The Washington times., 1920-10-31


on the stage. Simplicity vas Al
very well, but adornment was
woman's natural province. and
Wilma was an artist In II. Il shall
be terribly fond Of you" she had
said. Fond OF him! Why had she
taken this fancy TO himf These
things were inexplieable-hsppily--
she operation Of mysterious ineluc-
table forces.
A few weeks ago he would not
have dreamed that he could dare
make love TO such a woman. He
had dreamed OF brilliant possibili-
ties. OF beautiful women, vaguely
Tar in the distant and reckoning
future, but not so soon. Yet
here was the reality. Was
It a reality or was It a dream'
Life was astonishingly. inexplicably
rich. a.
There was that letter to Jim.
Well, luckily he was his own mas
ter. He had gone into Cass Lggett
q Co. because he wanted to do II.
Who should say him nay! A man
has to follow his own line Of de-
veloped in accordance with his
tastes and temperament.
For a long time, 1t seemed to
him. he sat brooding in his room,
his consciousness now expanding to
vast vague dreams, now contract
ing to a pins point. Then, on
sudden, he seized pen and paper
and wrote friendly, affectionate. a
charming letter to Jim. He had
embraced this opportunity. he said,
in order to acquite some notion OF
business and finance. There's a
newspaper man here in New York."
he wrote, zone Of the best and most
successful ones, who says that
there are two things in which the
American people are more inter.
ested than in anything else, and
these things are money and poll
tics. A newspaper man has 70 I'M
derstand both" He made no apol-
ogies and no specific excuses He
simply concluded his letter with
cordially and warmth.
That letter accomplished. he
sighed with profound sense Of
relief. II had been hanging over
him like a confession or an income
tax return, and now he felt himself
free and shriven. Without dressing
formally he changed his gray office
clothes to a dark blue costume he
affected, and went forth into the
sharp wintry evening. The nipping
air was no more eager than he, for
nothing Is more eager than young
mans feet on the way to a tryst.
:" Vilma's apartment was in For
tieth street, overlooking Bryant
Park, and Anthony's first impulse
was to take the Fifth avenue bus.
But at that precise moment any
vehicle was too cramped to contain
him. He must walk. The lights OF
Fifth avenue( stirred him to remi-
niscence Of Grace Thomas, for he
remembered the first time he had
seen them. A remote age that
seemed to be, in the background
and abysm Of time. He smiled to
himself.
Experienced" he whispered to
the night. as though softly invok-
ing a dread and tutelary deity,
Setebos, a god to be feared and
held in awe, yet blindly. devotedly
worshipped.
The moment he approached VII
mas door, however, the turbulence
Of his emotions swept all other
thoughts aside. He had flown up
the three flights to the apartment.
The building had no elevator. 1t
was very discreet. You rang the
bell downstairs, and by the time
you walked up to the correct apart
ment a door would be slightly ajar
and half q face visible. Recogni-
ton, the door would open and close
and you were in Paradise.
It was not Wilma but Leonie who
opened the door. Leonie, the
CHEEKY and trusted French maid OF
all work, who came by the day, kept
vilma's apartment In order, cooked
for her upon occasion, and even
dressed her when need was. Ex-
cept to the solid and respectable
householder all servant problems
are solvable in New York.
Monsieur" said Leonie with be.
coming dignity, as she admitted
him, and noiselessly she disap-
peared into her kitchenette, a room
Of about the dimensions Of mod
erate-sized bathtub. Hastily he d.
vested himself Of his hat and coat
and pulled aside the red velvet Dor.