The Dolores star., 1920-08-13
cnAPTER lII.-continusd.

eAhpTEH IU.-IouSiNuoo-
>
r,eu from meticulous study and
-.t,c. the full effect Of his manner.
va,ch was distinguished. patrician. He
The almost Irresistible magnet
,bIcb had befallen him by acci-
~, He had been prepared-in his
:, ,maginatlon-fo the battery Of
,,.,est which was promptly trained
,oo him. And yet. as he pursued his
r,v,re toward the desk. he faltered In
4, nrde he felt as though the sor-
,,vful eyes OF all Syracuse were rv-
M mon him; the well-recalled sur
,.ndIpgs unnamed him. and he was
,.oelled to halt, lift up his hands in
men Of surrender, and to cry out:
sTbIs Is not /. THIS Is not II II Is
n. man l might have been-if you
.od had understood each other |"
a, reat was his anguish that in that
uonept he honestly believed that 1t
v,s the equal fault Of the city. and Of
himself that he had gone forth dis
credited.
Behind the desk stood clerk and
HIIlard's heart trIpped-the manager
vho had rendered him the ultimatum.
HIllhrd's pen split blot of ink on
the register: his ears were tuned for
The speech OF recognition which would
blast his dreams of triumph, and send
Nm on again In multiplied disgrace.
aYes, SIR" said the clerk with ex-
treme Difference, land about what
price. sIrf'
The manager, who had been scrutin-
king HllIlard intently, whispered
something to the clerk; the clerk bit
his lip and looked up sharply: the
prodlgsl WINGED, and stiffened. "Par-
lor C-ten dollars?" asked the clerk.
Very comfortable room. sir .
rrontI-
The manager. ms Hilliard retreated.
said impatIcntly to the clerk: whats
the matter with you. Jimmy. anyway
Don't you know how to size up n man
yfil i'oh uNh II iihV tiht VIVA I
he'll have-tell 'em what we've got"
Ursrairs. Hillinrd went limp from
the resction. He had doubted what he
tnss- ard this was proof OF his lack
Of Innocence. But the manager-who
two years HgO had called him by his
first name-the manager had looked
him full in the face. and made not the
fanteSt sign of recognition
II was In improved confidence. then.
that he went down to dinner: and de.
hberaf"ly chose n central seat in the
most popular OF the three available
rooms. He was actively eager to be
observed; now that he had passed his
hrsf examination. he craved test after
lest; no inQulsition could be too
urgent for him. And at the nearest
liable Sat business man he knew. and
girl he knew: from their matter-of.
isct aiientlveness. he judged that they
mad been married during his absence
they gazed interminably at him, but
only In admiration. He mentally
checked of his llst-that made trio
OF Old acQuaintances who failed to
Know him. Facing him. II dozen feet
sWay sat man who had been Hill.
Mrds employer for an epochal six
"eeks-this man. too. was obviously y
interested, but unenlightened. Four
u'ilher party, comprising six girls
.ud SIX young men. filed gnyly pas,
nun every one Of the twelve he had
Known well, some OF them intimately
hey looked down at him in passing
.u"' Without exception. went on in
's"orahce. A tiny roseleaf OF cir
was rather noticeably attracted tC
VI" she spoke to her partner, who
'urhed' and stared. and nodded In the
o',eo fashion of any escort to whom
nahusome stranger Is pointed out
.nu billiard could have laughed alout
me Irony Of the Incident. They
"au known each other for doZer
seArs' that girl and Hnliard; in the
s'.eh and first, her mother had for
o'ooeh him her house.
ne d'ned with considerable leisure
"a smoked a cigar almost to the enc
.s o' ne left the table. When hi
s-'''ed the room. 1t was with practi
~ assurance that his g-avest fear,
e sroundless, but for an addition
p'eeantion he read All evening pa
:" 'he lobby and endured In safe
~, "e inspection OF a score Of mer
,.,, " "ad known him well enough t.
t 10 loan him money.
80. az half'past eight, vastly heartenet
VIII, refreshed. he equipped himself
.,s" 'ertaln documents from his suit
.s% .ase and called for a taxlcab. Tn,
~ ,.ss he gave the driver was hlgl
h.v ne eastern hills: during the las
,hs .. ,nlle Hilllard was peering out a
h,d .naded lights Of houses where h,
~ played In his earlier youth. TIL,
s,,a s.Spped; Hllllard went up a stone
s.S sssa walk. up broad stone steps
e.Im 'ood on huge veranda. He wa
n,t,. snu yet his knees were discon
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