The Brownsville daily herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1897-1910, 1909-08-10

o"n-as ne understood her; unScrupu-
lous, impatient of the bubble of
neum-et-tuum, but adroit and keen
T1tted, and distinguished and set apart
from the herd by grace of gentle
breeding and chivalric instincts.
How far he might or might not have
Bet this enjoyment carry him, she had
no means of surmising. Not very far,
not too far, she was inclined to be-
heve, strongly as she knew her per
sonality to have Influenced him; not
lar enough to induce him 20 trust her
cut OF sight with the jewels. He had
demonstrated that, to her humiliation.
The flush of excitement waning,
nsnlike soon had he wearied of the
game-she thought; to her mind, in
distorted retrospect, his attitude when
leaving her at dawn had been insin-
cere, contemptuous. that of a man re-
heTed to be rid of her, relieved to be
able TO get away in unquestioned pos
session of his treasure True, the sug-
gestion that they lunch together at
Eugene's had been his. But he had
forgotten the engagement, il ever he
been more than a whim of the moment
with him. And O'Hagan had told her
BY telephone that Maitland had left
his rooms at one o'clock-in ample
time to meet her at the restaurant
No, he had never intended to come;
be had wearied; yet, patient with her,
true to the ethics of a gentle man, he
lad been content to let her go, rather
than to send a detective to take his
place.
And this was something. by the
way, to cause her to revise her theory
rs to the manner in which Anisty had
managed to steal the jewels If Matt
land had gone abroad at one, and with
0ut intending to keep his engagement
At Eugene's, then he must have been
despoiled before that hour. and with
out his knowledge. Surely, if the
Jewels had been taken from him with
his cognizance, the hue and cry would
have been out and Anisty would not
have dared to linger so long in the
1eighborhoodl
To be just with herself, the girl had
real hope of finding Maitland there.
Curiosity had drawn her-just to see
f. But ii was too preposterous to
credit that he should have cared
enough. Quite too preposterousI It
was her cup, her bitter cup, to know
shat she had learned to care enough
at sight! And she recalled with
what pangs of shame and misery
begged expressionD how her heart
Aad been stirred when she had found
aim las she thought) true to his tryst;
sven as she recalled the agony and dis
tTess of mind with which she had
moment later fathomed Anisty's i'm
PRESERVATION.
For, of course, she had known that
Maitland was Maitland and none other
from the instant when he told her to
make good her escape and leave him
to brazen it out; task to daunt even
as bold and resourceful a criminal as
Anisty, and more especially if he were
called upon to don the mask at a min
ute's notice. as Maitland had pre-
tended to. Or, if she had not actually
known, she had been led to suspect;
and it had hardly needed what she had
heard him say to the servants, when
be thought her flying hotfoot over the
lawn TO safety, to harden suspicion
into certainty.
And now that he should find her
here, a second time a trespasser,
doubly an ingrate-that he should
have caught her red-handed in this
ahomi1ably ungrateful treachery! She
could pretend, Of course, that she had
returned merely to restore the jewels
and the cigarette case; and he would
believe her. for he was generous. She
could. but-she could not. Not now.
Yesterday. the excitement had buoyed
Aer: she had gained a piquant enjoy
ment from hefooling him, playing her
nart of the amateur craftsman in this
little comedy of the stolen jewels. But
therein lay the difference; yesterday
if had been comedy, but to-day-an!
today she could no longer laugh For
now she cared.
A little lie would clear her-yes.
But II was net to be cleared that sne
now so passionately desired; II was
10 have him believe in her, even
AGAINST the evidence of his senses,
seven in the face of the worlds con-
,demnation; and to prove that he, too,
cared-cared for her as his attitude
toward her had taught her to care.
Ever since leaving him in the dawn
she had fec her starved heart with the
hope, faint hope though 1t were tnA1
he would come to care little tnat ne
would not utterly despise her, that ne
would understand and forgive when
Ne learned why she had played out
her gaft, nor believe that she was ,.aos the
eno emu and crude; that he would show
1 little faith in her, little I ,sa
80 lie q pickering taper might iignl
,x- for-iOye