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Show !tcfhe.CcawrK)nweaffli Cbprrtht 11B. by PaQv ITxflfTsnsT-. Inc. AH moving plctxzr rlrtota And ail foretJHI ajtjyriait trtotiy roaerrod. I Bid Dodge's place was running full blast. Courteous, obsequious waiters slid soft-footed from table to kitchen and back again, bearing In their miraculous armn dlahca adroitly chefed for the dissipated palatee of epicureon drlnki ounnlnKly mixed by th hijrbest priced expert In the city. No exponae was spared at Bid Dodge's place the stakes wore too bis; to skimp on the cLe tails that made for tons. The room was filled with tho Btranpe murronr of many toIcos, high, low, soft, musical, harsh, droning all contributing to an incessant mingling ming-ling dram so meanlngleas in the abstract ab-stract eo pregnant with meaning In each Individual gToup. Bright llsrhts made soft by artful globes hung suspended sus-pended from the frescoed celling by masalvo linked chains, and mingled their mellowed radiance with the rose-colored glow of the numerous silk-shaded lamps that dotted the tables, and made pale face seem flowing and vara. Luxurious car- .Mi No ma seemed surprised when a . low, artYfully constructed door In the 'J9 wall near the palms 6wung back on noiseless hinges, and a young man entered in evening dress. Why should if they? They had all come In that way sJl this well-groomed company of dlosipated midnight diners, past the watchful, scrutinizing gaze of the W lookout on the Bllent etroet, down a flight of dark steps, up another flight 'fll that twisted and wound its way to a; that noiseless door a foul stem blos- 3 soming exoticolly in that dining room 41 of mingled rose colored lights, anft W voices and sweet music. M To the young man who took un- M noticed his place at a snug table In a '31 far corner, the artificiality of all this 3 "uper-luxury was Immediately evl- M dent- The richness of the room, so 'J out ot keeping with Its daik ap- Mj proach the flushed, eager faces of b the diners, the too courteous solici- K tude of the oily waiters, pointed un- W' mistakably to some secret vice ub yet JP unseen He gave his order to a def- rentlal waiter, and again turned his a attention to the room and its guests. M his deep set, shadowed eyes and pale 9 thoughtful, abstracted expression I concealing effectively the fact that he 1 was keenly alive to every move In the room. I ,1 The music again started, this time ,n a hrisk. accentuated Torantelle there was a flash of red from behind the palms, a clicking of casranets, and out on the raised dais flashed a slim wisp of a girl, and flung herself with abandon into the spirited dance of Bpaln. In a moment the busy hum of voices died to a few occasional whispered communications and everyone every-one stared in gladly given attention at the girl on the platform. v!hKW d-eyed. fair-Pklnned, her cheeks rouged and lips carminod alluringly, her light Ivo body waving low and straightening snap-beat snap-beat of the music Raised grace uliv Iaoove her head, elde-tllted, her fal'r round arms bent at the wrist, her hands resolving themselves into the hollow cluoklnr castanets Her face wore a rapt, set aralle as of perpetual Pleasure, her every motion botraylng SET Thr ron of the Beauts Beau-ts , Tb. mU8lc ceaaed ddenly. 5SH?S ,n a p,rited crah id JSLSl S? doQbl-tamp of the thrill? m"? T .th floor' and e I drilling cluck of the castanets there again that subdue T,..!re I again the resumption of conversation, and the dancer, panting and flushed beneath her roupe, came down from tho dais, and courtesylng familiarly, ! threaded her way between the tables. She stoppod at one with a word of familiar greeting on her lips and sot down. Tho yonng man In the corner wntohod her and her companion as tho gliding waiter carefully wiped the bottoms of their llquer glasses and set them down. Tho girl seemed laughingly laugh-ingly to proposo a toast that met with the approval of her friend. who laughed heartily tholr classes clinked , and wore empitcd quickly, tho watch- ful waiter acknowledging by a courteous cour-teous Inclination of his head their reorder re-order The man she was seated with was a flabby, pink faced, tiny-eyed individual, his light brown hair combed smoothly back over his head and accentuating a lack of forehead that he had done better to havo left covered. His Angers tapped nervously nervous-ly tho white table cloth as If In time - 'J! THE DANCING GIRL AT SID DODGE'S PLACE. I pets catered to daintily shod feet, bright silver gleamed In well groomed hands and clicked an accompaniment to the incessant clink of long-stemmed, long-stemmed, bubbling glasses. In one end of the room, from bo-hind bo-hind a line of (spreading palms, rose the rhythmic pulsing, paslon-laden strains of Pagllacci. and died out in a plaintive wall of 'cello and viol, as though surfeited with the luxury of Its own eweet sadneso died out amid the appreciative applause of subdued clapping and the slightly swelled murmur mur-mur of friDrovlne- itoIcm to some rhythm subconsciously dominating domi-nating them, the while his eyes narrowed nar-rowed doubtfully, as though reluctant to be persuaded by the girl s apparent proposal The second drink was brought, disposed of In as short order as tho first, and the g-irl again seemed trying to persuade tho tiny-eyed man across the table His wavering was gradually lessened as she coaxed, and he at longth got up and followed her to the wall, alongside that noiseless door. Her fingers seemed fussing with something on the wainscoting, when uiMnl.. . V. II iu i . 'j-i.-in. uiu viiu aim ouch as mougn , on a track and the young man in the j far corner of the room had to steady himself exceedingly not to betray his surprise at what he saw there. The I room on the other Bid of the wall was as softl lighted as was the room In which he sat but it was busy in ; there, without the subdued restraint j of the dining room. The smoke 0f ; innumerable cigara and cigarettes ' trade a foggy haze through which I .'s distinguished a high choir on j which a man sat spinning a softly running wheel. Around him. with tense, eager faces stood a group of men and women In evening dress watching with fascinating eyes tho swiftly rolling boll. At a low table In the foreground etood a group of men excitedly watching a man in an enormous enor-mous cravat and gartered shirt sleeves shaking a leather cup out of which rolled clicking transparent dice. At another tablo. a little off to the side of the one used for dicing, stood another an-other group watching a cadaverous, nervous looking man anxiously turning turn-ing up cards and placing them in a long horizontal line in front of him All this the young man at the table eaw at a glance, indistinctly yet comprehensively com-prehensively saw the young man of the tiny eyes, and tho dancing girl, met by a tall stoop-shouldered man of nhout thirty, who after a few words from the girl and a mute, expressive glance, grasped the young man cordially cor-dially by the hand and led him toward to-ward that hlgh-stooled chair on which the man aat monotonously spinning the wheel. The girl stepped back Into the dining room, the panel slid noiselessly noise-lessly lno its place and all was as before. be-fore. But now some of the diners had arisen and the panel began an endless Sliding to and fro as thev went to join those in the smoke hazy room beyond. be-yond. The girl walked slowly, smiling to the far end of the room In which the VOUTIC mnn mm 4 . - - "oitu.iru a. moment at his table, her head poised questlonlng-ly questlonlng-ly He arose courteously, and pulling out a chair from the table, said. Yon't you sit down?" "Thank you." j "Will you have something?" She smiled her assent and gave hsr order to the waiter. "You dance very beautifully. Miss" "As, yes, I love to dance " And then, inapropos, "You care to play?" "No, not tonight " |