The Ely miner., 1915-10-08
TWENTY-SlXTH EPISODE
THE MASQUERADE BALL.

So confident was Elaine that Ken
nedy was still alive that she would
not admit to herself what to the rest
of us seemed obvious.
She even refused to accept Aunt 10
sephine's hints and decided to give q
masquerade ball which she had
planned as the last event of the sea
son before she closed the Dodge town
house and opened her country house
On the shore of Connecticut.
It was shortly after the strange ap
pearance OF the fussy old gentleman
that / dropped in one afternoon tC
find Elaine addressing invitations
while Aunt Josephine helped her. AS
We chatted, l picked up one of the
pile and mechanically contemplated
the address:
m Del Mar, Hotel La Costa, New
York City"
81 don't like that fellow" / re-
marked, shaking my head obviously
Oh, you're - jealous, Walter,
laughed Elaine, taking the envelope
eway from me and piling it again with
tho others.
Thus it was that in the mornings
mail, Del Mar, along with the rest of
us, received a neatly engraved little
invitation:
~ Miss Elaine Dodge
Requests
the Pleasure of Your Presence
A.
" Masquerade EalI
to Be
Given at Her Residence on Friday
Evening, June list.
Good" he exclaimed, reaching for
the telephone, I'll co.
In a restaurant in the white light
district two of those who had been en-
gagged in the preliminary plot to steal
Kennedy's wireless torpedo model, the
young woman stenographer who had
betrayed her trust and the man to
whom she had passed the model out
of the window in Washington, were
seated at a table,
oO oCSlCI AIu USCn IllC lSldllOhS VI
ali those in the plot that one group
did not know the other, and the
rstrangest methods of communication
had been adopted.
The man removed a cover from a
dish. Underneath, perhaps without
seven the walters knowledge, was a
note.
"Here are the orders at last" he
whispered to the girl, unfolding and
reading the note. Look. The model
of the torpedo is somewhere in her
house. Go tonight to the ball as a
masquerader and search for it. "
ooh, splendid!" exclaimed the girl
I'm crazy for little society after
this grind. Pay the check and let's
get out and choose our costumes"
The man paid the check and they
left hurriedly. Half an hour later
they were at costumer's shop choos
ing their DISCUSSES, both careful to gel
the fullest masks that would not eX
cite suspicion.
It was the night Of the masque
rade.
During the afternoon Elaine hat
been thinking more than ever of Ken
nedy. 1t all seemed unreal to her
More than once she stopped to lool
at his photograph. Several times she
checked herself on the point of tears.
No." she said to herself with {
sort of grim determination. "No-h'
Is alive. He will come back to me-
he will"
And yet she had a feeling of ter
rife loneliness which even her mos
powerful efforts could not throw of
She was determined to go through
with the ball, now that she had start
ed it. but she was really glad whel
it came time to dress, for even tina
took her mind from her brooding.
AS Marie finished helping her pu
on a very effective and conspicuou
costume, Aunt Josephine entered he
dressing room.
Are you ready, my dear?" sh
asked, adjusting the mask which sh
carried so tnat no one would recogniz
her as Martha Washington.
In just minute, auntie," answere
Elaine, trying hard to put out Of he
mind how Craig would have liked he
dress.
Somewhat earlier, in my own apar
ment, | had been arraying myself a
Boum-Boum and modestly admirin
the imitation l made of circus Glow
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