El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-10-09
The Herald's Daily
Short Story
The Answer of a Man

, to hide yourself in the Businesses of
! the rock bound coast Because, as you
say, you have gone under.' answered
the other. And because 1 knew how
your wife's illness would end, and be-
cause / saw what the result of it all
must below you must end"
What do you mean?" cried Master
ton
That when a man is desperate he
will stick at nothing"
You put it badly" muttered Mas
terton.
4 put it truly" replied Hasslache.
Then he bent suddenly forward and
touched the other on the arm do
you remember a certain night at Monte
CarlO?"
Masterton inclined his head
Il had lost a fortune at baccarat.
! You thought 1 was ruined, and sug-
! gested that 1 should sell to you, the
agent of a foreign and hostile power,
my knowledge of a state secret. Yes,
1 remember; and 1 remember how l
answered you. Do you?" he said.
Undoubtedly. But though you re-
fused then, 1 knew the time would
come when you would not treat me so
caYalferly-when you would be, not
only my friend, but my ally. The fact
of your presence here tonight shows
that knew my man-that 1 have not
watched your every movement in
vain"
II am unlucky in everything I have
/ to do with. Why should you wish 10
have my aid?"
Has it ever struck you that Your
Ill luck might be attributable % me?
1 have many agents in many walks OF
life: a word here and there, and yotI
were a marked man. l decided for my
own benefit that you were not to Sc
cure work"
gasped Allan.
that 1 need you, and that l have you.
Now, Mr.. MastertOn, to show you that
I bear no animOsity for the way you
treated me at our last conference, snail
we get to the business side of things?"
Masterton laughed harshly.
Il know, Mr.. Hasslache, you want
me to play with pitch, you desire me
to WalloW in the mire of treachery-
Well, you have played your cards, per
haps you held the better hand, or pos
sibly you had more skill than 1 had
courage"
I am glad to find you so amen
able TO reason. The work is simple,
the reward of such proportions that it
] might tempt others who have more to
. lose and less to gain than even you
It concerns in a measure your one time
friend SemplewoOd.'
~-Semplewood." echoed Allan with
start.
Has5lache nodded.
In his possession are the duplicate
plans of the new naval bases. My gov
crnment is willing to pay you almost
what you please on their deliverance.'
What? steal the plans from my
friend? cried Masterton. You must be
mad?"
There is no need to steal them, none
whatever We merely wish to borrow
them for few hours. You know the
habits and secrets of Semplewood's
place, that is why you have been
chosen for this dainty affair, and if 1
undertake to keep him out of the way
for a few hours, the matter should be
easy for you" said HasSlache-
You are asking me to betray my
country and my friend" muttered Allan
Hasslache shrugged his shoulders.
1t is all a matter of business. The
sum we are prepared to pay is large
1t would keep you in comfort for the
rest of your life, with a little care"
1T is the price of his hOnOr-the man
who was my friend" repeated Master
The clock on the mantelpiece licked
away the relentless moments, while the
man waged a silent war in his soul.
If it had been anyone but Semple-
woodl He had been abroad at the time
of Allan's misfortunes, and Allan had
never had the heart to communicate
with him since.
4 cannot decide. I cannot" he said
How long do you give me to make up
my mind?'
81 must know by tomorrow morn
ing, first post" replied Hasslache-
Take that envelope, my friend, 1t is
already stamped and addressed to my
self. I give you until you reach the
harbor (there is a letter box there)-
( Write merely yes or no on the blank
card inside and post it. 1t will take
you the best part of an hour to reach
the harbor: you will have decided lonS
before then. You have decided even
now. only you are fighting against it
Masterton answered nothing. but
thrusting the envelope into his pocket
STROBE from the room Hasslache went
with him to the step.
''AIastertonr' he called softly. as Al
Ian crossed the dark space to the road,
take my advice; don't fight"
MaStertOn had no recollection of how
he guided his way out of the harbor.
To his surprise the front door stood
I ajar. He pushed it farther open and
stepped forward. Then he stopped on
the threshold and stared, bewildered,
at the man who came with outstretched
hands across the lamplit room towards
him.
"SempIewood. You here,"
Here my dear Allan. I've been here
for ever so long. Why, Vera and I
have been in a state bordering on in
sanity thinking that you'd never come.
Now, my dear man. confess. What IN
the world made you niue NOurSelI III
this hole-aEd-corner place. without
leaving your address? I should never
have found you even now'f it had not
| been for my cousin. who is a special
ist for something or other, in Harley
street and who happened to tell me
that he had a couple of professional
calls to make in this part of the world
and mentioned your name as being one
of them"
$3.50 you came, too? That was
good of you. I supposed you had for
gotten, like the rest" said Masterton.
My dear good chap, so far from
forgetting. we've been searching for
You for months past. until at last we
agreed that old HasslachC-ever met
/ the brute?-was right when he said
YOU had fled the country announced
SemplewOod.
'HassIache said that?' cried Allan.
He did. Promised that he'd let US
! know if he heard anything Of you. for
he knew that we were anxious to fix
! things up as soon as possible. And