Evening star., 1923-11-15

brown hair that shone like FURNISHED
copper in the afternoon sunlight. as
Claire NeniZa, her back turned toward
him, busined herself about the room.
He could walk now across the floor
and a great deal farther. he was sure.
If they would only let him. He had
not pressed that point; it might be
taxing an unfair advantage OF an
already over-generous hospitality, but
ne was not at all anxious to speed
his departure from-well. from where
he was at that precise moment.
And now as he looked at Claire
Veniza. his thoughts went back to the
night he had stepped, at old Hawkins
invitation, into the travelling pawn
shop. That was not SO very long ago
two weeks of grave illness, and
then the past week of convalescence
but it seemed TO span great ana
almost limitless stretch of time, ana
to mark new and entirely diHerent
era in his life: an era that perpleXed
and troubled and intrigued him win
conditions and surroundings and dis
turblng elements that he did not COM
prehend-but at the same time mace
the blood in his veins to course win
wild abandon and the future to hold
out glad and beckoning hands:
He loved, with great, overwhelm-
ing. masterful love, the girl who stood
there just across the room all uncon-
scious of the worship that he knew
tried nor wished to curb. OF his own
love he was sure. He had loved her
from the moment he had first seen her,
and in his heart he knew he held fate
kind to have given him the wound
that in its turn had brought the week
of convalescene just past. And yet
and yet Here dismay came. and
his brain seemed to stumble. Some
times he dared to hope. som etimes
he was plunged into the depths of
i 81 b.
touch of the hand as she had nurSed
him that had seemed like some God
given tender careSs, a GLANCE when
she had thought he had not seen and
which he had allowed his heart to
interpret TO its advantage with per-
haps no other Justification than its
own yearning and desire. had buoyed
him up; and then, at times, a strange.
almost bitter aloofneSS, ii seemed, in
her attitude toward his-and this had
checked, had always checked the
words that were ever on his lips.
\ faint flush dyed his cheeks. But
even so, and for all his boasted love.
did he not in his own soul wrong her
sometimes? The questions would
come. What was the meaning of the
strange environment in which she
lived? Why should she have driven
to a gambling hell late at night. and
quite as though it were the usual
thing, to transact business alone in
that car Withhold. His hands
clenched fiercely. He remembered
that night, and how the same thought
had come then, mocking him, jeering
him, making sport of him. He was
a cad, pitiful, vile minded cad.
Thank God that he was at least still
man enough to be ashamed of his own
thoughts, even if they came. in spite of
him,
Perhaps it was the strange. unusual
character that surrounded her, that
came and went in this curious place
here, that fostered such: thoughts:
perhaps he was not strong enough yet
to grapple with al. these confusing
things. He smiled a little grimly.
The robbery of the safe, FOR instance
and that reptile whom he now knew
to be his own attending physician.
DR.. Crang. He had said nothing
about his knowledge of the robbery
yet. AS nearly as he could judge it
had occurred two or three days prior
to the time when his actual GONZALES
cence had set in, and as a material
witness to the crime he: was not at
all sure that in law his testimony
would be of mucs value: They must
certainly have found him in an un-
conscious state Immediately after
ward-and DR.. Crang would as in
dubitably attack his testimony as be-
ing nothing more than the hallucina-
tion of sick brain.
The luck of the devil had been with
Crang! Why had he. John Bruce,
gone drifting off into unconsciousness
just at the psychological moment
when. if the plan had been carried
out as arranged and the other two
had made their fake escape. Crang
would have been left. in the $room
with Claire and Paul VeniZa-with the
money in his pockets! He would have
had Dr. Crang cold then, 1t was quite
different now. He was not quite sure
what he meant to do. except that he
fully proposed to have a reckoning
with DR.. Crang. But that reckoning
something he could NOT quite define
what, had prompted him to postpone
until he had become physically a
little stronger.
And then there was another curious
thing about it all. which, too. had in
fuenced him in keeping silent Haw-
kins. Paul Eeniza. Claire and Dr.
Crang had each. severally and col
lectively, been in this room many
times since the robbery, and not once
in his presence had the affair ever
been mentioned. And-oh. what did
it matter! He shrugged his shoulders
as though to rid himself of some de-
pressing physical weight. What did
anything matter on: this wonderful
sunlit afternoon-Saye Claire there in
her white, cool dress, that seemed
somehow to typify her own glorious
youth and freshness:
How dainty and sweet and alluring
she looked! His eyes were no longer
contented with stolen glances; they
held now masterfully, defiant of any