Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-11
Dust,

>'~ AAA'S' puAACu ny SlIldItlSp
at the edge of the 59th street car tracks,
then more sedately. under the dispas-
sionate but watchful eye OF a mounted
member of the traffic squad, lurched
across the plaza and merged itself in the
press of vehicles south bound on the
avenue.
Its tonneau held four young men, all
more or less disguised in dust, busters
and goggles: forward. by the side OF the
srimy and anxious-eyed mechanic sat
fifth. in all visible respects the counter
part Of his companions. Beneath his
mask. and by this / do not mean his
goggles, but the mask of modern man.
ner which the worldly wear. he was, and
is. different. He was Daniel Maitland.
ESQ.,. for whom no further Introduction
should be required after mention OF the
fact that he was, and remains. the ldentl-
cal gentleman of means and position IN
the social and financial worlds. whose
somewhat sober but sincere and whole
hearted participation in the widest or
conceivable escapades had earned him the
arectionate regard of the younger SET.
together with the sobriQuet of Mad
Maitland"
His companions of the day, the four in
the tonneau were in that humor Of sub
dued yet vibrant excitement which Is apt
to attend the conclusion of a long, marc
drive over country roads. Maitland, on
the other hand Judging him by his pre-
occupied pose). was already weary of, II
not bored by, the hare-brained enterprise
which. initiated on the spur Of an idle
moment and directly due to thought
less remark Of his own, had brought him
a hundred miles Tor 500 through the heat
of broiling afternoon, accompanied by
spirits as ardent and irresponsible as his
own. in search of the dubious distraction
afforded by the night side Of the city.
AS. picking its way with elephantine
avenue-twilisht deepening. arcs upon
their bronze columns poisoning sudden
ly, noiselessly into spheres Of opaiescent
radiance-Mr. Maitland ceased to respond.
fire of chaf largely personally which
amused his companions Listlessly en-
gagged with a cigarette. he lounged upon
the green leather cushions, nalf closing
his eyes, and heartily wished himself
free for the evening.
But he stood committed to the humor
Of the majority. and lacked entirely the
shadow of an excuse to desert; In addl-
ton to which he was altogether too lazy
for the exertion of manufacturing a lie
himself to his fate. even though he fore
saw with weariful particularly the pro-
gram of the coming hours.
To begin with, thirty minutes were to
be devoted to bath and dressing in his
rooms This was something not SO I'M
pleasant to contemplate. 1t was the
afterward that repealed him-the dinner
at Sherry's. the subsequent tour OF roof
gardens, the late supper at club. and
then, prolonged far into the small hours,
the session around some green-covered
table in close room reklng with the
fumes of good tobacco and hot with the
fever OF gambling. -"
Abstractedly Maitland frowned. tersely
flx,gf' IN, ,rAS
At this the green car wheeled abruptly
round corner below saith street. slid half
block or more east, and came to pal
plating halt. Maitland. looking up. rec
and sighed with relief for the brief respite
from boredom that was to be his. He
rose, negligently shaking off his duster,
and stepped down to the sidewalk.
Somebody in the car called a warning
after him, and turning for a moment he
stood at attention. an eyebrow raised
quizzically, cigarette dropping from
corner of his mouth hat pushed back
from his forehead. hands in coat pockets
"a tall, slender. sparely built figure Of
man. clothed Immediately in f1annels.
When at length he was able to make
himself heard. Good enough he said.
clearly. though without raising his voice.
"Sherry's in an hour. Right Now, be-
have yourselves"
Mind you show up on time"'
"Never fear" returned Maitland over
his shoulder.
A witticism was flung back at him
from the retreating car, but spent itself
unregarded. Maitland's attention was
temporarily distracted by the unusual
to say the least-sight Of young and at
tractive woman coming out of home
for confirmed bachelors.
The apartment house happened to be
his own property. A substantial and old
fashioned edifice. situated in the middle
Of a quiet block, it contained but five
roomy and comfortable suites-in other
words. one to floor: and these were
without exception tenanted by unmar-
ried men of Maitland's own circle and ac-
Quaintance. The janitor. himself wild
over and a convinced misogynist Lived
alone In the basement. Barring very spe-
cial and exceptional occasions Gas when
one of the bachelors felt called upon to
give a tea in partial recognition Of social
obligations). the foot of woman never
crossed its threshold.
In this circumstance. indeed. was COM
prised the singular charm the house had
for its occupants. The quality which In
sured them privacy and quiet indepen-
dence rendered them oblivious to its
many minor drawbacks. Its lack OF many
conveniences and luXuries which have of
late grown to be so commonly regarded
as necessities. 1t boosted. for instance,
no garage: no refrigerating system mad
dened those dependent upon it; dissi-
pated electric lighting system never went
out Of nights, because 1t had never been
installed; no brass-bOund hallboy lounged
| in desuetude upon the stoop and took too
intimate and personal an interest In the
| tenants correspondence. The 1nhabit-
ants. in brief. were free to come and go
according to the dictates of their cor
sciences. unsupervised by neighborly
womenfolk. unhindered by parasitic
corps of menials not in their personal en-
ploy.
Wherefore was Maitland astonished,
and the more so because of the season.
At any other season of the year he would
readily have accounted for the phe-
nomenon that now fell under his OBJ
servation, on the hypothesis that the
woman was somebody's sister or cousin
or aunt But at present that explanation
was untenable; Maitland happened 10
know that not one Of the other men was
in New York, barring himself. and his
own presence there was thing entirely
unforeseen.
Still incredulous, he mentally conned
the list-Barnes, who occupied the frst
fiat, was travelling on the continent:
Conkling Of the third had left a fort
night since to join a yachting party on
the Mediterranean: Bannister and Wilkes
of the fourth and fifth floors. respective
ly. were in Newport and Buenos Aires.
"Odd!" concluded Maitland.
So 1t was. She had just closed the
door, one thought. and now stood poised
as If in momentary indecision on the low
stoop, CHANGING toward 9th avenue the
while she fumbled with refractory but
ton at the wrist of a long white kid
glove Blurred though it was by the
darkling twilight and a thin veil. her face
vet conveyed an impression of prettiness
AN impression enhanced by careful
sroon,ino From her hat small affair,