Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1913-12-12


with her on the streets. at the opera.
the play. He showed, in short, that
he found her society wholly agreeable
upon every possible occasion. II this
was in bad taste, if many or most, in
the usual guess, put 1t at the point OF
improperly, John Rawn gave himself
no concern. The Rawn aristocracy be-
gan in him. He founded it, was its
Charlemagne, It's William the Conqner-
or, as ruthless, as regardless OF others.
as selfish, as megalomaniac as the best
Of kings Here, therefore, were two
aristocrats! They ran well in couple.
1t is not to be supposed that girl
so shrewd as Virginia Delaware could
fail to realize the full import OF all
this. She let the sings and arrows
fall upon the buckler of her perfect
dignity and her perfect beauty, but she
felt their impact She was perfectly
in hand, knew perfectly well her mind,
knew perfectly well the price she must
| pay. She let matters take their course.
knowing that they were advancing
safely and surely in one direction, that
which she desired. She was more
skilled in human nature than her en-
ployer, saw deeper into mans heart
than he had ever looked into wom-
ans!
| And then, at last. the life schedule
Of Virginia Delaware was verified. AT
last, the inevitable happened.
| On one of these many trips to New
| York, Miss Delaware had been alone
in her apartments at the hotel for
most Of the afternoon. In the evening,
before the dinner hour, she was sum
moned to meet Mr.. Rawn in one OF
the hotel parlors. At once she noted
his suppressed excitement He scarce
could wait until they were alone, in
| a far corner of the room, before ex-
planning to her the cause.
Il don't like to say this, Miss Della
ware" he began, "but I've got to do
/ it,"
What do you mean, Mr.. Rawn?'
she replied in her usual low and clear
tones.
There's been talk"
Talk? About what?'
"Us!"
About US? What can you mean,
Mr. Rawn?" she asked.
The world is SO confoundedly
small, my dear girl, that it seems ev-
erything you do is known by every
body else. OF course, a man like my
self is in the public eye; but we've
always minded our business and it
ought not to have been anybody else's
business beyond that"
you disturb me, Mr. Rawn! What
has happened?"
But now, tonight, now-just a
/ little while ago-I met this fellow Ack-
erman-you know him-big man in
the company-used to be general traf-
/ fic manager down in ST. Louis, on the
old railroad where l began-well, he
was drunk, and he talked"
What could he say?"
"He got me by the coat collar and
proceeded to tell me how much-how
Emuch-well, to tell the truth, he con-
nected your name and mine. If he
wasn't drunk-and director-Id go
! down there yet and smash his face for
him. What business was it of his?
i Of course, men don't mind such things
so much But when it comes to you
why, my dear girl"
The truth has already been stated
regarding John Rawn; that, batra-
chan, half-dormant for almost half
a century, and then putting into bust
ness what energy most men put into
! love and sex. he had passed a life of
singular innocence, or ignorance, as
to womankind. He had never cOunte-
nanced much gossip about women, be-
cause he had little interest in the
| topic The grande passion marks
most of us for it's own now and again,
or is to be feared now and again; but
the grande passion had passed by John
Rawn. He was now approaching fifty
years of age. Married he had been,
and divorced; but he had not yet been
| in love-
He now spoke to his like, his mate
in the hunt of the opposite sex a
young woman who at that very mo-
ment was as beautiful a creature as
might have been found on all Man
haitian, woman known in all Man
haitian now as the mysterious Lady
of the Lightnings." the goddess of the
stock certificates OF one of the most
mammoth American corporations, a
creature over whom Manhattan's most
critical libertines were crazed--and
helpless; moreover, a woman who. out
Of all those in the great caravanserai
at that moment might as well as any
| have been chosen as the very type OF
! gentle breeding and of gentle woman
hood alike. But she had not yet been
in love.
81 don't understand, Mr.. Rawn" re
peated she slowly. What possible
ground could Mr. Alderman have had?
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