Arizona republican., 1909-05-21
THE LURE or THE MASK
BY Copyright 1908
HAR0LD M'GRATH The Bobbs-h9errfH Co.
Continued from yesterday

pleasure you derive in keeping UP
this mystery engages you. You bid
#, me to find you 1 accept the chal-
lenge You must understand at once
that IL is the mystery that interests
me. 1t is the unknown that attracts
me. 1 am mentally painting you in
all sorts of radiant colors. You defy
me to find you. There Is nothing so
reliable as the unexpected, nothing
SO desperately uncertain as thing
assured. 1 warn you that I shall
lay all manner Of traps, waylay your
messengers, bride them. ] shall find
out where you live. The rest will be
simple.
She replied:
/ have no desire to alleviate your
confessed boredom. Your persistence
would be praiseworthy If well direct
ed. Waters wear away stone. the
wind crumbles the marble, but a
woman Is not moved till she wishes
to be. 1 never thought that should
dahble in an intrigue Of this sort. and
l am surprised at the amusement it
affords me. l really owe you ;ome
gratitude. The few / have met who
know you tell me that you are a
mice young man."
He rebelled at the adjective. Every
man has some portion of self-loye.
So his next effort was a passionate
denial that he was nice. When should
he meet her? The postman= brought
him a letter which contained one
word-Nimmerl He sent her four
pages, a frank and witty description
of himself and friends. his past and
some of theirs.
On the day she received this let
ter a cablegram came to her from
the far Mediterranean. Whatever it
contained had the effect to cause all
restraint to disappear from the tone
of her letters. They became Charm
ing; and more and more Hillard
found himself loving a voice, All
his watching, all his traps. came to
no successful end. She was too clever
for him. He sought the mail depart
ment of the great newspaper; the
clerk couldn't remember, there were
so many calling for mail Letters
passed to and fro daily now, but al
ways she declared that it was i'm
possible for them to meet. To write
letter was one thing, to meet a
manner was another. No, it was out
of the question to dine with him in
a restaurant. 1t was equally out of
the question to cook a dinner where
she lived, as she and her maid dined
at a small restaurant nearby. Would
he not be content with the romance
and let the reality go? Finally he
proposed to bring the dinner all
cooked from the club. Two days
went by without sign; then the blue
letter came.
/ surrender. The most fatal thing
in life is curiosity. 1t has the power
to lead us into all manner of trouble.
And l have my share of curiosity
Remember, you never would have
found me. 1 may dwell in a garnet;
l may be hideous; perhaps nothing
remains to me but my voice. What
ever you have painted me in your
Imagination, 1 tell you that l shall
prove directly the opposite. And now
the terms. And If you do not follow
them confidently and blindly, your
dinner will grow cold in the carriage.
Dinner will be at eight, February
first. At seven a carriage will call
for you. The messenger will blind
fold you. He will then proceed to
the club and take the dinner and
bring you here. Be warned, If you
so much as lift the corner of the
bandage, the romance will end then
and there. 1t is necessary to en-
force these conditions, but it is not
necessary to explain why. 1 realize
that 1 am doing something very fool
ish and unwise. But, as you say, 1
am woman who has seen much OF