The Washington herald., 1911-01-15

Still she refrained from giving her answer and
Daylight went on strengthening his position.
"And remember. go to him alone. Hes
man. and can deal with him better without won-
en- folks around III go over tomorrow afternoon"
CHAPTER XXI
~ AYLIGHT had been wholly truthful when he
\told Dede that he had no real friends On speak.
Ding terms with thousands. fellowship and
l. drinking terms with hundreds. he a lonely
He failed to find the nan, group
Of several men. with whom he could be really intimate
Cities did not make for comradeship did the Alaskan
trail. Besides. the types Of men were different
Scornful and contemptuous Of business men. on the
one hand on the other his relations with the San
Francisco bosses had been more alliance Of ex-
kinshp for the franker brutality Of the bosses and
their captains. but they had failed to claim deep
respect They were too prone to crookedness. Bonds
were better than mems words in this modern world,
and one had to look carefully to the bonds In the
old Yukon days it had been different Bonds didns
go. man said he had so much. and even in poker
game his appraisement was accepted:
Larry Hogan. ~ho rose ably to the largest demands
Of Daylight's operations and who had few illusions
and less hypocrisy. might have proved a chum had
1t not been for his temperamental twist. Strange
genius that he was. Napoleon of the law. with
power of visioning that far exceeded Daylights he
had nothing in common with Daylight outside the
office Office He he spent his time with books thing pay
the endless writing Of plays which never got beyond
manuscript FORM and. though Daylight only nsed
Of hasheesh Hogan lived all his life cloistered
with books in a world of imagination. With the out:
In food and drink he abstemious a monk.
while exercise was thing abhorrent
Dayhghts friendships in lieu Of anything closer
And with the passing Of the Sunday rides with Dede
he fell back more and more these for diversion
The cocktail wall Of inhibition he reared
assiduously than ever. The big red motor
out more frequently now. while stable hand
hired to give Bob exercise. In his early San Fran
cisco days there had been intervals easement
tween his deals but in this present biggest deal Of all
the strain was unremitting Not in a month or two
Or iS hIOo 1Qnd he rp;od IN
successful cOnsummatiOn. And complex and
wide reaching was it that complications and knotty
problems and when he had solved them in his mas
terful way he left the Office in his big car almost
signing with relief at anticipation of the approaching
double Martini. Rarely was he made tipsy. His
constitution was too strong for that Instead he
snd OF m
drinker.
For six weeks hand running he had seen nothing
Of Dede except in the office, and there he resolutey
refratned from making approaches But by the sew
enth Sunday his hunger for her overmastered him.
1t was a stormy day. heavy southeast gale was
blowing and squall after squall of rain and wind
swept over the city, He could not take his mind of
of her. and persistent picture came to him Of her
sitting by window and sewing feminine frpperies
of some sort When the time came for his first pre-
luncheon cocktail to be served to him in his room he
did not take it. Filled with a daring determination
he glanced at his notebook for Dedes telephone
Der and called for the switch.
At first it her landlady's daughter who was
raised. but in a minute he heard the voice he had
been hungry to hear.
Il just wanted to tell you that I'm coming out to
you" he said. Il didn't want to break in you
without warning that was ALL"
Has something happened?" came her voice
Ill tell you when get there" he evaded.
He left the red car two blocks away and arrived
foot the pretty three stOred shinged Berkeley
house. For instant only he of in
ward hesitancy but the next moment he rang the bell
He knew that what he doing in direct vio-
lation Of her wishes and that he setting her
difficult task to receive Sunday caller the multi
millionaire and notorious Elan Harnish Of newspaper
fame On the other hand, the one thing he did not
expect of her WAS what he would have termed silly
female capers And in that he not disappointed.
She herself to the door to receive him and
shake hands with him. He hung his macintosh and
hat on the rack in the comfortable square hall and
turned to her for direction.
They busy in there" she said Indicating the
pa rlOr which the boisterous voices Of
ynun. people and through the open door of which
c.nid several college youths.
$50 you will have to come into my rooms"
She led the way through the door opening out Of
the hall TO the right and inside he stood awk-
waruIy the floor, gazing about him and at
her and all the time rying not to gaze In his per-
turbaon he failed to hear and her invitation to
a seat So these were her quarters? The intimacy Of
and her making no fuss about it startling, but
it more than he would have expected Of he:
1t was almost two rooms in one; the Uue he was in
evidently sitting room, the one he could
see into the bedrorul- Beyond an oaken dressinx
table, with orderly lirIet Sf combs and brushcs
and dainty feminine knicknacAs, .us-- SIGN Of
its being used u bedroom. The broad couch va
cover Of old rose and banked high with cushions he
decided must be the bed, but il was furthest any
experience of civilized bed he had ever had
Not that he saw much Of detail in that awkward
moment Of standing. His general impression was
one of warmth and comfort and beauty. There were
no carpets and on the hardwood floor he caught q
glimpse Of several wolf and coyote skins. What cap
tured and perceptiby held his eye for a moment was
crOuched Venus that stood Steinway upright
against a background OF mountain lion skin tha
wall
But 1t was Dede herself that smote most sharply
upon sense and perception. He had always cherished
the idea that she was very much a woman-the lines
Of her figure, her nair her eyes, her bird
Ike laughing ways had all contributed this: but
here In her own rooms, clad In some flowing. cling
ing gown. the emphasis Of sex startling He
had been accustomed to her only In trim tailor suits
and shirtwaists, or in riding costume Of velvet
corduroy and he prepared for this new reve-
latOn She seemed much softer, So much more
plant and tender and lissome. She q pat Of
this atmosphere Of Quietude and beauty. She fitted
into just as she had fitted In with the sober oace.
Won't yoa sit DOWN." she repeated.
He felt like an animal long denied food His.
hunger for her welled up In him and he proceeded
to ''wolf" the dainty morsel before him. Here was