Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-02-05

sss5ias sh,ss ns5sss her
| than in a wind-swept doorway.
''The lady, of course, will wait!' quietly
but deliberately suggested the silk-hatted
man with the suit case. looking casually in
over the circling crowd of heads.
The sergeant turned. sharply, glaring out
his sudden irritability.
Now. who asked you to butt in on this?''
he demanded. he impatiently elbowed
the pressing crowd further out into
wider circle.
IT merely suggested that the lady watt"
repeated the man in the silk hat, as upper
"Of course, officer, shall walt willingly"
said the girl. hurriedly, in her equally con-
fldent low-noted, rich contralto. She drew
asking that the shop-owner might make his
, search as quickly as possible.
Ottenheimer and the doubtful-minded ser
geant disappeared into the gloom of the
midnight store. AS the whole floor POWERED
into sudden electric luminousness, Durkin
thanked his stars that he had had sense
enough to leave the lighting wires intact.
Eyerything's all right; you In may - go 60
Il guess old Isaac's had an early night
mare!' And the dispensing crowd laughed
sympathetically.
The woman stepped into the motor-cab,
and turned toward Broadway.
Safely round the corner, she picked up
the waiting Durkin.
THAT was close one-but we win! ne
murmured jubilantly.
The woman at his side. for some vague
reason, could not share in his JOY. Intui-
lively, in that moment of exhaustion, she
felt that their triumph. at the most. was a
mere conspiracy of Indifference on the part
of timeless and relentless destiny. And
in the darkness of the carriage she put her
Intellectual arms about Durkin, passionately
as though such momentary guardianship
might shield him for all time to come.
She shook her bstractedness from her,
with a long and fluttering sigh.
"Jim," she asked him. unexpectedly, how
much money have your
He told her, as nearly a he could. It's
hanged little you see!'' he added, not I'M
Outstanding the new anxiety that was eat
ing at her heart-"but I've been thinking Of
a plant
"Oh, what now?' she asked miserably,
out Of her WEAKNESS.
She knew. we'll enough. the necessity Of
keeping up, of maintaining both activity
and appearances. She knew that wrong
doing such as theirs when without even its
mockery of responsibility and its ironical
eye and the soul. But she found that there
were moods and times occurring now more
and more frequently. when she dreaded each
return to that subterranean and fear
much for herself, as for Durkin; and as
he briefly told her Of his plan, this feeling
grew stronger within her.
Then II it must be DONE" she cried, 'let
me do the worst part Of it!'
He looked at her, puzzled, not compre-
hending the source of her passionate cry,
blindly wondering if her overadventurous
life was not getting a deeper and deeper
hold on her. But her next question put him
to shame.
Jim, If I help you in this, If I do all that
has to be DONE will you promise me that
you will make 1t bring you closer to your
work on your ampllfier, and your transmit
ting camera? Can't you promise to get
back to that decent work once more?'
'Ill promise, If you II make me one prom
Use in return" said Durkin, after moment
of silent thought.
What is it?' she asked.
"Will you let me hold over this Singford
stone. for few weeks?'
But why?" she asked aghast.
ITO oil the curtain that has to go up
our next act!' he answered, grmly. Il
mean a few hundred. now, would make
things simple again.
NO" she protested fiercely. at must not.
it shall not, be done. The Blue Pear must
go back to London tomorrow
ut will mean some hard work for US
BOTH then
Il can't help that. Jim. Well have to
face it together. But this stone is thing
we can't tri1e with, or equivocate over. 1
should hate myself. 1 should even hate You,
If thought it wasn't to go back to London,
by express, tomorrow morning.
"Then back 1t goes!" said the man at her
side. He could see. even in the dim light
Of the cab the Tebelious and wounded look
that had crept into her face.
Whatever 1t brought me. I couldn't en-
dure your hate!' he said, taking her hand
in his.
(To be Continued Tomorrow