The San Francisco call and post., 1913-12-22

the desk. new EXPRESSION yyas com.
Ing into the crafty eyes; it was un-
masked passion; 1T was new horror to
pile upon the mountain high horrors
OF memory and fact; 1t was leering
suggestion TO drive Aiine mad with
the fear and horror of her position in
the web of the spider.
And she would not escape un-
scathed.
You are very pretty, my dear"
went on the thing of poison breath
and foul mind And mock
marriages are the real thing!''
The girl WINGED. Her helpless
, weight was falling on her hands that
Law white knuckled on the desk, her
shoulders were bowed beneath the
weight of degradation-the shame of
being spoken to so by any man--but,
most shameful of all, to become the
creature desired by this venomous
spider creature. And still he went on
with his offer of horrible compromise
the price of pink letter-written
when sorrow had been only a cloud
in her sky-wrttten to menace her
life with each line her pen had traced
In forming the words on the pink
schoolgirl sheets.
"you--you're young person of ex-
periencc--sve could he friends."
You're mistaken said Aline cold
ly She spoke with a breathless hor-
ror SO a man like Judson Flagg
dared TO think and feei-these things
about the daughter Of Gordon Gra-
hanl-about the woman Larry Hol-
brook loved-about her-no, it was
none of these he knew-his insult
was for the girl who had-trusted
Tom Woolworth.
NOT X0u and VOOiwOrth
had three days together by the sea-
we'd have a hundred-strung through
the year"
-There's your money-Fm going.
said the girl
Flagg interposed: "Oh. no, you're
notr'
The girl looked around her wildly.
She felt trapped. She knew how mad
she had been to venture so far from
love and shelter. A force within had
impelled her. but now she was facing
horror more horrible than the burn
ing memory of those three days by
the sea- At the sacrifice of all she
had come to gain she knew she must
go. now, at once, while there was yet
time.
But from the wild moment when
she had ventured alone into the web
of the master spider-it had been too
late. Life held hours of which she
mercifully could not dream-and for
Aline Graham life could never again
be the same For every wild moment
of those three days by a summer sea
for every mad second of those min
l.utes in Judson Flagg's den-the girl
would pay. and pay full toll.
You mustn't stop me" she cried.
Flagg had come between her and
| kf.a 40 doyl lr
gloom of his own room he leered at
his victim. He blocked the only exit
she dared venture. for who knew to
what abysses of horror--to what
vaults and subterranean passages-to
what Bluebeard chambers of grfsly
token the other doors would open her
path She must pass Flagg.
The mans voice had lost no tone of
its evil portent--it was quiet. because
the vitality of such vampire Great
ures as Flagg permits OF no wild
bursts of passion. For them emotion
must be hoarded--and gloted over In
the still dark. moment by moment
Aline's terror was very precious to
her captor. He spoke in the sibilant
accent Of snakes hiss:
.T'll keep the letter until you can
come to terms-pay cash for it-or
be friendly"
THE STRUGGLE
The girl frightened the hold OF her
cold fingers on that pink mist of evil
that cloud that was bringing such
storm about her head. Holding her
sad little letter to Tom Woolworth,
her faithless lover of six years gone
bv-she took one backward step. In
stinct pulled her from Judson Flagg.
instinct bade her fly while there was
still time for flight. And the girl
whispered to instinct: I'VE must par
ley with this man. Perhaps we can
defeat him and go in safety"
mo. / must keep the letter" cried
the girl in desperate determination.
She doubled around the table like
the hunted thing she must become.
only she could draw him for one
second from his guardianship of that
and then. winged by her fear.
flee from his handicapped and evil
old age.
Flagg left the door-unguarded.
Give 1t to me- he cried In bitter
anger.
The girl kept up her retreat--far-
ther and farther the menacing crea-
ture--away from the door - that