Mexico Missouri message., 1909-11-04

He answered her with smile OF
bravado.
ut has been long time since this
thing happened to which l refer, Mr..
Ankony," she went on quickly; but
the sense of injury is not short lived,
may seem to have forgotten, as did
my husband, no doubt But he re.
membered, and so do l. Shall l go
further?"
I'VE must speak in private" he
said.
Miss Winstanley and arose at
once, but Mrs. Dimes motioned us to
remain.
Miss Winstanley is equally inter.
ested with me in the establishment of
Justice" she said to him, "and Mr..
Twining may be required to distin-
guish for you between the illegal and
the merely dishonorable They must
both remain. l should have been glad
to spare you this, as l think my con-
tinued inaction in the matter must
prove to you. But you have forced me
to act You have violated all sense
Of honor and right, and you have
brought upon your head precisely the
thing you would most eagerly have
averted. If you thought would stand
by and see you marry Barbara Hem.
ingray, knowing you to be the sort of
man you are, you greatly misjudge
me. But I am inclined to believe that
you did not think me to be my hus.
bands confidante, and that you felt
yourself secure, your ignominy buried
with him"
Ankony arose and held open the
door into the inner office.
II must insist upon discussing this
matter in private" he protested hotly,
in voice that quavered.
Mrs. Dimes sat still, an imperative
hand held out detainingly to us. THE
time is past for that" she told him;
"if you had sought me out long ago
1t might have been very different.
But understand that I mean to make
no public disclosures If you accede
to my demand. 1t remains with you
to decide whether or not the very un.
pleasant facts go forth"
He continued to stand across the
room from her, his hand still upon
the door. He did not reply, and /
could feel, rather than see, that he
was terribly shaken. Mrs. Dimes
turned her chair till she faced him.
That we may come to an under
standing at once, think l should tell
you in the beginning that I know that
when you were my husbands agent
some years ago you hypothecated Sc.
curities that were his-not yours.
You were hard pushed then, and he
knew it to be the crucial period of
your whole business career; so he
waited, believing that his confidence
in you had not been entirely misplaced
and that when you could you would
make good the amount you had
stolen. But you did not. And after
two years, when you had become am
ply able to do so, and did not, he real
lied that you had grown secure in the
belief that your peculation was not
discovered, and that you were without
even the semblance of honor He adj
mitted this with singular reluctance,
Mr. Ankony, for l think you know that
he trusted you as not many men trust
their fellows"
She paused, her eyes on his face.
His muttered reply was not coherent,
and she went on at once:
when he saw you at last as you
really were, he determined to prose
cute you; but there came his last long
illness and his death, and afterward
my heart had softened a little to you
and had not the mind beside to put
shame and sorrow upon your mother,
so l did nothing. But when l heard
the amazing news that you had pro-
posed to marry girl like Barbara
Hemingway, | came back to America
to tell you that you must give her up
or the delayed prosecution will begin
at once"
Then he spoke. "You understand
what this is you ask of me?" he said
thickly.
Perfectly" she nodded, and her
tone was less unkindiy. IF did not
know just how sweet and lovely ana
full of grace and innocence she is,
might perhaps have stayed away and
left you to your wooing."
There was a long silence.
you demand large interest, Mrs.
Dines," he said.
Accumulated interest is always
large" she retorted But l do not
wish to humiliate you any more than
is necessary. You must, of course,
bring to an immediate end this unfor-
tunate engagement believe you
were to have been married at noon.
were you not?" She glanced at the
clock you have not much time.
Some part of the truth Miss Hem
ingray must know. But you may make
your own explanation aside from that
only exact that she shall be made to
understand that whatever sense of
obligation she may have entertained
for you is dissipated"
Ankony colored painfully and made
no reply