Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1920-08-25
The Gift
Supreme
BY
George Allan England
Author OF
Darkness and Dawn"
"The Alibi," etc.
CHAPTER Y.

and drastic action, Eliot Vinton gave
his chauffeur the order:
"Pemberton Square!"
Very badly shaken, he Law back IN
his car AZ it sped toward the office
OF Irwin Stagg-where, at that ve~y
moment a conference was going for
| ward which would have vitality in
terested the old shipmaster had he
known of 1t.
-Four persons were present in the
dtsordered room. Three of them we
already know->-Stagg. the law ghost
seated fatty at his desk: his off.
spring, Meiny. tilted back against the
/ wall with a cigaret dangling from
his loose lips: and. squarely en-
placed In n chair facing the lawyer
| Mrs. Wesson. whom we last beheld
at the antique organ In the Boggs
Court mission. The fourth person, a
newcomer to this narrative, was a
| Woman--Lalia Graup, daughter oil
the redoubtabie Mrs. Wesson. b,
some ENHANCEMENT, matrimonial o,
| otherwise,
A youngish woman she was, moi
more than 80 In years, but in hel
look and manner old and emaciatet
with the age that comes from Ions
immersion in the pit of moral degra
datiQn. She, sat by one of the dirt,
windows, near her mother. The din,
light of that rainy April mornin,,
seemed even duller as it fell on her
cheap and tawdry clothing and OF,
no Sr3l tn9, "a
have looked far to find more de
PRAYED countenance. Over rather
low forehead struggled hair which
had once been thick, fine and of II
lustrous brown, but which now,
coarsened and thinned. showed dirty
streaks of gray.
Her very broad and prominent
Indian. accumulated the hollows CT
cheeks covered with u yellowisll,
leatherly skin, She seemed to have
an ugly cash In her face, rather than
q proper human mouth; her lips con :
stantly twisted and twitched side
wise and downward as she sat there
listening to the conference now in
progress. The upper lip was thin
and cruel; the lower p.otruded mul +
ishly. failing away to chin that
sharply retreated. the jaw being mall
formed and weak
But the eyes of this repellent crea :
ture formed her worst feature.
Brown and shifty. with strongly con-
tracted pupils that seemed glazed or
vanished. they 'neve- looked at any
one or Anything for more than sec
ond; then they shifted, sliding ard
cvasivc. Always moving. never ut
rest, they seemed TO search the
walls, the ceiling, the empty air It
self for something they could never
find.
Her hands, heavy with pinchbeck
jewelry, lay, in her lap. The index
and middle finger OF her right hand
showed heavy cigaret stains. From
moment to moment her left shoulder
twttched with kind of nervous
spasm. uncomfortable and chronic.
She coughed, now and then. dry
cough of bad omen.
Gray-streaked hair. parchme mt
skin. contracted pupils and nervous
twitchings all proclaimed one cause
so eloquently that any tyre would
have understood - morphine. Such
was the woman, Lalia Graun.
That's all very Well. and good,
Meiny," irwin Stage was saying with
obvious displeasu~e. as he fixed an
angry glance on the Shiny young
man. "All very we'll and good. but 1t
don't get us anywhere. This guy
has got the maas,, and he's willing to
shove 1t across, proper. If we deliver
the goods: but we're not deliver ng
EN- What you and these sllirts here
have dug up so far isn't worth the
powder. to blow it. You don't sup
pose l can put that up to him, do
you"--he tapped a paper on the dHsE
with fat fingel--'.and expect him
to dig? Not so you'd notice 1t! You
and they"--with a glance at the la
ties--''have had ten days on this
job, and what have you got to show
for 1t? That Say you give me a
c.amp."
Meiny snuffed, grinned fatuous!y.
flipped his cigaret butt into a GUS
pidor, and lighted another. His
fathers temper always delighted him.
Lalia Graun's eyes frightened for a
moment as she leaned forward With
outstretched hand.
Don't be crab. Meiny.Y she adj
jnred him. GIVE us a drag, can't
you?"
"s,re, kid! surest thing you
know!''
The pulpy one handed her a cis:ar-
cite and match. She lighted up, in
kaied deeply and sent a thin cloud
of smoke gushing into the close air
of the office. Then she leaned hack
again. with n sour smile that showed
large, ill-kept teeth.
'1f there amt anrthin' to get how
can we get ito" she demanded. you
said yourself this had to be right
proposition. with no phony stuff. Wen.
the old lady and me"-she jerked her
head at her edifying parent-"nin't
made good because there's nothin' to
make good on. Is there, ma ?" she de-
manded. inhaling another gully Of
smoke.
Not a blamed thing!" affirmed the
mission organist, noddins her Jet
trimmed bonnet with decision. Her
and me have went among all the best
people we know. here and in East
Boston-and Tiers no better than the
city we travel Without we amt dug
out nothin' yet. OF course. Mr.. stagg,
Il you want good, strong frame-up,
all right. we'll give it to you; but II
you stick to bawl out on the level
we'll. / don't know"
You make me sick!" retorted
Stage. humping a heavy fist on the
table. You're healthy pair of lnolls,
you are! I've got a real bundle to
pull down, tell you, and I'm willing
r., Sr1if tjharal1v with von And what