Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-07-01


follow her, 80 he was unable TO question
her about the appearance Of the visitor
He ran up the stairs, breathless with
impatience. II must be Maud come q
retract her dismissal Of him, to throw
herself into his arms.
But II was not Maud AS soon as he
entered the fiat he saw through the open
door OF the drawing the slight form
OF Mrs. Plessey outlined against the
window
He gulped down an exclamation Of
| chagrin and disappointment. She heard
his step and came to meet him as he
| entered the room
where is MaudT' she asked.
Where is Maud?" he repeated. WHY
do you ask me7" Hope rose again. WINS
she to meet you here2 Did she say that
she was comlng?"
He suddenly became aware that tho
little lady's eyes were searching his face,
| NO" she replied quietly. I'VE had no
| appointment to meet here can see from
| your face that you do not know what has
| become OF her. The fact is she has dis
| appeared"
! The mans start of surprise would have
convinced the woman OF his entire ig-
| norance Of the matter II any shreds OF
| suspicion had remained. Disappeared"
J he repeated wonderingly. Il see-so you
thought she would come here2"
Uninvited Mre. Plessey seated herself in
Richards favorite armchair. Il confess
that 1 did" she said. Il thought she
had disgraced herself by some vulgar
olopoment. I'm glad to find l was mis-
taken. I wonder where on earth
she can have got tor" she asked herself
In accents more of puzzled annoyance
than Of alarm
II presume she has disappeared, as you
put It, to avoid marrying the gentleman
whom you said she preferred to me-" sug-
gested Arrol smiling cruelty. For the
moment he was more elated than
alarmed. After all, Mrs. Plessey's sus-
picion that she had come to him might
prove to be an intelligent anticipation OF
the event At any moment he might hear
her foot upon the stairs, hear her voice
at his door
'Oh, I'm sure 1 don't know" snapped
Mrs Plessey ITS very tiresome the fuss
you two men are making about Maud.
She is handsome, I admit, but still
Wen, Of course. she is my daughter, and
l feel very much concerned about her.
Between you and Huron the poor girl has
evidently become quite distracted
oh, do tell mo what bas happened"
broke In Martin impatlently.
She has dlsappeared--run away, tell
you. 1 returned to town last night, Just
before dinner, and 1 found letter from
her awaiting me. 1t was very curt. It
simply said that she was feeling very sick
of things-that was her expresslon-and
had determined to drop out of everything
She added that she knew how to take
care of herself and was quite capable OF
earning her own lving-which dare say
Is true. or course, the letter upset me
very much l couldn't do anything that
night, as l had something on, but this
morning l made inquiries. She has been
staying some time at a place called Gran
leigh, in Surrey. 1t seems that yesterday
mr. rf1fT oh hn- ~ 70
house where she was lodged and took the
train to Waterloo. That's all that know
at present. Gilbert-Mf. Huron--is MAX
ing further inquiries. think he pro-
poses to trace the cab which she must
have needed for her trunks at Waterloo. |
However, since she hasn't come to you,
there is no need for me to trouble you,
Mr.. Arrol." Mrs. Plessey rose and sighed !
wearily. There has been nothing but |
trouble since Maud met you" She added |
aulkily.
Arrol could see that she was much less
concerned about her daughters disap- |
pearance than by the trouble involved |
outstretched hand he looked at her |
thoughtfully.
You are rather prone to contradicting |
yourself" he said. You told me at |
Brighton that you believed Maud no |
longer cared for me, that she had trans
ferred her affection to this other man. |
Yet when she disappears you jump to |
the conclusion that she has run away |
with me. l think l understand the situa-
ton. Your friend Huron had better look |
out!"
She shrugged her shoulders and moved |
toward the door "If l alone were con- |
1t would not grieve me much II
you broke his head" she said, but l do |
not want to see my dear husbands name |
!, he t,aNra haN 10 oil
Well, I will say au revoir, Mr.. Arrol |
suppose it is useless to ask you to let me |
know If you hear anything about my |
daughter"
1T is very unlikely that I should COM
municate with you. If ] am lucky enough
to meet Maud will tell her that you wish
TO hear from her. That's the most can
promise"
Talking, they had already reached the |
outer door He opened it for her With |
a bow and a smile. she left him and trip
ped downstairs,
He returned to the room sho had va
Gated and stood STILL turning over in his |
mind what he had heard. 1t was plain I
that Maud had fled to escape the importu-
mites Of her mother and the threats. open |
or implied OF her mothers friend. But II |
she stlll loved him, Arrol, why had she |
not come to him, or at least apprised him |
of her plans? Perhaps she would do so |
yet. He thrilled nOpeIully ut lHe tlouBht, |
Then another question presented itself |
10 him abruptly. BY what means had |
Mrs, Plessey become possessed Of his ad- |
dress? His brothers name was in the |
telephone directory, but he doubted |
whether she had any reason to suppose |
that Richard was related to him. His ad- |
dress had been on the letters he sent to |
F,dgworth square to be forwarded to |
Maud. II looked as though Mrs. Plessey |
had not hesitated to intercept and open |
these letters. And in that case, probably |
Maud had never received them. She must |
suppose that he had acquiesced in silence
TO her first intimation that they must |
mart He felt a sharp twinge OF pain.
She was we'll able TO take care OF her
self and to earn her own living, she told /
her mother. That, in sense, was true.
but he could have no rest till he knew
how she was situated, what she pro-
posed to do. His early training at
naval college, his long exile had left him
with the Vaguest notions as to the ways
In which women made a living for them
selves in London. He was sure, some-
how. that II was not so easy as Maud
IMAGINED. He was assailed by thousand
anxieties on her behalf. She might be in
want OF money in actual need! The
thought was horrible, but It had TO be
faced He wished he had detained Mrs.
Plessey and cross examined her at greater
length Being still under age, Maud had
no private income, no banking
account TO draw upon, From chance
remark she had once let fall he gathered
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