, 1905-11-01

Miss Barbara Drew. Brewster makes q
quick trip in the automobile. A tele-
gram from Montana. Brewster takes
the chance.
CONTINUED
Pettingill's scheme for lighting the
room was particularly happy. For the
benefit of his walls and the four love
ly Monets which Monty had purchased
at his %instigation he had designed a
ceiling screen of heavy rich glass in
tones of white that grew into yellow
and dull green. 1t served to conceal
The lights In the daytime. and at night
the glare of electricity was immensely
softened and made harmonious by
passing through it. 1t gave a note OF
quiet to the picture which caused
even these men and women, who had
peer here and there and seen many
things, to draw in their breath sharply.
Altogether the effect manifestly made
an impression.
Such an environment had Its infu-
ence upon the company. 1t went far
toward making the dinner a success.
From far in the distance came the
softened strains of Hungarian music,
and never had the little band played
the "Valse Anoureuse" and the "Va!se
Bleue' with the spirit 1t put into them
that night. Yet the soft clamor in the
dining room insistently ignored the
emotion of the music. Monty, bored
as he was between the two most I'M
portant dowagers at the feast, wonder
ed dimly what invisible part it played
in making things go. He had a vagrant
fancy that without it there would have
peer no zest for talk, no noisy competi-
ton to overcome, no hurdles to leap.
AS it was, the talk certainly went well,
and Mrs. Dan inspected the result of
her work from time to time with smil-
ing satisfaction. From across the TIA
BILE she heard Colonel Drew's voice:
brewster evidently objects to a long
siege. lie Is planning to carry us by
assault"
Mrs. Dan turned to Subway Smith,
who was at her right-the latest ad-
dition to her menagerie. What is
this friend of yours?' she asked. Il
have never seen such complex sim
plicity. This new plaything has no real
charm for him. He is breaking 1t to
find out what it is made of, and some
thing will happen when he discovers
the sawdust.'
ooh. don't worry about him." said
Subway easily. "Monty's at least Il
good sportsman. He won't complain,
whatever happens. He'll accept the
reckoning and pay the piper"
1t was only toward the end OF the
evening that Monty found his reward
in a moment with Barbara Drew. He
stood before her, squaring his shout
ders belligerently to keep away in
truders, and she smiled up at him in
that bewildering fashion of hers. But
it was only for an instant, and then
came a terrifying din from the dining
room, followed by the clamor of crash
ing glass. The guests tried for a mo-
ment to be courteously oblivious, but
the noise was so startling that such
politeness became farcical. The host,
with Il little laugh, went down the
hall. 1t was the beautiful screen near
the ceiling hat had fallen. A thou
sand pieces of shattered glass covered
ttE
the place. The table was a s~ickening
heap of crushed orchids and sputter-
ing candles. Frightened servants rush
ed into the room from n side just as
Brewster entered from the other. Stu
pefaction halted them. After the first
pulseless moment Of horror exclama-
tons of dismay went up on all sides.
For Monty Brewster the first sensa-
ton of regret was followed by a dia-
bolical sense of joy.
"Thank the Lord" he said softly in
the hush.
The look Of surprise he encountered
in the faces of his guests brought him
up with a Jerk.
"That 1t didn't happen while we were
dining" he added, with serene thank