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Show Zty DAVID GRAHAM PmUPS.Aufiar of "TXFCQSTtc m CHAPTER XXIX. Continued. H Thu first hows t got was that Hill H Van Nest hud disappeared. Ah booh H as tho Stick Exchange opened, Na- I V'tliifnl Coal became tlic fonturo. Hut, H ustead of "wash Hales," Hoobuck, H ..angdon and Mclrlllc wore them- H tolves, through vnrlous brokers, buy- H ng tho stocks In largo quantities to H eep tho prices up. My next letter H A-ns hh brief ns my first philippic: "Hill Vnn Nest Is at tlio Hotel H Frankfort, Newark, under tho name of H riiomus I.owry. He was In telephonic :ommunlcutlon with I'resldont Mel- Ille, or tho National Industrial bank, H .wlco yesterday. H "The underwriters of tho National Coal company's now Issues, fright-1 H sned by yesterday's oxposuro, lmvo compelled Mr. Hoobuck, Mr. Mow- bray L.mgdon and Mr. Molvlllo them- solves lo buy. So, yestordaj-, those threo gentlemen bought with real money, with their own money, largo T auantltles or stocks which aro worth less than half what' thoy paid for H them. H "They will contlnuo to buy theso stocks so long as tho public holds nloof. They daro not lot tho prices slump. They hopo that this storm will blow over, and that then tho in- vesting public Will forgot and will rollovo them of their load." I had added: "Hut this Htorm won't blow over. It will becomo n cyclone." I struck that out. "No prophecy," said I to myscir. "Your rule, Iron- clad, must be facts, always facts: only facts." Tho gambling section of tho public took my hint and rushed into tho market; tho btirdon of protecting tho under writers was doubled, and moro and moro of tho hoarded loot was disgorged. That must hnvo boon a costly day for, 10 minutes nfter tho Stock Exchnngo closed, Hoobuck sent HJ for HJ "My compliments to him,," said I to HJ his messcngor, "but I nm too busy. HJ I'll be glad to hco 1 1 1 til here, howovor. HJ "You know ho dares not como to HJ you," said tho messenger, Schilling, HJ prosldont of tho National Munufac- HJ . tured Food company, somotlmos called HJ J tho Poison Trust. "If ho did, and It HJ woro to got out, thcro'd bo a panic." "Probably," replied I with a shrug. HJ "That's no nffnir of ml no. I'm not ro-HJ ro-HJ sponsible for tho rotten conditions HJ which these so-called llnanclors havo produced, and I shall not bo disturbed hy the ciasli which must como." Schilling gave mo a gonuino look or mingled pity and admiration. "I ?up-poso ?up-poso you know whnt you'ro about," said he, "but 1 think you'ro making s mistake." "Thanks, Ned," said I ho had been my head clerk a fow years bororo, HP and I hud got him tho chanco with HJ Hoobuck which ho had Improved so H well. "I'm going to havo soino fun. H Can't live but onco." H My "dally letters" had now ceased H to bo advertisements, had becomo H rows, sought by nil tho uowspapors H of this country tind of tho big cities in H Great Hrltnlu. I could havo mado n largo saving by no longer paying my sixty-odd regular papers for Inserting thorn. Hut I was looking too far ahead to blunder Into that fatal mis-take. mis-take. Instead, I signed a year's con-tract con-tract with each of my papors, thoy H t? guaranteeing to print my ndvortlse-incuts, ndvortlse-incuts, I gunrnuteeing to protect thorn against loss on libel sul(s. I organ-I organ-I zed n dummy news bureau, and HJ through It got contracts with tho tele- HJ graphic companies, Thus Insured HJ ugalnst tho cutting of my communion- HJ tlons with thu public, I wns ready fur HJ tho real campaign. i HJ It began with my "History of thu H National c:oal company." I need not H repeat that famous history here, 1 H need recall only tho main points how I proved thnt tho common stock was i actually worth less than two dollars a ' slmro, that tho bonds wcro worth less j than twonty-llvu dollars In tho htm-fl htm-fl drcd, that both stock and bonds woro i Illegal; my detailed recital of thu j crimes of Hoobuck, Molvlllo and hang-1 don In wrecking mining properties, in I wrecking coal railways, In ejecting 1 American labor nnd substituting HJ iielots from eastern Europo; how thoy had swludlod and lied and bribed; how thoy hud twisted thu books of HJ tho companies, how thoy were plan- it I n k I" unload tho mass of almost worthless securities at high prices, : then to got from under tho market HJ and let tho bonds and stocks drop HV down to whero thoy could buy thorn In AS -fj on terms that would yield them moro HH tit than 250 per cent on tho actual cap!-HJ cap!-HJ tal Invested. Lobs and denror coal; HJ lower wages and moro Ignorant labor-t HJ orsj onormous profits absorbed with-1 HJ out mercy into a fow pockets, HJ On tho day tho soventh chnptor or HJ this history appeared, tho tolograph J companies notllled mu that thoy would J transmit nd moro of my matter. Thoy HJ feared tho conHoquoncos In llbol suits, J oxplnlnod Moseby, general manager of H oiio of tho companies. HJ "Hut I guarantee to protect you,'' H said I. "I will givo bond In any, J amount you ask." I ' We can't take the risk, Ir. Hlnck-lock,' Hlnck-lock,' replied he. The twinkle In his eyu told mo why, nnd also that ho, like every onu 'else In tho country except ex-cept tho clique, was in sympathy with mu. My lawyers round an honest Judge, ! nnd I got an Injunction that compelled I tho companies to transmit under my I contracts. I suspended tho "History for one day, und sent out In place of I It an account of this nttempt to shut mo off from tho public. "Hereuftor," Rnld I, In thu last paragraph ki my lettjr, "I shall end each Car' chapter j with a foiecast of what tho next day's chapter Is to be. If for any reason It i fails to nppoar, tho publlo will know I that somebody has been coerced by I Hoobuck, Molvlllo & Co." XXX. ANITA'S SECRET. That afternoon or, was it tho next? I happened to go homo early. I have never been nblo to keep alive anger against any one. My nngor against Anita had long ngo died away, had boon succeeded by regret and remorsu that I had lot my nerves, or whatever tho accursed causo was, whirl mo Into such nn outburst. Not I It no reminder of Ills treachery. "Howdy, Hlncklock," said ho. "I've come on a little errand for Mrs. I.nug-don." I.nug-don." Then, with that nasty grin or his: "You know, I'm looking after things for her slnco thu bnst-up." "No, I didn't know," said I curtly, suppressing my Instant curiosity. "What does Mrs. l.nngdon want?" "To boo you for just a fow minutes whenuver It is convenient." "if Mrs. Langdon has business with mo, I'll seo her nt my oulco," snlil I. She was one of tho fashionables that had got herself Into my black books by her trentment of Anita since tho break with tho KllorBlys. "Shu wishes to corao to you hero this afternoon, if you nro to bo a.t homo. Sho asked mo to say thnt nor business is Important and very private." pri-vate." I hesitated, but I could think of no good excuse; for refusing. "I'll bo hero an hour," said t. "Good day." Ho guvoamo no time to chnngo my mind. Something porhnps it was his curious expression ns ho took himself him-self oft inndo me begin to regret. Tho moro I thought of tho matter, tho less I thought of my having mado any civil concession to n woman who hud acted so badly toward Anita and myself. Ho had not been go no a quarter of an hour before I went to Anita in hor sitting room. Always, tliu Instant I euLared thu outer door oC her part of aar house, that power-fnl. power-fnl. Intoxicating fascination that sho had for mo began to take possession of my senses. It wns in every garment gar-ment sho wore. It seemed to linger In any place whero sho hnd been, for a long tlmo after alio left it. She was at a small desk by tho wind,ow, was writing letters. "Mny I Interrupt?" Bald I. "Monson was hero a fuw minutes ngo from Mrs. Langdon. Sho wants to sco mo. I told him I would seo her hero. Then It occurred to mo thnt perhaps I had been too good-natured. What do you think?" " 'FOOL! SHE FLAHKD AT MR. OH, THE FOOLS WOMEN MAKE OF MEN,'" thnt I regretted having rejected what I still felt was Insulting to mu and degrading to hor; simply that my manner should hnvo been different. Thoro was no necessity or excuso for vlolonco In showing hor that 1 would not. could not, uccopt from gratltudo what only lovo has tho right to glvo. And I had long been casting about for sonio way to npologlzo not easy to do, when hor distant mnnnor toward mu made it dllllcult for mo to 11ml oven tho necessary commonplaces to "keop up appearances" heforo thu sorvnnts on tho fuw occnslous on which wo accidentally mot. Hut, as I was saying, I canto up from tho omco and stretched mysoir on tho louuee In my prlvnto room adjoining ad-joining tho llhrnry. I hnd read niysulf Into a Uozo, when n sorvnnt brought mo n card. I glauced nt it as It lay upou his extended trny. "Gonornl Monson," I rend aloud. "Whnt does tho damned rascal want?" I naked. Tho sorvnnt smiled, Ho know nB woll ns I how Monson, nftor I dismissed dis-missed him with a presont of six months' pay, had glvon tho nows-papors nows-papors tho story or, rathor, his version ver-sion of tho utory of my offorts to cducnto mysoli' in tho "arts and graces of a fcontlomnti." "Mr. Monson says ho wishes to sco you particularly, sir," said ho, "Woll I'll sot- him," sulci I, I despised de-spised him too much to dlsllko him, and I thought ha might possibly bo In wnnt. Hut thai notion vanished tho instant I set oyes upon him. Ho was obviously ut tho vury top of tho wavo. "Hollo, Monson," win my greeting, In I could not sco hor faco, hat only thu back of hor head, and tho looso colls of magnetic hair nnd tho white nnpo of hor gracoful nock. As 1 began be-gan to speak, sho stopped writing, hor pen Buspondod ovor tho sheet of pnpor. After I ended there was u long silence. "I'll not seo hor." snld I. "I don't qulta understand why I yloldod." And I turned to go. "Walt please," enmo from hor abruptly. ab-ruptly. Anothor long sllcnco. Then I: "it sho comes horo, 1 think tho only por-son por-son who can properly rccoivo hor Is you." "No you nniBt seo hor," said Anltn at last. And sho turned round in hor chair until sho was facing mo, Hor expression I enn not doscrlbo It. 1 can only sny thnt It gave mo a sonso of Impondlng calamity. "I'd rathor not much rnthor not," said I. "I particularly wish you to boo hor," alio replied, and sho turned back to hor writing. I saw hor pon poised as if sho woro about to begin; but. sho did not begin and I folt that sho would not. With my mind Bhndowod with vague dread, I loft that mysterious mysteri-ous Ftlllness, and wont back to tho library. It was not long boforo Mrs. Langdon Lang-don wns announced. Thoro nro somo woman to whom a haggard look Is becoming; be-coming; sho Is ono of them. Sho was much thinner than when I last saw hor; Instead of hor formor restless, petulant, suspicious oxprosslon, sho now looked tragically sad, "May 1 trouble you to close the door?" snla sho, when tV .rvnnt had withdrawn I closed tho door "I've come," she began, without seating herself, "to make yen ns unhappy, un-happy, I fear, as 1 am. I've hesitated long heiore coming. !!it i am desperate. desper-ate. The one hope 1 Jmve left is that you und I between us may bo able to to that you und I may be nblo to help ench other." I wnlted. "4 suppose there are people," alio wont on, "who have never known what It wus to really to cute for somo ono also. They would despise mo tot clinging to a man after ho has shown mo that thut his lovo has censed." "Pardon mo, Mrs. Langdon," I Interrupted. In-terrupted. "You apparently think your husband und I nro intlmato friends. Hefore you go nny furthor. I must dlsnbuso you of that idea." Sho looked at mo in open astonish-mont. astonish-mont. "You do not know why my husband has loft mo?" "Until a fow minutes ngo, t did not know thnt ho had left you," J said. "And I do not wish to know why." Her oxprosslon of nstonlshinont chnngod to mockery. "Oh!" Bho sneered. "Your wife Iioh fooled you Into thinking it a one-sided nffnir. Well, I tell you, she Is as much to blamo as ho more. For hp did lovo mo when he mnrrled me; did lovo mo until sho got him under her spell again." I thought I understood. "You hnvo been misled, Mrs. Langdon," Bald 1 gently, pitying her ns tho victim of her liiBnno Jealousy. "You hnvo " "ABk your wife," alio Interrupted angrily. "Hereafter, you can't protend pro-tend Ignorance. For I'll nt least bo rovenged. Sho failed utterly to trap him Into mnrrlago when bIio wus a poor girl, and " "Heforo you go nny further," said I coldly, "lot mo set you right. My wlfo wns at ono tlmo engaged to your husband's brother, but " "Tom?" Bho interrupted. And hor laugh mndo mo blto my Hp. "So sho' told you that! I don't sco how alio dnred. Why, everybody knows that sho and Mowbray woro engaged, nnd that ho broko It off to marry mo." All In an Instnnt everything that hnd beon conftiBed in my nlfalrs at homo and down town becamo clear. I understood why I had been pursued relentlessly In Wall street; why I had been ituablo to mako tho least impression im-pression on tho barrlcra between Anita nnd myself. You will Imnglno thnt tonio terrlblo emotion nt onco domlnntod mo. Uut this Is not a romanco; only tho voracious chronl-elo chronl-elo of cortnln husmnn beings. My first emotion wns relief that it was not Tom Langdon. "I ought to have known sho couldn't euro for him," 1 said I to myself. 1, contending with I Tom Lnngdon for a womnn's lovo had always made mo shrink. Dut Mowbray Mow-bray that was vastly different. My respect for myself and for Anita roso "No," said I to Mrs. Iuingdon, "my wlfo did not toll mo, novof spoko of It. What I said to you was purely a guess of my own. I had no Intorcst In tho matter nnd haven't. I havo nhsoluto confldonco'in my wlfo. I fool nshnmcd that you havo provoked mo Into saying say-ing bo." I opened tho door. "I era not going yot," snld sho an grlly. "Yesterday morning Mowbray and Bho woro riding togother in tho Hlvorsldo drlvo. Ask her groom." "What of it?" said I, Then, ns slm did not rise, I rung tho boll. Whon tho Borvnnt came, I Bald: "Please toll Mrs. Hlacklock that Mrs. Langdon is In tho library nnd that I nm hero, and gavo you tho mossago." As soon as tho sorvant was gone, sho said: "No doubt sho'll llo to you. Theso women that Bteal other worn-on's worn-on's proporty nro usually clovor at fooling tholr own silly husbands." "I do not intend to nsk hor," I replied. re-plied. "To ask hor would bo an insult. in-sult. Sho mado no commont boyond a scornful toss of tho head. Wo both had our gazo fixed upon tho door through which Anita would ontor. Whon sho llnnlly did appear, I. aftot ono glnnco nt her, turned it must havo beon triumphantly upon hoi accuflor. I had not doubted, but whero Is tho faith that is not the strongor for confirmation? And con-Urination con-Urination thoro was In tho very nt-mosphoro nt-mosphoro round thnt Htately, still flguro. Sho looked calmly, lirst at Mrs. Langdon, then nt mo. "1 sent for you," said 1, "becauso 1 thought that you. rathor than I, should request Mrs. Langdon to lonvo your houso." At thnt Mrs. Langdon wnB on nor foot, and blazing. "Fool!" sho llared at me. "Oh, tho fools womon niako ol men!" Then to Anita: "You you Hut no, I must not pormlt you to drag mo down to your lovel. Toll your husband tell him that you were tiding with my husbnnd in tho Klvor-sldo Klvor-sldo drlvo yesterday. I stopped between her nnd Anltn, "My wlfo will not nnswor you," snld I. "I hopo, Mndnm, you will Bparo ub tho necessity of a pulnful scono. Hut leavo you must at once." Sho looked wildly round, clasped her hands, suddenly bust into tenrs, If sho had but known, uhe could havo hnd hor own way after that, without any nttompt from mo to opposo hor. For sho was evidently unuttorably wrotched and no one know bottor than I tho sufferings of unroturnod lovo. Hut sho hnd glvon mo up; Hlowly, sobbing, sho loft tho room I oponlng tho door for her and closing It behind hor. "I nlmost broko down myself," said I to Anita. "Poor womnn! How enn you ho so cnliu? You women In your relations with ouch other nro- mys tory." (To bo Continued.) |