The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-04-06
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lady who visited them during the evening
was naturally suspected. and I am sorry
to say that the lady in question has been
traced to this house.
II am the lady you refer to-"
Then no doubt you will give a s~atisfac-
tory explanation of your presence there
Il am afraid 1 cannot do So"
But surely you understand what your
refusal will imply?"
"DO you mean to insinuate that / haya
stolen your money!"
Watson shrugged his shoulders.
1.-The money has gone; somebody must
have taken it."
is your servant honest?"
Certainly. l would trust him with all
I possess. and he swears that nobody en-
tered the room but yourself"
1T is strange. but l never saw you.
money"
Yet you won't say why you visited my
rooms?"
Again I repeat that 1 cannot"
Miss Merivale. do you know that your
brother owes me money!
Il do; and it shall be paid within a few
hours"
Il have a proposal to make II you will
listen to me-. l will forgive your brothers.
debt and hush up your connection with this
theft on one condition. VIII you marry
me-"
Marry your cried Helen. in horror, Il
would rather die"
An ugly look passed over Watson's face.
You are too proud, 1 suppose, yet 1 am
a wealthy man and you would find me an
indulgent husband. Why do you refuse
me?''
There IS one great obstacle to your pro-
posal." she said, quietly. Il have already
promised TO marry Frank Seton"
Watson lcoked somewhat disturbed.
The engagement is not a public one,
them"
THAT does not make it any less sacred In
my eyes, said Helen.
Suddenly Watson threw off all restraint.
and IN a lit of passion burst out:
Il made up my mind to have you the first
time I saw you. and sooner or later you
viii! have to give in You shall have time
to consider, but II you persist in your re-
fusal 1 will bring down your naughty spirit
and proclaim to the world that your brother
is a forger and that you are a thief. Prove
yourself innocent if you cap."
Helen'S voice trembled with suppressed
anger.
Sir, I am glad to see you in your true
colors. One minute you do me the honor of
wishing to marry me and the next you call
me a thief. AS for your threats, I despise
them as much as 1 despise you. Now, so
and do your worst: your presence Is an in
suit to me-" As she finished speaking Hell
ems courage gave way and she burst into q
passion of tears.
Seton had not been alone many minutes
he was Joined by BERTHE. The boy
wandered restlessly from one side Of the
room to the other, hurriedly poked the fire,
and at last, with a nervous cough. began:
Il say. Seton, can you help a fellow 0ut
of a difficulty? 1 wouldn't ask you II !
could get the money any other way; the
fact h. can you lend me s2O?'
sIf I lepH II RI Won will Won fell me Uhat
you want it for?'
We'll. it's to pay q debt =
"a debt to Gilbert Watsonr:
How did you guess thatr"
Never min how 1 guessed: but, serious
ly. BERTHE. 1 half suspected that Helen's
visit to Watson was connected with you
and It would be better for all Of US II you
make a clean breast of It."
BERTHE looked disturbed. and for q minute
or two he hesitated. Suddenly his better
nature asserted itself, and he broke out.
eagerly:
Il know I was a fool to play with Watson
again; I might have known 1 should lose
l was in despair; 1 had nd way of raising
the 500. You know how mean father IL
about our pocket money. Well. like an
IDIOT I forged a check for 500. and as soon
as 1 had sent it to Watson l wished myself
lead: In fact. I should have shot myself
II Helen hadn't stopped me. She undertook
~ e 'oISSA eA0 e>s hAo 49, S0@
was out. My letter was unopened on
the table. so she brought 1t away and we
thought the whole thing ended there. Blu:
this COMPOUNDED loss Of his LOCO has landed
US In a fine mess"
You shall have the $500; but BERTHE. how
.ong is this to go on? Helen can't stand be-
.ween you and the consequences Of your fol-
les forever; she has been doing 1T too long
already. Why don't you act like q man
instead of a weak. silly boy?"
Seton. 1 promise you this shall be the
asst time If 1 once get out Of this fix I
will never speak to Watson again. I mean
o work hard and pay back the 500; you
nay trust me this time"
II do trust you, Bertie," said Seton, as
e shook his hand heartily. And now
must be off. I promised to wait for Helen,
,ut she will forgive me when she knows
hat 1 have gone to see Watson. 1 fancy I
ave a card to play that will astonish him.s
1t was quite two hours later when Helen
Seton for the second time that
Are YOU tired of waiting, dear?" he said
s she rose - meet him with a bright
mile.
4 don't mind at all now that you have
ONE, but 1 am terribly ndou to know
he result of your interview"
You will be pleased to hear that Wat
on is not likely to trouble you any further.
BERTHE shall send him the 500, and then I
ancy we shall not see his face again"
DO you know that he asked me to
marry himT
'Confound his impudence. yes; he told
ne that: in fact. he was very candid. but
e had to be. fore he knew he was in my
How did you manage thatT
Well, quite by accident / found out that
had been mixed up in a disgraceful u
e<.;~ pr,t ~ Ca1Ifnrpio whiaI -,1,,YA -,l~r
is reputation In this country IL 1t became
nown. 1t is best to fight a man of that
lamp with his own weapons. SO I told him
that l knew. and threatened to disclose it
Mess he told me the whole truth. I had
o real evidence. but the fact that his
ervant had followed you home struck mo
S suspicious. and l half-guessed that the
ank notes had never been stolen at all
hat servant was too cunning to leave you
lone in his masters room without quitting
ou under close scrutiny. From behind the
urtaln. which separated that room from
he adjoining one. he watched your move
lents and heard you exclaim: Now Ber-
e will he saved
He followed you in order to tell his mas
ar where you lived. Watson Is fairly sharp
t putting two and two together: he knew
t once who the visitor was. BERTHE owed
i'm money. YOU took n letter. which evil
entity contained something damaging to
;ertie's character: what was more likely
that BERTHE had resorted to some dis
onest method of paying his debt? You
se he knows Bertie's weaknesses fairly
felI