Evening star., 1923-10-28

! and, like a fool, had taken petty pride
In its appearance. He drew a long
, : breath and walked up the steps.
He could see his reflection In the
,, glass between the iron grilling of the
| heavy doors-a portrait Of a mediocre,
| average man. An average respectable
| face. growing a little old and worn, yet
| a satisfactory face. Not weak. Well
preserved, the face of a good American
type. Something about the square
| gaze Of the eyes and the lines Of the
lips suggested strength, integrity, and.
suggestion Of one who surmounts
obstacles and refuses defeat.
1t was his own face which suddenly
| summoned his spirit to battle. He
clenched his hands He would see this
| through.
In the hall the butler, stony-faced,
impersonal, took his hat and coat while
he breathed deep the warm odor Of
home and .scomfort, the familiar at
mosphere which now he could expect
| would soon be memory. He looked
| about as he climbed the soft -carpeted
stairs, saying goodbye then and there
! to 1t all.
His wife's door opened. ''You, John?
Nnat 8 the news, dear?
Nothing"
You can't come in," she explained.
MY maid is hooking me up. Nothing
interesting?" She appeared anxious.
Nothing
| You'd better hurry; we're dining at
eight
! She withdrew her head. Her hair
| was almost white-an absurd contrast
| TO the youth in her clear skin and the
! lines of forehead, nose and chin.
Bertillon did not ring for his man;
! he dressed himself. He would do it
particularly, just as a man condemned
! to die would do it. He dressed him
self carefully. perfectly. There would
be one more dinner together in hap
piness.
They were all there in the library.
There was Alice, his wife, her face
warmed by the freight. looking down
into the flames. And Cynthia, in the
deep upholstered chair, behind a book,
| her blue eyes raised toward him. Ted
| stood in the window, looking down
into the gathering darkness of the
street. His youngest daughter sat un-
| der the desk lamp. The lamplisht fell
upon ner golden hair.
| y X y x
| THERE was a pause before any
l. one Of them greeted him. For a
moment he wondered If they could
| know the blow which had fallen on
them. Impossible. No one knew, ex-
( cept himself. the truth.
Hello. dad" his son said. How
goes it?'
| Pretty WELL" he replied. He did
not like the boys greeting. 1t was
not more than a cheerful salutation
of a stranger-and an independent
equal. He recalled, suddenly, that
since the boy had gone to college q
curious indefinable barrier had come
up between them. He wondered IL
Polar Forge had been responsible for
that too.
"Everybody's a gloom" said his
son in whining voice quite un-
natural. Little sis. there. has a
| secret sorrow"
| Let her alone" their mother said
sharply to Ted.
| We'll, I'm not gloom" Cynthia
asserted, slapping together the pages
of her book and jumping up. I'm
the happy young woman, the sun
shine of the upper East Sidew She
laughed nervously
| II don't know what has got into
Cynthia" Mrs. Bertillon said. "She
is positively queer"
| IT think know" Ted said.
| know what?" asked Cynthia.
/ you've been smoking hashish."
The younger Alice began to cough.
| and this cough irritated her father;
he turned, stared at her as a man sud-
denly called from sleep.
| Colds which hang on like that
need a DOCTOR" he said to his wife,
"It was over two weeks ago 1 said
she ought to see Carmichael"
II know it," his wife replied. "But
you never have mentionedc it since.
You go about like man in dream,
| and can't tell what you want"
| The golden-haired daughter was
bending over the desk. Bertillon
a gust of terror.
| The doors leading to the dining
room were rolled apart, and the but
ler's low voice came into the family
circle with Madame est servie."
60 ahead, the rest of you" Ber-
tillon said. II want to ask Alice
something. Go ahead, Ted, Cynthia.
and you, dear"
I He touched his wife's arm and fam
cied that she drew away from him
nervously. ..
They went; the curtains fell again
across the doorway: Alice"
"Yes, dad" .- ---
She did not look up. He went to
her and put his hands upon the young
shoulders. A great fear crept coldly
into him. She was SO thin, so fraiL
His little Alice!
IT want you to go and see DR.. Car
michael"
1--WE BEEN" The low words were
like judges sentence. He said to
tell you and nd5mother@
Bertillon's hands trembled. He
looked into her young. terrorized
face. "The miserable scoundrel." he
said. "He shouldn't have told you.
He should have told me-"
"sh-sh," she cautioned Don't lot
mother know. not yet. Come on"
dadi .La1ghw
He laughed. It was pain. He
laughed, and passed with her into
the more brilliant light Of their din
ing room. He had forgotten for the
moment the Polar Forge Company.
This girl Of his-this girl of eeven-
teen, Of flushed cheeks, Of golden
hair. How had he been so blind
Little Alice-so slender, so colorful,
90 beautiful, with her strange spirit
uality. so marked for extinctioni
\ Nk
1IIE found himself cutting q flet of