Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-09-20

as he took from drawer the stable boy S
iil-,faVored note. Il wander who sent me
this scrawl? 1t gave MA pointer. though.
suppose the writer will turn up for his re-
ward; but the devil of 1t is he'll sell infor-
nation of this sort to any one who'll buy.
Must weed him out when I've discovered
the imp. At any rate Faust will go straight,
now hes been scorched. I'll just re-enter
that bet to the Little Woman while l think
of it. Three thousand seven hundred and
fifty to fifty. Diablo for the Brooklyn, laid
to Miss Alice Porter" Then he dated it.
She loses by this transaction, but that
won't matter, 1t will be a pretty good win
if it comes off. She may even refuse this,
though she shouldn't, for it's part of the
bargain that l was TO have bet on for
her, small bet, of course. yes. yes, L re-
member, small bet. But this is small
bet There was nothing said about the size
of the winnings She was probably think
ing of gloves lingo she had lovely hand;
I've noticed it; long slim, strong fingers,
even the palm is long; slnewy, I'll warrant;
nothing pudgy about that hand. Hey
Crane, you're silly" he cried, half audibly,
taking himself to task; doing business in
big moneys-a cool seVenty-five thousand II
it materialiZes. perhaps even more-and then
slipping off into a money dream, vaporing
about a girls slim hand. / suppose that's
the love symptom. But at forty! It's hard
ly my normal condition. l fancy
The slim hand beckoned him off into
disjointed revery. Was he the better for ii
What would the end be? Before the new
emotion he could look back upon his past
struggles with sordd satisfaction. Men In
battle were not given to uneasy qualms of
conjunction, nor QueStioningS as to the
method that had led to victory. His life
had been one long drawn-out battle; the
financial soldiers that had fallen by the
wayside because of his sword play did not
interest him; they were dead; being dead
their memory harassed him not at all.
If there We're commercial blood stains upon
his hand, they were hidden by the glove of
success. After manner he had peace, now
all was disquiet the turmoil of an awaken
ed gentler feeling clashing with the po-
lemics of self-satisfying sefishness. And all
because of a girl. To him that was the
peculiar feature of the disturbance in his
nature. He, Philip Crane, the strong man
of strong men. to be shorn of his indiffer
ence to everything but success, by girl
unskiled in managing anything but
horse.
It's all very fine to argue it out with
ones self" he thought. but l simply can't
help It." He was astonished to find that
he was pacing up and down the floor of his
apartment. Undoubtedly he was possessed
of tremendous regard for the girl, Allis,
but why not put it from him; why not con-
quer himself as he had always done? To let
it master him meant the giving up Of
things that were almost second nature. He
could not love the girl as good woman
should be loved, and-and-well, the gray
eyes that had their strength because Of
supreme honesty would surely bring him
disQuietude. 1t would indeed be difficult to
change his nature much: his habits were al
most like leopards spots, they were grown
into the wool of his existence Even If he
won her, 1t must be almost entirely because
of superior diplomacy. Everything told
him that his love was not returned. 1t
seemed almost impossible that 1t should
be; there was not more disparity In their
years than in their two selves. "All very
fine again" he muttered somewhat savage
ly. II want her. want her, not because OF
anything but love- What she Is what
l am counts for nothing love is all compel
ling my first master, 1 salute thee" this in
sarcastic sincerity.
In his strength, he relied upon his power
to bring forth an answering love- at least
regard, should he win Allis. Yes, it would
surely come. He had not even young
rival to combat. Yes, he would win, first
Allis, and afterward her love.
I'm quite silly" he calculated, but I
can't help 1t. But 1 can go out and get
some fresh air, and l will.