The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1891-08-08

chair and looked at her cousin with
quest on marks in both Of her pretty
blue eyes.
Really it seems to me that you are
awfully cut mp about this"
But ! am" declared Slocomb earn
estly-''awfully. Good heavens, Car
RE, can you see 4 man carry on adoubie
game before your eyes and NOT say a
word or lift a finger"
"What can I do?" She said this
wcarily, and then Slocomb saw what
was beneath her mask of cold raillcry,
She had put on a bold front and tried
to pass over it lightly. 1t was no use,
however. Slocomb prided himself on
his knowledge of human nature. lie
felt that he was not at fault in one
~fact-Carric Tracy loved Mourdant.
They went to a dance that evening.
and everyone noticed that Carrie Tracy
was more beautiful than ever. Yet
there was a pungent flavor to her wit,
a sharp edge on her talk. Some i'll
I.atured bellies, who were becoming
passe. said that she was becoming
spoiled at last. Callow youths were
placed in the seventh heaven by her
unwonted sweetness to them. But
every throb of the music, every wultz
she heard brought back the memory OF
n pair of dark eyes, 4 low, tender voice
and n dream that would come no more.
And so matters went on, and the wane
of the season came. The story of Jack
Mourdant came out, of course, with
various notifications. Society shrugged
its shoulders again, and piticd poor Car
RE Tracy.
TOO bad!' everybody said. "She
should know better than to fall in love
with a handsome adventurcr. He was
an awfully nice fellow, though, but
frightfully Wild"
And so Carrie Tracy had to stand by
and hear all this, and accept the con-
dolcncc of her friends 1t was gall and
wormwood to her, but it only made the
triumph that came in October all the
swccter.
You don't believe there is n man in
the world you may trust?" she heard
one girl say to another. She was sit
ting by a window in the hotel which
opened upon a piazza. The two girls
were pacing up and down outside.
81 know it sounds awfully silly, but
/ don't believe in trusting people"
Il wish you would let me tell you n
little story; it's only an everyday sort
of q story. It's from real life. I'll tell
you the story CT Jack Mourdant."
At this Carrie Tracy looked up quick
". She listened eagerly to every word.
The two on the piazza had seated them
selves near her.
The family is an Albany one; there
were four brothers, and he was the
Youngest. One of the brothers is noS
in Albany, the other abroad, the third
is-well, was near Albany-in Jail. 1t
was his own fault that he got there; he
was the black sheep of the family
Percy Mour dant. When n very young
boy he WAS always stealing trifies from
his schoolmatcs. There was no excuse
for it. His family was rich and he had
every advantage. Percy was an awful
ly wild boy.
Jack had always been Percy's bosom
friend. Again and again he had helped
him out of scrapeS. Percy was a quiet
fellow to all appearances. He wore
eyeglasses, and was meek as Moses.
But he had the very devil in him. Jack
seemed more like the rascal, with his
dark, Spanish beauty. Percy was light
and had sandy hair. He appeared quite
harmless.
After they got out of college Percy
behaved himself, but not for long. He
got to gambling and drinking and all
sorts of horrid things. The family was
proud and extremely sensitive They
feared he would do something that
would disgrace them forever; some
thing that the sensational newspapers
would make 4 hue ana cry over as
Another swell gone wrong You know
what I mean.
.'At last he did. He made an I'M
fortunate marriage. A very good sort
of a woman was Grace Morris, but
quite below him. He did not stop here,
but forged n large check on his fathers
name. The matter was partly hushed
up. Old Col. Mourdant sent Percy
away. And to make the matter worse.
everybody in Albany was talking about
1t
Jack was the only one of the family
who stuck to the unfortunate Percy.
This summer Percy got into more and
serious trouble. Grace came here to
see Jack and get him to come to Al
bany to help him out. Jack couldn't
come, but J believe he arranged for
Grace to send word when she needed
him.
Jack went to Albany soon after;
met his brothers wife at the station;
arranged with her to help Percy ont.
His brother was in a serious fix this
time. 1t was not a question of hush
ing up. 1t was n question of life and
death. There had been a row in a low
gambling resort. A man had been
killed. Percy was not wholly to blame,
but he had been held for-what do You
call it?-manslaughter?
Jack did some clever detective work
then. lie discovered that some of
Percy's former associates had agreed
to make the ease so black that Percy
would be convicted of murder after all.
1t wa a serious matter. Percy must
not stand trial. What should he do?
lie made n last appeal to Col. Mour-
dant, but it was of no use. Then what
do You suppose Jack did? You will
not believe it, perhaps, but it is true.
'.He went to his father and said: See
here, l am to have SO much of your
property when you die. don't care TO
wait. There is an immediate use for
the money. May | have my inheritance
now? Fancy that His father was
quite taken aback. He asked n few
questions and let his erratic son have
the money. 1t was a large sum-, run
ming far up into the thousands.
This money-think of it-every
cent he had in the world he used to get
his brother off. don't know how he
did it. 1t was bailing him ont or ome
thing of hat sort. Percy and his wife
sailed from San Francisco not long ago
for Australia. An odd tale, is it not?'
Carrie Tracy didn't think so. She
sat with shining eyes for some moments