Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1909-10-07
TheLure Of
the Mask
By HAROLD MAC CRATH
Copyright. 1908. by the Bobbs.
Merrill Co.
Continued from page -

! nave no desire to alleviate your con-
fessed boredom. Your persistence would
De praiseworthy II well directed. Waters
wear away stone. the wind crumbles the
marble. but woman Is not moved till
she wishes to be. l never thought that l
should dabble in an intrigue of this sort.
and l am surprised at the amusement Il
AFFORDS me. really owe you some graft
tude. The few have met who know you
tell mo that you are a mice young man."
Every man has some portion Of self
love. So his next effort was a pas
sionate denial that he was nice"
When should he meet her? The post
man brought him letter which con-
tanned one word-Nimmer. He sent
her four pages. frank and witty de-
scription Of himself and his friends.
On the day she received this letter
cabiegram came to her from the far
Mediterranean. Whatever it contained
had the effect to cause all restraint to
disappear from the tone of her letters.
They became charming. and more and
more Hillard found himself loving a
voice. All his watching. all his traps,
came to no successful end. She was
too clever for him. He sought the mail
department Of the great newspaper;
the clerk couldn't remember. there
were SO many calling for mail. Let
tiers passed to and fro daily now. but
always she declared that 1t was i'm
possible for them to meet. No, 1t was
out of the question to dine with him in
restaurant. 1t was equally out Of
the question to cook a dinner where
she lived. as she and her maid dined
at small restaurant near by. Finally
he proposed to bring the dinner all
cooked from the club. Two days went
by without a sign; then the blue letter
came.
l surrender. The most fatal thing in
life IL curiosity. It has the power to lead
us into all manner of trouble. And have
my share Of curiosity. Remember, you
never would have found me. l may dwell
In a garnet; l may be hideous; perhaps
nothing remains to me but my voice.
And now the terms. And IL you do not
follow them confidently and blindly your
dinner will grow cold In the carriage.
Dinner will be at 8. Feb. l. At q car
riage will call for you. The messenger
will bindfold you. He will then proceed
to the club and take the dinner and bring
you here. Be warned! II you SO much
as lift the corner Of the bandage. the ro-
nance will end then and there. l realize
that l am doing something very foolish
and unwise: but. as you say. l am = wo-
man who has seen much of the world.
Thus l have my worldly side. l shall use
1t as buffer.
"Blindfoldedw Hillard scrubbed his
chin. All these precautions. Who was
she? What was she? Since there was
no escape. blindfolded he would 60.
At half after 6 on the night of the
list of February. then. he began to
dress. 1t was some time since he had
taken such particular care.
1.-THE signor seems in high spirits
tonight" observed Giovanni as he laid
out the linen.
MAN. I'm happy and greatly ex-
cited. Do you recollect the lady who
sang under my window? l am going
to meet her tonight The mystery will
be mystery no longer"
"Ahw Giovanni stroked his lips
doubtfully. at is not like the signor
to plunge blindly into adventures like
this
1.-THE very word. blindly. l go blind
folded, AMIGO. What do you think of
that?'
"BlindfoldedY Giovanni was horri-
fed. ut is trap!' he cried. They
will assassinate you. No; you shall
not go. In Rome, at the carnivals, 1t
is an old game. They will rob you"
Take the number of the cab as
get in. II anything should happen,
give the number to the police"
Giovanni, with sharp movement Of
the hands, expressed his resignation
to the worst. He knew the futility Of
arguing with his master. But he fol-
lowed him down to the hall and tied on
the bandage himself. He was honest
about it. too for Hillard could see moth
ing. Then the messenger boy took him
by the hand and led him to the car
rage. AS the two were climbing in
Giovanni spoke rapidly in his native
tongue.
"There is no number on the car
rage"
TOO late to bother now"
The carriage rolled of toward the
club where the dinner. hot and smok-
ing, was taken on.