Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1917-03-24
CHAPTER II
sMra Msrssn."


his departure from W%hitaker's bach
elor rooms. Whitaker shut the hall
door and turned back YEARLY into his
living-room. 1t was three In the MORN
ing; his body ached with fatigue, yet
he made no move toward his bedcham-
Der.
Picking his way across q noor lit.
tered with aliases, charts, maps and
guide-books, hs went to the bathroom
and took q bottle Of chloral from the
medicine closet
What he took brought him three
hours Of oblivion. He rose at eight,
ordered his breakfast up by telephone.
bathed and dressed. When the tray
came up, his mail came with 1t. Among
others there was one letter In which
he read:
Dear Hugh. I can caii you that, nov.
because you're Peters dearest friend and
therefore mine. and he proof Of that 10
that I'm telling you nrst Of all Of our
great happiness. Peter = I found out
80 we're going 10 b married the 1Sst Of
June and
Whitaker read no moro. he could
e the rest. and for the moment
he felt too sick . man to 90 through
to the end. Indeed, the words were
blurring and running together beneath
his gaze.
After a long time he put the letter
aside, absent-mindedly swallowed q
cup OF lukewarm coffee and rose from
an otherwise untasted meal.
That settles that, Of course" he
said quietly. "And it means I've got
to hustle to get ahead Of Peter"
Whitaker packed . handbag with q
few essentials, not forgetting the bottle
Of choral. He was not yet quite sure
what he meant to do after he had de-
finitely put himself out Of Peter stark's
sphere of influence, but he hadn't much
doubt that the drug was destined to
play q most important part in the ulti.
mate solution, and would as readily
have thought Of leaving It behind a.
Of going without . toothbrush or rail-
way fare.
Leaving the bag In the parcsls-room
at the GrNd Central Station, he went
downtown to his ONCE. Happily his
partner. Drummond. wa out Of town
for the day. he worked expeditiously,
having no callers until just before he
was ready to lsavS. Then he was
obliged TO admit one who desired to
make 4 settlement. He took Whitaker's
receipt for the payment in cash, leav.
ing behind him fifteen one-hundred.
dollar notes. Whitaker drew his per.
sonal check for the right amount and
left It with q memorandum under the
paper-weight on Drummond's desk /;
put q match to q shredded pile Of per.
sonal correspondence in the fireplace I:
and caught a train at the Grand Cen.
trail at one-three.
Not until the cars were In motion did
he experience any ems Of security
from Peter Stark. He had been ap.
prehensive until that moment Of some
unforeseen move on the part Of hia
friend Peter was capable Of wide but
sure casts Of intuition on occasion,
especially where his affections were
touched. But now Whitaker felt free,
free to abandon himself to meditative
despair. Cold horror crawled In his
brain like . delirium-horror Of him.
self, Of his morbid flesh. Of that mort.
bund body unit to sheathe the clean
Hre Of life.
At about four O'Clock the train
stopped to drop the dining-car. Wholly
swayed by blind impulse, Whitaker got
up, took his handbag and left the a
On the station platform he found
himself pelted by a pouring rain. He
imprisoned himself In the body Of an
aged and decrepit four-wheeler, and
as they rocked and crawled away, the
blind windows wept increasingly, and
INCREASINGLY the rain drummed the
long roll on the roof.
In time they stopped before q
rambling structure whose weather.
boarded facade, white with taking
paint, bore the legend: Commercial
House." Whitaker carried his handbag
up the steps ind across the rain-swept
veranda into q dim, cavernous hall.
"A cubicls fenced of in n corner
formed the ONCE proper. Whitaker
waited BY the desk, Q gaunt, weary
man, hagridden. by fear. There was in
his mind . desolats picture Of the room
upstairs when hs-his soul: the i'm.
perishabls ssence Of himself-should
have finished with It.
At his elbow lay the hotel register,
open at q page neatly headed with a
date In red ink. Whitaker registered;
but two-thirds Of his name was all he
entered; when 1t came to whitaker
hh!!ss pen paused and passed on to write
philadelphia" in the residence col
umn.
The thought came tor him that he
must be careful to obliterate all laun.
dry marks on his clothing.
In his own good time the clerk ap'
peared. His welcome was an indiffer.
emit nod and q glance ut the register
which seemed u~naccountably to mod.
crate his apathy.
mr.. Morton-uhT" he inquired.
Whitaker nodded without words.
The youth shrugged and scrawled
q hieroglyph after the name. Here
sammy he said to the boy-"Forty.
three. 10 Whitaker he addressed the
4 further remark: .TrunksT
no"
The youth seemed about to expos
8sElrt1A rtrsa1fa aMeat