The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1909-09-23
Of the
Mask
By
By
HAROLD
MAC CRATH
Copyrishs. 1908. BY the Bobbs.
Merrill Co.

mall department OF fnis ONCE. III
time his initials were not necessar,
Once the message was on Its way
sought Merrihew. whom he foun
knocking the balls about In a splritles
manner.
"A hundred to seventy-hve. Dan"
"For wbatf''
For the mere fun OF the game. o
course"
MAKE It cigars, Just to add inter
est"
"Cigars, then"
But they both played very indif
ferent game. At 1890 Merrihew'i
eyes began TO haunt the clock. and Hi
lard grew mercifuI for various rea
sous.
what time does the performance
endf" be asked.
AT 1880 but 1t takes about twenty
minutes to scrape of the makeup"
Merrihew put his cue In the rack
He made Off for the coat room.
Hilard laughed and went up to the
writing room to fulfil q part Of his
destiny. He took the letter out and
read It again. He replaced the letter
In its blue covering. and then for the
first time his eye met the superscrip-
tion Like man entranced he. sat
there staring. The steward had
brought the letter to him, and In his
first excitement this had made no i'm
preston upon bis mind. He had seen
nothing peculiar nor strange. And
here II was. not bis initials, but his
name IN full
She knew who he was!
In fashionable quarter of the city
there stood a brownstone house, with
grotesque turrets, winding steps and
elaring polished red tiles There
was touch Of the gothic, of the
renaissance. Of the old English man.
or; Just touch. however. kind
Of blind mans bun OF house. A
very rich man lived here. but for ten
months In the year he and his family
futtered about the social centers of the
world. And, with house like this on
his hands. one could scarce blame him
caretaker came In. nourished feather
duster and went away again. Society
reporters always referred to this house
as "the paatial residence"
This morning woman stood In the
alcove window aud looked down into
the gllstenIng street. The venetian
red OF her hair trapped the reflected
sunlight from the opposite windows,
and two little points OF silver danced
In her blue eyes All. but her eyes
were blue-blue as spring water In the
morning. blue as the summer sky seen
through a cleft In the mountains. blue
as lapis lazuIl. with the same dbers Of
gold. And every feature aud contour
OF the face harmonzed with the mar.
velous hair and the wonderful eyes: a
beautiful face, warm, dreamy, engag-
ing. mobile II was not the face OF
worldly woman; neither was 1t the
face Of girl II was too emotional
for the second and there was not
enough control for the first.
But the prophecy Of laughter did not
come to pass The little wrinkles faded,
the mouth grew sad. and the silver
points no longer danced In her eyes
The pain IN her heart was always
shadowlng. She had seen her fairest
dream beaten and crumpled upon the
reef OF dislllusion.
Yet again the smile renewed itself
She was creature Of varying moods
She twisted and untwisted the news
paper Should shef Ought she? Had
she not always regretted these slngu
lar impulsesi And yet what harm to |
read this letter and return It to the |
seDderl She was SO lonely here. II |
was like being among strange people, |
so long ago was II that ber foot had
touched this soil Was II possible that |
she was twenty-five? Was there not |
some miscount and was II not fifteen
Would not this war Of wis
dom and folly be decided ere iongf
She opened the paper and smoothed
nut the folds. Mime. Angot-Tbere
Is a letter for you In the mail depart I
ment Of this office" II was so droii
II was unlike anything she had ever
heard of-a personal Inquiry column,
where Cupids and Psyches billed and
cooed The merest chance had thrown
The original inquiry under her notice
Her answer was an impulse TO which
she had given no second thought TIL
too late. She ought TO have ignored
l. But she was lonely. the people she
knew were out Of town. and the Jest
might amuse her.
This man was In oil probability a
gentleman. since he was member Of
eentiemen's club. But second thought
convinced her that this proved nothing
Men are often called gentlemen out Of
10 their ancestors, still,
Z this man only saw the affair from
ler angie Of vision. the grotesque hn,
nor OF II and not the common vulgar
intrigued She besitated. as well she
night SnpposlDg that eventually be
'ound out who she VAST That would
lever. never do No one must know
hat she was IN America. about 10 step
nto the widest OF Wild adventures .
10: she must not be found ont The !
Iing. who bad been kind 20 Der, and
he court must never know From i
belr viewpoint they would have de !
lsred ihst she was about 10 tarnish
distinguished name. TO outrage the
'ldexi sris,ocrscy in Europe. the
curt Of Italy. But size had ber own
'pinion; what she proposed 10 do wns ,
n Itself harmless and innocent But :
hls gentleman who leaned out of the