The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1919-02-22

passion that he had ever felt, and yet
strangely for man of his years, it had
IN 1t much more of the paternal ele-
ment than of the lover. All his life
he had been almost kinless, his only
sister was dead, he wanted Eleanor's
presence, Eleanor with him, to see
her every day, whether as wife or
daughter. Yet he was brave enough
to acknowledge that this love, selfless
in measure, threatened to become a
consuming passion if he did not hold
himself rigidly in check.
He, the middle-aged captain, and
Eleanor, with her station, her pros
| poets and her beauty-it was an i'm
| possible dream, or one that would ruin
the girls life If, in some wild moment,
she made it truth.
He had his reward in Eleanor's in
creasing restraint, her quite visible in
| dignation. They had fallen apart again,
after that single meeting. 1t was
poor reward, but the sort that Mark
had received all his life from fortune.
But there were lonely nights when
life seemed unbearable, and he had to
| exert all his will power to keep him.
self in check. Mark had rented lit
tie furnished apartment in the North
west section, off Pennsylvania avenue,
and he had found the desert more coI.-
paniOnable.
One night he felt at the end Of his
powers. That was after grilling day
in the war office, one Of those days
that sometimes come in Washington
toward the middle of September, when
| sidewalks.
It had been a day Of evil portent be-
sides. Colonel Howard, who had
seemed of late to reflect Eleanor's
GOODNESS in some measure, had greeted
him with wry face when he came in.
'The devils to pay, Mark" he said.
''Draw up your chair. There's Leak
age in the department"
"What?" cried Mark.
fittings are getting known-for in
stance, our dealings with the shipping
people. They've found the exact num-
Der Of ships we've requisitioned. You
know whom mean by they"
Mark nodded. The cosmopolitan in
fluences in Washington, whose ramifi-
cations extended to the ends Of the
earth, or, at least, across the Atlantic,
were busy in every drawing room eX-
tracing news, the tiniest and least re-
liable Of which was not despised, since
many such single items make up co.
herent story.
"The Brigadier's wild about it," con-
tinued the Colonel, pulling at his mus
tache. "And it seems impossible to
detect how the leakage occurred. 1t
must have been through the shipping
companies, of course; yet they couldn't
have pieced the thing together without
concerted action, which is out Of the
question. Let's go through the pa
pers."
They opened the safe and went
through them one by one, but nothing
was missing.
Damn it !" growled Colonel Howard.
"rve been through this before, Mark
you know that. In that case there
was a traitor at work. We found him.
In this case there can be none, at least,
in the war department. And I've told
the Brigadier I'll answer with my place
for discovering where the leak lies"
He closed the safe and strobe off in
to Kellerman's room, to return with
Kellerman, looking angrier than be
fore.
"What are we going to do, Keller
MANI" he asked.
Kellerman pursed out his lips. swell,
Colonel, you know as much about it as
any of u.s." he answered. "There's al
ways been two of us present night and
morning when the papers were trans
fcrred. I'll vouch for you, Wallace
will, presume, vouch for me, and you,
I presume, will vouch for Wallace"
The sinister look on his face affect
ed Mark more disagreeably than ever.
Mark felt nettled, though the words
had been fair.
sTf there's been a leak" he said 1T
seems to me it's up to the Brigadier
| to discover it. It's outside; it isn't
our business to locate it. We're doing
our part-what more can we do?"
"Come along and tell the Brigadier
that" suggested Howard.
Mark, nothing loath, accompanied
him to the Generals room. But the