Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1906-06-19
CHAPTER vIII.-(Continued.)

CHAPTER WILL Continued
III l had not so much at stake" he
Unused to himself, as the hanson bore him
once more in the direction of Regents
Park, things might be different might
even see some way of changing sides, 1t
would give me great pleasure to kick Ger
aid But l don't stand alone; l must
hight to win her. Money is the only thing
that will give me Sylvia, and money l
must have-not in little sums, but money
such as has come to Gerald Tenby; and
now 1t is in my hand To-day, for the
first time in my life, / have felt myself
a rich man. Gerald dare not refuse me
anything l ask-and must I see all this
go from me? Never! never %
His heart was beating wildly as the
cab drew up at the door of a neat little
villa, and his brain seemed on fire. He
opened the garden gate and hurried up
the path, carrying his flowers in his hand.
The maid who admitted him looked at him
with reproach
1.-THE dinner Is all spoiled" she said.
Madame thought you were not coming"
He pushed aside some silken curtains
and entered the small drawing room,
heavy with scent. A woman was seated
in low chair by the open widow.
In the dim light she might have passed
for mere girl, and yet there were those
in The world who declared that Sylvia
Castella was a woman who would never
see the age of forty again.
She rose as Stanton appeared, and ad-
vanced into the room. The lamp light
fell upon her, and revealed her in all her
strange beauty.
The face was oval, and the features
classical; the head, with it's mass of red
gold hair, well poised on the shoulders
She was not 7ery tall, yet she gave the
impression of height. The lines of her
figure were superb.
Looking at her as she stood there now,
she would have seemed the very last wom-
an in the world to have achieved notoriety
on the burlesque stage; yet she was Syl-
via Castella, the woman who reigned as
queen in one of the smartest London thea
ters woman whose name was on every
ones lips, whose pictures were scattered
everywhere, and whose whole life was
subject of interest to the world at large
Such was the woman that George Stan
ton worshiDed with love that was capa-
bic of identifying even such a nature Gs
his.
why do you come here?" she had ask
ed him over and over again. why do
you waste your time? Have 1 not told
you that / want to have nothing to do
with your"
And George Stanton had always made
her the same reply:
Il come because / cannot stay away
l come because l love you, as none of
these other men you smile upon could love
ycu. / know / am poor, vagrant nu.-
sance; but wait, Sylvia Only give me
time. / swear to you l shall be rich ~
You are a fool !" she said to him, with
a roughness that was new to her. DO
you suppose that l am worth such a love
as this. You should be wiser, George.
If money has come TO you, as l must
realize it has come. You should choose
some other woman to become your wife.
| may break your heart, you know"
Stanton rose and, crossing the room,
threw himself beside her on his knees.
BE my wife ~ he said.
But she drew back with a laugh.
when you can settle hundred thou
sand pounds upon me-" she said. perhaps
/ will do what you ask"
Stanton rose to his feet. The words
she said rang in his ears He went back
and sat in his chair like man dazed. But
little by little, out of the bewilderment of
his brain, there framed one thought, one
determination.
He knew now the price he must pay
for his wife. Before another week had
gone, he said to himself between his teeth,
the money she had mentioned in jest
should be hers in reality, though he stain
ed his hands in blood to obtain it!