Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-06-15
tcoNrINUED FROM LAST Sunday

to the end OF the Gale,
or little street. where the bright fer
rules OF the gondolas bobbed a howdy-
do to him. Several gondoliers raised
= their black felt hats expectantly. but
he shook his head and perched him
self upon the rail apd glowed across
the water at the yacht Elsa.
scum" William growled as he
saw gondola draw alongside the
ladder. But wait: I'm going to get
you some day just where I want you,
and what the monkey did to the par
rot ="
He gazed on. wishing that he had
some secret kind Of torpedo. guided
solely by the will. to launch at, that
yacht. Money; he thought he could
do these things because he had money!
A series of explosives rumbled over
Williams lips. for when he felt
strongly he swore strongly. What
would you? He was in many essen
tials a primitive man; nevertheless,
he had fine code OF honor and, what
Is more. plenty of moral fiber to back
it, To cheat, TO lie. to borrow money
and never pay it back, to break
premise. to play hooky on the job, to
waste the pay envelope across the
bar while the landlady waited. to ogle
+ women on the street, to hunt them
for amusement-these things went
against the straight, clean grain of
him.
Women? he unused. He would never
understand women. not II he had as
many around him as King Solomon
had and overtopped Methuselah in
the matter OF years. So she had run
afoul OF Norton Colburton, got her
fingers in the cobweb, and the spider
had nippcd them? And then to run
four thousand miles, with the idea OF
running sixteen thousand more! That
was the real puzzle. To get rid of
the attentions OF men like Colburton
women did not have to run any
farther than the nearest police pre-
cinct. But twenty thousand miles!
What was the idea?
He slumped forward on the rail.
Why did they do it? Sometimes
they went astray for a great love; he
could understand that. But what he
could not underst and was that ordi-
narily an automobile was enough. a
necklace. may be a little silk and a
friends. True. often the poor little
shopgirl sold out for food and shoes;
he could understand that, too. But
the automobile? No, there
wasn't any mystery now; nearly all
the little blocks OF the puzzle fitted
in their allotted places. An old story
God alone knew how old-the an
Gent man. and woman story. A pinch
OF poverty, a taste of the winter wind,
and they gave up. Sometimes the
unattractive one found the river the
only way. Always they wanted
warm fire for their pretty shins and
the devil for butler. They couldn't
hang on just little longer, could
they? They had to give up in the
middle Of the fight-and always the
pertty ones.
His school teacher! How many
times had he watched her trim feet
nit one-two-three past his cellar win
dow! And here she was and there
he was! She had poked her curious
fingers into the web, and hadn't got
away quite free. A low crook with
women, and all his money couldn't
change that.
well, somewhere between here and
San Francisco I'm going to get YOU
Handsome-Is. ] know your breed
You won't give up until you're broken
up; and. I'm going to turn that little
trick
After while he remembered her
tears, and the taste OF life became
less bitter. There might be a block
or two in the puzzle that wasn't in
its right place. A fragment of the
prayer REQUIRED to him. give me al
ways strength to be good" He slid
of the rail. Maybe that line was
open to new Interpretation. Sooner
or later she would tell him; 1t wasn't
square to judge a case without hav-
ing all the evidence. He knew what
the matter was. he had seen too much
Of the seamy side of life, and when
confronted by such problems as this
his outlook was on the bias. cynical
despite the fact that he knew that
circumstantial evidence had ruined
more women than ii had hanged men.
Say. I'm real guy. ] am" he
burst forth. angrily. How do ] know
that II was Ruth that ran out Of
Juneau's? Suppose it was a chance
meeting. He never lets a pretty face
go by. What do 1 know. anyhow?
What IL he did have hold Of her wrist?
I've cot n Whnla In Of chor;tX Eh,&