The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-03-20

had learned of her intended journey,
and had communed with himself very
seriously.
1T would be highly improper" he
had said to himself. "for me to fol-
low Mrs. Lynde. Chase might do 1t,
but / will not And the only way to
avoid doing 1t Is to get to Crescent
Beach first and wait for her"
Carroll had secretly appointed him
self the guardian of Mrs. Lynde. He
had loved her when they We're boy and
girl together at school, and had never
gotten over 1t. Her marriage had hurt
him worse than all the other ills of his
life combined. And second to that was
the spectacle of Chase's influence over
her But for his complete confidence
in her, the second would have been
worse than the first.
What Is II man to do In such Il case as
that? To see Il good woman dazzled by
the destinations of thorough scoun-
drel Is one of the cOmmonest spectacles
of this mortal life, but a method of pro-
cedure which viii be effective and
steer clear of scandals il most difficult
to frame. Carroll was young. and natur-
scheme he could devise. after cogitation
50 fervent as to be akin to prayer, was
to make his society 80 agreeable to Mrs.
| Lynde that she would not care for
Chase's. This design would bear the
severest test of reason He argued
| somewhat thus: "A good woman nat
uraly prefers good man; am much
| better man than Chase-blast him!
/ Therefore Mrs. Lynde will prefer me
to him. If ! give her fair chance"
/ Like many another syllogism, this
| one was all sound but the major prem
| Use. He passed over that very lightly
! and proceeded at once to the conclu-
sion. He had tried diligently to give
IIrs. Lynde chance. Meanwhile he
! struggled manfully with his character
in order to make the difference be-
| tween himself and Chase more conspic-
uous. He studied high ideals and
talked about them feelingly in her pres
encc. Yet it grieved him to suspect
| (and he was right about it, that his
| chief hold on her regard was In her ad-
miration for him as a tennis player.
Carroll cherished the hope that Chase
would not follow Mrs. Lynde to Cres-
Pcent Beach. He know that Chase's In
terests bound him tightly to Wall
street just at that time. AS for him.
self, he had $iOO in bank as the rem
nant of a little legacy that had sufiiced
for his needs at college, and he should
havs been earning his living, but he
solemnly devoted the s40O to the good
cause, and faced the price of board at
Crescent Beach without a murmur.
If he had been sure that Chase would
stay away he would have been con-
tent to do So but there was doubt In
his mind And 1t was well founded
for on the second day Chase appeared
Mrs. Lynde CHANGED to be passing
through the hall of the hotel where
Mrs. Mason's party was domiciled, al
the moment when Chase inscribed his
name in the register, and at the sight
OF him she grasped Mrs Mason's arm In
a manner which betrayed to that eX'
perienced matron the exact state of af'
fairs.
To Chase, looking out of the corner
OF his eye, the gesture was a welcome
sign. He came forward to greet the
ladies with as plausible lie upon his
lips as ever the recording angel charged
against a sinner. The rascal at thai
moment felt triumphant, and nothing
was ever more becoming to him. Mrs
Lynde was forced to contrast him IA
yorably with the other men at Cres
cent Beach. He was 50 deferential
vet SO masterful. He always knew
lust what to say and do. There was
absolutely nothing in his manner or his
speech or his attire that could ofend
He had studied her tastes to such Q
nicely that of two synonymous words
ia the language he always used the one
which she liked best. 1t was point II
the game. and he played with a mas
ter's attention to detail.
From that time on the condition OF
Walter Carroll must have been a sub
iect of pity among the angels. He con
tinually made mistakes and chase
made none. His plans failed ane
Chase's always succeeded. His mo
tives were msconstrued, and so wer,
Chase's TO the advantage of the lattel
and the undoing of the former. Mrs
iynde began to believe that he was
,ursuing her; and as he was such
boy-being not more than a year oldel
than herself-she took him frankly tt
task about It, She told him that hi
conduct was foolish, not to say dis
honorable, and took occasion to men
ton the fact that DR.. Lynde had beer
a good friend to the youth. Then
while Carroll went away to meditat,
upon suicide, Mrs. Lynde took a stroll
with Chase on the long pier, and will
undisguised admiration heard him eX
pound the well-worn theory OF Platoni'
friendship. All, Chase was Il noble
soul, until one knew him.
This was only an incident There
were many others. The bicycle Is ;
great invention. Forty people may y
out riding together with the creates
decorum, and never get into eacf
others way after the first half mile
Society cycled at the beach that sum
mer. Chasc's wheel always slipped al
adjustment precisely at the right time
and nobody was ever near to help hin
but Mrs. Lynde, Many "a chat they ha'
under a tree by the roadside, waitin,
for a chaperone to climb long hill,
The situation was becoming desper
ate. 1t was beginning to alarm Mrs
Mason, who had been to Narraganset
Pier in the old days. and couldn't b.
easily frightened. There is more hyp
notism in the world than most peopl
know of: and Mrs. Lynde was unde
an influence which she did not under
stand. Chase was deliberately com
promising her, and she could see II
AS for him, he had never played hi
favorite game 50 desperately. ii
knew that the odds were against him
and he was prepared to be easily salts
| L i.aI