The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1916-11-03

writing very wel1-toO we'll his heart
gave a great jump as he recognized it,
and then sank like q stone; for not
only must he die, but he must give
up the girl he loved, and had planned
to marry. The first thing he meant to
do was to write to her and explain and
release her from her promise. The
next thing.
He refused to let the idea of the next
very well what it would be. In the
backwards of his understanding it
lurked-a gray, grisly, shameful
shadow.
The elevator kept him waiting q
moment or two, just round the corner
from the grill-room door, whence came
sound of voices talking and laughing.
Whitaker heard what was being said
without, at first, comprehending-
heard and afterwards remembered in
vivid detail.
Seems to be the open season for
runaways," Hamilton was saying. 'It's
only few days since Thurlow Lads
las daughter-what's her name?-
Mary-took the bit between her teeth
and bolted with the old mans chauf-
feur''
Somebody asked: "How far did
they get before old Ladislas caught
up?"
"He didn't give chase. He's not that
hn mt fn
low could play the unforgiving parent
in melodrama without any makeup
whatever"
Hes just like that" said Hamil-
ton. Remember his other daughter,
Grace, eloping with young Petit a few
years ago? Old Ladislas had down
on Pettit-who's a decent enough kid
| Notwithstanding Grace was
| promptly disowned, and they've no
hope of ever touching a penny of the
Ladislas coin."
But what became of them-Mary
and the stoker-person?
Nobody knows, except possibly
| themselves"
"What's she like, this Mary-quite-
contrary?" inquired George Brenton's
| voice.
"Oh. nothing but kid" said little
| Fiske
"NOt over eighteen"
The elevator was waiting by this
time, but Whitaker paused an instant
| before taking it, chiefly because the
Of Ix
| Hamilton, had reused him out of the
| abstraction in which he had overheard
| the preceding conversation.
Anyhow, I'm sorry for Hugh Whit
aker. He's going to take this hard
mighty hard"
George Brenton asked, as If sur
| prised: what? 1 didn't know he
| was interested in that quarter"
You must be blind. Alice Carstairs
has had him going for a year. Every
body thought she was only waiting for
him to make some big money-he as
much as anybody, fancy"
Brenton added the last straw
That's tough" he said soberly. whit,
aker's white man, and Alice Car
stairs didn't deserve him. But
wouldn't blame any man for feeling
| cut-up to be thrown over for an out
and-out rotter like Percy Grim
| shaw. :"
Whitaker heard no more. At the
first mention of the name of Alice Car
stairs he had snatched her letter from
| his pocket and was reading. Nobody
| will ever know just what Alice Car
stairs saw fit to write to Hugh Whit
aker. The blood ebbed from his face
| and left it ghaStly, and when he haG
torn the paper to shreds and let them
| flutter about his feet. he swayed per-
| ceptibly-sO much so that one of the
pages took alarm and jumped to his
! side.
Beg pardon, Mr. Whitaker-did yor
call me?"
! Whitaker steadied himself an(
| stared until he recognized the boy
NO. he said thickly, 'but 1 want you
Give me a bar order"
The boy produced the printed form
and Whitaker hastily scribbled his or
| der on it. Bring that up to the Ii
brary," he said, land be quick abou
it."
He stumbled into the elevator, ant
presently found himself in the library
| There was no one else about, ant
! Whitaker was as glad of that as it wa:
in him to be glad of anything jus
then. He dropped heavily into big
armchair and waited. his brain whirl
ing and seething, his nerves on edge
/ and screeching. In this state Pete
Stark found him.
Peter Sauntered into the room will
Il manner elaborately careless. Be
meath that mask he was anything bu
| Indifferent. just as his appearance wa
anything but fOrtuitOus. Moreover
Peter had already heard about Alic'
Carstairs and Percy Grimshaw.
"Hel-lo'' he said, contriving by mer'
accident to catch sight of Whitaker
who was almost invisible in the bi;
chair with its back to the body Of th'
room. What you doing up here. Hugh
What's up?''
IT'S MI tip" said Whitaker, tryipl