Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-01-18

won't for several reasons. First, be- cause I'll name other correspondents and that will make Plank sick; second, because Plank wants to marry some body else and Pm able to assist him. So where do you come out in the shuffie?"
 T don't know" she said under her breath and rested her head against the back of the chair, as though suddenly 1 tired.
 Well, I know. You'll come out smirched, and you know it." said Nor timer, gazing intently at her. Look
 here. Leila. I didn't come here to threaten you. I'm no blackpailer, Pm no criminal. I'm simply a decent sort of man, who is pretty badly scared over what he's done in a mo- ment of temptation. You know had no thought of anything except to bor- row enough on my 1 o Us to make killing at Burbank's. 1 had to show them something big. so filled in that check, not meaning to use it, and be- fore knew 1t I'd indorsed it and was plunging against 1t. Then they stack ed everything on me-by God. they did. and if had not been in the condi- tion I was in I'd have stopped pay ment. But it was too late when l re- alized what I was against Leila, you know I'm not a bad man at heart. Can't you help fellow"
 His manner. completely changed. had become the resentful and fretful appeal of the victim of plot and cir cumstance. All the savage brutality had been eliminated. The sheer, the truculent attempts to browbeat, the pitiful swagger, the cynical justifca- tion, all were gone. It was really the man himself now, normally scared and repentant; the frightened. overfed pen. sioner on his wife's bounty, not the human beast maddened by fear and dissipation. half stunned, half panic stricken. driven by sheer terror into a role which even he shrank from-had shrunk from all these years. For. leech and parasite that he was, Mor- timer. however much the dirty acqui- sition of money might tempt him in theory, had not yet brought himself to the point of attempting the practice. even when in sorest straits and bitter est need. He didn't want to do 1t. He wished to get along without 1t, partly because of native inertia and an aversion to the mental nimbleness that he would be required to show as a lawbreaker, partly because the word "blackmail" stood for what he did not dare suggest that he had come to, even to himself. His distaste was genuine. There were certain things which he didn't want to commit. and extortion was one of them. He could at a pinch lie to his wife or try to scare her into giving him money. He could when necessary borrow from such men as Plank. but he had never cheated at cards. and he had never attempted to blackmail anybody except his wife which. of course. was purely a family matter and concerned nobody else.
 His policy of alternately frightening, dragooning and supplicating Leila had carried hiL: so far. and though 1t was true that this was a more serious situ- alton than he had ever yet faced he was convinced that his wife would pull him out somehow. and how that was to be accomplished he did not very much care as long as he was pull cd out safely.
 "what this household requires" he said. "is economy" He spread his legs. denting the Aubusson carpet with his boot heels. and glanced askance at his wife. Economy" he repeated. furtively wetting his lips with a heavily coated tongue. "that's the true solution. Economical administration in domestic matters. Retrenchment. Leila. rotrenchneut Fewer foIderols."
 Leila's head was lowered. He could not see her expression. but be had d. ways been confident of his ability tO talk himself out or trouble. 90 De Tam- bled on in preiense t eamaraderie curryIng favor. as he believed. ingra- tiatiRg himself with the coarse blunt ness that served him among some men. even among some women
 wen i1 1t somehow he said reas- suriagiy. Don't you worry. Leila. I've confidence in you little girl You've got me out of sticky meSses before. eh. We'll we've Wezthered a few. haven't weT-
 Even the bOrribse parody on welded loyalty left her silent uumovel. dsrk eyes hreoflng- ard be tsS2a to grUw a Hftie restless and su1k01s as hls Joculzrfsy Increased wfth0ut a ssovs- neat Ia eiGE-< rezpoase e aversion frum his wife
 -TOu neednt be scarul fl Ia n0t.-