Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-07-24
THE MASQUERADER
BY KATHERINE cecil THURSTC

Assh0r Of "Ths Circle Ets.

puisory. You can't imagine IT." He shiv-
| cred nervousiy and his voice rose. Fancy
being satlated beyond the limit OF safety.
| being driven and dogged by the thing you
had run after all your tfe,''
| He paused exeitedly. and IN the pause
| Loder found resolution He shut his ears
to the panic in chiicote's voice. he closed
| his consciousness to the sight OF his shaken
| face With a surge OF determination he
| rallied his theories. After ALL he had him.
self and his own interests to claim his
| thought At the moment Chflcote was a
wreck. with no desire toward rehabilitation.
| put there was no guarantee that In an hour
or two he might not have regained control
over himself. and with II the inclination
that had prompted his letter of the day
before. No; he had himself to look to.
| The survival Of the fittest was the true
the only principle Chilcote had had intel
iect. education. opportunity and chilcote
| had deliberately cast them aside Fortify-
Ing himself in the knowledge he turned
from the window and moved slowly back to
| tho bad.
| Look here" he began. you wrote for
me last night" His voice was hard; he
I had come to fight.
Chilcote glanced up quickly. His mouth
was drawn and there was new anxiety in
| his eyes. ''Loder" he exclaimed quickly.
| "Loder come here! Come nearerr'
! Reluctantly Loder obeyed. Stepping
closer to the side of the bed. he bent
down.
his arm. His fingers trembled and jerked
| Il say. Loder,' he said, suddenly Tive
had such beastly night-my nerves, you
! know"
| With quick Involuntary disgust Loder
| drew back. Don't you think we might
shove that aside?7 he asked
| Sut Chilcotes gaze had wandered from
his face and strayed to the dressing ia
BILE; there it moved feverishiy from one
| object to another.
'Loder," he exclaimed. do you see-can
You see IL there's tube of tabioids on
| the mantei shelf--or on the dressing ia
| ble? He lifted himself nervously on his
| elbow and his eyes wandered uneasiIy
| about the ROOM. II had a beastly
| 1 thought think" He stopped
| With his increasing consciousness his
| nervous collapse became more marked.
At the first moment OF waking the relief
I of an unexpected presence had surmount-
ed everything else; but now, as one by
one his faculties stirred. his wretched
| condition became patent. With a new
sense of perturbation Loder made his
| next attack
''Chilcote-" he began. sternly
But again Chilcote caught his arm,
piueking at the coat sleeve. Where is
it, he said. Where is the tube of tab
leids-the sedative? Pm-.n obliged to
| take something when my ,ryes go
wrong" In his weakness and nervous
tremor he forgot that Loder was the
sharer OF his secret Even in his extrem-
| ity his fear of detection chung to him
| l,mply-the lies that had become second
nature slipped from him without effort.
Then suddenly a fresh panic seized hint:
| his fingers frightened spasmodically. his
eyes ceased to rove about the room and
settled on his compainion's face, "Can
you see 1t, Loder?" he cried Il can't-the
| lights in my eyes. Can you see it? Can
you gee the tubef" He lifted himself
higher. an agony Of apprehension in his
face.
aoder pushed him back upon the pillow.
He was striving hard to keep Ms own
mind cool. to steer his own course
straight through the chaos that confront
you sent for me last night. and I came
the first thing this morning to tell you
But there he stopped.
With an excitement that lent him
tstrength Chflcote pushed aside his hands.
.Godt' he said. suddenly; suppose twas
| .lost-suppose twas gone.' The imaginary
possibility gripped him. He sat up, his
face livid. drops Of perspiration showing
on his forehead, his whole shattered sys-
tenn trembling before his thought.
| At the sight Loder set his lips. The
tube Is on the mantel shelf he said, in u
groan of relief fell from Chilcote and
the muscles of his face relaxed. For
moment he lay back with closed eyes:
afresh. He lifted his eyelids and looked
at his companion. Hand 1t to me- he
said, quickly. Give 1t to me. Give IT to
me Loder Quick as you cant There's a
glass on the table and some whisky and
water. The tablods dissolve you know"
In his new excitement he held out his hand.
But Loder stayed motionleSs. He had
come to fight, to demand, to piead-if need
be-for the one hour for which he had
lived; the hour that was to satisfy all
labor. all endeavor, all ambition. With
logged persistence he made one more
essay.
''Chilcote, you wrote last night to recall
me" Once again he paused checked by
a new interruption. Sitting up again. Chill
cote struck out suddenly with his left hand
In rush of his old irrtability.
Damn your he cried, suddenly. what
are you talking about? Look at me! Get
me the stuff. I tell you It's Imperative
In his excitement his breath failed and
he coughed- At the effort his whole frame
was shaken.
Loder walked to the dressing table then
back to the bed. A deep agitation was at
work In his mind
Again, Chilcote's lips parted. 'Loder."
he said faintly-'Loder, l must-I must
attempted to lift himself, but the effort was
futile.
Again Loder turned away.
"Loder-for Gods sake"
with fierce gesture the other turned on
him. Good heavens! man" he began.
Then unaccountably his voice changed. The
suggestion that had been lowering in his
mind took sudden and definite shape. "All
rightr he said. In a lower voice. 'All
He crossed to where the empty tumbler
stood and hastily mixed the whisky and
water; then crossing to the mantelpiece
where lay the small glass tube containing
the tightly packed tabloids, he paused and
glanced once more toward the bed. How
many he said. laconically.
Chilcote lifted his head. His face was
pitiably drawn. but the feverish bright
ness in his eyes had Increased. Five" he
said, sharply. Five. Do you hear.
Loder?
"Five?" Inyoluntarily Loder lowered the
hand that held the tube From previous
condolences of Chilcote's he knew the
amount of morphia contained in each tab
loid, and realized that five tabloids IL not
an absolutely dangerous. WAS at least an
excessive dose, even for one accustomed
TO the drug. For a moment his resolution
failed; then the dominant note of his ma
ture-the unconscious. fundamental egotism
on which his character was based-asserted
itself beyond denial 1t might be reprehen-
sible 1t might even be criminal to accede
to such request. made by man In such
q condition OF body and mind: yet the laws
OF the universe demanded self-assertion-
prompted every human mind to desire. to
grasp. and to hold With a perception
swifter than any he had experienced. he
realized the certain respite to be gained by
yielding to his impulse. He looked at Chill
<~nto NTH his anYioiis AxpresSop