Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-05-13

clubs in town would be closed against
him before long. Then with increased
speed he drove the car to the Craighill
building. told Joe to wait. passed the
Waterman on duty at the door and as
cended to the Craighil offices.
A lone bookkeeper was at work. and
Wayne spoke to him and passed on to
his own room.
He turned on; the lights and began pull
ing out the drawers of his desk, turning
over their contents with a feverish haste
that increased their disorder. Presently
he found what he sought-a large enve-
lope marked Private. W. c." in his
own hand. He slapped it on the desk to
free it of. dust, then tore it open and
drew out a number of letters. addressed
in woman'S hand to himself, and
photograph, which he held up and scru-
tinized with eyes that were disagreeably
hard and bright. 1t was not the same
photograph that his father had shown at
the dinner. table. but it represented an
other view of the same head-there was
no doubt of that He studied 1t carefully:
it seemed, indeed, to exercise spell
upon him. He recalled what Mrs. Blair
had said about the eyes; but in this pic
ture they seemed to conspire with smile
on the girls lips to tease and tantalize.
A number of letters that had been
placed on his desk after he left the office
caught his eye. One or two invitations
to large social affairs he tossed into the
waste-paper basket: he was only hidden
now to the most general functions. He
caught up an envelope bearing the legeno
of New York hotel and typeWrltten
superscriptiOn. He tore this open, still
muttering his wrath at the discarded in
vitations, and then sat down and read
eagerly letter in a woman's irregular
hand dated two days earlier:
MY dear Wayne: You wouldn't be-
lieve 1 could do it, and 1 am not sure OF
it yet myself; but / wanted to prepare
you before he breaks the news. There
a whole lot to tell that / won't bore you
with-for you do hate to be bored, you
crazy boy. Wayne. I'm going to marry
your father! Don't be angry-please!
know everything that you will think
when YOU read this-but mamma has
driven me to it. She never forgave me
for letting you go. and life with her mas
become intolerable. And please believe
this, Wayne. l really respect and ad-
mire your father more than any man )!
have met. and can't you see what 1t VIII
mean to me to get away from TINS MD
eous life 1 have been leading? Why,
WAYNE. I'd rather die than go on as we
have lived all these years, Knocking
around the world and mamma raising
money to keep us going in ways L can
speak Of You know the whole story Oh
that I let mamma think L am doing
this to please her. but l am not. l am
doing it to get away from her L have
made her promise to let me alone. and
will do all I can for her. She's going
ABROAD flSnI dIteI IHdli ldSC' oiia
hate TO say it of my own mother, but
hope never to see her again.
..Of course you could probably stop
the marriage by telling your father how
near we came to hitting it off. have
always felt that you were unjust to me
in that really cared more for you than
1 knew-but that's all over now. That
was another of mammals mistakes. She
let her greed get the better OF her and
suffered But ret us be good friends
che l-nnV about me
than anybody. Wayne-how ignorant
am and all that. Why. l had to study
hard-mamma suggested It,, that tne
kind of thing she can do-to learn to tax
to your father about politics and philan-
thropy and those things. If anything
should happen-if you should spoil 1T all.
don't know what mamma Wouio 40
but it would be something unpleasant, De
sure of that. She sold everything we
had to follow your father about to those
small. select places he loves SO Well
Il am going to try to live up to your
fathers good name l don't believe m
bad. I'm just kind OF featherweisht'
and YOU will be nice to me. won't you.
when l come? Your father has told me
everything-aboutt the old house and how
it belongs to you. OF course you won
run away and leave me and you VIII help
me to hit it off with your sister. too. He
saws she's little difficult. but l know
she must be interesting. AS you see, I've
taken mammals name by her second mar
rage since our little affair. explanation
had grown tiresome. and mamma enjoys
DIaying to the refined sensibilitfes of
those nice people who think three mar
riages are not quite respectable for one
woman.
He read on to the end. through more in
the same strain He fiinched at the REF
erence to the home and To his sister. but
at the close he lighted cigarette ana re-
read the whole calmly.
ITO he continued tomorrow