The Detroit times., 1912-07-13

north.
II was the second letter which steele
took In his hands for the twentieth
time since IL had come TO him here. .
three hundred miles into the wilder
ness, There were half-a-dozen pages
OF IL, written in a woman's hand. and
from IL there rose 10 his nostrils the
faint, sweet perfume OF hyacinth. II
was this odor that troubled hlm-that
had troubled him since yesterday, and
that mad" him restless and almost
~
ago when ne had been part or the
life from which the letter came, and
when the world had seemed TO hold
for him all that one could wish. In
retrospective fash there passed be-
fore him vision OF those days, when
he. Mr.. Philip Steele, son OF multi
millionaire banker, was one OF the
favored few In the social life OF
great city. when fashionable clubs
opened their doors TO him, and beauti-
fu women smiled upon him. and
when, among others this girl OF the
hyacinth letter held out TO him the
tempting lure OF her heart. Her heart?
Or was il the tempting Of his own
Ntdllu. olttlt lduSutus anu uio
strong white teeth cleaned in half
contemptuous smile as he turned
again toward the fire.
He sat down, with the letter still
in his hands. and thought OF some OF
those others whom he had known.
What had become OF Jack Moody, he
wondered good old Jack OF his
college days, who had loved this girl
OF the hyacinth with the whole OF his I,
big, honest heart, but who hadn't
been given half show because or his
poverty? And where was White
more. the young broker whose hopes
had fallen with his own financial
ruin and Fordney who would have
cut on ten years of his life for her
and half-adozen others he might
nance
, Her heart Steele laughed softly
as he lifted the letter so that the
sweet perfume OF it came TO him more
strongly, How she had tempted him
FOR a time Almost--that night OF
( the Hawkins ball-he had surrender
/ ed TO her. He half-closed his eyes,
and as the logs cracked in the fire.
< place and the wind roared outside. he
saw her again as he had seen her that
+ night-glorieHsly beautiful; memory
OF the witchery OF her voice. her hair
her eyes firing his blood like strong
wine. And this beauty might have
been for him, was still his, II he
chose word from out of the wilder
ness. few lines that he might write
| tonight
With sudden jerk Steele sat boli
upright. One after another he crum.
pied the sheets OF paper in his hand
and tossed all but the signature page
into the fire. The last sheet he kept,
studied IL for a lttle--as IL her name
were the answer TO problem-then
/ laid il aside. For few moments
there remained still the bunting
1 sweetness OF the hyacinth. When II
! was gone. he gave a last searching
! snif1. rose 10 his feet with a laugh in
which there was some return of his
old spirit. hid that final page OF her
letter in his travelling kit and pro-
+ Ceeded 10 refill his pipe.
i More than once Philip Steele had
I told himself that he was born a cen
! tury or two after his time. He had
! admitted this much to a few OF his
friends, and they had laughed at him.
One evening he had opened his heart
little TO the girl OF the hyacinth let
ter, and after that she had called him
eccentric. Within himself he knew
that he was unlike other men. that
/ the blood in him was calling back 70
\ almost forgotten generations, when
strong hearts and steadA hands count
ed for manhood rather than stocks
and bonds, and when romance and al
4 venture were not quite dead. AT col.
lege he took civil engineering. be.
cause 1t seemed TO him 10 breathe the
spirit OF outdoors; and when he had
finished he incurred the wrath Of
those at home by burying himself for
q whole year with surveying expedi-
tion M Central America
IL was this expedition that put the
, finishing touch TO Philip Steele. He
came back big-hearted, clear-minded
young fellow, as bronzed as an Affect
"a hater OF cities and the dollhouse
! varieties Of pleasure to which he had
been born. and as far removed from
/ anticipation OF his fathers millions as
/ though they had never been He
I possessed fortune in his own right,
! but as yet he had found no use for the
income that was piling up. A second
expedition, this time TO Brazil, and
then he came back--to meet the girl
of the hyacinth letter And after that,
after he had broken from the bondage
which held Moody. and Fordney, and
Wmttemore. he went back to his
many adventures
(Continued).