The San Francisco call and post., 1913-12-20

her eyes alone-he must not know
he must not guess how he was ter
rifying her.
You said you had a letter OF mine
I've come to see that II you won't
let me see it. I'm going! Please
hurry
But haste was not at all to Flagg's
mind-the girl was pretty-she was
fair game for his chasing. This
promised to be sport of sort as dear
as the blackmailing's very self to his
cankered old heart. He rose in leis-
urely fashion, crossed to his safe, un-
locked his japanned tin treasure-trove
and slowly selected a pale pink epis-
tie from its contents.
Pink! The color of the rose-tinted
young dreams of the girl who hads
written it after those dreams were
meeting rude awakening, and the
dreams were bitterly black and
gloomy. with only the hope of a kinder
tinted lining behind
The man was consulting a red mo-
rocco book that contained an index of
shame-an Index expurgatorius" it
should have been. He fingered it and
read aloud cynically, while the tor
tured girl wondered how soon some
one would come-and discover her
here. Why had she come? She ques-
toned her own heart Why had she
not trusted stronger hands to guide
her course? 1t was too late now-she
must go on-and on to the depth and
abysses of which she had no illunain-
ating moment of shadow before"
THE BOOK of SHAME
Flagg was reading from his shame
full red book-reading with shameless
enjoyment: Graham-Aline-that
it-You ladies, Miss Graham. seem TO
go upon the theory that indiscretion
is the better part of love-but that's
mistake-the next time be sure to
steer your gentleman friend against
magistrate and a certificate-pro-
sale, but safer-and in the end
cheaper-at least for the woman. All,
here 1t is-Woolworth-Gr Does
that recall anything to you?
Observation-Disclosures - did that
recall anything to her? In the midst
of her present agony, the girl recalled
those other days of vivid agony
the days of horror and shame and
upon the glowing days of love and
hope and trust-and--the three. days
out of a lifetime-the three days a
lifetime ago-the days that had
brought her into the tolls of Judson
Flagg this night-the days that for
bade her ever to dream OF the love
and protecting care Of her man of
all men-Captain Larry Holbrook,
soldier and gentleman.
Flagg dropped the book back in the
safely away in it's fastness and came
back to the desk of intrigue with the
little pink missive in his claw like
clutching hands.
The pink letter, It was to claim il
to regain it--that Aline Graham had
dared name and fame and fate to-
night
"Oh. let me see it,'' The words
fairly leaped of themselves from the
girls fast beating heart to her trem-
bling lips.
No, listen to itr' said the crafty
eend who knew just how far to play
his oeviFs tune on human emotions
how far to drive-how far to instill
fear-and when to drive his bargain
for the pound of flesh.
With fine knowledge of effects he
read to the woman of % the little
heart cry of the girl OF 19--the girl
Aline had outgrown in her fatal leap
to womanhood six years before
"Oh, Tom, you can't desert me now
~ won't believe even your own :
words. You can't go to the other side
Of the earth-and leave me to bear
the horror you suggest-the torturinx
fear-the shamev.
do you remember it, asked the
arch fiend quite casually. Then he
went on slowly, each word a drop of
water falling. falling with delicate
torture on the same spot-a woman's
pride--a girls joy in her honor