Marble Hill press., 1902-06-04

There stood The professor. giAran
At him like a wIld beast.
''wiil you again deny the truth. vi
lAinYT be said. sn0eavonng 20 cAir
himself lest he lose his voice.
Charlie surveyed him with amuse
ment
-Yes; this time. confess. Il va
your charming wife whom have Jus
ieft. Do you know that two women
your wife and her cousin, Hildegarde
have played = very neat little gam
upon your
-whati She and Hlldegarde-upoI
met Pray, with what objectI"
ITO arouse your Jealousy; to maxi
you realize how dear 10 your hear
this same wife Is; to take you out o.
your musty books and induce you &c
devote a fair part Of your time to The
woman who has given up her life b
you"
The professor seemed stunned. Man
can this be truef" he gaHped-
-As heaven itself. She Is In yonder
Co and learn for yourself You viii
receive a warm welcome. Forgive Al
you wish to be forgiven. professor"
'.Sir. a thousand pardons. shall
take your kind advice Our duel. then
is of. Oh. what an ass ] have beenl
And Charlie quite agreed with him
so ends the scene in the drama. Nov
for another which may not have quito
80 pleasant n nnis." muttered stuart
Again he bore down upon the func-
tIonary who kept watch and ward
over the books. When he had cor
nered the clerk be made his request
known, and 4 messenger was sent 70
hnd the countess and request her pres
ence In a nearby bijou parlor.
Minutes passed. Sun no one came
10 summon him.
Tired Of waiting he walked direct
ly to the door Of the little parlor and
stepped inside.
InVoluntarily a groan welled ~
from his heart He had entered thia
room TO meet the countess that
charmer OF men. who played with
ambassadors and princes as though
they were pawns upon a chessboard
and now he had found--Arline Brand!
There she stood before him. more
beautiful than even his ardent recol-
lection had painted her, smile Of
welcome dlmpling her cheeks, th'
azure eyes glowing with pleasure.
Yes, Il was Airline Brand.
Ye gods! II she and the countess
were indeed one. he could ready CON-
prehend how men were ready to give
~ honor and fortune for the hope Of
her love and favor.
Almost a minute they stood thus
each evidently busy with a train Of
thought.
airline was the first to recover.
She dropped the curtains and ad-
vanced toward him. "AhI You have
come. Mr.. Stuart" she said.
Ha took her hand and pressed II
Boldness was returning It seemed.
''Yes. I promised, you know; and
though I daresay I have legions Of
faults. at least my word is as good as
my bond. Pray. be seated" Offering
her q chair.
He was quite himself now. and that
meant = wide-awake, ingenious young
man. ready TO meet and wrestIe with
difficulties as they arose.
Just opposite to her he sat down.
It was. at least, = rare pleasure to
be so near her in this confidential
mood The delicate, violet odor that
permeated her rustling garments was
like breath Of spring. and the
magnetism OF her presence almost in
toxieated him.
'You have been wondering what as
tOnishing chain Of circumstances
brought girl like me into such a
miserable place as that underground
dungeon?" turning toward the door
with a glance that did not escape the
eye of Charlie Stuart.
well, yea, to some extent: but II
was not alone the desire to hear your
promised story that brought me here,
In spite Of warnings from the baron" I"
He watched, but By no telltale pal
lor or start did she betray the fact
that she knew to whom he referred by
'the baron"
What other reason could influence
your" she asked. little eagerly.
"The natural desire to meet you
again. That wasn't wrong-you don't
blame me, do your"
Perhaps l should not-you have al
ready been so good a friend; but II
acquaintance with me is to bring dis
aster or even danger to you, II might
be better II you forgot me-"
He detected q plaintive little note In
this. and his chiyalrous spirit was up
in arms at once.
II am not In the habit Of deserting
any one who is my friend because, per-
haps, It may mean trouble or even
danger to me to continue my acquain-
lance"
She seemed deeply affected by his
words.
You overwhelm me with kindness,
Mr.. Smart"
Nonsense. The favor Is Just the
other way. It is q rare pleasure for
me to serve you"
And yet / can hardly refuse, for,
Heaven knows. am in great trouble,
and need a friend, II ever a young
woman did" -
Compose yourself. beg; and be-
gin. please"
Charlie believed he was about TO
hear some news OF more than ordin-
sry importance. In imagination he
could picture the remarkable young
widow who created such a furore all
over Europe. She might resemble Ar
line in many ways. but surely such
a charmer Of men could not possibly
assume the air Of innocence which this
young woman carried with her.
At the same time he felt impeiled to
relate the adventure be had experienced
with the professor. and even mention
that he had been soIemnly warned by
the baron.
When she heard that Peterhoff be-
lieVed her 10 be the celebrated adven-
turess, she hung her head.
Charlie was overcome with eonfu-
sioa.
Il have distressed you; and yet