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Show THEDELUGE; D DAVID GHAHAM VlWUDS.Auttor of"77FCGSJric I icmzti- t- cj- A,, ata? ,rx&ac ti-&ivrj CHAPTER VII Continued BLACKLOCK DOES INTO TRAIN- INC. 1 shall ncor forget the smallest detail or that filmier II u a purely ' family" affair. onl Iho Kllerslys and !l I ran fool now the oppressive atmosphere, at-mosphere, tin- look m of Impending sacrilege uku Iho facca of the old servants; I ran sc Mr Kllenfly trying try-ing to condescend to he "gracious, ' and treat Ina me an It I were some sort of museum freak or menagerie exhibit I can see Aplta She wu like n Maine of now. she smkc not n word. If eh" lifted her eyes. I fulled to note It. And when I waa leaving I with ray collar wilted from the fierce, nervous sUilu I had bean enduring Mrs Kllersly. In that olco of her Into which I don't believe nn) shade of n real hiiman emotion eter iienetrated, ttald' "Yon must come to see tia, Mr. Hlackloek We are always Ht home nfter lire " t looked at 111m Kllersly. Hho wns white to lha lips now. nnd the spangles span-gles on her while dress seemed lilts of Ice glittering there. She aald nothing; noth-ing; but I know alio felt mjr look, nnd that It frose the Ice the inoro closely In around her heart. 'Thank you," 1 muttered. I mumbled In the hall; I almost fall down the broad atep. I stopped at the first bar and took three drlnka In quick succession I went on down the avenue, breathing like an exhausted exhaust-ed awlmtner 'I'll Rite her up!" I cried aloud, oo tiiaet waa I ' 1 am a Minn of Impiilae; but I have trained myaelf not In lie a creature or Impulae, at leaat not In tnaltera of lin portanco. Without that patient and IKilnful schooling, I aliouldu'l hare not where I now nm: probably I'd Mill lie blnoklng boola, or sheet-writing for ' aome bookmaker, or clerking It for Himn bmker. Ilefore I Kot my roonia. ', the night nlr and niv habit of the "sober aecond thought ' had cooled me back to rationality "I want her, I neisl her." I waa a IdK to ni)aelf. "1 am worthier of her ithan nro I bono mincing manlklna alio ban been bred to regard as men Hho Is for mo alio bolonga to in" I'll jj t abandon her to no smirking puppet V - -"' Tvho'd wear her aa a donkey would n I) diamond Why should I do myself I l ond her an Injury simply becausu alio 1 has been too badly brought up to know her own Interest?" , When this was clear to me I sent for my trainer. Ilo was one of those I spare, wiry rlugllihmcn, with akin like tanned and imlnted hide brown except ex-cept where Iho bones seem about to push their shnrp angles thrnuKb, and there n frosty, winter npple red. lie dressed like a Don d wood gambler, he tnlked like a stabla boy; but for nil that, joti couldn't fall to see ho m a gentleman bom and bred. Yes, he was n gentleman, though he mixed profanity Into his ordinary flow of com ersnllon more liberally than did I when In n rago. I stood up before Mm, throw my coat back, thrust my thumbs Into my trousers jiockets and slowly turned ! about llko a ready-made tailor's dum my. "Monson," said I, "what do you think of met" Ilo looked me oer as If I wero n bono heNtns about to buy. "Sound, I'd say," wns his verdict, "flood wind uncommon good wind. A goor. and a stayer. Not a lump. Not u hair out of plaoe" Ilo laughed. "Action v, a bit high ierha for tho track. Hut a icrnnd reach." "I know all that," aald I. "You miss my lnt Bupsse you wanted to enter me for say. the Society Sweepstakes Sweep-stakes what then?" "Um urn," he muttered reflectively "That's different " "Don't I look sort of new as If the varnish was still stlokv and might on me off on the ladles' dresses ami on the fine furniture?" "Oh that!" said he dubiously "Um all those kinds of thin are matters of taste." "Out with It!" I commanded "Don't . be afraid I'm not one of those damn -r fools that ask for critlolsm when they want only flattery, as you ought to know by this time. I'm aware of my Hood points, know how good they lire letter than anybody else In the world And I suspect my weak imluts always al-ways did. I've got on chiefly because I mads people tell me to my face what they'd rather have grinned over behind be-hind my back" "Wliat's your game?" asked Monson ' "I'm In the dark " "I'll tell you, Monson. I hired you to train horses Now I want to hire ou to train me, too As It's double . work, It's double pay." "Bay on." said be, "and say It slow." "I want la marry," I explained. 'I want to Inspect all the offerings before I doeJde. You are In ttaln me so that I sen go among the hards that'd shy , off from me If I wasn't on to their lit tie ways," lie looked suspiciously at me, doubt- lata thinking this sumo new dsrelop- i. " moot of "American humor." 1 1 "I mean It." I assured Mm. "I'm gains to train sod tialn hard. I're not no time to lose I in net be on , mt way ilou ii the nlale Inalde of throe months I Kite oii n free hand. I'll! do tiat what yon say " The Jobs out of my line," he pro ten! ed ' I know better," said I. "I've si-was si-was seen the parlor under the stable In you We'll begin right away. What do you think of these clothes?" "Well they're not exactly noisy," he said. "Hut they're far from silent si-lent That waistcoat " He alopped and gave mo another norvons, timid look lie found It hard to believe a man of my sort, so self-aosurcri, would stand the truth from a man of his second fiddle sort. ' "(o out" I commanded. "Speak out! Mowbray l-nngilon had on one twice as loud the oilier da at the track." "Hut perhaps you'll remember, It was only his wslslcoat that wna loud not lie himself. Now, a man of ) our manner and olce nnd yoti'xo got n look out of the eyes that'd wnko the ! gocd nattiredh How alKint mnn nera" "Not m bad." anld he Not so rotien ha I Hut when you re polite. kiiii .i little too polite, whon you roi not h h , )ou ' i ,v ciu where I came from too pi ilns l K.ild I Spink rlKht "in hltfl .ond ii nil I mil Am I too flunk l"fl M I follll " I " i in dn I bother about that h ann I me Day whatever comefl In'o mnr In-jil -only, be sine thfl rl 1 i mil of thing comes Into vouj In -id lon t talk too much ah mt youfv If for Instance Its pood form to think about joursetf all the time. It's bad form to let miple aee It In our talk May na little as ixwalblo about your business and about what ou've got iKin t be lavish with the I's and the tm's" That s harder." said I. "I'm a man who has nlwaj a minded my own bust neaa. and eared far nothing else What rould I talk about, except my self" "Hlest If I know," replied lie "Where yon want to go. the last thing people mind Is their own business In talk, at least Hut you'll get on all right If you don't worry loo much about It You'vp got natural Independence, Inde-pendence, and an original way of putting put-ting things, and common sense. Don't be afraid " "Afraid" said I. "I never knew what It was to lie afraid " "Your nerve'll carry you through," he assured me "Nerve'll take n man any w here " "You never said a Inter thing In your lire," asld I. "It'll take him whor-eor whor-eor ho wants, ami, after he's there. It'll get him whatever he wants," . And with that, I, thinking of my plan ami of how sure I ni of sue- "'SUPI'OSi: YOU WANTKB TO KNTKIt Mi: KOIl-SAY TIIR SOCIBTY SWi:i:i'STAKi:8 WHAT TI1IJN?" dead all by Itself. I'vaplo can feci joit coming before they hear you When they feci and hear nnd see all together ll'a like a brass band III scarlet uniform, with a seven foot, sky-blue d rum major. If jour hair wasn't so blnok and your oyes so 1 steel blue and sharp and your teeth so 1 big and strong nnd white, and your Jaw such a such a Jaw " "I sec the llnt," said I. And I did "You'll find you won't need to tell me many things twice. l'e got a busy day before me liore; so we'll have to suapeiid this until you come to dine with me at eight at my roonia, 1 want you to put lu the time well, fla to my house In the countryand thou up to my apartment; tnke my valet with you; look through all my belongings belong-ings shirts, ties, socks, trousers, waistcoats, clothos of every kind Throw out every rag yon think doesn't lit In with what I want to be. How's my grammar?" I was proud of It, I liad been taking more or less pains with my mode of speech for a doien years "Itather too good," said he. "Hut that's better bet-ter than making the breaks that aren't togarded as good form." "Oood form!" I exclaimed. "That's It! That's what I want! What does 'good form' mean?" He laughed. "You can search me," said he. "I could easier tell you anything any-thing else. It's what everybody recognises recog-nises on sight, and nobody knows liow to describe. It's like the difference between a cultivated 'Jlmsuu' weed and a wild one." "Like the difference between Mowbray Mow-bray Langdou and me." I uiKKoated cess, began to march up ami down tho olllce Willi my cheat thrown Oft until I caught myself at It Ttist stopiied me, set me off In a laugh in) own expeuse, lie Joining In with kind of heartiness I did not like, though I did not venture to chssk him. So ended the first lesson the list of a Ioiik series VIII. ON THE TRAIL OF LANODON. I had Monson with me twice each week-day early lu tho morning at again after business hours until bed time. Also ho spent the whole of every Saturday and Sunday with as lie dereloied astonishing dexterity as a teacher, and as soon aa ho realised real-ised that 1 had no falsa pride snd wu thoroughly In earnest, he handled s without gloves like a lioxlng tiuohtr who finds that his pupil has the grit of a professional It waa easy enough i for me to Brasp the theory of my at I business It was nothing more than i "He natural " But the rub came In making niyself naturally of the right sort. I had aa I suppose ever) man of Intelligence and decent Instincts has a disposition to be friendly tM simple Hut my manner was by sor Hire what you might call abrupt Mf not very easy task was to lesrn th subtle difference between the abrupt that Injects a tonic Into social lntr course, and lha abrupt that makes tbo other irson shut up with a feeling of having been Insulted. Then, there was tho matter of good taste In conversation. Monson found, as I soon snw, thst my everlasting d LB - i- I" ml curt- U Mt I "I ill.lUl HMI llliRtlt 'm i'i i 'i i lug my clival r( i i r,.,t awu) at I1' ' - 'in H i.Pm may die Bi -'ii ii iiii.e, though ! B ..' . I'tldence of V ii - i oiri not to bo ft ii mi would hate jB i 1 1 a ion-deprecating ffl1 li r himself, fcf ' I i'i nnd I k .1 left KM i imne of ii fll i. I w.n giving myself Rili' i .m giving myseif r'lji mi 1 imlm , as usual. I jMl ih.ii ih new interest had r.iUi . .. .1 nn things down Iowa di ' . lui nvroiiini had Impaired : J'.Ji ii nt lui.l suspended my com-'B' com-'B' " ' bin I him no Inkling ol ,V ii- i 'I he most Important mat-V mat-V I i nt in up) ing me down tows gti i i IiIiik tetile up toward par. ii i -i s doubts little though they Ii . ... . d mi' mill mude enough of an I i" mine me to test the ul" i I sold for him at ninety, as bad dim lid, I sold In quantity iia Hut no mattor how much unloaded the price showed no ten- hi y to hn uk j " I bin aald I to m eclf, " a leslt- mlsl to the skill with which I pro- prod for my bull cauilgn" And at . emed to me- all unsuspicious 1 1 tin n was- a sulDclent explanation I the steadiness of the stork which n.iil worked to establish In the public KUtfldnnce I I felt that. If my matrimonial plana Bimihl turn out as I confidently ex-feoteil. ex-feoteil. I should need s much larger ftune than I had -for I was deter-ntsed deter-ntsed that m wife ahould have an Jstsbllahinent second to none Ao-ioMlngly. Ao-ioMlngly. I enlarged my original dtn I had Intended to keep close to sngdon In that plunge. I believed I enrolled the market, but I hadn't slen In Wall alnet twenty years with-bat with-bat learning that tho worst thunder-fcolts thunder-fcolts tall from cloudless skies. Willi-but Willi-but being In the least suspicious of langilon. and simply a lug on tho general principle that siirprlse and treachery are part of the node of high finance, I had preiiared to guard, first, against being taken In the rear try n secret change of plan on Ingdon'a part, and aii-ond, ngalnat lielng In-olved In-olved and overwhelmed by a sudden secret attack on him from some associate asso-ciate of Ida who might think he hail laid himself open to autcisstnl raid-lag raid-lag The market la eaieclally dangerous toward I'brlatinaa and In the spring tosmd t'hrlalmaa the big follow a often oft-en Juggle the atocka lo got the money for their big Christmas gifts and alms, tow anl aprlng the motive Is, of oetirse, the extra summer expenses of tfeelr families and tho commencement gifts lo colleges. It waa now Into In Ufie aprlng. ' I say. I had Intended to be cautious. ( abandoned caution and ruitiod Ul boldly, feeling that tho market was, In general, safo nnd that Inxtllo was under my control and that I waa one of tho kings of htglf finance, with my lucky star In tho xenlth. I decided to continue my bull campaign on my own ncoount for two weeks nfter I had unloaded un-loaded for Langdnn, to continue It until un-til Iho stock was at par I had no dlmcull) In pushing It lo ninety-seven, and I waa not alarmed when I found myself loaded up with II, quoted at ninety eight for the preferred and thirty for Die common I assumed that I wns practically Ha only aup-porter aup-porter nnd that It would slowly settle hack us I slowly withdrew my support. sup-port. To my surprise the stock did not yield Immediately under my efforts lo depress it I sold more heavily: textile tex-tile continued to ahow a tendency to rise. I sold still more heavily; It broke a point or two, thou steadied and lose again Instead of sending out along my secret lines for Inside Information, as I should have dono, and would have done had I not been In u state of hypnotised Judgment I went lo Ijngilon' I who bad been studying those scoundrels for twenty-odd twenty-odd years, and dealing directly with and for them for ten years! He wasn't at his nfflro: they told me there that they didn't know whether lie waa at his town house or at Ida place In the country "probably "prob-ably In tho country." aald his down town secretary, with elaborate carelessness. care-lessness. ' He wouldn't be llkoly to stay away from the officii or not to send for we, If he were In town, would he?" It lakes an uncommon good liar to lie to me when I'm on tho alert. As I WU determined lo see Ijingdon. I was In so far ou tho alert And I felt the fallow' was lying "Thai's reasonable," said I. "Call me up, If you hear from Idm. I want to sen him Important, but not Immediate ' And I went away, laving left the Impression that 1 would make no finther effort I went up lo Ids house foil, no doubt, have often seen and oltsn admired ad-mired lis beautiful Tannic, so simple that It hides Its own magnificence from all but experienced on, so per feet In Its proportions that H hldso the vastness of tho pahiro of which It It the face I have liennl men say: "I'd like to have a house a moderate-slsed moderate-slsed house one alxmt the else of Mowbray Longdon'a though perhaps a tittle more clcpunt. not so plain " "Mr. Langrion Isn't at home," aald the servant. (To be continued ) |