The Irish standard., 1908-10-17
CHAPTER X.
Consequences.

consequences.
Breathing convulsively, wide eyes a
little wildly fixed upon his face in the
lamplight. the girl stumbled to her
feet, and for moment remained cow
ering against the wall, terribly shaken.
a hand gripping q corner of the pack
against the bosom of her dress as II in
attempt forcibly to quell the mad ham,
mering Of her heart.
In her brain, turmoil of affrighted
thought. but one thing stood out clear
ly; now she need look for no mercy.
The first time it had been different;
she had not been a woman had she
been unable then to see that the ad-
venture intrigued Maitland with its
spice of novelty, new sensation, fully
as much as she, herself, the pretty
woman out Of place, interested and at
tracted him. He had enjoyed playing
the part, had been amused to lead her
to believe him an adventurer of met
tie and caliber little inferior to her
own-as he understood her; unscrupu-
lous, impatient Of the quibble Of
meum-et-tuum, but adroit and keen
witted, and distinguished and set apart
from the herd by grace of gentle
breeding and chivalric instincts.
How far he might or might not have
, let this enjoyment carry him, she had
no means of surmising. Not very far,
not too far, she was inclined to be-
lieve, strongly as she knew her per-
sonality to have influenced him; not
far enough to induce him to trust her
out of sight with the jewels. He had
demonstrated that, to her humiliation.
The flush of excitement waning,
manlike soon had he wearied Of the
game-she thought; to her mind, in
distorted retrospect. his attitude when
leaving her at dawn had been insin-
cere, contemptuous, that of man re-
lieved to be rid of her, relieved to be
able to get away in unquestioned pos
session Of his treasure. True, the sug.
gestion that they lunch together at
Eugene's had been his But he had
forgotten the engagement, If ever he
had meant to keep 1t, If the notion had
been more than whim of the moment
with him. And O'Hagan had told her
by telephone that Maitland had left
his rooms at one o'clock-in ample
time to meet her at the restaurant.
No, he had never intended to come:
he had wearied; yet. patient with her,
true to the ethics of gentle man, he
had been content to let her go, rather
than to send detective to take his
place.
And this was something, by the
way, to cause her to revise her theory
as to the manner in which Anisty had
managed to steal the Jewels. II Matt.
land had gone abroad at one, and with
out intending to keep his engagement
at Eugene's, then he must have been
despoiled. before that hour. and with.
out his knowledge. Surely, II the
jewels had been taken from him with
his cognizance, the hue and cry would
have been out and Anisty would not
have dared to linger 80 long In the
neighborhood!
! To be just with herself, the girl had
not gone to the restaurant with much
real hope Of finding Maitland there
Curiosity had drawn her-just to see
IL But 1t was too preposterous to
credit that he should have cared
enough. Quite too preposterous! It
was her cup, her bitter cup, to know
that she had learned to care enough
at sight! And she recalled with
! what pangs Of shame and misery
begged expression!) how her heart
had been stirred when she had found
him (ss she thought) true to his tryst;
! even as she recalled the agony and dis.
tress of mind with which she had q
moment later fathomed Anisty's i'm.
| personation.
! For, of course, she had known that
! Maitland was Maitland and none other
from the instant when he told her to
make good her escape and leave him
! to brazen 1t out; task to daunt even
as bold and resourceful a criminal as
Anisty, and more especially II he were
! called upon to don the mask at min.
ute's notice, as Maitland had pre-.
tended to. Or. il she had not actually
i known, she had been led to suspect:
: and it had hardly needed what she had
4 heard him say to the servants, when
! he thought her flying hotfoot over the
. lawn to safety, to harden suspicion
into certainty.
! And now that he should find her
; here, second time a trespasser,
! doubly an ingrate-that he should
/ have caught her red-handed in this
| abominably ungrateful treachery! She
could pretend, Of course, that she had
! returned merely to restore the jewels
and the cigarette case; and he would
| believe her, for he was generous. She
| could, but-she could not. Not now.
| Yesterday, the excitement had buoyed
her; she had gained piquant enjoy.
ment from befooling him, playing her
part Of the amateur cracksman in this
little comedy of the stolen Jewels. But
therein lay the difference; yesterday
1t had been comedy, but to-day-ah! {!
to-day she could no longer laugh. For
now she cared.
| 1f<<1o IT. mould n1>a.