The Washington times., 1905-09-24

set upon yourselves: I forgot that the
incest man. the very incest grinds up
into common clay in one particular
mill. the mill of his own concei;"
Strobe passed his hand over his hsi-,
then he moved forward and stood look
ing down on her Good GodI'' he said
quietly, do I seem as big a cad an
that?"
She had avoided his eyes: now she
looked quickly up She was not devoid
OF instinct. and her comprehension was
clearer than that of most With a sharp
movement she rose and put her hand
on his shoulder Maurice" she said.
Il believe have been fool all along:
believe / have been taking the wrong
turning. A man doesn't go down to
hell because the girl he loves has .
great careert" She searched his face.
He looked at her evenly for a mo-
ment, then he looked away.
No" he said slowly, that's right.
But the fires do lick him up when he
sees the woman he cares for suffering
through his act; when he faces himself
for three hours and realises that the
good has been taken out OF her life by
his folly. his want OF sight and sense.
Good God, what she has gone throughl
1 feel like a murderer"
Mrs. Maxteads skin paled a little,
her eyes looked preternaturally bright.
Maurice, if L love a single human be-
ing. that being is Anna Can you be
little lucid in what you say2
He moved TO the side OF the couch and
sat on its arm; his knees were apart,
his locked hands between them; hia
head was bent
DO you mean to tell me that you
don't know?' he asked slowly.
ba laoIad I'm at do-'r know q Sfngla
thing"
! His gaze dropped TO the carpet.
"'Yog know of Annals antecedents-oz
her past?"
Yes" She looked up again
-'well-" He raised his head and
met her eyes. We'll. by very odd
chance knew OF them too-unconnected
with her. of course. And that last night
at Trescar-
Her lips paled slightly
'-Yes?" she said ''Yes2"
That night / told her her own story.
by way of a romance-names. places.
other side. the other poin. of view I
had got hold of the other end 1 sup
/ pose every story. like every sIring. must
/ have two ends
| He stopped brusquely. and the muscles
/ showed in his clasped hands
Mrs Maxtead rose. Poor child,-' she
said shortly. Poor childr'
"Oh. but that wasn't all 1 laid II on:
1 saw that the story was picturesque.
He laughed Il harped on the scene
she had left-the beggar eating mis- heart
out for her-the poor old father with his
reason gone
| .'Mauricer'
Didn't you know that? The poor old
fathers brain gave way when she left
I can't say that / wonder much
oh" she said, "I didn't know
didn't know that" She rose. and cross
ing TO the mantelpiece leant her elbows
on it And was that alp
| Strobe threw back his head
It's probably about half. All night
have been trying 10 recall things; but
the more I harass myself the blanker
they get. One thing I'm sure or, though
And that"
That I gave my cursed personal
opinion pretty freely: that I s,'oke OF
/ her as branded-unfit for honest minds
to tolerate. Good God"
He rose again and walked to the wins
dow.
Mrs. Maxtead said nothing. Her head
. was bent, her arm rested heavily On tha
manteI shelf.
There was a ponderous silence. Then
at last she locked up.
''Of course you have guessed that this
: belongs to me-that I was the
motive power from the first? That
I played on her then have play
ed on her ever since7 In this
world, Maurice. the blunt people. Ike
me. work things; the sensitive people,
I like Anna. pay the price Doesn't It
strike you sometimes that the world Id
i out Of gear?"
E Strobe made no reply. He had turned
I! from the window, after hasty giancS
: into the roadway, and stood again By
the couch.
E Maurice, what did strike you when
r she came on the stage? have g. ragina
2 curiosity to know
: For a moment his lips tightened; then
E unaccountably they relaxed
After all, why shouldn't r. He
raised his head why shouldn't I tell
you? You see. II hangs like this When
I a man fixes a prejudice in his mind. he
clings>to it like grim death. It's easy
! and nice TO have convictions and raaks
theories about a prejudice, because
prejudice doesn't enter into working
life Once reduce II to flesh and blood.
| once give II DOUy anu SET IL It's
path a man wants to walk, and It sings
very small. All that I said ar Trescar
that night was absolutely true-at the
. time This woman was prejudice TO
, me-had been for years; peg 10 hang
my theories on. But tonight He
, | stopped and looked down, then looked
. I'D again with his old alert glance. To
night all that died its allotted death. It
took a while TO straighten things, but
: not so long as you might have guessed.
After all, there was only one fact 10 be
brought home; the fact that the preju-
dice was Anna-Anna the prejudice; the
fact that. right or wrong, past or pres
!, ent. she belongs TO me. Anna is Anna
You understand"
She answered nothing for moment.
The she came toward him quickly; but
in the center Of the room she stopped,
her figure stifened. she made gesture
of silence. At the same instant Strobe
looked toward the window. From the
, road outside came the sound OF a stop
ping carriage; almost simultaneously