Evening star., 1919-03-23
CONTINUED FROM LAST suNDAY)

the foundation for this second
task, and Clifford sensed Love
man to be his best lead. That
night, with all the appearance of merely
killing time. Clifford sat at n little table
In the Gold Room at the Grantham. But
while he dawdlod. he slipped an oc-
casional glance across the big gilt
tering room at the small round table
known as "Mr. Lovemans table" The
table was as yet empty: Clifford did
bot wonder at th!s-the hour was
only II. this was the opening Of n
pew play. and Loveman was an ha
bitual first-nighter,
Presently hand fell on Clifords
with the world?"
Clifford looked up. Beside him was
the plump. smartly dressed person Of
Peter Loveman. smiling amiably.
Nothing much is wrong, Loveman
f.except most of my war-babies have
Rhooping- cough"
Buck up, old scout. and come over
TO my table. and let me buy you some
bubble-water."
Cant. thank you. Tn waiting for
p party" And then Clifford. with
feeming carelessness. but watching
toveman all the while. played bold
fard: What d. you think--I was to
have had supper here with Jack Nor
ther that the young scamp has gone
70 Canada on a shooting trip"
Loveman showed mild surprise;
IN him the stage had lost Its ad-
hmi5aSle haGn!t act actor: ;, You don't say!
His father showed me Jacks tele-
gram. Jack might at least have sent
me word before this" said Clifford.
Just IKE Jack' good fellow. but
yoni yoics cant 1otvsDud count on ~ him" , Lovemans
Common friend, Mary 'HR Regan, has has
heard anything from him"
Not unless he thinks a lot moro
Of her than he does of me-" clifford
"oueer situation there. isn't ,t?"
prised If he had treated her the same
% he has YOU" The lawyers tone be-
came humorously lugubrious. "Well,
we all have our troubles. Here's
that little Nina Cordova. After Tve
said a fond. swift, and eternal fare
well to twenty thousand dollars back
ing her in that awful frost Orange
blossoms - honest, a guinea hen
that'd half-swallowed an open safety
PIN would pull out its hair and eat
Fina's-here's Nina begging me to
back her in a new piece that's
crippled and half-witted twin to
Orange Blossoms Can you beat it!
And yet I suppose I'll come across.
That's just the sort Of sucker game
] always fall for"
With gesture of mock despair, the
little lawyer-true lover of the best
IN music and the arts, and patron of
the worst---crossed to his table.
as himself. had been fencing. He
Wondered whether he had made Love-
man believe that he believed in Jacks
northern trip. and that he was un-
concerned about Jack and Mary. He
thought he had.
Clifford. alert for every possible
Glue. managed to keep an eye OIL
covenants table. Presently he saw
1.-the, handsome young man in close
conversation with Loveman. 1t was
perience he knew to be a suave ad-
venturer in this brilliant border
world wherein smart fashion and
CLOSED scoundrelism mix In easy
fellowship. So then Hilton and Love-
man. for mutual advantage. had ad-
which had risen when their plans had
crossed that afternoon at the Nor
bona. This undoubtedly meant that
something was brewing. Clifford
would have given his balance at the
tank and all he could have borrowed
there to have known the exact sub
stance of their talk.
After a few minutes Hilton nodded
as II some point had been settled.
end with the grace Of the professional
dancer, crossed the great room and
went out. Clifford's first impulse was
to follow him, but he thought better
bf 1t and kept his place. He had his
tecompense, for a little later the
dainty Nina Cordova entered with an
escort. Soon, as If by the ordinary
drifting of after-midnight merry
makers she, too, was conversing with
Peter Loveman.
Again Clifford would have been glad
to trade his cash and credit that he
might hear. He knew that this girlish-
looking creature had been privately
fitted into more than one of Loveman's
Adroit plans of this pleasure world;
and he remembered, too. that
less than a year before there had
been the beginning Of an affair be-
tween Jack and Nina-that she. with
fame glittering before her excited WIS.,
ion. had dropped Jack for what she
he guessed that now, having been
pushed by managerial enterprise be-
yond her meager merits as a singer
in musical comedy, and having top
pied ingloriously from her lofty
dreams, she might have quite other
plans.
If there was a plot, could Nina be
in it? And II she was In il, what
was her part? And IL Hilton was in It.
what was that gentleman's role?