Evening star., 1897-06-12
Continued From Last saturday. star,

Continued From Last Saturdays Star.
Alone by himself in a corner of the YER
Anda, he was surprised that the Interview
had made so little impression upon him and
had so little altered his conviction. His dis
covery that the announcement Of his be-
trotheds death was a fiction did not af-
sect the fact that though living she was
dead to him. and apparently by her own
consent. The contrast between her life and
his during those five years had been COW
ertly accented by Mrs. Van Loo, whether
Intentionally or not, and he saw again. as
last night. the full extent of his sentimen-
tai folly. He could not even condole with
himself that he was the victim of miserable
falsehoods that others had invented. She
had accepted them. and had even excused
her desertion of him by that last deceit of
the letter.
He drew out her photograph. and again
examined it. but not as lover. Had she
really grown stouter and more self-com-
placent? Was the spirituality and deli
oacy he had worshiped In her purely Ills
own idiotic fancy? Had she always been
like this? Yes. There was the girl who
could weakly strive, weakly revenge her
SELF and weakly forget. There was the
figure that he had expected to find carved
upon the tomb that he had long sought
that he might weep over. He laughed
aloud.
1t was very hot and he was sitting with
tnaction. What was Barker doing, and
why had not Stacy telegraphed to him?
And what were those people In the court
yard doing? Were they discussing news Of
further disaster and ruin? Perhaps he was
even now a beggar. Well, his fortune
might go with his faith.
But the crowd was simply looking at the
roof of the hotel, and he now saw that a
0ko no
yard and was conscious of a smell Of SCOT
and burning. He stepped down from the
yeranda among the mingled guests and SER
wants. and saw that the smoke was only
pouring from a chimney. He heard, too,
that the chimney had been on fire, and
that 1t was Mrs. Van Loo's bed room CHM
ney. and that when the startled servants
had knocked at the locked door she told
them that she was only burning some old
letters and newspapers. the refuse of her
trunks. There was naturally some indigna-
tion that the hotel had been SO foolishly en-
Gangered, in such scorching weather, and
the manager had had scene with her
which resulted in her leaving the hotel in
dignantly with her half-packed boxes. But
even after the smoke had died away and
the fire had been extinguished in the Chin
ney and hearth, there was an acrid smell
of srnoldering pine penetrating the upper
floors of the hotel all that afternoon.
When Mrs. Van Loo drove away the
manager returned with Demorest to the
rooms. The marble hearth was smoked
and discolorcd and still Uttered with char
red ashes of burnt paper. My belief is.'
said the manager darkly, that the old hag
came here just to burn up lot of incrim-
mating papers that her son had intrusted
to her keeping. 1t looks mighty suspicious.
You see. she got up an awful lot of side
when l told her / didn't reckon to run
smelling furnace In a wooden hotel with
the thermometer at 100 in the office, and
reckon 1t was just an excuse for getting off
in a hurry
But the continued delay in Stacy's prom
isej telegram had begun to work upon
Dcmorest's usual equanmity, and he
scarcely listened in his anxiety for his old
partner He knew that Stacy should have
arrived in San Francisco by noon. He had
almost determined to take the next train
from the Divide. when two horsemen
dashed into the courtyard. There was the
usual stir on the veranda and rush for
news. but the two new arrivals turned out
TO be Barker, on a horse covered with
foam, and dashing. elegantly dressed
stranger on mustang as carefully groom
ed and as spotless as himself Demorest
instantly recognized Jack Hamin
He had not seen him since that day four
years before. when he had accompanied the
three partners with their treasure to
Boomville. and when he had handed him
the mysterious packet. AS he and Barker
dismounfed hurriedly and moved toward
him he felt premonition of something as