The Ely miner., 1928-10-12

SlVely. lO the UeDutdute ~ dppedTSu
to be a hilarious evening. She ap-
peared to regard Butterfly" as
comedy.
Now Butterfly" was one of Doris
favorite operas, but for the first time
in her life she did not enjoy it. She
could not fix her mind upon it. She
was thinking, as she had often
thought of late, of Jim Stanley. Sud-
denly ii occurred to her that she alb
solutely, positively, and wholly dis
believed every single word of the
story that Nina Morgan had told her.
chair. as the realization swept over
her. 1t was as If she had risen sud
denly, instantaneously recovered from
long and serious illness. 1t was
amazing. There was no sense in it
yet there 1t was. There was no ex-
planning it-yet disbelieve it she did,
utterly.
She spent the rest of the evening
as in daze. Puccini's tragic melo-
dies surged over her head in vain. Be-
fore the final curtain she pleaded
headache, arose, and departed. She
left Waterman with her guests, wav-
ing aside his insistence upon accom-
panying her home. She wanted to be
alone.
Yet she had not finished undress-
ing when he arrived. Waterman ap-
peared TO be In an affectionate mood.
Affection with him was poradic
thing. 1t came in waves. Apparently
there was a stormy sea tonight, but
Doris checked him with a word
"'m tired" she said, "any my head
aches. ! want to Sleep"
Doris unclasped the diamond neck
lace and laiu it upon her dressing
table.
She fell asleep thinking Of Nina
Morgan. That girl-why had that
iirl told her that terrible lie? A lie
it surely was-she knew it. How?
Never miId-it was a lie-it must
Lave been. She knew it. Thus she
pursued the circle of her thought, ar
irving always at the same conclusion
until peace came to her mind. and
her bosom began to rise and rall al
most imperceptibly, steadily, gently,
with the ease and grace Of youth and
health.
Through the drawn curtains of the
chamber came the faintest gleam from
a distant street lamp. One of its
vagrant rays fell dimly upon the jew
,.s that lay upon the dressing table.
There they slept in the not quite total
darkness, family cleaning, like a pool
Of molten silver at the bottom Of q
well. under the starlight.
1t may be that Mr.. Colby would have
taken no further interest in the reIa-
tions between his son-in-law and the
Goddess of Chance had it not been for
the fact that, on certain afternoon q
few weeks following his luncheon with
General Leavitt at the Lawyers club.
Waterman had taken one drink too
many. He had been reviewing his
business situation. To ameliorate the
unpleasantness of the conclusions to
which this occupation had driven him,
he had resorted to liquid consolation.
Certain of these papers, he presently
reflected, would be much better off in
his safety deposit box than in his desk
at home. He thrust them into his
pocket, filed his glass again, emptied
it. and started to go out.
AS he reached the hall door he
stopped. Those papers-what had he
done with them? His slightly clouded
memory could not instantly inform
him. He thrust his hand into his
pocket, drew out the papers, identified
them, and thrust them again into his
pocket-all but one. That one fut-
tered lightly over the edge of the jar
diniere and tucked itself neatly be-
tween that ornament and the base.
board. There 1t lay, an hour later.
when Mr.. Colby, having enjoyed q
cup of tea and half hours chat with
his daughter, departed from the apart
ment. AS he opened the door his eye
caught a flash of white behind the
jardniere. STOPPING, he picked up the
scrap of paper, glanced at 1t casually
then read it with care. Thoughtful-
ly he put it in his pocket and de-
parted.
This was why, about noon the fol-
lowing day, Mr.. Bromfeld received
this communication:
"Mr. Alexander Colby presents his
compliments TO Mr.. William Brom-
field. and requests the pleasure of his
company this afternoon at Number
One Hundred Broadway, at half past
three o'clock. r. S. V. p"
Mr.. Bromfied read this communica-
tion through twice, then he leaned
back in his swivel chair, thrust his
thumbs into the armholes of his waist
coat, put his feet upon his desk, and
meditated. Anyone who knew him,
seeing him just then, would have real
lied that he was considering knotty
problem.
At a few minutes before the ap.
pointed hour Mr.. Bromfields beautiful
French coupe rolled up to the side
walk in front of Number One Hun
dred Broadway. He was pleasantly
welcomed by the lawyer, who was evi-
dently no stranger to him.
"Sit down, Mr.. Bromfeld. l must
apologize for asking you to come so
far downtown. but ] thought perhaps
our meeting would be more tactful
here than elsewhere"
81 quite understand, Mr.. Colby. All
sorts and conditions come to your
office In the way of business. AS
matter of fact, after receiving your
kept me away"