The Brownsville daily herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1897-1910, 1909-08-13

on the hard polished wood; and
thought it all over from the begin
ming. Nor spared himself
Why, after all, should it be other.
wise? Why should she have stayed?
Why should he compliment himself
by believing that there was aught
about him visible through the veneer
acquired in a score and odd years OF
purposeless existence, to attract q
young and pretty woman's heart?
He enumerated his qualities spe-
officially; and condemned them all. I'm
prints, he was a conceited ass. A
fascinating young criminal had but
to toss her head at him to make him
think that she was pleased with him,
to make him forget that she was what
she was and believe that, because he
was willing to stoop, she was willing
to climb. And he had betrayed him
self so mercilesslyi How she must
have laughed in her sleeve all the
time, while he pranced and bridled and
preened himself under her eyes,
blinded to his own idiocy by the flame
Of sudden infatuation-how she must
have laughed,
Undoubtedly she had laughed: and.
measuring his depth-or his shallow
ness-had determined to use him to
her ends Why not? 1t had been her
business. her professional duty, to
make use of him in order to accom-
plish her plundering. And because
she had not dared to ask him for the
Jewels when he left her in the morn
ing, she had naturally returned in the
evening to regain them, very con-
fldent, doubtless, that even if surprised
second time, she would get off scot
free. Unfortunately for her, this fell
low Anisty had interfered. Maitland
presumed cynicaliy that he ought to
be grateful to Anisty. The unaccount-
able scoundrel! Why had he returned?
How the girl had contrived to es-
cape was, Of course, more easy to IN
derstand. Maitland recalled that sud
den clatter of hoofs in the street, and
he had only to make trip to the
window to verify his suspicion that
the cab was gone. She had simply
overheard his concluding remarks to
the cabby, and taken pardonable ad
vantage of them. Maitland had footed
the bill. She was welcome to that
however. He, Maitland, was well rid
of the whole damnable business Yes,
jewels and all!
What were the jewels to him? Be
yond their sentimental associations, he
did not hold them greatly in prize. OF
course, since they had been worn by
his mother, he would spare no ex-
pense or effort to trace and re-collect
them, for that dim sainted memory's
sake. But In this case. at least, the
traditional usage OF the Maitlands
would never be carried out. It had
been faithfully observed when, after
his mothers death, the stones had
been removed from their settings and
stored away; but now they would
never be reset, even should he con-
trive to reassemble them, to adorn the
bride of the Maitland heir. For he
would never marry. OF course not.
Maitland was young enough to be-
lieve, and to extract a melancholy sat
ifcation from, this.
Puzzled and saddened, his mind
harked back forever to that carking
question: Why had she returned?
What had brought her back to the
Fat? If she and Anisty were eonfed-
crates, as one was inclined at times to
believe-if such were the case. Anisty
had the jewels, and there was nothing
else of any particular value so per
sistently to entice such expert and ac
ccmplished burglars back to his fat.
What else had they required of him?
His peace Of mind was nothing that
they could turn into cash; and they
seemed to have reayed him of nothing
else.
But they had that; unquestionably
they had taken that
And still the riddle haunted him:
Why had she come back that night?
And, whatever her reason, had she
come in Anisty's company, or alone?
One minute it seemed patent beyond
dispute that the girl and the great
plunderer were hand-in-glove; the next
minute Maitland was positively as
sured that their recent meeting had
been altogether an accident. From
what he had heard over the telephone,
he had believed them to be quarreling.
although at the time he had assigned
to O'Hagan the masculine side of the
dispute But certainly there must
have arisen some difference Of opin-
ion between Anisty and the girl to
have drawn from her that frantic neg
alive Maitland had heard, to have
been responsible for the overturning
of the chair-an accident that seemed
to argue something in the nature Of
physical struggle; the chair itself lay
upon its side, mute witness to hasty
and onreless movement on somebody's
part.
But it was all inexplicable. Event
ually Maitland shook his head, to sig
Nifty that he gave it up. There was
but one thing to do-to put it out of