Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1909-05-20
THE LURE OF THE MASK
BY Copyright 1908
HA1OL Bobbs Merrill Co.
Continued from yesterday

But it will be in English. signora;
and that ! can not read Bettina' s
eyes filled with disappointment.
You may use it as a lesson. In
a few days you should be able to
master it."
The slight nod was a dismissal.
and the maid went about her duties.
which were not many in this house.
These were terrible days; the two Of
them alone in this strange palazzo.
and the stuffy, ill-smelling trattoria
they dined at "Che paccato." And
that she should sit side by side
with her mistress. Santa Maria, what
was the good world coming to, And
the ban on the familiar tongue! Eng
lish? She despised it. German? She
detested it, But to be allowed to
speak French, that alone made con-
versation tolerable. And this new mad
within, Oh, yes; the signora was
truly mad this time.
Meanwhile the lady with the Vene-
tan hair toyed with the letter. Club
paper Evidently he was not afraid
to trust her But would he amuse
her? Would he have anything to say
that would interest her? She ran
the paper knife under the flap. The
contents gave her a genuine surprise.
She ran to the window. Italian! 1t
was written in Italian, with all the
flourishes of an Italian born. She
turned TO the signature. Hillard; so
he had signed his name in fun2 She
ruminated How came such a name
to belong TO man who wrote ltal-
ian so beautifully? Here was some
thing to ponder over. She smiled and
looked at the signature again. John,
Giovanni. She would call him Clio
vanni He had been rather clever. To
have had the wit to look in the
library for the blue book and the
club list: not every woman would
have thought of that. Then a new
inspiration came to her, and she
struck the bell again. She sent Bet
tina for the card basket in the lower
hall. She scattered the contents upon
the floor, touched up the wood fire,
and sat down Turkish-wise. She sort
ed the cards carefully, and 10. she
was presently rewarded. She held up
the card in triumph. He had called
at this house on Thanksgiving day.
He was known, then, to the master
and mistress, this Giovanni with the
Irish surname. Very good. She now
gave her full attention to the letter,
which, incredible as ii may seem, she
had not yet perused.
To the Lady in the Fog-To begin
with. let me say that |, too, have
laughed But there was some degree
of chagrin in my laughter. On my
word Of honor, il was distinct shock
to my sense of dignity when l saw
that idiotic personal of mine in the
paper 1t is my first offense of the
kind, and l am really ashamed. But
the situation was not ordinary. Or
binary woman do not sing in the
streets after midnight. AS you could
not possibly be ordinary, my offense
has greater magnitude. To indite a
personal to a gentlewomani thou
sand pardons. / doubted that II
would come under your notice; and
even if it did, / was sure that you
would ignore it. And yet l am human
enough to have hoped that you
wouldn't. When / found your note,
it was kind of vindication; it proved
that a singular episode had taken
place. To find a woman with an APP
probable sense of humor is rare; to
find one who couples this with initia-
ton is rarer still / do not refer to