The Washington times., 1918-11-13


his eyes fixed upon the fire. HIS
thoughts were in a turmoil, yet one
thing was hatefully clear. Cranston
was not the unworthy Stacker ne
had believed him to be- Philippas
whole point Of view might well be
changed by this discovery-espe-
ciallv now that Cranston had made
up his mind to assert himself for
his wife's sake. There was an ICY
fear in his heart.
you understand" Hayter persist
ed coIdly, what 1t is you have TO
do?"
Perfectly. shall return By the
afternoon train" was the despairinS
reply.
a.If YOU succeed" Hayter contin-
ued. II shall see that you get the
usual acknowledgment, but Will, II
you wish It, ask for your transfer to
another branch OF the service. I am
not questioning your patriotism or
your honor. Maderstrom, but you are
not the man for this work"
you are right" Lessingham said
II am not"
at is not my affair."" Hayter pro-
ceeded, "to inquire too closely into
the means used By our agents IN
carrying out our designs. That
find you in London in company with
the wife of the man whom you are
appointed to watch may be a fact
capable Of the most complete and
satisfactory explanation. ask no
questions. 1 only remind you that
your country, even though 1t be only
your adopted country, demands from
you, as from all others in her serV-
Ice, answering loyalty, a loyalty
uninfiuenced by the claims Of per-
sonaI sentiment, duty, or honor
Have 1 said enough?"
You have said as much as 1t Is
wise for you to say" Lessingham
replied, his voice trembling with
suppressed passion.
That is all. then" the other con-
cluded. You know where to send
or bring the chart when you have
it? II you bring it yourself, 1t Is
possible that something which you
may regard as a reward will be Of
fered to you"
Lessingham rose little wearily to
his feet. His farewell to Hayter was
cold and lifeless-
He left the hotel and started on
his homeward way, struggling with
q sense Of intolerable depression.
The streets through which he passed
were sOmber and unlit-
A Zeppelin warning, a few hours
before, had driven the people to
their homes. There was'not a chink
OF light to be seen anywhere. An
intense and gloomy stiffness seemed
to brood over the deserted thorough
fares. Nightbirds on their way home
fitted by like shadows Policemen
lurked in the shadows of the houses
The few vehicles left crawled about
with insufficient lights. Even the
warning horns of the taxicab men
sounded furtive and repressed. Less
ingham, as he marched stolidly
along, felt curiously in sympathy
with his environment. Hayter's
news brought him face to face with
that inner problem which had so
suddenly become the dominant fac
tor in his life. For the first time he
knew what love was. He felt the
wonder OF it. the far-reaching pos
sibilities, the strange idealism called
SO Unexpectedly into being. He rec
ognized the yagaries of Philippa's
disposition, and yet, during the last
few days, he had convinced himself
that she was beginning to care. Her
strained relations with her husband
had been, without a doubt, her first
incentive toward the acceptance of
his proffered devotion. Now he told
himself with eager hopefulness that
some portion OF Il, however minute,
must be for his Own sake. The re-
lations between husband and wife,
he reminded himself, must, at any
rate, have been strained during the
last few months, or Cranston would
never have been able to keep his Sc
cret. In his gloomy passage through
this land of i'll Omens, however, he
shivered a little as he thought Of
the other possibility-tortur him
self with imagining what might
happen during her revulsion of feel
ing, II Philippa discovered the truth.
A sense of something greater than
he had yet known in life seemed to
lift him into some lofty state OF
aloofness. from which he could look
down ana despise hlmselIS the poor,
tired plodder wearing the heavy
chains OF duty. There was a life so
much more wonderful. just the other
side of the clouds, a very short dis
tance away, a life OF alluring and
passionate happiness. Should he
ever md the courage, he wondered,
to escape from the treadmill and go
in search of 1t? Duty, for the last
two years, had taken him by the
hand and led him along a pathway
OF shame. He had never been a
hypocrite about the war. He was
one OF those who had acknowledged
from the first that Germany had set
forth, with the sword in her hand,
on a war OF conquest His own in
herited martial spirit had vaguely
approved; he, too, in those earlier
days. had felt the sunlight upon his