Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-07-23

And Loder dined with Lillian Astrupp.
We live In an age when society expects.
even exacts much. He dined. not through
bravsdo and not through cowardice. but
because It seemed the obvious. the only
thing to do. To him scene OF any de-
scription was distastefui: to Lillian It was
unknown. In her world people loved or
| hated. were spiteful or foolish. were even
| quixotic or dishenorabIe, but they seldom
made scenes. Loder tacitly saw and facility
| accepted this.
| Possibly they are extremely little during
| the course of the dinner and talked extra
ordinarily much on subjects that interested
| neither, but the main point at least was
| gained. They dined. The conventionalities
were appeased; the silent, watchful servants
who waited on them were given no food
for comment. The fact that Loder left i'm
mediately after dinner. the fact that he
paused on the doorstep after the hall door
| had closed behind him and drew long,
| deep breath of relief. held only an indivd-
uai significance and therefore did not
count
On reaching ChIlcotes house he passed at
| once to the study and dismissed Greening
| for the night: but scarcely had he taken
| advantage of his solitude by settling into
an armchair and lighting a cigar than
Renwick. displaying an unusual amount of
| haste and Importance entered the room
carrying a letter.
| Seeing Loder, he came forward at once.
| Mr.. Fraide's man brought this sir" he
| explained HE was most particular to
| give 1t into my hands-making sure 'twould
| reach you. He's waiting for an answer.
| sir"
Loder rose and took the letter. a quick
| thrill of speculation and interest springing
across his mind. During his Punishment he
| had followed the political situation with
seve er at, attention: unexpectedly chafed
chilled at the thought of Chileote's possible
| behavior. He knew that In the compare
| lively short interval since parliament had
| Russian occupation OF Meshed but he also
knew that Fraide and his followers looked
| asl1ance at that great powers amiable at
titude, and at sight of his leaders message
| his intuition stirred.
/ Turning to the learest lamp he tore the
| envelope open and scanned the letter anx-
iously. 1t was written in Fraide's own
| clear somewhat old-fashioned writing and
| opened with kindly rebuke for his deser-
ton of him since the day of his speech
then Immediately, and with characteristic
| clearness. 1t opened up the subject near
| est the writer's mind
| Very slowly and attentively Loder read
the letter; and with the extreme quiet that
with him invariably covered emotion he
| ed it to the waiting servant. AS the man
| turned toward the door he called him.
"Renwiekl" he said, sharply, when
| you've given that letter to Mr.. Fraide's
SoA o~Sh IL Sbo Cdii spar .
| me five minutes.
| When Renwick had gone and closed the
| door behind him Loder paced the room
| with feverish activity In one moment the
aspect of life had been changed Five min
utes since he had been glorying In the risk
of barely saved situation; now that sit
Uation with its merely social complications
had become matter of small Importance
His long, striding steps had carried him
to the fireplace and his back was toward
the door when at last the handle turned.
He wheeled round to receive Ewes mes
sage; then look of pleased surprise cross
ed his face. 1t was Eve herself who stood
in the doorway.
Without hesitation his lips parted Eve"
he said. abruptly, II have had great newsi
Russia has shown her teeth at last. Two
caravans belonging to British trader were
| yesterday interfered with by a band of
Cossacks. The affair occurred couple
Of miles outside Meshed; the traders re-
nonstrated, but the Russians made sum-
mary use Of their advantage. Two English
men were wounded and one Of them has
since died. Fraide has only now received
the news-which cannot be overrated. 1t
give the precise lever necessary for the
big move at the reassembling" He spoke
with great earnest eSS and unusual haste
AS he finished he took step forward.
But that's not air. he added ''Fraide
wants the great move set In motion by
great speech-and he has asked me to make
it."
For a moment Eve waited She looked at
him In silence; and in that silence he read
In her eyes the reflection of his own ex-
preston.
And your" she asked. in a suppressed
voice. What answer did you give?'
He watched her for an instant taking
a strange pleasure in her flushed face and
| brilliantly eager eyes; then the JOY of con-
scious strength. the sense of opportunity
regained. swept all other considerations ous
| of sight.
any man who was merely human have
| done otherwise?"
| That was Loder's attitude and action on
the night of his jeopardy and his success,
| and the following day found his mood un-
| changed He was one of those rare in
| dividuals who never give promise over
| night and regret it in the morning. He
| was slow to move, but when he did the
movement brushed all obstacles aside. in
| the first days of his usurpation he had gone
cautiously, half fascinated, half distrust-
| full: then the reality, the extraordinary
| tangibity of the position had gripped him
/ when. matching himself for the first time
| with men Of his own caliber, he had
| learned his real weight on the day of his
| protest against the Easter adjournment
/ With that knowledge had been born the
! dominant factor in his whole scheme-the
overwhelming. insistent desire to manifest
1 his power. That desire that is the saliva
ton or ruin OF every strong man who has
| once realized his strength. Supremacy was
| the note to which his ambition reached.
| TO trample out Chilcote's footmarks with
| his own had been his tacit instinct from
/ the HTSE, now IL rose paramount IT was
! the whole theory of creation-the survival
OF the fittest-the deep. egotistical certainty
| that he was the better man.
| And 1t was with this conviction that he
entered on the vital period of his dual
career. The eminent crisis, and his own
| share in 1t, absorbed him absolutely. In
| the weeks that followed his answer to
| Fraide's proposal he gave himself I'M
| grudgingly to his work. He wrote. read,
| and planned with tireIess energy; he fire.
quently forgot to eat, and slept only
through sheer exhaustion; In the fullest
sense of the word he lived for the culmi-
| mating hour that was to bring him failure
or success.
He seldom LETT Grosvenor Square In the
days that followed, except to confer with
his party. All his interest, all his relaxa-
ton even. lay In his work and what per-
tanned to 1t. His strength was like solid
wall, his intelligence was sharp and keen
as steel. The moment was his; and by
sheer mastery of Will he put other consid-
erations out of sight. He forgot Chilcote
and forgot Lillian-not because they es-
capped his memory. but because he chose
to shut them from It.
or Eve he saw but little in this time of
high pressure When man touches the
core of his capacities. puts his best into
the work that in his eyes stands para
mount, there is little place for. and no need
Of woman. She comeh beforehand after