The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1913-03-27

- would have nlled the at OF any
eonnoisseur Etth ipys on paintlngs
insheayy at III mel 81 esefyl period
and school. Rem6f andts ! Eyyps Ruys-
daeis, ReyncldE corUB Henners.
some on. eaSels. some resting on the
floor; shapdSeme French btonzes,
dainty, china on .Iapanese ealrEood
tables, antique furniture, gold en-
broidered clerical ,yestments hand
painted screens. e fly oriental rugs,
rare ceramics All were conf usedly
1umbled together. ON q grand piano
ina, corner Of the room stood two tall
cIoisonne vases oe ALMOST inestimahle
value on. a desk close by were piled
miniatures and rare ivories. The
wallis were covered, with tapestries,
armor, and trophies Of arms. More
Ike a museum than q sitting room, It
was the home OF a man who made a
business of art or made Of art a bust
ness.
Underwood stared moOdily at the
glowing logs In, the open chimney
place. His face was pale; and de-
terpined. After coming In from the
restaurant he had changed his tux
edo for the more comfortable house
coat; Nothing called him away that
particular Sunday leYening, and no
one was likely to disturb him. Ferris,
his man servant. had taken his usual
Sunday OF and would not return until
midnight. The apartment was still as
the grave Il was so high, above the
street that not a sound reached up
from the noisy Broadway below. I'm
derwood liked the quiet so that he
could think, and he was thinking hard
On the fat desk at his elbow stood q
dainty demj,tasse q, black cofee-dn,
tasted. There were glasses and de.
canters Of whisky and cordial. but
the stimulants did not tempt him.
He wondered IL Alicia would ignore
his letter or If she would come to
him. Surely she could not be so heart,
less as 10 throw him oyer at such q
moment. Crushed in his left hand
was a copy Of the New York Herald
containing an elaborate account Of the
brilliant reception and musicale given
the previous evening at her home.
With an exclamation Of impotence he
rose from his seat threw the paper
from him, and began to pace the floor.
I Was this the end Of everything?
Had he reached the end Of his rope?
He must pay the reckoning IL not to-
day, tomorrow AS his eyes wan
dered around The room and he took
mental inventory OF each costly OBJ
ieet, he experienced a sudden shock
as he recalled the things that were
missing. How could be explain their
absence? The art dealers were al
ready suspicious. They were not to
be put of any longer with excuses.
Any moment they might insist either
on the immediate return Of their prop.
erty or on payment ip full. He was
in the position to do neither, The
articles had been sold and the money
lost gambling, Curse the luck! Every.
thing had gone against him OF late.
The dealers would begin criminal pro-
ceedings, disgrace and prison stripes
would follow. There was no way out
Of It. He had no one to whom he
could turn In thls crisis. 4
And now even, Alicia had deserted
him. This was the last straw. While
he was still able to boast Of the
friendship and patronage Of the arts
tocratic Mrs. Howard Jeffries he
could still hold his head high in the
world. No one would dare question
bis integrity, but now she had aban-
doned him to his fate, people would be-
gin to talk. There was no use keep
ing UP a hopeless fight--suiclde was
the only way out!
He stopped Il front Of a mirror,
startled at what he saw there. III
was the face Of a man not yet 80, but
apparently much older. The features
we're drawn and haggard, and his dark
hair was plentifully streaked with
gray. lie looked like a man who had
i've" two lives in, one, Tonight his
face frightened him. His eyes had a.
fixed stare like those Of a man he
had once seen IN a madhouse. He
wondered II men looked like that when
they were about to be executed. Was
not his own hour close at hand? He
wondered why the clock was so noisy;
It seemed to him that the ticks we're
louder than usual. He started sud ;s,,
denly and looked around feaariully. He
thought he had heard a sound outside. ]
He shuddered as he glared toward the
little drawer on the right.hand side OF
his desk, in which he knew there was
a loaded revolver, ~
IL Alicia would only relept escape
might yet. be possible. Il he did not
hear from her II must be for tonight,
One slight. little pressure on the trig,l
ger and all would be over.
Suddenly the bell Of the telephone
connecting the apartment with the
maia hall downstairs rang violently.
interrupted thus abruptly lin, the
midst OF HIS reflections, Underwood
Jumped forward, startled. His nerves
were 50 ilnstrupg that he vas ever
qpprehensiye Of danger: y With tren: