Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-03-22

Ndula SnuOuefe0. 6nc eagerly accented
his suggestion that the ordering should
be left In his hands.
Nadia Plays Q Part
Shc wondered suddenly whether he
would guess her wonderful secret from.
her manner, and the effort to be quite
natural and alert made her perhaps
more silent than she knew.
At any rate. while the meal ran its
course Thced insisted upon entertain.
ing" her. Theed's ideas Of talking to a
young girl were twenty five years old,
and Nadia found her wits taxed to sus.
tain the role Of charming little imbecile
into which he would thrust her. She dis.
the dislike. for she could see that ALI
her benefit.
Even with the arrival Of coffee he
showed no eagerness 70 begin. She sup.
posed he was incurably garrulous. She
was not to know that b. was nervous.
hesitating on the brink before plunging
into dangerous waters. She might even
have felt a tinge Of respect for him II
she could have known that the old man
who had been boring her With tame
anecdotes was about to throw q bold
gamblers stake which would give him
fortune or send him to penal servitude.
He had been whipping her. memory
when abruptly he branched of.
"Well, we'll, my mind often goes back
to the days when you were little thing
SO high and lived with your poor Aunt
Hannsh. And that brings mo to my
great news"
He drew his chair closer to tho table.
asked her permission to light q cigar,
and then:
'I know It Is bound to be something
OF shock--though It can only be q
pleasurablc shock. Now, to begin with,
did your Aunt Hannah ever speak to
you Of your parents?'
Practically never" answered Nadia.
II used tO ask sometimes, but. looking
back now, see that Aunt Hannah must
have made a point OF telling me moth.
ing"
"Quite SOL" said Theed profoundly
You will bear me no Ill will, my dear
young lady. when I tell you that your
Aunt Hannah In so doing was acting on
my instructions. I did not want you to
know your own story-I did not even
want you to know your own name"
'Oh!" Nadia flushed. All her mod.
ernity could not save her from the dread
of discovering an unpleasant family
secret, though she herself could have
had no part in whatever wrong might
be disclosed.
Nadia Is Unhappy
II am telling you the tragic part
come when you have heard me out"
What is my name?"
Penelope Jarroman," answered
Theed, and drew short breath, as with
q phrase he burned his boats behind him.
The next instant he was fully his nor
NAL self. 'The name, after all, is a
triae," he added. by law. having
used your present name all your life,
YOU are fully entitled to retain it. and
probably in any, case you would retain
your first name"
Sho said nothing, and he could not
guess her thoughts.
yours is one Of those poignant
tragedies that occur two or three times
in gcneration-one Of the tiny flows
in an otherwise perfect judicial system.
Your real father--Henry Jarroman-
twenty years ago was sentenced to death
for crime Of which every one Of his
friends, among whom have the honor
to number myself, knew him to be inno-
cent. The sentence was commuted to
II ask you to imagine oil that that
means-and think you will realize
that, were a child OF two years at this
moment thrust into your keeping in
similar circumstances the first step you
would take would be to insure that she
should be free from the undeserved stig.
ma Of her fathers misfortune-you
would change her name as ! changed
yours--you would bring her up in ignor.
ance of her parenthood-as I saw that
you were brought up"
Nadia's hand clenched itself around
her coffee cup. There was another short
silence Theed studiously looked away
what Of my mother? was--is she
dcnd?" she asked at last, tonelessly.
Theed hung his head.
II wish--I wish I could reply in the
Affirmative" he said. with careful hest.
tation. "Your mother, I regret to say,
refused to face the scandal Of your
fathers undeserved shame. and-disap.
Nadia said nothing. She was trying
hard to persuade herself that it did not
matter-but she knew that it did. She
told told herself w ferccIy that Wilfred would
Gloucester would. They had been charm.
ing to her because they had known a
man called Quest; what would they say
when they heard that, unwittingly, she
had deceived them-that she was the
daughter Of an ex-erlminal?
~ was your fathers friend and his
solicitor at tho time of his trial."
Thced was continuing. "After II was
all over-I found you a derelict. I sent
YOU to my aunt, Miss Quest
In spite of herself, Nadia's brows
contracted.
And you-pald for me? All these
wears you have supported me?'' she de.
manded.
"Oh, that is a triae," said Theed.
"Your father left a few hundreds. And
If there Is a trihing deficit-well, as
vou will presumably hear, you will b.
in position to return every penny IL
YOU are hard hearted enough to wish to
do so.'
Nadia heaved a sigh Of relief. though
she did not grasp the full significance of
his words.
MY father, suppose. is dead?"
Your Father Is Much Alive"
"On the contrary, he is much aliYe,"
replied Theed eagerly. ''IIe was-cr--
discharged from prison yesterday, anC
lie IL looking for his daughter. Ht
wishes to compensate her for the terri.
bly, ambiguous position in which he
has innocently thrust her. For your
fnther, my dear young lady, Is rica
MANA rich man."
Theed noted with secret apprehension
that his dramatic announcement had In
some way fallen fat