The Washington herald., 1908-03-08

/ onCtcy upon him. But that ionOr he de-
clined. To his brother in the city he
had said II don't wish for any honor,
and I'll remain plain Sam 10 the end Of
my days" There was a reason--a secret
| reason-why he was unable to receive
the distinction. None knew it-none even
dreamed.
The papers expressed wonder at the re-
fusal. and people called him a fool. In
Old Broad street men were envi0us. ana
laughed in their sleeves Yet il they had
known the real reason they would surely
have stood aghast.
One day, however. his private secretary.
young Rolfe, had come 10 him with a
strange and improbable tale. His enemy
was alive and well. and was. moreover.
actually in England He questioned the
young man, and found certain discrep-
ancies in the statement. Therefore.
shrewd and far-seeing. he refused 10 be-
lieye it, and suspected blackmau to be
the ultimate intention. He did not. how
ever, suspect Rolfe OF any inclination
that way. He was both faithful and de-
voted.
Five years before, Rolfe's father. man
| OF considerable means. who had been in
| terested IN his financial undertakings.
burnt his fingers badly over a concession
given by the Persian government and
| become bankrupt A year later he died.
a ruined man. leaving a son Charles and
a daughter Marion. The latter had been
! compelled. he understood, 10 earn her liv-
| ing in a London shop. and the former.
1 who had only recently come down from
Oxford. he had engaged as his confden-
| tial secretary.
J He had indeed done this because he had
felt that Charles father had made the
! ruinous speculation upon his advice. and
IL therefore behooved him TO do some little
for the dead mans children. Few men
/ H. the city OF London in these modern
days are pOssessors Of conseiences. and
/ those who have are usually too busy with
/ their own affairs 10 think Of the children
Of ruined friends
| Old Sam Statham was a hard man, ii
must be admitted He would drive a
bargain TO the last fraction Of percent
age, and In repayment of loans he was
relentless sometimes. Yet the acts Of
/ private charity that he did were many,
and he never sought 10 advertise them.
In Charles Rolfe he had not been dis
/ appointed. Never once had he disobeyed
the orders he had given. and. what was
/ more. never once had ne sought 70 pene-
trate beyond the door At the head OF the
staircase which shut of the ground floor
! from the one above
The first day that Rolfe came TO at
j tend to mis- correspondence he had told
/ him that he must never ascend those
stairs, and that If he did he would be
/ discharged at a moments notice.
This prohibition struck the young man
as curious and lent additional color 10
the whispers of mystery concerning the
/ fine. fashionable house. thousand
weird suggestions arose within his mind
OF what was concealed upstairs. yet he
i was powerless to investigate, and. after
a few weeks. grew 10 regard his mas
ter's words as those OF an eccentric man
whom enormous wealth had rendered 4
trifie extraordinary at times.
Old Levi was Janitor Of that green baize
door. Situated round TIE corner. no one
standing in the hall could see IL There
fore its existence was unsupported. But
it was an iron door covered with green
baize. and always kept locked. Levi kept
| the key. and TO all Rolfe's inquisitiveness
he was dumb.
The master allows nobody upstairs -
was always his reply. Il sleep 60wn-
stairs because l am not permitted to as
/ cend"
/ What other servants might be there he
knew not. Levi was the only other per-
son he ever saw. The curtains at the
] dNQ
smart. and often as he went up Park
Lane at night and glanced up at them. he
saw lights in them. showing that they
must be Inhabited.
/ At first all this puzzled him sorely He
/ had told Marion about il. and also Maud
J Petrovitch, both girls being intensely in
1 terested in the mystery OF the house and
/ the character of the unseen occupants OF
its upper floors.
But as Charlie declared that old Stat
ham was eccentric In everything. the
mystery had gradually worn of and
been forgotten.
The old mans face had sadly changed
since early morning. His countenance
now was that Of a man in sheer despair
! He had looked up the Continental Brad
shaw and had scrawled half a dozen
/ kilograms, addressed 10 his secretary.
now on his way to Servia and these had
been taken to the post-office by Levi
But it vas all In vain. The message to
Belgrade could not possibly reach Rolfe
1 for another three days, and then, alas,
it would be too late.
Before then he would be finished with
all earthly things. and the world would
/ denounce him as a coward Yet even
that would be preferable TO standing and
hearing his enemys denunciation-to
! facing exposure, ridicule, and ruin.
Levi was right when he suggested
| flight" he was murmuring to himself.
Yet where can | goo I'm too we'll
known. Ny portrait is constantly in the
papers. and, save Greece, there is no
country in which I could obtain sane
! tuary. Again, suppose got safely to
! Greece. what about the firms credit
IL would be gone. But If I die to-day
before this man returns. they cannot
accuse the dead, and the firm. being in a
sound financial position, cannot be at
tackled. No, only by my own death can
/ save the situation. ] must sacrifice
myself There is no help for il, None
1 must die"
! He gazed wildly around the big. old
/ fashioned room as though his eyes were
searching for some means of escape
But there was none. His past had
that day risen against him, and he was
self-condemned.
His chin sank again upon his chest
and his deep-set eyes were fixed upon
the SOFT, dark-green carpet. The marble
! clock chimed the hour Of 4. and recalled
him TO a sense of his surroundings.
He stretched himself. signing deeply.
He was wondering when the shabby
watcher, who held his life In his dirty
talons, would return.
thoughts of the past, tragic and bitter.
arose within him, and a muttered impre-
cation escaped his thin. white lips He
was faced with a problem that even the
expenditure of his millions could NOT
solve He could purchase anything on
earth. but he could not buy few more
years OF his own life
lie envied the man who was poor and
struggling, the man with a cheerful wife
| and loving children, the man vino work,
ed and earned and had no far-reaching
interests. The wage-earner was to HIM
the ideal life of a man. for he obtained
| IN inonma Without The ..o-...e..... -