Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-11-15

It's liabilities. There's the whole thing IN a
nutshell
Well she said, Il don't see anything so
dreadful in that"
Beaumont pulled his hand away from hers,
and his fingers began again their impatient
tattoo on the desk. Naturally she didn't see
anything wrong in that; but how could that
explanation avail to stop her against the
things that would be said at the meeting to-
morrow concerning the terms Of the bargain.
Its practically impossible TO make You
understand he said at last. This Tropical
Products Company started out simply as a
was just another OF those glittering hundred
per cent. dreams that are used to get silly
people to give up their money. Only 1t hap
pened IN this case that through the genius OF
this man Smith, who took charge down there
when the property was absolutely worthless,
and worse,-owing to his genius, l say, this
time the dream came true. 1t hadn't any
right to succeed; but it did for all that, right
in the teeth OF human probaa bilty."
The girl elaPped her hands, Isn't that
people who think they have lost everything,
Will find after all, as You say, that their dreams
have come true.
1t was almost with snarl of evaporation
that he thrust back his chair and started pa
trolling the room again. Uneasily, from time
to time, he glanced at his daughters face. and
at last, when he saw dawning there the look OF
troubled wonder he dreaded to see, he halted.
=" Run off and play for awhile, my dear" he
sa1d,-" billiards, the piano, anything read
book, attend to your letters-1 don't care
what you do. | am trying to think, and It
makes me nervous to have you watch me"
She rose from where she had been sitting,
hes1tated as If about to speak; nut not ind
ing the words she wanted, she came up to HIM
impulsively and gave him a kiss instead. Then
she went out to the billiard room.
FOX solid hour there was sound from
either room but the click of the balls and
the steady tramp Of the millionaire's restless
feet: His mind was plodding back and forth,
again and again, over Just the same ground
and the thing that at first had seemed no more
than an exasperating perplexlty, grew and
spread and settled lower, until it became
somber conviction. His reluctance to ex-
plain to Christabel the nature of the campaign
that he meant to bring to a triumphant con-
clus1on tomorrow, had at first been instructive
rather than rational.
He had always made rather virtue OF leav-
ing his business down town. He was, as Smith
had said, two very different persons. Tonight,
for the first time, the financier and not the
father had attempted to talk to Christabel.
His surprise was equal to his irritation when
he found the thing impossible to do. Trans
lated into words She could understand, this
On of his would sound no better to her
than the confession of pickpocket.
Bringing this white daughter of his into the
case had wrought the miracle, somehow, OF
compelling these two men that had lived COM
fortably along, side by side, all these years. to
look at each other face to face. The vision
was perhaps, not very complete. 1t did not
occur even now to ChristaEel's father to scru-
tinize any of Christopher Beaumonts other
campaigns. But for present purposes this one
was quite enough
When he sent her away into the billiard room,
he had no doubt at all that little reflection
would enable him to think of a version of the
story he was willing she should hear But al
ways when reduced to its lowest terms it came
back to this: that he was planning to take
some property that was not his, because its
owners, convinced of its worthlessness, were
no longer watching him.
HE looked haggard, somehow, good many
= years older, when at the end of that hour
he came into the billiard room He motioned
her not to stop knocking the balls about
Seating himself, he made pretense for awhile
of watching her; but at last he asked ques
ton
If / were to forbid you formally to go to
that meeting, Christabel, what would You do: "
Il should obey you, of course" she said.
But you wouldn't be very happy about
it" he persisted. You would feel that you
had rather lost confidence in me, eh."
She gave him no direct affirmative; but she
laid down the billiard cue, and clasped tight
together the hands that had begun trembling
1lncontrollably. Then she saw a thoughtful
half-smile come into his face.
t.