Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1909-10-15

into lie hands 81 lis employer he had
ipf actually believed that II would be
necessary for her TO make the supreme
sacrifice You can handle him oil
right" tie had told her You know
how far YOU can lei man So-all wo-
urn know that But he had been
wuliu- 10 take the chance that this
sacrifice would bt. eNactcd. and. know
il. uuly too We'll the brutal sensuous-
ness IF Williams. his notorious de-
IrJ'i;y and that tie had cast what he
nId taken to be longing eyes on Emma.
he now had no doubt whatever that II
would be. The captain YVES not the
man to give anything for nothing. TO
Iart with money without receiving full
value. With his great physical strength
and his viii that overbore and wore
down all opposition, how would the
gentle. submissive nature Of Emma be
duccd 10 helplessneSs by his all domi-
mating power. with the alternative of
compliance or their ruin held out to
her. she would have to submit.
Erooks pictured the scene as though
it Were hcin. enacted before him. and
he went hot and cold and sweat of
agony broke ont all over him.
40, no. no."
He uttered aloud the protest wrung
from his wrlthing soul by his half re-
suscItatcd manhood. He clutchcd his
throat. struck himself In the mouth
with such violence that his teeth cut
his underlip and the blood dyed his
chin, seized his hat and dashed wildly
for the door. Fear met him there and
held up a restraining finger. Down
stairs were the three central office de-
tectives. On the morrow, In few
hours. Mt the office where he had
worked for five years. these men, ut the
beheSt of his employer. would place
their hands on his arms. and he would
be under arrest. He saw himself be-
ing led out. handcuffed. under the
hooking eyes Of his fellow clerks and
the customers.
He closed the door again and turned
from it. cowardice at his heels. whis-
pcring sOphistic prudence, cOunSeling
the poltroon's discretion, throwing spe-
cious sops to his conscience. Some
thing had to be done. No other course
tian tha: he had taken had been pos
sible under the circumstances. Re
tween him and state prison stood
| Emma. She alone on earth could save
| him. II salvation were possible. Pun
ishment and immunity at that moment
! perhaps held the balance even. The
! giving or withholding Of kiss would
turn the scales either way. The giving
of 1t would brand him with that par
| ticular stamp Of infamy which when
| recognized by men caused them to
draw away with rising gorge and
| spurn the bearer But none would
know Of the sacrifice-no one save the
victim, Williams and himself. Other
women had done rs much In pressing
emergencies to save their husbands
| from public dishonOr. Some had bar
gained their favors to insure office or
advancement for husbands or sons,
some for dress and jewels their hus-
hands could not give them. He him
self would never seek to know just
what had passed between his wife and
the captain. He was free to assume
that he had worried unnecessarily;
that nothing Of what he felt certain
was happening had occurred, to sur
mise that it had not been necessary
for Emma to resort to complete sur
render. What he did not know could
not trouble him. Anyhow. it was too
late now. The die had been cast The
chief thing-nay. the one thing-he had
to fear was that her mission might
be unsuccessful; that she could not
purchase his freedom at any price
whatsoever.
The possibility Of this twisted his
| selfish heart with anguish again. oh.
| why had he got himself into this trou-
BILE?
When goaded to desperation and
recklessness he had taken the first
$40 from the money he had collected
he had no idea Of not returning it
somehow. 1t had brought good deal
Of pleasure to Emma and himself
lightened their hard penury with n
! CLEAN Of brightness. But $40 then
had been n lot Of money. 1t had not
been possible TO replace 1t ut once
| 1t was far easier to fix his accounts
so that the sum would not be missed
He had yielded to the temptation and
had so fixed them.
Jenkins. his fellow employee In the
office. was n follower of horse racing
In his small way. Now and then he
rlsked Il dollar or two in q nearby
pool room. and sometimes he won. A
few days after Brooks had falsified
| the books to cover up his deficit Of
$40 jenkins had confided to his office
cronies that he had tip Of which he
felt so sure that he was prepared to
pawn his last shoestring to back It,
Many others had decided to take a
chance. and. having no money Of his
own. Brooks had taken an advance
on his salary out of his collections and
| followed their example. The odds
|
the horse had won. Out of his Win
nings Brooks had replaced the money
he had helped himself to.
| The pool room and the availability Of
the cOmpany's money had offered to
him great opportunity to win what
he could not earn, and, encouraged by
his first success. he had taken advan-
tage Of 1t. He had begun by making Il
study Of racing and risking small sums
Luck had been with him, and he had
won time and time again. He had
wanted his wife to share his good for
tune, but had not dared to tell her
how he had obtained the money, SO he
had invented the story Of outside work.
His run Of luck had continued, how
ever. until 1t had become phenomenal,
and this 1t was that had caused his
extravagant optimism. He had wager
ed larger and larger sums until his
hod