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Show H?M. EGBERT 2 V''-'"''1 jMPt ' TLLUSTRA-riOMJS BY (copyS.ght .9.3 VV' ill O.IRWIN MYERS W.G CHAPMAN) It i3 a woman's privilege to control the temperature of acquaintanceship ; ami this immaculate young man, playing play-ing whatever part he might be, whether wheth-er of aviator, diplomat or anything elbe, seemed always to have the advantage advan-tage over me in the maneuvering. "What can I do for you, gentlemen?" I asked in my most disdainful voice. They did not know how wildly militant mi-litant beat. "First, niademoiselle, let me say, in case you suspect us of espionage, that we obtained your address through your friend, Mrs. Christie," said the chevalier. I nodded coldly. "I am not in the habit of accusing persons of espionage," espion-age," I answered. "Then the old saying Is false," he answered. "Evidently, In this case, like does not turn to like." "What do you mean, sir?" I demanded demand-ed Indignantly. "I mean," said the chevalier, doggedly, dogged-ly, "how much do you want for those papers?" I looked from one to the other. Inquiringly. In-quiringly. The old comte now came forward and motioned to his grandson to withdraw. "You are too Impetuous a diplomat, my dear Charles," he said, suavely. "Now, Miss Ives," he continued, "let us come to the point as persons of affairs. af-fairs. How much money do you demand de-mand to restore to us those papers face between his hands and gancd into in-to my eyes wi'.h such be: ignauoe that I felt my own grow wet. "Charles, come here," he said. "She has the eyes of my son Jules. It is true. See why, do not weep, child!" His arms were round me now, and I just at the moment of my completest triumph I was crying. And it was upon up-on his shoulder, too. He sustained me like a lover. 0, my dear grandfather, I recall now with what a practiced hand you wiped away my tears. How-many How-many women's tears had you wiped away when you were young young, like the chevalier? What I have always wondered at is that neither of the two for the least moment dlstursted me. "My dear grandchild," said the old comte, when 1 grew calm, "the memory mem-ory of my treatment of your father embittered my whole life. Often I sought to find him, but he was too proud to be reconciled. Now It Is too late. But I shall lavish on you the tenderness that I have lavished on him so often In imagination." Then, at his request, I told him the entire story of my visit to Europe, not omitting mention of Leopold Magniff and Zeuxis. I ended with a brief account ac-count of my interview with the old banker. "Describe this Greek, this Zeuxis," he said, when I added that I thought I had seen his face in the crowd at the coronation. "Has he a scar running diagonally across his cheek, from mouth to eyebrow?" "He has!" I cried. "You know the man ?" "I do," answered my grandfather, and the chevalier nodded his assent. "You have described a well-known spy in the service of the Italian government. govern-ment. Beyond all doubt, Charles, it was he who stole the papers from your coat pocket He is a sleight-of-hand expert, and was once a pickpocket, I believe, though now he flies at higher game." A sudden revelation came to me. "Then this must be the coup of which Leopold Magniff boasted to me," I cried. "Undoubtedly the scheme had been already hatched on the boat when he let It out to me in a drunken moment" mo-ment" They both assented. "You are right, my dear child," said the comte. "But now, the point is, how can we recover the draft of the treaty? It may have been already sold to the triple alliance; on the other hand, it is In so fragmentary a condition condi-tion and reveals so little that the conspirators con-spirators may be holding it back with a view to obtaining a higher price from France." "If they have already obtained possession pos-session of my bonds," I hazarded, "they may hold them as the price of immunity." "They cannot dispo.se of them," said my grandfather. "At least, they can but conceal them and prevent you from obtaining them." Then I told them of my agreement with the banker, omitting nothing, not even the motive that had inspired me. "And so yon wished to help him in his designs against Clichy, little Anne," said the old comte mournfully, when I had concluded. "God help us all; the old estate must pass to this arch-conspirator. It is now nearly a year elnce he unveiled his motive to me. I, he says, snubbed him In his younger days, when he purchased the estate next mine. "Well, perhaps so, and thus I am rightly punished. Times change greatly, and the old order passes. But it will be hard on your "Not quite," I responded, still puzzled. puz-zled. "Because Magniff & Co., in taking this chance, 'sold short.' as the stock exchange would say. They sold all the bonds. But they did not hold all they did not hold yours. In consequence, conse-quence, they are legally compelled to deliver those bonds to the American government the very instant when they come to light. They must deliver them, at any price. If you had chosen, you could have appraised them at a billion francs apiece, and still Magniff must have purchased them. You held him In the hollow of your hand, as he and his scoundrelly son knew well. And, Anne, you have been badly outwitted out-witted by the old banker. Well, he was fighting for his existence; 1 have no blame for him." "And with that fortune I could have recovered Clichy for you." I sobbed. "But Clichy has recovered you," answered my grandfather, placing one hand caressingly upon my shoulder. "Henceforward, Anne, your home will be with us at least, so long as we have a home," he ended. "And now, Charles," he continued, "I have monopolized monop-olized our relative enough. I shall go for a walk and leave you two young people together." "Oh, please," I begged, blushing foolishly again. But the old gentleman made his exit with a final bow and left us both looking look-ing at each other in an uncommonly sheepish way. "I I want to ask you something," Charles murmured presently. Then, since I did not discourage him, he continued: con-tinued: "Is it, then, true that you are unmarried unmar-ried in spite of the ring you wore?" My face was so crimson now that I could only cover it with my hands. But somehow he read assent in my act, for in a moment he was at my side. "Why did you wear it, sun-goddess?" he asked, and I felt him raise my fingers fin-gers to his lips. "Was it to cast me into the depths of hopelessness and despair?" de-spair?" "Why should you- despair for me, monsieur?" I asked. "Because I love you, sun-goddess," he answered rapturously. "I loved you that first moment when you stepped so bravely into my monoplane at the aviation meet and soared with me into the empyrean. And, when I lost you, I knew that I must find you again, though I had' to search all London. Lon-don. Then, when you were so miraculously mi-raculously restored to me at the abbey doors, you brought back the zest of living to me again. And then that fatal ring! Why did you wear it, Anne?" "Because f knew that it would' be better should you never turn your thoughts on- me," I managed to whisper. whis-per. "We were enemies, mortal enemies, ene-mies, then."' "But never more," he cried. "Anne, sun-goddess, do you love me a Utile enough to become- my wife?" I did. I knew 1 did. I knew, too, that it had been love, not hatred, which I had always felt for him, love which, released at last from its Bonds, welled up spontaneously within: my heart into a broad river of Joy. "Say that you love me, Anrsei" he pleaded? his arms aborst me. "I I love you," I murmured, and I felt his lips on mine. "When will you marry me, Anne.?" he aaked, presently. Sluwly I disengaged mysslf. In those rapturous mcuaents L iiad for- j consummation ot my journey wou.n occur. 1 had set out from Winnipeg filled with hatred toward those kinsfolk kins-folk who had disowned my father and I left him to die in need In a far coun-I coun-I try. And here 1 was, the guest of my grandfather and his widowed daughter, and engaged to my half-cousin, half-cousin, Charles. But for the present the engagement was to be kept secret. That! I insisted in-sisted upon. I determined that 1- would win the hearts of his relatives also before be-fore allow ing him to present me lo-them lo-them as his future bride, f could not! but fear that the old comte might tre.it him as he had treated my father. On the third morning after my arrival ar-rival I wrote to Mary Jerniw, my' room-mate In Winnipeg, for the f.rst-time f.rst-time since my departure; "When I tell you that I am actually' In my grandfather's chateau," I wrote, "you will open your eyes wide, in that taking way you have, and be- glad that I am not there to say, T told you so.' For were you not the ringleader In the conspiracy to keep me at home- till the close of the school year, when we were to make up a party to-see Europe? Eu-rope? And, Mary dear, I do hope that scheme has not fallen through. Come to France, and a royal weleomo a-waita you. "Have you pursued your acquaintance acquaint-ance with little Mr. Spratt? Poor little lit-tle man! I have not yet glanced' inside in-side the covers of the monumental! work of his upon the Code Napoleon,, which he presented to me so proudly-at proudly-at the moment of my departure. Be1 good to him, Mary, and make a marc of him. He's timid with ladies.- so' don't be afraid to give him encouragement. encour-agement. "And now you'll want to know about ' Castle CHchy, Mary. It is the very quaintest place all early Norman,', with bastions and moats and battle ments, set in the midst of an enor-" ! mous park, and most delightfully feud- ' al. But by the time you receive this : it won't be In the possession of our family any longer. Fancy being turned : out of your home after you have inhabited in-habited it for eight hundred years! But we're wretchedly poor and in the hands of an unscrupulous banker, one Magniff by name, who owns a mortgage mort-gage on us, and unless we- can obtain twelve thousand, francs $2,400 within with-in a few days, to meet the- interest, Cliclry passes out of our hands forever. "This Magniff is- the moBt avaricious scoundrel imaginable, except his son, who'a worse. Mary, he's agreed to pay me $10,000 for those bonds of mine you always laughed about, when the safe Is opened next week. And so thought I might just as well pay ofl the 'uterest on the mortgage out of it. I wrote to him,, asking him to advance me ?2,4O0, and he curtly; refused. He has a grudge against my grandfathei and means to turn him out of his home. I went to. Part3 to plead; with him,, and he sent out word he would not see me. Think of It;; my grandfathei? grandfa-thei? must lose his property when, less thasr a week aftarward, I; shall receive enough money to have saved 11 many times over! Well, I've done my best and! there's no use cryiirg over it now. "Come to FTAnce, Mary, and; all of you,, right eooit I embrace you and salute you, as we French say. "E". S. I'm quite French newt" I did not convey in. this letter the sense of impotence, the burning anger with which the banker's conduct had inspired me. When E had proposed to my grandfather that he let me meet the interest due out of the proceeds MM n Wmm 4 SYNOPSIS. Anrifi Ives, mascot by re potation, starts from Winnipeg for (.ondoti to attend he coronal Inn of K'ln Oeorxe. tier father Iwid come to America following l fpiar-re fpiar-re with his father. Comic d'Yves of h' ranee, Anne's father, at his death, left tier a key to a HtronK box containing bowls of the defunct French Panama Cunal compa ny. The hox In In the vaults iA M.KnllT A; 'o., Paris hankers. On the sicarner Anne meelH the dessolute Hon of M a l? n I IT, who. not knowinK her Identity, K-ll.i her of a scheme to wt hold of the tanal bonds and extort money from MaK-nlff. MaK-nlff. Anno volunteers lo o lis a piL-ss-n-irer wtlh a l-'n-nch contestant at an aviation avia-tion meet In London. The, Kretichmn n wins, hut dlsnpp art. without disclosing hi Idenilly. .She meets htm aaln In the urowd at Westminster ahhey and accom-panlcs accom-panlcs him to Ihe coronal Ion. .She learns (.hat he Is her cousin. Chevalier d'Yves. and that, his companion Is her rand-fatrxu-, Comle d'Yves. Hharlni,' her father's fath-er's hate for the family, Anne abruptly leaves the abbey. Him losses her purse nnd bororws money lo ko to Paris. On the, way she meets an nfllclal of the aviation avia-tion meet who. thinking her the wife, of the winner, forces on her tho prize of f0 pounds. ; he learns that Hanker Magniff Is extremely bitter nun-lnst her Krand-father Krand-father and hoi. Is a mortKi.i;e on the ancestral an-cestral home. Ma.rnlff tells her a new' kev must he made for the box. He induces in-duces her to slim an agreement to Bell lil.n the bonds for 00.0)0 francos.. CHAPTER IV Continued. I appended my name to the document docu-ment and walked out of the office like one In a dream. With economy, my money would last easily for three weeks. I should never need to worry about my landlady's bill any more. My happy thoughts were speedily to be dispelled. "There is a gentleman waiting to Fee you, madamoiselle," said the landlady land-lady of my pension as I. entered. "He has waited two hours in the reception room. Mademoiselle Is Canadian nb.0 would doubtless wish to meet him without a chaperon," she simpered. Somehow my heart failed me aB I turned the handle of the door. I was convinced that it was the scoundrelly Creek Zeuxis, who had followed me home. But, it was not It was Leopold Magniff, Mag-niff, the bauker's son! He bowed low and his countenance assumed a sneering deference as I ignored ig-nored his outsretched hand and stood facing him In silence. I did not deign to offer the least greeting. "Miss Ives, you've been to see my father," he volunteered. "It's ro use to deny it; my agents have been on your trail since you posed as the wife of the Chevalier d'Yves at the coronation." "I have no intention of denying anything any-thing to you," I 6ald, contemptuously. "But if you dare Insult me with your falsehoods again, you shall be thrown from this hotel." "At least mademoiselle will acknowledge acknowl-edge that she wore a wedding ring during dur-ing the ceremony," he pleaded, suave-ry. suave-ry. "It was lent to me," I cried, and then bit my Up angrily at the admission. "Mademoiselle, you are charming," salil the scoundrel, regarding me with cnnlr ndmirntinn "Now rlnn't. he "And So," I Said Bitterly, "You Suspect Sus-pect Me of Being the Thief7" which you pilfered from my grandson's coat pocket while he was entertaining you as his guest within the abbey?" I gasped for words. "How dare you insult me!" I stammered stam-mered and the observation seems trite enough now, when I recall it. Perhaps it was my intonation, my expression ex-pression of outraged innocence, that disillusioned him. At any rate he seemed perceptibly embarrassed, and as he hesitated, I recovered my composure. com-posure. "Will you have the goodness to explain ex-plain yourselves in full, gentlemen?" I said, with withering scorn. "With pleasure, mademoiselle," answered an-swered the comte. "The facts are simple. As you should know, my grandson here accompanied me to England, recently, ostensibly as a member of the French military mission mis-sion in the coronation; actually to negotiate ne-gotiate an important treaty between England and France, in which three foreign powers are vitally interested. "We were warned that emissaries of these powers were prepared to go Assuredly you will be ruined. My coup has succeeded beyond my expectations the one I told you that I had in prospect. pros-pect. And I will marry you tomorrow tonight, if you insist on it. You will be made for life. And I shall worship you. I am 6ure that we were made for each other. Ah, mademoiselle, do you suppose that you will have such a chance again? Are you thinking of that beggardly chevalier? Why, he is a pauper, wiped out besides, he is a libertine, a rake. They say " Something in my expression must have alarmed him, for he suddenly ceased Bpeaking, took hi3 hat, and sidled toward the door. "Remember, mademoiselle," he said, grinning nastily, "I am ready at any time to renew my proposition to you. But unless you accept you will be ruined positively ruined, believe me." The sight of his grinning face horrified horri-fied me; the memory clung to me for weeks afterward. When I gained my self-possession I sent a hasty telegram to the banker. It ran as follows: "Your son and confederate have key to my safe. Seal It and place p. guard over it instantly." This communication elicited no response. re-sponse. But I felt sure that it would effect its purpose unless the bonds had been already stolen. I awaited the termination of the three weeks with ill-concealed Impatience. Impa-tience. CHAPTER V. New Friends and Old Enemies. (In which I learn that my relatives are not so black as X painted them.) Here was I, alone in Paris, under the surveillance, as I was positive, both of Leopold Magniff, Jr., and his rascally sycophant Zeuxis, with three weeks to wait before the opening of the safe in which my precious bonds lay hidden. And In three weeks my enemies could work incredible harm. Magniff had threatened me with ruin unless I accepted his advances. But how could he fulfil his threat? Only in one way, clearly; by utilizing the key which he had stolen from my purse to open my safe and to abstract the bonds. Would he dare? Had the safe already been rifled? But even so I should at least be no worse off than when I had arrived In Paris. As the days wore away, and the memory of the man grew fainter I came . to despise de-spise and disregard his powers for mischief. , It did seem unnecessary that I should have to wait three weeks while Magniff, Sr., was fashioning a new key for my safe. But I inferred that he was in reality utilizing this period to make Inquiries in Canada concerning me; consequently I became more tranquil tran-quil In mind. I sent my friend Eetelle Christie the ten pounds which she had lent me and settled down to live frugally at the Pension Anglaise with my remaining $450. At the worst I should have enough with which to return re-turn to W'innlpeg. A little more than a week of my probationary pro-bationary period had elapsed, when one morning our landlady announced that two gentlemen were awaiting me in the reception room. Instantly I thought of Magniff and the Greek. "Tell them that I will not see them," I answered. The landlady appeared shocked. "But, Mees Ives, they are of the quality, assuredly," she protested. "An old gentleman and a young one. And the latter what build, what figure! I thought to have the pleasure to congratulate con-gratulate mademoiselle," she continued teasingly. The comte and the chevalier! It could not be! And yet, whom else did I know? But, if it were they, how could they have discovered my abode? "They sent up no cards?" I asked my hostess. "No, mademoiselle. But see, only see them and certainly you will not refuse them an interview. 'Ver' important im-portant business' those were their words." "Tell them I will be down in a few moments," I answered, and began to arrange my hair for the interview. In the midst of brushing it I halted angrily. an-grily. My heart was pounding in my throat in the most discomfiting way. Why, I asked myself, sternly, why did I go to this trouble about my personal person-al appearance for the sake of such mortal enemies? And why was I so agitated? I could not solve the problem, prob-lem, and twisting up my hair hastily, I descended the stairs, trying to regain re-gain control over my nerves. It was as I had surmised. The comte and the chevalier were waiting for me in the reception room, both faultlessly attired in morning clothes. They rose, each with a low how, upon my entrance. Both looked extremely grave, and neither evinced the slightest slight-est sign of having previously seen me. I motioned each to a chair, but they remained standing. Now, thougl I had determined 'io greet them wfvh the barest courtesy, this turning ol the tables upon myself affected me almost to tears of rage. "His nT' mm 1 1 the futility of the attempt 'It's no use, my little Anne-," he said. "1 thank you from the depths of my heart. But you wiU be beating against a granite wall. Magniff means to have Clichy, and he won't advance you a penny until the vault is opened. Then, nothing can be done." And, as I have described in my letter let-ter to Mary, I beat in vain against the granite wall of MagniffB vindictive hatred. Now we were already setting our affairs in order, packing our few cherished mementoes, ready to leave. There was pitifully little that we could take with us. The castle was Indeed, In-deed, as Magniff had so graphically portrayed It, "as bare as a hound's tooth." All the furnishings of its seven sev-en and forty rooms had long since disappeared, dis-appeared, save those of the half dozen in the right wing where we lived, attended at-tended only by old servants who would not be dismissed. Costly pictures, tapestries, tap-estries, armor, whole sets of Sevres, had gone into the maw of Magniff, being be-ing sacrificed to meet the ever-recurring indebtedness. For twenty years ever since the failure of the original Panama company had ruined the comte this process of depletion had been continued. Now our sparse furniture would barely have accommodated a. family in a six-room flat. "But they shall never take our mono-, plane," said the chevalier, as we stood within the hangar and looked at the gigantic, graceful bird, which seemed; to float airily upon the planking that supported it. "I would rather burn it, give it the baptism of death in that fiery element toward which we ascended ascend-ed together on that first day of our meeting,, eun-godd ess." The memory brought tears to, my eyes. "Charles," I said, "they shall never take Clichy from you!" "Not if your wishes were dollars, sun-goddess," he answered, gaily. (TO EE CONTINUED.) to all lengths to obtain a draft of the treaty. To render it absolutely secure, se-cure, my grandson kept only a few rough Jottings of the French government's govern-ment's proposals upon a piece of paper pa-per in his coat pocket. He thought that none would have suspected he would carry it there. This paper was stolen from his pocket at the doors of Westminster abbey." "And so," I said, bitterly, "you suspect sus-pect me of being the thief?" He was silent from courtesy, but I could see that I had not shaken his conviction. "What else should it be, mademoiselle?" mademoi-selle?" he asked, quietly. "Remember, when we extended our Impulsive hospitality hos-pitality to you we did not even know your name." Here was my chance. How I had longed for it! And every word should now go home at last. "If I am a spy and thief and traitor," I answered, "then I dishonor a noble family as well as myself. Shall I tell you from whom I am descended?" He bowed with deference. "If mademoiselle made-moiselle pleases," he answered. "I am of French extraction," I responded. re-sponded. "My father's name was Jules d'Yves" I saw him start "and his father was, and is, Comte d'Yves of Clichy." There was a dead silence in the room. Then, as the haze floated from before my eyes, I saw both men gripping grip-ping their chairs, regarding me with amazement, blended, I think, with fear. "Yes," I went on bitterly, not caring car-ing what I said, "my father was driven driv-en from his home, disowned, and left to -starve in a foreign land by those who should have been proud to acknowledge ac-knowledge him. I am his daughter, and I am proud to be. And I am neither thief nor spy. Good morning, gentlemen." Just as I had reached the door the comte found voice. "Come back!" he pleaded, in such an altered, abject tone that my anger died away and pity succeeded it. A sudden vision came to me of the lonely lone-ly old man, perhaps torn with secret remorse for his unfatherly crime, perhaps per-haps longing for those approaches which my father had been too proud to make to him. "You are Anne d'Yves?" muttered the old man, approaching me with outstretched out-stretched arms. Suddenly he took my mother, Charles." "He told me that he will have your property within two weeks," I said. "Unless twelve thousand francs of interest appear mysteriously out of a clear sky, I think he will," the comte answered. "And doubtless you understand under-stand now why he was so anxious to purchase your bonds, and why he has, apparently succeeded." "Yes." I replied. "He feared that I she aid place you in possession of them and so enable you to pay off the mortgage mort-gage on Clichy." . The comte shook his head mournfully. mourn-fully. "But that Is the reason that his son Leopold gave me when we talked on the boat," I exclaimed. "Is it possible that either of that shrewd pair believed you to be so altruistic al-truistic as to be willing to present them gratis to an old man, to save his lands, Anne? No, my dear. It is because, be-cause, so long as those bonds were in your possession, you could have rendered ren-dered him bankrupt." "But he has millions!" I cried incredulously. in-credulously. "And your bonds are worth, potentially, potent-ially, billions," answered my grandfather. grandfa-ther. "Let me explain the matter to you, Anne. "WThen the American government purchased the old, worthless Panama bonds from the French company, the holders, dispersed as they were throughout the length and breadth of France, were glad to let them go for a song. Magniff & Co. acted as brokers, on the French side, and they made an enormous fortune. But, by the terms of their contract, they bound themselves to deliver all the bonds to America, in return for so many millions mil-lions of dollars. "They actually did deliver all except ex-cept the small parcel which you hold. They searched for these and could not find them. They advertised in vain. Nobody responded to their offer to purchase pur-chase them. They concluded, not unnaturally, un-naturally, that they had been lost or destroyed and would never turn up. "All this while the bonds were lying in their own safety deposit vault in your own father's name. He knew nothing of the demand for them, and I, of course, did not imagine otherwise than that he had already disposed of them to Magniff. Now, my dear Anne, do you understand why your !Mn.ls am so valuable?" "I I Love You," I Murmured, and I Felt His Lips to Mine. gotten the mesh of circumstances that had been woven round us. Now the memory of them recurred to me. "Some day," I answered, "when our troubles are over, Charles. When we have conquered our enemies." With that he had to rest content. I did not feel that it would be decorous to yield too much within a single hour. Later that afternoon the mother of Charles called in her victoria and took me to their town residence. She would be sj ;isfied with nothing but that I shoulrl become their guest. I pleaded, bow ever, that I must wait at the pension Until the three weeks had elapsed, that the banker might readily find me should he desire to, since he could hardly communicate with me at the home of his enemies. However, I compromised by consenting to pay a few days' visit to Clichy at the end of the week. CHAPTER VI. Mascot of Castle Clichy. (In which I save my grandfather's estate es-tate from the clutches of his life enemy.) I was at Castle Clichy, in my grandfather's grand-father's home, and the home of my ancestors an-cestors through Innumerable generations. genera-tions. Never, In my most extravagant 'Ji'-!'.s had I Imagined that such a "Mademoiselle, You Are Charming," Said the Scoundrel. angry. I have come here as a friend. And to prove it, allow me to restore you this." He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the puree which I had lost in so humiliating a manner inside Westminster abbey. He handed it to me, and, taking it gingerly, I opened it. There, within, lay my hand mirror, my powder puff, and my five hundred dollar dol-lar bills. But the key the key was gone. "I gather from your expression, mademoiselle, that you realize that you are in my power," he said. "If you mean that you have stolen my key " I began. "Your key?" he repeated, in feigned astonishment. "I know nothing of any key of yours, mademoiselle, except that this purse was discovered at the entrance to the abbey doors by a servant serv-ant of mine." "By your spy, Zeuxis," 1 interrupted, bitterly. "I thank you for your honesty hon-esty in restoring my money, at least. Good afternoon, monsieur." "But, mademoiselle," he cried, in real alarm, "I thought, now that I have convinced you of my power, that you would be willing to join forces with me. Otherwise, you will be ruined. |