The newspaper., 1909-01-08

The apartment house happened 10
be his own property. A substantial
and old-fashioned edifice. situated in
the middle of a quiet block. it con
tanned but five roomy and comfortable
suites-in other words. one to a floor:
and these were without exception ten.
anted by unmarried men of Matt
lands own circle and acquaintance
The ianitor. himself n widower and :
convinced misogynist. lived alone in
the basement. Barring very special
and exceptional occasions (as when
one of the bachelors felt called unon
to give tea in partial recognition OF
social obligations). the foot of woman
never crossed its threshold.
In this circumstance. indeed. was
comprised the singular charm the
house had for its occupants. The
quality which insured them privacy
and quiet independence rendered
them oblivious to its many minor
drawbacks. its lack of many conyen-
fences and iuxnries which have Of late
grown to be SO commonly regarded as
necessities. It boasted. for instance.
no garage; no refrigerating system
maddened those dependent upon it:
dissipated electric lighting system
never went out of nights, because 1t
had never been installed; no brass
bound hall boy lounged in desuetude
upon the stoop and took too Intimate
and personal Al interest in the ten
ants correspondence. The inhabi-
tants. In brief. were free to come and
go according to tn. dictates OF their
consciences. unsuperVised by neigh.
borly women folk. unhindered by a
parasitic corps OF menials not in their
personal employ.
Wherefore was Maitland astonlshed,
and the more so because OF the season.
At any other season Of the year he
would readily have accounted for the
phenomenon that now fell under his
observation. on the hypothesis that the
woman was somebody's sister or eous'
In or aunt. But at present that expla.
nation was untenable: Maitland hap.
pened TO know that not one Of the 9th
er men was In New York. barring
himself: and his own presence there
was a thing entirely unforeseen.
Still incredulous. he mentally conned
the list: Barnes. who occupied the
first Hat. was travelling on the con
tinent: Conkling. OF the third. had left
fortnight since TO join a yachting
party on the Mediterranean. Bannister
and wilkes. OF the fourth and nth
floors, respectively. were in Newport
and Buenos Aires.
odd" concluded Maitland
SO II was. She had just closed the
door. one thought. and now stood
poised as II in momentary indecision
on the low stoop. glanclng toward
Fifth avenue the while she fumbled
with refractory button at the wrist
of long white kid glove. Blurred
though II was by the darklng twilight
and a thin veil. her face yet conveyed
an impression OF prettiness: an i'm
preston enhanced by careful groom
ing. From her hat. a small affair.
something green. with "A snperstruc-
ture OF gray ostrich feathers. TO the
tips OF her russet shoes-including
walking skirt and bolero of simmer
ing gray silk-she was distinctly
smart" and interesting.
He had keenly obseryant eyes. had
Maitland. for all his detached pose:
you are to understand that he com
pretended all these points In the flick
ering OF an instant. For the incident
was over in two seconds. In one the
lady's hesitation was resolved: in an
other she had passed down the steps
and swept by Maitland without giving
him a glance. without even the trem-
bling of an eyelash. And he had a
view of her back as she moved swiftly
away toward the avenue.
Perplexed. he fingered upon the
stoop until she had turned the corner;
after which he let himself In with a
latch key, and. dismissing the affair
temporarily from his thoughts. or pre-
tending to do SO. ascended the single
fight of stairs to his fiat.
simultaneously heavy feet were to be
heard clumping up the basement steps:
and surmising that the janitor was
coming to light the hall. the young
man waited. leaning over the balus-
ters. His guess proving correct. he
called down:
"O'Hagan? Is that your"
"Th saints presarve us! But twas
yersilf gave me tn sthart. Misther
Maitland. sor." O'Hagan paused In
the gloom below. his uptutned face
quantity Illuminated by the flame OF a
wax taper in his gaslighter.
I'm dining IN town tonight. OLA