Gloucester County Democrat., 1912-02-01

ed, With fhe irritating upIiff Of her
brow. do yol ever feel small and
mean?"
Il admit theis goodness.
She saw that for some reason his
temper was slipping its leash. She
took a keen dhlight in her power to
anger him. Daringly she tried to tor
ment him further. do you know"
she leaned forward on the music rack.
resting her chin on her folded hands
and smilings up at him, Pm almost
tempted never to quarrel with you
again.
Il don't want peace with your he
cried roughly
NO" she I;ughed. II know you
don't. That's Sne good reason why /
should yield I'd temptation. But I'm
not sure that want to quarrel with
you. aside from that The last TWEEN
ty-four hours I've learned good
many things. begin to think you're
not half so bllck as you have been
painted, Mr. McAdoo."
II don't wait your good opinion.
Stick to the old one. I'm all you
thought me and more"
"Then do you dislike me merely be-
cause Mr. Remington cares. or thinks
he cares. for me. or do you really hate
me for myself?
Mrs, Gilbert really hate you for
yourself"
Il knew it, Amusement was not
written quite SO plainly on her face as
it had been. Why
That's the irony of it, he exclaim-
ed bitterly. II hate you because you
are beautiful. because you are witty
because you have courage, because
you are the only person bare ever
met that I'm not a match for. because
you have forced me to change my
plans hated you when | first saw
you and saved your life. Mrs. Gilbert.
hate you so thoroughly that | have
come to this decision either Paul
Remington gives you up or he gives
me up. If he marries You he goes
out of my life once and for all. Now
you may gloat." he sneered. II de-
serve to have you know the truth.
It's my just punishment for not being
able to beat woman"
How you must hate me! | don't
understand it. What you say almost
makes you contemplate. Surely you
can't mean that merely because your
petty. childish vanity is hurt you are
willing to sacrifice not only my possi-
BILE happiness. which. of course. does
not count. but also the happiness of a
man you have called friend. Surely
you're not so small and weak as
thatr'
Then his anger slipped its leash en-
tirely. The red veil that had come
before his eyes when be fought Hag-
gin fell again. He was obsessed by a
savage lust to hurt the woman before
him. to deal her a blow that she would
feel to the uttermost. His words fell
slowly. cuttingly. with cruel distinct
ness.
''Oh, for that | have all the justi-
fication i need You're not to be trust
ed with him. You're beautiful You're
the sort that has power over men.
You have power over me. Seeing you
sets me on fire with wild. insane long
ings. l have to keep my hate boiling
or tgood God. what am | saying?
It's true) or love you" He laughed
harshly, wildly. And the weaker the
man the greater your power. l know
your history. Mrs Gilbert You had
one weakling under your influence and
you let him go to hell without lifting
finger to save him.
Even in his savage anger Bob was
startled by the effect of his cruel
words. She turned white and shrank
back as from heavy physical blow.
She drew a long. shuddering breath.
"Oh," she gasped Il didn't believe
you could be so cruel didn't believe
you could be so cruel"
Slowly, unable to take her eyes from
his. she rose and started uncertainty to-
ward the door. She stumbled over a
chair and would have fallen had he
not caught her She pushed herself
away from him. shuddering.
"Don't touch me; don't touch mel"
He watched her. hardly able to COM
prehend the completeness of his bru-
tality's triumph or the startling change
in the woman who had Knocked him SO
often until she passed out of the room.
And as she went from his sight the
sweetness of his savage joy turned to
bitterness III his mouth-left him to
face the supreme fact of his life.
A minute later. mechanically.
ashamed and humbled by his own cru
city. he followed her into the hall. But
she had gone upstairs to her room.
Selling his hat and coat. without
waiting to put them on or to say good
by to Dunmeade. he strode out into
the night
The mansion had been some time
sunk in the midnight quiet when Mrs