly jy a man of mark he left a wake make of vip rippling pling interest at every third step somebody n hilled him as a rule by his r s t name generally he responded by A curt nod and a tightening of his teeth upon his cigar they turned east through forty fort sixth street shouldered by a denser rabble whose faces all turned in one direction shone livid with the glare of a gigantic glinn tic electric sign midway do down val i ithe block THE THEATER ITER MAX MAK SARA LAW S FAREWELL it was nearly half past eight the house louse had been open since seven and still a queue ran from the gallery doors to broadway the lobby itself was crowded to suffocation with an ocel dental durbar ot of barbaric magnificence the cites city s supreme manifestation of its religion the ultimate rite in the worship of the pomps of the flesh e t look at that max grumbled through rth rough his cigar aint ain t it a shame what whitaker bad had to lift his invoice oice to make it carry above the buz izing ng of the throng the money I 1 im in losing returned the manager avidly disgusted I 1 could e filled the metropolitan opera piouse three times overl over he swung on his heel and began to push puh his way out of the lobby come along no use trying to get in this way vay 11 1 lil hitaker taker followed to be led down a folind alley between the theater and athe adjoining hotel an illuminated siga sign advertised the stage door through which via a brief hallway they en hered the and max drag n him by the arm passed through cag S small door into the gangway behind he e boxes curtains just up max told him sara doesn doean t come on till near the middle of the act make yourself corn fordable for table III be back before long drew aside a curtain and ushered Ns guest into the right hand stage box hen ahen vanished the few empty stalls biere U ere rapidly filling up there was a fluent movement through the aisles A subdued hum and rustle rose from that of the audience which was al aready seated the business going on the stage was vms receiving little at from whitaker as little as T from r gm anyone the opening scene in ane jahe development of the drama inter tested the gathering little or not at all ft it vas banging in sub suspense pense upon the unfolding of some extraordinary devel torment something unprecedented and extraneous foreign to the play max slipped quietly into the bos box and banded handed his guest a program better get over here he suggested in a hoarse N w chisper indicating a chair near the rail you may never have an other chance to see the greatest living actress wonderful house be he whis sitting down behind whitaker drummond chasn t shown up yet though that so whitaker returned over his shoulder ies it its s tunny funny never knew him to be so late he always has the aisle seat fourth row center but hell be along presently he 11 eg glanced lanced idly at his program in differently absorbing the information that jules max has the honor to pre sent miss sara law in her first and greatest success entitled joan thurs day a play in three acts the audience stirred expectantly a movement ran through it like the movement of waters up on a shore whitaker whitakers s gaze was drawn to the stage as if by an ira force max shifted on the chair behind him and said something indistinguishable in an unnatural tone ift i woman had come upon the stage suddenly and tempestuously banging it L door behind her the audience got ahe the barest glimpse of her profile as caming paM Sting momentarily she eyed the other ethe actors then without speaking the turned and w albed up stage her back to the footlights applause broke out like a thunder dap pealing heavily through the big auditorium but the actress showed no of it she was standing before a cheap mirror removing her hat arranging her hair with the typical unconscious gestures of a weary she was acting lit iii ing ime scene with no time to waste in pandering to her popularity by bows and set smiles she remained before the glass prolonging the business un til the applause subsided whitaker received an impression as of a tremendous force at work across the footlights the woman diffused an effect as of a terrible and andt boundless energy under positive control she was not merely an actress not even merely a great actress she was the very soul of the drama of today beyond this he knew in his heart that she was his wife sara law v was as the woman he bad had married in that sleepy connecticut town eix six years be fore that night he ile had not yet seen her face clearly but he knew to find himself mistaken mig taken would have shaken the foundations of his understanding under cover of the applause be he turned to max who Is that what Is her name the divine sara max answered his eyes shining I 1 mean what Is her name off the stage in private life lafe the same max nodded with con diction vict vic lon tion sara laws the only name she ashes s ever worn in my acquaintance with her at that moment the applause hav ing subsided to such an extent th thit it it was mas possible for her to make herself heard the actress swung round from the mirror and addressed one of the other players her voice was mas clear strong and vibrant yet sweet but whitaker paid no heed to the lines she spoke he ile was staring fascinated at her face sight of it set the seal of certainty upon conviction she was one with mary ladislas he had forgotten her so 0 o completely in the lapse of sears as to have been unable to recall her fea fen tures and coloring yet be he had needed only to see to recognize her beyond any possibility of doubt those big A CT t he knew in his heart that she was his wife intensely burning eyes that drawn and pallid face the quick ner nervous nerous ous move ments of her thin white hands the slenderness of her tall awkward im ini mature figure in every line and con tour in every gesture and inflection she reproduced the mary ladislas whom nhom he had married and yet max was whisper ing over his shoulder wonderful make up what make up I 1 whitaker retorted ashes not made up ashes herself to the last detail amusement glimmered in the mana gers ger s round little eyes you don dont t know now her wait till you get a pipe at tier her off the stage then he checked the reply that was shaping on whit akers lips with a N warning arning lift of his hand and brows ash I 1 catch this now she s saw a ni onder in this scene the superb actress behind the coun lerfelt of the hunted and hungry shop girl was holding spellbound with her inevitable witchery the most soph asti bated audience in the world like wheat in n a windstorm it swayed to the madu rations lations of her marvelous voice as it ran through a passage at arms with the termagant magant er suddenly ceasing to speak she turned down to a chair near the footlights followed by a torrent of shrill vituperation under the lash of which she quivered like a whipped thoroughbred abruptly pausing with her hands on the back of the chair there came a change the actress had glanced across the footlights whitaker could not but follow the direction of her gaze the eyes of both for a brief in stant on the empty aisle seat in the fourth row A shade of additional pal lor showed on the N woman oman s face she looked quickly questioningly toward the box of her manager seated as he was so near the stage whitaker whitakers s face stood out in rugged relief illumined by the glow reflected from the footlights it was inevitable that she should see him her eyes fastened dilating upon his the scene filtered perceptibly she stood trans fixed in the hush max cried impatiently IN hat the devil I 1 the words broke the spell of amazement upon the actress in a twinkling the pitiful counterfeit of the shop gIrI was rent and boin aay annay it hung only in shreds ind tatters upon an individuality wholly strange to wh taker a larger stronger woman seemed to hale start ed out of the mask she turned calling imperatively into the wings king ring down with a rush the curtain descended as pandemonium broke out on both sides of it CHAPTER VI the late extra ely whitaker got up to tol fol low max then hesitated and sank back in doubt his head ann awhirl hirl he was for the time being shocked out of all ca opacity for clear reasoning or right thinking uppermost in his conscious ness he had a half formed notion that it wouldn t help matters it if he were to force himself in upon the crisis behind the scenes beyond all question his wife had recognized in him the man whom she hid been given every reason to believe dead a discovery so unnerving as tc render her temporarily unable to con dinue this then explained drummonds reluctance to hae haie him bidden to the supper party whatever ultimate couise of action he planned to pursue drummond had been unwilling per haps pardonably so to have his ro mance overthrown and altogether shat in a single day he had lied lied desperately doubtless meaning to encompass a marriage before whitaker could find his wife and so furnish him with inith every reason that could influence an honorable man to disappear a sec see ond time on the other hand max to a certain ty was ignorant of the relationship be tween his Is star and his old time friend just as he must have been ignorant of her identity with the one time mary ladislas for that matter whitaker had to admit that damning as was the evidence eil dence to controvert the theory drummond might be just as much in the dark as max was it was only fair to suspend judgment in the mean time the audience was getting beyond control in the gallery the gods were beginning to testify to their normal in tolerance with shrill whistles cat calls sporadic bursts of hand clapping and a steady sinister rumble of stamping feet in the orchestra and dress circle people were moving about restlessly and talking at the top of their voices in order to make themselves heard above the growing din abruptly max himself appeared at one side of the proscenium arch it N was as plain to those nearest the stage that he was inas seriously disturbed there was a notice noticeable eble hesitancy in his man ner a pathetic frenzy in bis his habitually mild and lustrous eyes advancing halfway to the middle of the apron he paused begging attention with a pudgy hand it was a full minute before the gallery would gould let him be beard heard ladies and gentlemen he an bounced plaintively I 1 much regret to inform you that miss law has suf fared a severe nervous shock his gaze wandered in perplexed inquiry to w nard ard the right hand stage box then was hastily averted and will nill not be able to continue wave upon wave of sound swept through the auditorium to break roar ing against the obdurate curtain max with difficulty contrived to make him self disconnectedly audible ladies and he shouted sweat beading his perturbed forehead regret impossible to continue money box office an angry howl drowned him out he retreated at accelerated discretion whitaker slipping through the stage door behind the boxes ran into the stage manager standing beside the first entrance heatedly explaining to any one who would listen the utter futility of offering box office prices in return for seit checks which in the majority of instincts had cost their holders top notch speculator prices they 11 wreck the theater he shouted excitedly mopping his brow with his coat sleeve what belld t ell d she wana nana pull a raw one like this tor for whitaker caught his arm in a grasp compelling attention t well what s your guess will whitaker a wife receive him with gratitude and open arms be cause he saved her honor long ago or will she look him over calmly and chase h m off the place TO BE |