The Huttig news., 1908-09-26
CHAPTER 1. Dust.

| trembling, at the edge of the Fifty ninth street car tracks, then more se- dately. under the dispassionate 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
 It's tonneau held four young men, all more or less disguised in dust, dus- ters and goggles; forward, by the side of the grimy and anxious-eyed meehan- ic, sat fifth, in all visible respects the counterpart of his companions Be meath his mask. and by this l do not mean his goggles, but the mask of modern manner which the worldly wear. he was. and is, different. He was Daniel Maitland, Esquire; for whom no further introduction should be required, after mention of the fact that he was, and remains, the identical gentleman of means and position in the social and financial worlds, whose somewhat sober but sincere and whole hearted participation in the widest of conceivable escapades had earned him the affectionate 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 subdued yet vibrant excitement which Is apt to attend the conclusion of a long, hard drive over country roads Maitland on the other hand fjudging him by his preoccupied pose), was al ready weary of, if not bored by, the hare-brained enterprise which, in itiated on the spur of an idle moment and directly due to a thoughtless re mark of his own, had brought him 100 miles tor sol through the heat of a broiling afternoon, accompanied by spirits as ardent and irresponsible as his own, in search of the dubious dis traction afforded by the night side of the city.
 As, picking its way with elephantine nieety, the motor car progressed down the avenue-twilight deepening. arcs upon their bronze columns blossoming suddenly. noiselessly into spheres of opalescent radiance-Mr. Maitland ceased to respond, ceased even to give heed. to the running fire of chaff (largely personaD which amused his companions. Listlessly engaged witf cigarette. he lounged upon the greer leather cushions, half closing his eyes and heartily wished himself free for the evening.
 But he stood committed to the hu- 1 nor of the ma jority, and lacked entire ly the shadow of an excuse to desert; in addition to which he was altogether too lazy for the exertion of manu- featuring a lie of serviceable texture. | And so abandoned himself to his fate, even though he foresaw with weariful l particularly the programme of the coming hours.
 To begin with. 30 minutes were to be devoted to a bath and dressing in | his rooms. This was something not so unpleasant to contemplate. It was the afterwards that repelled him: 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 a close room reeking with the fumes of good tobacco and hot with the fever of gambling. =.
 Abstractedly Maitland drowned, tersely summing up: "Beastly an undertone.
 At this the green car wheeled ab- ruptly round a corner below Thirty fourth street, slid half block or more east, and came to a palpitating halt. Maitland, looking up. recognized the entrance to his apartments, 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 eye brow raised quizzically, cigarette drooping from a corner of his mouth, hat pushed back from his forehead, hands in coat pockets; tall, slender, sparsely built figure of man. clothed immediately in fiannels.
 When at length he was able to make himself heard: Good enough he said clearly. though without rasing his voice. "Sherry's in an hour. Right. Now, behave 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 unresarded. Maitland's atten- tion was temporarily distracted by the unusual-to say the least-sight of a young and attractive woman coming out of a home for confirmed bachelors.
 The apartment house happened to be his own property. substantial and old-fashioned edi1ce. situated in the middle of a quiet block, it con tained but five roomy and comfortable suites-in other words, one to floor; and these were without exception ten anted by unmarried men of Malt lands own circle and acquaintance The janitor, himself a widower and a convinced misogynist lived alone in the basement. Barring very special and exceptional occasions tas when one of the bachelors felt called upon