Evening star., 1923-12-04
CONTINUED from Yesterdays Starr

r r L walked on and on. He was
II getting into the uptown Sec
ton now. How many miles
Ii he must have covered since
he had left Hawkins and since the
door of the one-time pawnshop had
closed on that little bareheaded fig
ure with the loose cloak clutched
about her throat-the last sight he
had had of Claire! How many miles?
He did not know. 1t must have been
many. very many. But he felt no
weariness. 1t was strange! 1t was
as though his vitality and energy
flowed into him from some wholly
axtraneous source and as though
physically he were non existent.
He wondered what Larmon would
say Larmon alone had the right to
cancel the bond. That was the way
1t had been written. Would Larnon
refuse? He hoped not, because he
wanted to part with Larmon as
friend. He hoped not, though in the
final analysis. in a practical way
l0rmon's refusal must be so futile a
thing. Would Larmon laugh at him.
and, not knowing, call him fool?
He shook his head. He did not know
At least Larmon would not be sur
prised. The conversation of last eve
Iing-
John Bruce looked up. He was at
the entr nee of the Rayne- -Miloy
Hotel. He en- 'nred. nodded mech"n-
ically to the night clerk. stepped into
the elevator and went up to his room
There was his revolver to be got
Afterward he would go down to Lar
mons room. Somehow. even in the
face of that other tn ng which he was
20 do, this interview which was to
come with Larnon obsessed him. 1t
seemed TO signify some vital line of
dcmarcation between the old life and
the new
The new. He smiled grimly. with
out mirth, rs. entering his room, he
switched on the light. stepped quickly
10 his desk. pulled open drawer ana
took out his revolver. The new.
There would be very little of the new.
lie laughed now in low. raucous
lay. as he slipped the weapon into
lis pocket. The new: \ few weeks,
Il few months of prison cell, and
then- His l"ugh died away and a
half-startled, half -perplexed look set
tied on his face. For the first time he
Eoticed that letter, most obviously
placed to attract his attention. lay on
. the center of the desk pad. Strange.
he had not seen il instantly.
He st"red at it now. 1t was a plain
envelope. unstamped and addressed TO
III i'm. The writing was familiar. too.
Lannon'S. He picked il up opened 1t
and from the folds of the letter. as
he drew il from the envelope. four
torn pieces of paper tiuttered to the
desk. And for long time, in dazed
way, he gazed at them. The letter
dropped from his hand. Then me-
chanicaly he pieced the four scraps
together. 1t was one of the leaves
TORN from Lannon'S notebook that
light In Apia-and here was the
heavy scrawl where he, John Bruce.
had signed with the quill toothpick.
1t was Lannon's copy Of the bond.
And again for long time he stared
at 1T. then he picked up the letter
again. He read il slowly, for some
how his brain seemed only able to
absorb the words in a stunned way.
Then he read it again:
al PM
Dear Bruce: Something has come
into your life that was not there on
a night you will remember in the
Southern seas, and | know of no other
way to repay you for what you did
'or me today than to hand you this.
I knew from what you said tonight.
or, rather perhaps, from what you did
not say, that this was in your heart.
And if | were young again. and the
love OF good woman had come to
r7e. 1, too. should try-and fail. 1
fear, where you will succeed-to play
4 mans part in life.
And as I hid you goodbye, for
when you read this l shall be on my
way back west. what / lose another
are men Of honorable calliugs and
wide interests who need John
Bruce. You will hear from one OF
them. Godspeed to you, for you are
too good and clean a man to end your
days as I shall end mine-a gambler.
GILBERT LARafoN."
The love of good woman-and
young again. John Bruces face was
white. A thousand conflicting emo
lions seemed to surge upon him.
There was something fine and big in
what Lar1non had done. like the Lar
mon whose real self he had come TO
glimpse for the first time last night;
and something that was almost
Ehastty in the unconscious irony that
lay behind il all. And for a little
while he stood there motionless. hold
Ing the letter in his hand; then with
> quick abrupt return TO action. he
hegan to tear the letter into little
shreds. and from his pocket he took
his own copy of the bond and tore
that up. and the four pieces OF
Lannon'S copy he tore into still
smaller fragments, and gathering all
these up in his hands, he walked TO
the window ard let them tlutter out
into the night.
The way was clear. There was
aoth:ne 70 connect Gilbert Larmon