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Show P -I II .l.in. '" " I. -.I., . Aiplrer&Ure Romance I PAMELA THORNTON. Synopsis. rtobert llervey linn-dolph, linn-dolph, young New York man-about-town, leaves the hom of hla swset-heart. swset-heart. Madge Van Telller, cha-STined cha-STined because of her refusal of hi proposal of marriage. His Income, 110,000 a year, which he must sur-reader sur-reader If a, certain Miss Imogen Pamela Thornton (whom he has seen only as a small girl ten years before) Is found, la not considered by the clrl of his heart adequate to modern needs. In a "don't care" , mood Ttandolph enters a taxi, un seen by the driver, and Is driven to the stare door of a. theater. A man he knows, Duke Deamer, Induces In-duces a girl to enter the cab. Beamer, attempting; to follow, Is pushed back by Wandolph and the cab moves on. Ills new acquaint- I ance tells Randolph she Is a cho- I rus girl, and has lost her position. J She Is In distress, even hungry, and I he takes her to his apartment i PART I Continued, l The girl considered gravely for n J' moment; then her fnco broko Into a I rippling smllo tlint swept up nnd sot- E tied In her eyes. Bho reached for a I cushion, put It nt her back, tucked ono I foot under herself, nnd waved tho ! other In tho sumo fashion as had Miss I Van Telller earlier In tho evening. 1 "Now talk," she said. I "Do you llko mor nsked Mr. Kan- Ml oipi, Jj She nodded her head. "You're not afraid to bo hero?" She shook denial. 8 "Have you ever been In a man's room before?" H, 8ho looked hlra straight In tho eyes and made no other sign. J It was Mr. Randolph's turn to flush, j "Then." ho sala, "If you llko mo nnd . tf you're not afraid, plenso begin nt the Ptnrt and toll mo all nhout It." Tho girl's eyes fell nnd sought the lire. Her faco slowly paled to tho shade of her somber thoughts. Sho fl (ji was no longer pretty sho was boarU- Jf fill, with n rovoallng transparency that mado her seem unfleshed, n dlsem- bodied spirit of sincerity and truth, H Indubitably pure. Jj "I had n nurso once," she said, In a ft low voice, "nnd a wlro-hnlred terrier, Jj a show-dog and a darling. Ills name Jj was Sport," Sho raised solemn eyes J to Randolph's face as though monsur- Jt Ing his powers of understanding. "My J nurse died and then, ono day, I had to sell Sport; I wasn't old enough to soil inyrelf." HI Sho stopped speaking with nn nn- mlstnkublo finality. Randolph was everwholmed by tho flood of Informn- tton thnt this slip of a girl had pneked M Into two-score words. A llfo-story In four lines nnd a revelation of tho heart thrown In for good mensurol Over nnd nbovo that, ho had to reckon ' with tho confirmation of a suspicion which had been slowly establishing It- Jl slf In his mind that ho had mot her Jl before, that not for tho first tlmo this night had those soft lips, curved for merry wonls, cried, "My, what n Burapl" within his hearing. H So many considerations pressed to Ms Immediate attention that ho ' t nwoko to tho actual present too Into 1 H to stem tho ttdo of tears that sudden- ly rose to tho girl's eyes. i "Oh," sho sobbed, "what Is to bo- cuuiv oi niu i was so nappy Jiore, if j you hadn't mado mo think l" , j K anything has been said In tho n courso of theso pages to glvo tho lm- ft presslon that Mr. Randolph was mod- eted nftcr Joseph or hown out of Ico K' or packed with probity to the exclu-V exclu-V slon of red blood, forgot It. At tho I sight of those tears, ho slid tho length II of tho couch to first base, fielded tho Ut girl In his arms, switched her round Hi o that sho lay across his knees, drew her face against his ououlder, nnd If rocked her gently. It "You poor kiddle," ho said softly, HI ,w,int a dev11 ot n t,mo J'ou'vo bad I S Bt hnllovo mo when I tell you It's nil & over This is tho night thnt starts your mjm old happy sun Into tho bluo sky' ngnln. Bffiv Don't worry." P Sho stopped crying and looked up ; tnto tho honest fnco so dose to her r awn, puzzling ns to how Just those L . words could have como from but j' tho world had taught her -, hard le- H con In varying standards. 8he drov a '- long quivering nigh. "If you could only wait until I love -. you, body and oul," she breathed Dj. "What 'u earth do you mean?" Hi. asked Mr, Randolph. B "Why, then It wouldn't bo so bad uf, w ugly." B: "I don't get yon," remarked Rooert iJI' Hcrvey. Mf' "A man told mo Just n llttlo while Br ego that he was making a catalogue ; of reasons why women glvo them- ft eelves," sho continued. "IIo had eloven K already, nnd yet ho mis ono of tho f nicest men I've met, no talked to mo m though he wore showing mo a way H that J must travel alone." I -Really r said Mr, Randolph, atlf- 1 Untns pejrptlbl7. j "Tho lowest reason of all wns for cold cash," sho went on, as though ho had not spoken. "Then came tho glitter glit-ter of precious stones, nnd, after that, silk undenvrnr." , "Silk underwear I" exclaimed Mr. Rnndolph, mystllled nnd Interested In spite of himself. "Of course you couldn't understand that," sho said, "not unless you hud seen somo poor girl bury her faco In crcpo do chine nnd lace, tremble to try them on, and then sob becauso alio hod to wear clothes overithem." "Look here," said Mr. Rundolph, shuddering nt tho pity of It: "we'll pass on to tho next, If you don't mind." "Curiosity comes next," resumed tho girl obediently. "A womnn Is weak until sho knows everything. Then comes a funny ono that you won't understand un-derstand nt nil. It's called 'Because.' Becauso he had on a coot that reminded re-minded her of an old coat that a man she had loved used to wear.'" "My dear girl" protested Mr. Randolph. Ran-dolph. "I sold thoy weren't Interesting," she reminded him dispassionately. Her eyes widened. "And now1 sho continued, con-tinued, "wo go up and up spite thnt stabs Its own heart; tho lonely soul; consuming fire, nnd, last and greatest reason of all, Just love." Her eyes glowed to some distant focus. "If nil myself, my honor, my past, nnd my future dissolve to tho slnglo drop of a present moment In tho crystal cup of mil -, "Now Talk," She Said. love, then lot mo glvo myself to a Iovor's lips for, onco drained, nothing will bo left upon which to hang tho bndgo of shamo nothing remain In nil tho world but tho spirit and and tho sacrifice." "Girl," said Mr. Randolph, crushing her to him as though ho snatched her back from Just beyond his clnsp, "whero is your mind wandering? What havo you been thinking? Thnt I was asking you to to glvo yourself to me?" Her eyes enmo suddenly to his faco. IVF IS . ... .. ... I ius, sno sniu; "i tnougnt that." IIo stared at lr for a long silent moment, mo-ment, his lips wnvorlng nervously between be-tween pity nnd severity. A flush swept over her face, nnd Into her eyes crept a look of fear. "You don't want mo?" sho whispered; then, ns ho did not speak: "Kiss mo. I wish you to kiss me." There wns something In her Insistence Insist-ence thnt clutched at his heart and bent him forward. IIo drew her head up slowly to meet his lips and kissed her ns lightly, as Inrporsonnliy ns brother over snlutcd sister, but far more fearfully. Immediately her body went limp In his arms, turned to n dead wolght of uninspired flesh. "It is true," eho murmured, desperately. des-perately. "You don't really want mo nnd I can never love you now." Ri'Mlolph-nwoko to thnt still cry. PA shook her. seized her head In both ls hands, nnd forced her eyea to meet the blaze In his. "You generous, careless, adorable llttlo fool I" ho growled. "Why, you're tho most desirable and precious bundle of lovnblo cltnnn that robber man over trembled to hold In sacrilegious arms 1" Sh6 stared at him umazed. "Why don't you kiss the way you "Becauso there's no reason for your desperate barter, my dear Imogene Pamela Thornton." In ono lltho motion sho wns out of his arms, on her feel, back to tho fire, head upthrown. "How dare you how daro you call mo by thnt name?" Sho was transformed; trans-formed; her eyes flashed with such n light ns mado tho blazo In his own n paltry thing. "Do you think sh would I Me In your armir She asfced. Kulphu out the words. "Vlvlenno Vlvlerre" her lips curled In distaste nt the name "ah, yes; poor despairing thing Bui I Pnmeln Thornton! Oh. who arc you? Why did you?" Sho dropped her face In her hands nnd sobbed ns though her heart had broken. Randolph did not leap to comfort her this time; ho did not even watch her. With his eyes on the edges ol lire that peeped from between nnd round her ankles, he begnn to tnlk. "I knew you ; I knew Sport ; I knew Maggie. Just once I met you nil, nnd I've never forgotten. I couldn't." He smiled crookedly. "You nnd I snt down so hnrd together nnd you cried out, 'My, what a bump!' and laughed and Inughc Just llko tonight, back there at tho stage-door of tho Crocodile." Pamela stopped crying. "So you were thnt nwfully nice boy," sho Bnld, disclosing tenr-stalncd checks nnd'looklng hlra over as though sho were Inventorying n long list of points, of deterioration. Robert Hcrvey Randolph, six feet tall, freckled-nosed, open-faced, blue-eyed blue-eyed nnd broad-shouldered, looked up nt her almost oppenllngly ns If his wholo sum and substance wcro crying out to bo npprnlscd at faco value but no less. "That's mo." he snld vapidly. "My nnmo is Robert Hcrvey Rnndolph. Some people call mo 'Bob,' some Herv,' and tho sldey ones say 'Randy.'" "And I shall call you 'Mr. Rnndolph,"' Rnn-dolph,"' said Miss Thornton bravely, and then broko Into: "After nftcr 1'vo th thanked you again nnd nnd again from my heart. I'm going now." "Thnt's n wrong guess," said Robert, smiling hnppllyr-ho didn't know exactly exact-ly why. "I'm the ono thnt's going, nft-er nft-er you promise mo that you'll stay hero until ten o'clock tomorrow. But before wo como to thnt, plenso don't thank mo ever. It's selfish, but I'd simply lovo to havo you remember me ns Bob or Herv or, at tho very worst. Randy. Won't you?" Sho looked this way nnd thnt before sho let her faco rlpplo to Its wondrous smile. "I'll go ns far as Randy," sho con-cHled con-cHled mischievously; then tho smllo 'went nnd tho shndow came. "But I really can't stay here, you know." Mr. Randolph leaped to his fret, reached her In n single strldo t.nd cnught her by both wrists. "Look at mo!" ho said. "If you won't promlso to stny hero without n break till ten o'clock tomorrow and thereafter at your pleasure, I'll stay myself and hold you. Now, do you or don't you? One two " . "I do." "Do what?" Inquired Robert "I promise." "Mnko yourself absolutely at home, then," ho said, as ho dropped her hands nnd turned townrd the door. "I feel llko Chrlstmus eve," said Mis Thornton meekly. "Won't you please tell mo what's going to happen?" hap-pen?" "You'vo guessed it Christmas," ho answered enigmatically, tossed tho latch-key on tho tnblc, nnd left her. Sho enn bo excused for spying upon him from tho curtnlned window. She saw him awako tho cabman, and then watched tho pantomime of n long colloquy. col-loquy. "Oh!" she moaned. "No wonder! Tho awful, awful price of those horrid clock things! Why did I let him tell It to wnlt?" Presently sho was nmnzed to see both tho driver and Mr. Rnndolph dls-appear dls-appear Into tho dark recesses of the cab and closo nftcr them Its door. For twenty breathless minutes sho watched, tormented by tho thought that they hod retired to havo It out whero they wouldn't bo disturbed by tho police. But nt Inst they Issued both of them. Mr. Rnndolph proceeded proceed-ed to crank tho car nnd then, wnlklng rather strangely, went off, headed west; tho driver mounted his box. threw In tho clutch, nnd scurried to tho east as though ho were off to meet tho morning, "Strange doings I" thought Miss Imo-geno Imo-geno Pamela Thornton, ns sho turned from tho window to start on n privately private-ly conducted voynge of discovery. Strange doings, Indeed, nnd stranger mm cuuiu imogeno rnmela havo heart ns well as seen. This Is what reallj happened: Mr. Rnndolph nwokc the cubrann gently but thoroughly; then he said : "Look here: I want to buy your wagon." ".Gownn, boss; wot d'yer tnko me for? Hero I been freezln most to dot' fer two mortal hours an' n gent like you stnrts right In klckln' on the clock wldout even rendln' It." ,18,l"ck,8,,? 8nl1 Mr- Rnndolph. "W hat's biting you? Never mind the moter-rendlng; hero's twenty for you to forget thnt Now tell mo: Who owns-your buzz-wngon? You?" "Now; tho Vlllago Cab company," replied tho saturnine cabman ns ho stuffed tho twenty-dollnr bill Into his trousers pocket. "Well," snld .Mr. Rnndolph, "you nnd I are nbont the sarao build, and JiK' ? pr?posllon for you. Change clothes, hand mo over your cab, nnd tnko two hundred dollars to see your! self to another Job." Tho driver showed no surnrlso- ho contemplated the offer with hW-dosX eyes and dubiously working lips "Slim Hervojr," t.JrNw. (TO 13K CONTIN JKU.) 5 |