Grand Forks herald., 1917-02-23
hat scruton was not standing in with
him. could not understand. how
BY EDGAR JEPSOM

S4As~S IVA NSOAA was AVS 6SdAOAu& All WAsA
him. I could not understand. how
ever, why he gave these parties so
often. for though he played most Of
the time himself. he did not seem
at all keen gambler and not once
did see him plunge heavily. Again.
he did not use those parties as
means Of rising In the social scale. He
seemed to have no ambition that way.
| came to the conclusion that my
IDEA. that It was his hobby to have
the severest gambling in London at
his house. was the right one. I al
ways noticed that he kept close eye
on our winnings and losings; and at
the end of each party he would rub
ms hands together. and say gleefully
that twenty-five or thirty thousand
pounds had changed hands In the
course of the evening: and then he
always added: "Fine gambling
nrst-class gambling! Eth? What"
But it did seem to me a trifle thick
that he should use Alice as an attrac-
ton to bring men to his parties. II
nave been more excusable IL he had
been playing some shady game with
them. But there, millionaires are
queer fish.
I went to most Of his parties. and
every time I went was annoyed
afresh to find Alice being used al a
decoy. 1t was really no business of
mine, except that she and I were
growing more and more friendly. In
fact. I liked to go to them chiefly
because I could keep an eye on her
and see that she was not annoyed by
any of her uncle's guests. felt that
that was rather my business, since. by
helping Freddy Gage to carry off and
marry Kitty Maynard, 1 had robbed
Alice OF her chief support. II Kitty
Maynard had also been used by Scru-
ton as decoy, none the less she had
been support to Alice. New guests
who did not know tho ropes were apt
to be familiar and needed checking.
/ did 1t.
One night, some one who ought IT,
have known better-I think it was
Alperton-brought with him a bub-
bling young stockbroker. I suppose
the stockbroker had put him on to
good thing in oil or rubber. They
had done themselves not wisely but
too we'll at dinner, and the young
stock broker was in very high feather
called 1.-The nobility" He seemed al
so to be considered fascinating fell
low in his circle and he sat himself
to fascinate Alice in what I suppose
Is the stock-brokerly way Alice
snubbed him with a quiet straightfor-
wardness that would have shut up any
decent sort of chap, and I told him
quite plainly to hold his tongue. 1t
did not seem to have any effect. Alice
rose and went to the door: he follow
door for her: she went out and he
went out after her. still apologizing.
Then. on the empty landing. 1 was on
him like q knife. got him comfort
ably by the scrun Of the neck, ran
him down the stairs. along the hall to
the front door. The butler opened 1t
smartly, and kicked my young
friend heartily down the steps. He
did not come back for his hat.
I came quietly back up the stairs
and found Alice leaning over the ban
listers OF the landing, from which she
had watched the young cad's de-
parture. There was a very fine flush
on her face and her eyes were spark
ling quite fiercely.
"Oh. I'm so much obliged to you,"
she said. II wonder how that cad
got into the house?"
Must have sneaked in at the back
door," I said.
We'll. I don't think he will come
again." she said.
Il don't know about that. He onlv
got what he was asking for. Perhaps
he likes 1t and will come back for
more" said 1.
II am so much obliged to you," she
said again: and she moved toward the
stairs to the second floor.
Don't let him drive you off to
She hesitated a moment: ana then
she came back into the baccarat room
with me: We went on to the balcony
and had q very pleasant half-hour's
talk.
That bubbling young stockbroker
was only passing nuisance as It
We're; Sir Theobald Walsh was a
nuisance every time. He had been a
guest at Scruton's parties since the
beginning, long before had ever
come to one. He seemed to think. or
at any rate he pretended to think,
that that gave him some kind of a
claim on Alice. and unless something
prevented him, he always spent a
good deal of the evening hanging over
her and talking to her with a pro-
prietary air.
Now. as I have said. Walsh is not
at all the kind of man one likes to
see see, hanging about nice girl. Mar
ried women are all very we'll. but a
young girl is different Besides II
wasn't only Walsh's ways, and what
we all know about him among our
selves, but his bad character was
notorious. He had not only appeared
IN the Divorce Court as Correspondent
IN the Cumberly scandal; but at the
inquest on the unfortunate Mrs.
Bulke!ey 1t came out that she had
committed suicide owing to the black
Also I happened to know Of the orgies
they were really orgies-which he
held at The Cedars. his country house
near Pinner. Naturally he was not
the kind of man who could hang
about girl without harminr her
reputation. and whenever I saw him
hanging about Alice interrupted.
he hated to be interrupted, but I
never missed chance Of doing it. I
Joined in their talk, or rather toin-
ed in his talk-for Alice had very If
tie to say to him-frmly; and every
time we were soon swapping freely.
I would sneer at things he said ana
he would sneer at things 7 said. til
our conversation grew rather CHEEKY.
Nearly always before ten minutes
were up. got him rabid and snarlins,
and generally at the end Of half an
hour ] drove him off to the card
table. He must have lost quite y lot
OF money from playing baccarat in n
bad temper. Sometimes. however. he
would stick it out till Alice went on
to bed.
Alice enjoyed our little chickering's
up to certain point: when walsh
began really to snarl It made her un-
comfortable. I scored because she
was always on my side. In fa,t ~
far as Walsh's getting encoura o.
raent from her went. there sho,,iH
have been no need for me 70 ,,rar-
fere at all. She snubbed him straieht
and steadily all tho time, Bnf re-