| Show PF A TH PD zed walters file same name na 4 lIlU MYNA mATED 0 0 fj flu ellz coi 4 C on B M a asi CHAPTER the collapse mrs airs brand did not leave the car tor for she did not know her husband had gone to the reynolds homo home ho he had merely pleaded a business e engage n gage ment as his excuse tor for leaving leavin g the party for ho he thought that to say he was waa going to see reynolds would have prompted more than cursory inq inquiries u tries from both the duag u women omen A As 13 so soon 0 n as jane was out ot of the machine machin e t the he chauffeur turned and spurted towards the brands brand house bouse so he was 0 out ut of call by the time the door had been opened tor for hei bed and she eha saw brand within her entrance could not haie been more accurately timed it if she had chosen the exact moment of 0 it for brands brand s truculent tactics had driven her husband to desperation and the unwritten 1 law that prevents attack when ono one Is in the other a home would hs ban e held good no longer reynolds recovered himself himsel f sufficiently to smile a welcome and inquire why hy mrs airs brand had bad not accompanied jane in she certainly would have come II if she had anotn mr air brand was here his wife answered she stood regarding the two men in III a quizzical way sc arcel concealing the surprise she felt after brands brand a rather unconventional leave taking on the grounds of business bob went to her and took her hand jane weve got company tonight you cant can t guess w who he company 7 9 she asked incredulous ly As late as this indeed I 1 cant guess who dick dick she echoed here I 1 where 9 yes he a here now up in the den III call him she exclaimed with ith real enthusiasm no let me bob suggested ile he may have haie put up for the night there by this time see with a foot on the stairs he be turned mr brand and I 1 have been discuss ing some more business busine qs jane and this time I 1 want vou ou to know about it from the start as a partner and I 1 think ou had bad better hear bear mr mir brands side of it now 1 lie he was halt half way up the bairs he stopped and looked t the mAlion millionaire atre it I 1 must talk to mrs airs reynolds tomorrow w will ill do brand said its late and she must be tired so am I 1 but reynolds only kept backing up the steps no he said emphatically to night light brand was eager to evade the issue and gain time tor for further persuasion or compromise lie he realized that th at renolds rey in his present state of mind would aou id accept no pacification pacific atio other than his full demand and he knew too that his own bulldog attack had failed he must either pay pa the money or be placed in a perilous predicament and reynolds retreat at this juncture had established a cul do sac from which there was only one escape ile he turned therefore to jane as to a last resort lets be seated mrs reynolds he said as he bo approached her face por per tracing now unconcealed alarm has happened 7 9 she asked excited I 1 nothing irreparable mrs airs rey hey the millionaire aria answered ered braie ly but your our husband la Is in a frame of mind I 1 might say sas a mental condl condi tion alon that makes it impossible tor for me to appeal to him either by argument or a straight statement of facts he Is in a bad hole and now when lies hes driven into a corner through his own ova asinine blundering lies he s not only turned traitor to you ou and me but he a a drunkard besides mr brand jane exclaimed turn ing red with indignation and paling w with ith apprehension at the sudden brutality at 0 hie words I 1 oh I 1 don t mean that alone he answered indicating the halt half emptied bottle it its a his brain that a drunk no matter in what direction he turns be hes a intoxicated he has lost his bis per spec lve tive his sense 0 of proportion he tangles everything he be goes into and now he bo has ruined this opportunity I 1 gave him he wont listen to mo me may bo be he will to iou ou but whatever hit ever happens lie he added in a patronizing way aay 1 I want to save ou out ot of the crash I 1 don it want w ant to see him take you along with him take me with him 7 she said in dazed tones what do you meana oh please dont don t mince words mr air brand tell mo me w what hat has happened well then he answered almost defiantly your husband lb ib broke broke jane exclaimed rising and sinking back as suddenly to the divan you mean he hes s bankrupt penniless Penni lebs 7 yes flat iles he b been gambling in the street without m adico and to day lie he went a little too tar far decidedly too tar far he added as he thought ot of the overdraft that w ad ilan hae e to come out of his ov ON n pocket more alore than that mrs rey remolds Re molds lies been drink ing hard bard and doing things that a man la Is likely to do under such stances I 1 in surprised you haven t ean een it I 1 ha hale e sen s en it jino jano acano 1 dad wc tut I 1 dont don t think it bad as 1 ou ell picture it bob urn t a baby and I 1 don t like to dictate to him in such things iles hes been awn ana a good deal I 1 know but he told me it was a as for business reasons perhaps perhaps she faltered 1 I have been away a goad good deal my HI self nonsense the millionaire replied impatiently you haven t been out any more than mrs airs drand brand has and I 1 haven it got intoxicated or gone broke reynolds haen t an excuse and it isn lent t what he ha has told y ou but what he be has not told ou he chasn t in formed you ou has he that lie he overdrew ills his bank banh account for 10 after the bank had notified him that his account was mas closed dont don t misunderstand that state ment mrs airs reynolds you asked me not to mince words I 1 haven t your husband has committed commit ed felony and now when jail Is staring him in the face he means to commit another one by at tempting to blackmail me out cl C 60 11 mr braniff brand I 1 she sha cried with blood rushing to her cheeks 1 I will not sit hero here and listen to such euch words they are not true arent aren t the he be interrupted in turn then perhaps you d better ask our husband but just what he demanded of me tonight ile he sabe he Is entitled to halt half of 0 the that was saved on the cement tor for the kf no H hes cis turned traitor to you and me dam and that I 1 have given him only forty thousand ile he demands the other sixty or vows hell tell everything now la Is that blackmail or Is it not jane had no reply tho the sudden force of brand a attack had left her in ert I 1 in not talking this w way ay to you of my DI own volition he said your hus bus band desired that I 1 tell you ou everything ever thing that a partner should know I 1 am not through mrs airs rey I 1 want 11 ant to state rny my side of it here it Is for your sake and tor for yours alone and because of mrs airs brands fondness for ou ell ill III square this thing at the bank but that Is all I 1 w will ill do I 1 gave your our husband 40 in good faith and he accepted accented it as such euch perhaps it if he had asked tor for one hundred thousand at that time I 1 would hane hae granted the request but not now when he demands it under duress you can tell him that I 1 guess that is y our end of the partnership ac cording to his blew that Is all we are losing good sleep then I 1 won w on t keep cu any longer answered jane with dignity some thing of 0 her old mastery rind and determination mi had bad returned sha arose and held out her hand she shuddered slightly as he took it and regretted that she offered it the man who had branded her husband au al a criminal only smiled and stepped toward the door I 1 am sorry he said condescending ly as aa be turned reynolds appeared suddenly on a landing of the stalls good night dread brand he said eald through with u ith our chat ceaf quite through I 1 think ill see ou ell in the morning then the millionaire looked up hla his hand on the knob of tile the door I 1 les es you can see me in the morn ing he be answered and 3 jour our w wife lie can tell sou ou for just how much good night ile he slammed the door behind him film ns as lie ho went out and boh bob moved blondy down the stairs and crossed to hla hie NN ife s side jane he beian sou ou may think it strange that I 1 left sou ou with brand at this time to hear from him the things he be no doubt has told you don t con denin me too quickly our talk this lening was not a success I 1 have laid my m cards on the table and he has to but lie he docan t play the game that way he has said one thing to 0 me and has probably slid said another t to you and I 1 want to know what he has told ou oil 0 but bob she eho answered and she looked at him film through mist dimmed ases why wh his has ho be told me anything 7 why W by it if this this terrible thing has happened haven t ou told me or ivanne warned d me brand said you are ruined I 1 I 1 am ho he broke in quickly lie he told you ou the truth thero there but did he tell you how I 1 am going to remedy it I 1 he said ou had asked tor for more mone gonei blackmail oh ch bob she cried clutching at his hands it len t true Is if it he pressed her hands bands but answered doggedly 11 yes it a true that a the v ord for it blackmail blick mall and I 1 m going to have it she drew back and looked at him through her tears startled and afraid then she glanced involuntarily at the table I 1 oh don t think im drunk he said stubbornly I 1 know what nhit yie done ind and what I 1 iro in going to do now but sou 3 ou can cant t do it 5 ou all shant she exclaimed brand docant t owe you ou money it if you youe N e hobt bours ours we will have to suffer buffer tor for it not brand her words acted as an irritant to the sore so it its a brand not nae me he answered ered bitterly that a what I 1 ft anted to know knon to know how I 1 stand be tween lou au two you mapped out my line of march once but not again jane if you side with brand against me this time we as are done that a all we don t seem to do team w work ork very well and I 1 can go it t alone his tone as cold and hard bard as his ble words truly frightened her bob bob dear she cried dont talk to me that way wa youre not your self you don t know what youre saying 1 ng I 1 know exactly what I 1 m saying he answered and I 1 mean every word 0 it brand fooled 3 sou ou once and he a tooled fooled you iou again but hell bell find I 1 haven t been so dull a pupil as he thinks his game Is all right it if its ite play placed ed to a finish and that Is just what w hat iam I 1 am going to do play it to the end he used me when alien I 1 was useful and thought when the right time came he could throw me aside I 1 was weik beak enough to get into lis his meshes and I 1 m strong enough to get out he found stock and trade in your 5 our credulity over on staten island and he thinks he can rely on iou ell again did he tell you how I 1 lost my mone the very last of it ita in the stock market yes but did he tell 3 ou I 1 ini invested ested on the advice of his broker did ho he tell ou that he be won a lot of money on the same stock did he hea he be repeated as she sat staring at him in silence ile he dian didn t say anything about him self bob no of course he didia it he hd dlan t say anything about sou either I 1 suppose ile he dida t tell you ell that ni when hen he framed it up with you ou tor for us to take that money from the cement deal that w we e m were era committing a felony and that you iou were a party to the crime as much as any of us ile he dlan dian t tell you that if I 1 talked and we went to jail that you would NN go along with w till us he dian didn t say that did he hea reynolds paced the floor and his voice rose to almost a hysterical hster ical pitch god he exclaimed as he stopped and faced her I 1 almost believe he bo a convinced 3 ou that I 1 im m a criminal and hes a saint ft with ath a double ringed halo she had reached the end of her en durance and stood up qui quivering Nering with resentment you have no right to abuse me thi thia w was ay she ehe cried and I 1 won t stand it you know that I 1 only tried to find a place tor for us among decent people and ghe you sou the opportunity to provide it opportunity 7 he ha sneered yes opportunity tor for plain ord ordinary inary chiev ing what it was and I 1 did it tor for you now there aro are two aeterna lives akes jane one to go on and the other to give up if 3 sou all want to go 90 on 1 im in going to hai hae e my way this time and brand will have hane to deal with me and answer to me not to you I 1 in not going to let him off with by bs squaring matters at the bank and go out into the world penniless I 1 am go ing to clear my ml conscience and make a clean breist breast of it or I 1 am going to make it plain blackmail and make it pay either were crooks or wore were honest and it if weve vieve made up our minds to bo be crooks lets let s be good ones onee bob she ehe cried again backing away while he be followed her back was to the wall now and she crouched almost Us as it if she expected a blow yes crooks ho he persisted in an aler to her look of horror that Tha tj n what I 1 said crooks I 1 his hand was extended fist doubled but of a sudden it dropped to his side her look of appeal of abject terror pierced the mists of his cloud ed brain he stopped limp and help less well what about it jane iva I 1 ve explained it all I 1 guess you have she answered in halt ing tones you have explained about lour and you should have done so six years sears ago before I 1 married you sou she staggered toward the door to the dining room and he followed with hands handi outstretched in mute appeal don deal t bob please she cried bott boft ly let me go she passed through the door quickly and turned tho the lock ile he stood looking after her a moment a pathetic picture of complete despair ile ho tottered to the dhan and sink sank upon it with fill face burled buried in ins his hands bands so he sat tor for sev eral minutes only heaning heading shoulders betraying the depth of hla his anguish then he dropped his bands suddenly aria ana straightened up his bacu facu aan portrayed bitter hopelessness there was mingled with it a demot demor look of resolve the look did n nt 4 es ea cape a silent client spectator on the stairs reynolds stepped briskly now to a little cabinet beside the piano and bent over it opening a concealed slide A bit of shining blue metal flashed in his hands and he turned the cylinder quickly to make sure that it contained its deadly load lie ile moved to the table for ills his hat and as he did so 10 dick clipped slipped down the remaining stops steps and stepped tofal across the room As reynolds looked up the reporter stood before him going out nob ho he asked ancon cern edly R rither ither late I 1 should say bay only for a moment dick I 1 need the air can I 1 trail along you needa t III be right back lie he stepped forward but tho the report er backed along in front of him As ai they neared the door reynolds mide made a dash tor for it but dick was too quick tor for him ile he stepped slightly aside and caught his friend from the rear pin boning both his arms behind him they struggled to and fro until dick had dragged him to the center of tho the floor lot let me got go reynolds shouted damn you 3 ou meade mcade I 1 know knew you d do that let me go will sou you don t know w what hat he s done to me or loud ou d help instead of stop me let me go the noise of the struggle brought jine jane from the dining room she stood halt way a moment watching the con tortious tor tort tiona ions of the breathless men like one charmed and bereft of motility dick had dragged bob to tho the divan now and they tell fell on it together with a quick movement the reporter reached for reynolds hip pocket he secured the revolver but as he loosed one hand to dc so BO dab bob with a broke from his grasp and stood pant ing before him give me that pistol he be ordered ile he got only it |
