Show er ys t R 0 o md ny ily billips 0 lips Opp oppenheim aby il wilt crown co y gia IX X continued a artre almost a dismissal 5 ill 4 IN wy 1 I 1 y back through J and took oli a spat sent in the it hotel 0 t 1 e 1 within tile the time tr i i 1 1 s formed Alon monsieur a ahls appearance gerald d all to restrain his sur fur dinner gutt alt i was fit 1 I block black pe pearl nd studs WON lie had been carefully illg bill flair had bad bee boon white kid gloves in lila ills atcy eelk lint and a malac eded with iab ho f A gl once to gerald and L 1 palter filter who was hovering ig hp bottle upon a tray gly wo me three minutes 11 1 I wits was interested Inter esteil in n cambeis oam beis and I 1 forgot to 1 time have ordered 01 ilfred a bottle of on vill perhaps join me pd of you gerald re replied piled uler illier between for me li one cne if I 1 may tt zt bin bowed gravely gravel y and jj ns brought H hair lie dannic two tum of ft the heln wina then lie turned sly ily to 0 o his companion a i I 1 have ll 11 five no objection lie pro ie e will wh wall outside to abe be club the distance Is the 1 I tit the air Is fresher fic slier assented re ddlly find they 01 t side by aide the russia ing itis ills shoulders back ln n on parade ani gerold sud slid eft t hint his lil own stature had all the way ills his n demtd eem td to ile be reciting to ill i some foien geelt thing ething willell now aw and alen ta 0 1 anve ave the lie maing of blink blank ks Is they renaer the sapps i up to tile sporting he j a full stop find glanced ninn mon lie he said facing ger tire probably a little curt curious ous e tills Is the truth let iet ow wit it who may be interested interest c d he e steward of Aff madame idame de ale and nd the trustee of as much of tier her revenues I 1 came med licit of their scantiness find idea of enlarging them it at occurred to nie me I 1 hive tide Is a volture here you y 1 side tind and the areto re to help you I 1 apologize auble I 1 am giving I 1 charge diver the expression of my devotion levot lon to and belle lie it hand which had been in c the pocket of his dinner anut iiii like lightning A foshing noshing in the electric liget maed d to his fits temple aple er there imort simultaneous rep rel oits wits rs bete already pouting floating about when hen gerald hurried in five later ter noth both women looked in half fearful inquiry gerry very grave ame he announced 14 I 1 bring me unfurled tier her rick black I 1 lace ace fan ened 1 herself slowly hears aia that a man has shot outside she said it Is tilt ie man wilow I 1 sent you to he geraki led gad ie de le rose roge to tier her feet fin aty ugly woman boutan whom up to ment itzgerald Gerald it had detested lie he elf f now admiring her pro slie e leaned a giitl little upon the i slie site carried in her left ifer r right she extended told erfeld U will ill give me the support port of af a downstairs lord dombey be gand she continued i 1 I 14 ft oman find these fth shucks otlA more e poignant with the years yeara S it ft faithful servant of my I 1 ain in affected anade ide their slow progress rown madame held her h mademoiselle was a buttle it usual but her ber good n ap it was as clear clar lons long BS as ever no sign elfina of ir hance inee remal remained ned out sUlt arlo 0 knew liow how to deal witt with int inn their automobile was to in attendance and the two wk k their places place q at it once t much obliged for your its 8 laid ord dombey 1 madame de integ lt egret et cliot we should have D an errend ill permit me to call perhaps perli apa illila r gerald libeg begged ged 1 net bot he be receiving for several dame replied if rou you are its as to len leave e u caird elrd my 11 tell you alien hen I 1 ill lis friends fr lenda B wed on off II IseI eyes gerald caught it t of paulines pro A gleam of terror in ft ft though she knew that milt over tile spot where r chapter X t aft after dinner at the lie villa 4 4 bady ly wry and christ at W of it iha little ing e b bach 11 II and forth oo 00 1111 the he violet darL darkness nes fl old d engligh bolle oo lle friends blends to aspea gaea K oil n joany trip topics tes they anve weh t ald 49 erald 2 44 I 1 lm ru alle le his sive lle r do t elmost iver nebout 1 ills st love Lif iTil fairs rg tills this ls certainly the fi first r time I 1 remember luiu to have wc been mysterious 1 I dont think lie tins seen anything of mademoiselle do since the tragedy tit lit tile sporting club cliris chris toi lier rema remarked aprilli Hp milry mary sighed yon ion young tilen nien who should bo be our greatest comfort tire actually our greatest responsibility lIty dirst of nil all ion pick up mi 11 girl on the road rout over liin you both seen seem to tuc live lost your heads moro more or less find now no gerald Is bo be liming like it lunatic bout about tills this young foreign wol liall ilas bertild told you of the 1 ladoit vt developments regard to Myr myrelle christopher inquired 1 I lini lime some friends in london who lio line have promised to take her for foi a antu sery godiness go Miness 11 aro are either of you ou in love loe with etli tier mary asked calsing lier oies eyes and looking her companion in tile tho face christopher hesitated for several before nn answering mno mary ile be ran gan to tear into small pieces the sprig of oleander which site she wits aig holding her face seemed suddenly to have bi be como collie very cry and tired 1 I tint nin sure sun that eliut gerold gerald Is not chris ophir un As for tue well ell that sort of tiling thing Is a little out of my line it the most serious pint part of tile the situation Is alint I 1 nin am afraid tile child Is in ili love loo with gerald site she will viii ket get over that mary alary said dryly most of the girls I 1 know have been tn in love with etli bertild ler tild nt at some time or finot liv sooner or later the wise ones find hlin him out and the butterfly ones nit flit awny any somewhere else it may seem but I 1 nin more concerned nebout you ou christopher than gerald I 1 he I 1 e p passed ass s e 1 I ills his arm through hers bers an action which lil cli their increasing intimacy intimacy seemed emed to render perfectly natural mary ary he began you are just the one person in the world florid to whom I 1 could confess tin nn impulse of folly and tins tills Is I 1 sup suppose poe the one place I 1 could out do to it in I 1 frankly dont understand what you sou mean by being in love loe when I 1 have thought of marriage it has been in connection with some dear woman friend who would make a home for me and be a companion of corese coir se I 1 expected to core care for her and all tant but promise you wont laugh nt at me 1 I shall not laugh mary alary promised for the first time in my life that child tins has made me think of other things christopher acknowledged simply 1 I 1 dont know inow that it amounts N T A 41 are ar either of you in love with her herr mary asked to anything I 1 dare say really it Is tin an unsuspected vein of kindness which she has touched but there it Is I 1 have an absurd feeling of fondness for tier ber the idea 0 of i tier becoming a n plaything for or gr anybody makes a of if roe and she looks upon rno me as a kind person hut but an intolerable she dreams arc am s ot of nobody but gerald if lie he lifts his little finger she Is ills Reat reathyl lyl mury mary drawled coldly tlene ute dont judge tier fier too harshly christopher begged myrttle Is te tero permanently in incapable of if a metin iuen or an immoral action slie Is just a child of 0 aut nature tire only instead at if being eang swayed by tile lower instincts ehe alto Is a grayed fly by tile lie higher ones she loves renild ler lid and n else counts with hor her sit she would havi thrown herself into the river sooner than have given herself in marriage to the innkeeper she Is 13 equally of giving her life and her soul to derad ii if lie he requires the sacrifice ap filary turned her head towards the 1 I think that father wants ills game of backgammon she blie observed ed we hn and better go in I 1 am afraid we hupt talk of tills again some time will you go first a and nd say that 1 I shull shall be there directly christopher stepped obediently through the window anil and mary pushed passed on to tile the further end of the merruce ter ruce where tile hadovs were deeper for 11 moment tier her self belt control slipped her fingers gripped grIppe 1 the ivy t talks fiercely there were tears in tier her eye eyes q alej rather firm hut but sensitive little mouth arlve quivered fei passionately 11 seethed ao 0 ciany beare since chirls arst represented d to her all ilia eliat t fali sliu desired I 1 in q r nian of lf c himi nur ff worker a Rv when the time came caine always troug avady n ady to pit his brain against others she had fancied hint him I 1 in n parliament a cabinet minister lalev in life perhaps site she had thought with happiness s of the many ways in which she ile could further his career had dren dreamed nied with pleasure of playing hostess for him in a joint establish ment site hit hud known that the consummation of her wish was inevitable bille unless 85 something some thing crould collie between and something lind most anost un tin Q expectedly between tills fails peng tint girl tills this birth of a spurious sentiment nothing in a ninn aik alko gerald but very much to lie ile dreaded in ili it person of 1010 polso and steadfast ness she was a proud young woman wo nitin for nil tier her gui gracious elous ways all and although tile refused refuse to find anything final annl in ill ills attitude the pain that silo stiff stiffened ered in ili those few moments was not only of tile lie henrt heart christopher find hla his host hoot in the intervals of their game talked of the infest suicide with the usual amazing secrecy of the local press not one ona word tind tipp eared in anny paper published I 1 tied in ill tile the vicinity N 1 I feel a great lent of sympathy for our neighbors lard remarked old colonel whom I 1 met on tile the terrace tills morning told be that lint the ninn was it bringing thorn them money for sonic same estates lie had sold which were practically their only means of subsistence lord picked up hla his cards mary come came tit in from the terrace and seated herself by geralds side the quietness of the evening however was almost disturbed tile the butler threw open the door announcing guests bucs t the ladles victoria and millicent cromwell air james cromwell lady Es esselen seden they all trooped in intimates of tile young people of the house we want you to come collie down to the club for tin an hour or two lt lady lily victoria who was always the lending leading spirit suggested dads just paid my dress diess nl til lowance and im dying to lose it and jimmys going to give us supper slipper and take us to dance somewhere afterward 11 added to which her sister lady millicent went on we have brought you news we know all about tile the man who committed suicide the other night there wits was a bend silence a most effective background for lady victorias announcement they tried hard to keep it silo she said but an english journalist discovered the truth the roans mans nnnie wits was find and lie he was the steward of two unfortunate ladles who live near you lie ile had just arrived from russia with a large sum of money for them went into the rooms gambled with it and lost tile tho lot they say aay that it was wa nearly three million francs find and that tha it was every penny those poor women had bad in the world 0 christopher and gerald were taking an early morning stroll and displaying an almost feminine partiality for the shop windows when the former end denly felt his fits friends hand tighten upon his arm they had paused to look through the plate glass window rf 01 a jewelers tile the rue de parts paria what Is it old Christ christopher ophir asked gerald pointed to a pearl necklace which hung filing lu in the window you see that lie he exclaimed tragically that belonged to pauline to mademoiselle do de Pon lere and that marquise ring I 1 am certain her aunt wits was wearing walt wait a moment old fellow gerald entered the shop hastily A very suave frenchman came forward to meet him con can you tell me anything about that pearl necklace and the rings below gerald inquired but certainly cc sir the man replied one moment lie ile unfastened the window and brought oat the stand on which the necklace rested the color ot of the pearls was wonderful they were not large but they had an almost penh glow 1 I have no doubt monsieur la Is a judge judae and I 1 need say little about ahi iut these pearls the clopman sl begin 1 I would w point out to you however that they were for royalty itself find and the quality of each one Is superlative if monsieur Is a purchaser I 1 co could uld quote him film seven thousand pounds po linds and for that sum there Is not such another neel necklace clace in ali ohp world 1 I recognize the necklace gerald admitted 11 1 might under certain circumstances cum stances be induced to buy it 11 1 came in however to ask you how you obtained possession of it and the rings the mans manner changed monsieur lie he sold said 1 I am not alila able to explain exactly how this jewelry clime came into our hands finds li there tre certain confidences which in the interests teresta In of our cli clients enta vae we are forced to respect i TO BS CONTINUED C |