Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1909-08-06

| Still increduloUs, he mentally conned
the list: Barnes, who occupied the hrst
flat was travelling on the continent;
ConkIing. Of the third, had left a fort
night since to join yachting party on
the Mediterranean; Bannister and Wilkes,
Of the fourth and fifth floors. respectively,
were I'm Newport and Buenos Ayres.
| "Oddr' concluded Maitland.
So il was. She had just closed the door,
one thought; and now stood poised as IL
lin momentary indecision on the low stoop,
glancing toward Fifth avenue the while
she flmbled with refractory button at
the wrist of a long white kid glove.
/ Blurred though II was by the darkiins
twilight and a thin veil, her face yet
Iconveyed an impression of prettiness an
impression enhanced by careful grooming.
I From her hat, a small affair, somethirte
green, with a superstructure Of grey os-
trich feathers, TO the tips of her rus
( set shoes-including a walking skirt and
bolero Of shimmering grey silk-she was
distinctly smart" and interesting.
/ He had keenly observant eyes, had
Maitland. for all his detached pose; you
/ are to understand that he comprehended
| all these points in the pickering of an
| instant For the incident was over in
two seconds In one the lady's hesitation
was resolved; in another she had passed
down the steps and swept by Maitland
without giving him a glance, without
even the trembling of an eyelash. And
| he had a view OF her back as she moved
swiftly away toward the avenue.
F., Perplexed, he fingered upon the stoop
until she had turned the corner; after
which he let himself in with a latch
key and, Diminishing the affair tempo
TariIy from his. thoughts, or pretending
| to do so, assembled the single flight Of
stairs to his fiat.
/ simultaneously Heavy feet were to be
/ dumping up the basement steps; and
! surmising that the janitor was coming
/ TO light the hall, the young man waited
leaning over the balusters. His guess
proving correct, he called down:
"O'Hagan? Is that your"
9Th saints presarve us! But twas
yersilf gave me tn sthart, Misther
J Maitland. sor!' O'Hagan paused in the
/ gloom below, his upturned face quantity
Illuminated by the flame OF wax taper
! in his gas-lighter.
/ I'm dining in town tonight, O'Hagan,
and dropped around to dress Is any
body else at homer
'rlivver a wan, sor. Shure, tn house
do be quiet's amy tomb"
"Then who was that lady, O'HaganT'
Teddy, sor?'-in unbounded amaze
ment.
yes" impatiently. "A young woman
LETT the house just as was coming in.
] Who was she?"
| "Shure an 1 think We must be dram
, in, sor. Divvle a female-rayspicts to
ye!-has been in this house for nanny
an NANNY tn wake, sor."
But, tell you"
Belize twas somewan jist sthepped
into the vesthibule, mebbe to tie her
shoe, sor and We thought"
| ssOa, Maitland ra1ipnIyiCh-
ed the inquisition as Improbable, will
/ ing to concede O'Hagans theory a rea-
sonable one, the more readily since he
himself could by no means have sworn
] that the woman had actually come out
through the door. Such had merely
/ been his impression, honest enough, but
, founded on circumstantial evidence.
when you're through. O'Hagan,' he
! told the Irishman, you may come and
| shave me and lay out my things; II you
will
VERY good, sor. In wan minute"
! But O'Hagan's conception of the pass
age of time was a thought vague; his
one minute had heightened into ten be-
! fore he appeared to wait upon his en-
| ployer.
Now and again, in the absence Of the
! regular man." OHagan would attend
one or another of the tenants in the
capacity of substitute valet: as
! in the present instance, when
Maitland, having left his hosts
! roof without troubling even to notify his
| body-servant that he would not return
| that night, called upon the Janitor to UNI
! derstudy the more trained employe;
! which O'Hagan could be counted upon to
I do very acceptably.
! Now, with patience unruffied, since he
| was nothing keen for the evenings en-
| joyment Maitland made profit of the In
| tervaI to wander through his rooms, light
| ing the gas here and there and noting
! that all was as it should be, as II had
been left-save that every article of furni-
! ture and bric-a-brac seemed to be sadly
! in want of a thorough busting. In the
| end he brought up in the room that
! served him as study and lounge-the
! drawing room of the fiat, as planned in
| the forgotten architects scheme,-a large
| and we'll lighted apartment overlooking
| the street. Here. pausing beneath the
/ chandelier he looked about him for mo-
ment, determining that, as elsewhere, all
/ things were in order-but gray with dust.
| Finding the atmosphere heavy, stale,
! and oppressive, Maitland moved over to
J the windows and threw them open. A
/ gush of warm air, humid and redolent of
| the streets, invaded the room, together
/ with the Ioar of traffic from its nearby
| arteries Maitland rested elbows on Vne
/ sill and leaned out, staring absently into
the night; for by now 1t was quite dark.
! Without concern, he realized that he
would be late at dinner. No matter; he
! would as willingly miss IT altogether. For
( the time being he was absorbed in vain
/ speculations about an unknown woman
[ whose sole claim upon his consideration
/ lay in a certain but immaterial glamour
/ of mystery. Had she, or had she not
been in the house? And, IL the true an
| swer were in the Affirmative: to what end,
upon what errand?
His eyes focused insensibly upon a
] void of darkness beneath him,-night
made visible by street lamps; and he
( found himself suddenly and acutely sensi-
/ bile of the wonder and mystery of the
| city: the city whose secret life ran fluent
/ upon the hot, hard pavements below,
| whose voice throbbed. sibilant. vague,
! strident, inarticulate, upon the night
4 air. the city of which he was a part
equally with the girl in gray, whom he
had never before seen, and In
! all likelihood was never to see
again, though the two of them
were to work out their destinies within
the bounds of Manhattan island. And
yet 81.
1T would be strange" said Maitland
thoughtfully. IF :" He shook his head,