The Press., 1901-11-28
BETRAYED
By A MOLE.
A Story of O Masquerade Ball
and q Dinner Party.

Carroll Frere had gone to the French
bal masque. 1t was all very wearisome
to him. He had been to dozens of such
balls before, and he wondered now
what he had come for. 1t was not as it
had been when he was a boy. 1t was
nothing but a nuisance, and yet he
staid, wearied and disguised, yawning
until the tears came in his eyes, wish
ing himself elsewhere and lingering
about in dreary isolation.
There came of a sudden lsigh,
long, quivering sigh, almost,a sob. Car
roll was startled. but he made no sign.
There was some one in the box, after
all. Without moving his head he fash
ed a glance through the grating out of
the corners of his eyes. There was
woman sitting there, quite close to
him. She must have moved from the
back Of the box since he had come, for
he was certain that she was not there
when he took his seat.
She evidently had not noticed him
and believed herself unobserved. In his
brief glance Carroll had seen that she
wore a black domino and mask Of the
plainest kind; that her hands were
clasped in her lap. and that she appear
ed to be looking at the dancers. They
could not see her. he thought.
He stole another look at her, and as
he did SO she sighed again-a sigh of
WEAKNESS and pain. Then she moved
and, taking up fan in her lap, began
to noiseless!y fan herself. The flap of
her mask moved in the faint winnow-
ing air made by the fan, rose little.
then fell. Suddenly. at wider sweep
of the fan. the flap curved upward in
a deep wave, and Carroll saw a portion
of a smooth, pale cheek, the corner of
her mouth, and near it, toward the
chin, small brown mole.
Almost simultaneously she raised her
eyes and saw him looking at her
through the grating. She dropped the
fan and made a grasp at the edge of
the mask. Through the two Sits for
the eyes Carroll saw hers, and, though
he could not tell whether they were
light or dark. he saw that they were
full of terror. The thought flashed
through his mind. II will know her
again." and he knew that she had
thought the same of him. The next
instant she had withdrawn into the
back Of the box. Carroll went home
wondering about her.
A few evenings later he went to a
dinner at the house of fashionable
lady who was a relation of his. Just
before dinner she came to him and
said:
Carroll. / have a favor to ask of
you. My niece, Helen. a little country
lass, is in town for the winter. to stay
with her brother. who is going to col
lege. She is under my wing and is
very young and bashful. | am going
to ask you to take her in to dinner and
be kind to her. She has seen SO little
Of society. She was here a moment
ago. but has run away again for some
thing or other. l will introduce you
to her when she comes back"
Carroll assured her that he would
be delighted, which had more truth
In 1t than such remarks usually have.
1t would be less trouble to talk to a
young miss like this than to a more
tried veteran. and IL she couldn't talk
he could eat his dinner in peace and
let her preserve the silence SO dear to
the debutante.
Presently, in the movement and well
bred shutting of dinner cortege get
ting under way, a young girl was given
him to take as his partner and with
whom he brought up the rear of the
long procession. He hardly noticed
her. Bread and butter was not In his
line He felt hor small hand put limp
ly on his arm. and he was dimly aware
that her dress was pink. She said
nothing. In answer to his remark
about the oak panels in the hall she
assented family.
She was evidently extremely raw.
Seated at table, Carroll, unfolding his
napkin. said he liked pink candle
shades and then began to take his
soup. When he had finished, 1t. he
looked about the table, smiled ct lady