The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1907-03-08

/ spite of the degradation TO which she
/ had sunk, vice had not get set its SEAL
/ internationally upon her features. The black
/ eHed eye. only emphasized by the pitiful
/ little attempt to conceal il by the use OF
/ powder. was the only stamp Of vicious
/ ness, and from between the blacEoned
lids the eve seemed to mirror an immac-
ulatc soul.
He looked with disgust about the cheap
/ darce hall, with its blaring three-picce
/ hand and its little crowds of meTy-mak-
/ ers. There was a sordidness about IL all
/ that surprised him. But this girl seemed
/ to have no place in the picture. Even
| tnc simple lines Of her tattered dress be-
/ spoke "a different plane of life
Yet the story she had told shocked hil
/ I'm its revelation of the depths OF misery
/ 10 which q woman could sink. She was
/ scarcely past twenty. but she hal been
/ deserted by her husband. had los hel
little daughter. and had gradually sunk
+ into the Slough Of Despond. tt was a
/ tale common enough i'm city streets, yet
/ he hated to hear il from her lips. Tic
wished that it might be, like his own, a
/ fabrication
/ 4 week beCora am editor had sent back
/ a story he mad offered.
This rings false, the man wrote. dig
down and get your facts nrst hand, AND
/ let me see the result. ! want something
I like it,"
/ Disguise had been easy-a three days
growth OF beard. tousled head. and a
shabby suit He knew Of the Ode0n as
a place where he was most likely 60 get
material lie had intended TO apuf5sch
some man. but somehow he DROPPED into
chair beside the girl. ana over a few
drinks Che was rather proud of his trick
Of ordering gin and drinking the water
Instead Of the spirits they had exchanged
experiences.
His own experiences were drawn from
his imagination. but here was story
vivid in It's dlreCtness. terrible in its un-
concerned unveiling of misery and sin
Wont you let me see yoI again DE
I pleaded. Have you some address,
/ She waved her hand comprehensiveIy.
This is mostly my address. she
/ laughed The music had not yet gone
/ out Of her voice, and the laugh appealed
/ 90 him. I'm most always hero"
/ Hallen rose and slou-hed out. Tt was
1 a relief 20 get into the bath. and q shave
/ Vas a positive luxury He uWublcl into
bed with a sigh OF satisfaction. bur when
I the lights had been switched off. no sIeeu
came to his tired eyeIids. He lived again
/ the scene of the evening and the girls
/ face haunted him.
/ She had laughed when ne spoke Of up
/ lifting; had secuted the possibility Of re-
/ form, and yet he was determined that he
/ would md her again and IN spite of her
/ self lead her steps again into iue paths
| from which they had stTayed.
He was at the OdeOn again the next
/ evening. but though he SAT from early
/ evening until late in the night the girI
/ did not come The waiter grinned when
/ he asked concerning her
! II never saw her before. I thought you
/ brought her in"
J But she said she comes in here every
| evening" he persisted.
/ We'll. she don't" was the surly re-
( tort Il guess ] know what I'M tdikin
/ about and that goes, see"
/ There was an ntimatiOn in the voice
/ that Hallen would 60 If the statement did
not. and he subsidized. For week he
/ haunted that place and others like il. bul
/ not "a trace of her could he find, ana AT
/ last he went back to his work
/ 1t seemed almost like sacrilege 10 use
/ her story as material, To- vivisect tho
quiyering remains of a recreant life. but
/ the story carried a great moral. perhaps
/ Others might read and profit FIe worked
| on it a week before he sent it of. and
! then half hoped that it would be re-
/ scc5od
On the contrary, he got instead a mos,
! cordial letter
Just what I wanted" declared the
/ editor. I've another almost as good. !
am going TO run the two together under
/ toe title Of Beneath the Surface. 1 am
/ sending the check"
| Halen started as he saw the check. II
was double rates. but even that did not
atone for his failure to find the girl
| lie wished that ne might take it TO her.
+ for il was she, not he, who had really
earned il
/ Perhaps, he told himself, it might be the
means of bringing her back to the things
/ worth while. 1t was. at least. worth try
| ing. He could scarcely wait until even
/ ing to set forth in his quest.
! lie made several stops before he reached
/ the OdeOn and 1t was late when he en-
! tered the gaudy resort With a start. he
! recognized the girl and went toward her
/ \ heavy-set man was arguing with her
as he came up. Hallen gathered that she
Z had refused TO dance with him, and he
/ was glad OF IT, Her face frightened M
/ his approach and the other man. motto
1 ing the welcome. skunk away.
! 7 am so glad you came. she cried. as
( he slipped into a chair. II wanted "a
! SEQ you
Il haunted the place for week" he
/ s9iu, but no one seemed 20 remember
| YOU as a regular visitor. and 50 I gave
It up
I II thought YOU might want 70 escort
/ me home, she explained, as a fIisa roso
/ 20 her cheek. 1T would have been en-