Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-02-11

have something to hide"
Haven't you?"
How do I know? And why should
want to know? Can you fancy any
ignorance that would be greater bliss
than complete Ignorance of your past?
have a conscience like baby's. My
slate is clean. I've nothing to be afraid
Of Did 1t ever strike YOU that men are
never afraid Of the future?"
Think not?''
"Of course not. You can do anything
you like with your future. You can't
do a damned thing with your past.
You can't even wag it--like dog! 1t
sticketh tighter than your shadow. 1t
is you-you are It'll The only trouble
with not having any Is that you wonder
what you are without It'll"
Then even you are afraid to have
your past revealed"
Revealed? Yes--to me! Don't you
realize, may be anything from the
king of the panhandlers to the lessee OF
Muscle Shoals; 1 may be gay travel
ing Lothario, with girl at every sema-
phore, or may have a wife and seven
small children in Dowagiac, Mich. I
may be any wretched thing, from a
man with an urspendable fortune to
one with an irresistible urgei
But whatever / am elsewhere, here
I'm merely the other end Of a disem-
bodied spirit-and queer as feel when
reflect that I am not here. wherever
really am it must seem still funnier
to be mel"
He went away, apparently as uncon-
cerned as he said. If he was not inno-
cent, he had covered his tracks. 1t
would make an interesting pastime to
DIG Oalt his StorY--SOfne 6av
But pain in Brainard's arm seemed
strangely insiStent to come from a
wound that was supposed to be clean.
The doctors had advised him to rest;
but they were always advising him to
rest. For moment he meditated upon
how easy it would be for an enemy to
get at him through the physician he
employed. Then he went out and told
Miss Ashcroft to find some one to take
Miss Arden'S place. She said she
thought Miss Arden had gone home Ill
Brainard thought this was quite likely
but did not enlarge upon it. And Miss
Ashcroft turned away from him with
Then he terrified Ushigi by going in
and going to BED. But when the fright
ened Jap lowered around him per-
sistently, he ordered him away. After
time he fell into a heavy sleep. He
did not awaken till next morning, and
! found himself dizzy and sick. DR.. Car
michael came and looked anXiously at
| his wound. Brainard was too Ill tc
study it himself Later he dropped of
| into a dream of some heavy, troubled
sort-and when he woke again they
told him he had been delirious for Q
week. His wound had been aggravated
by some strange infection, but the sur
geon had succeeded in overcoming IL Al
| last.
1t required another week for him to
! get up and about. And during the
whole time no one came to see him ex-
cept Van Wrinkle and Rex yelling. The
| latter had gone back to live at his own
place. But there were plenty who
might have come, Ushigi managed tc
| impart to him at last, had he not him
self given strict orders in the early
| hours of his mental wandering that he
would not have any damned Teddiers
messing aboutt'' Ushigi had communi-
Gated this wish informally over thu
telephone to inquirers; Brainard wa!
too weary to investigate as to just nov
it had been done. Discounting a slcf
mans piuue at imagined neglect. ant
arguing that no one could be blamed
for standing aioof from man Wht
had left such message, to be graceful
~ couched by Jap, he yet nursed
sense that It was strange no one hat
broken over the barrier Of mere pro
| hibition when he had been so i'll.
He got back upon his feet with ;
j feeling that his Illness had completel!
severed former attachments. HI
| strength seemed to come back to hin
rather suddenly, and with 1t came
new disposition to the MachiaveliaI
method toward any untraetable portlor
of his subject world. He found ever!
/ evidence that his power was spreading
/ by leaps and bounds. It had become
| problem to care for the money that wa:
accommodating He had banks and vault
| fun of 1t. So much was flowing IN thai
| he was Indifferent to losses. extrava'
gances, robbery! He found parasites
| fastening to him on all sides; but nj
4 found many faithful employees, too.
There were plenty of men who would
do anything he asked, for any one o.
| half dozen reasons. There were those
who believed it fundamental to then
| interests to preserve his. Some OF hi:
organizers had developed genius, ar1t
with unlimited power furnished them
were dealing effectively with the gam
| problems of supplying world with
| LIQUID life. He had everything
| the one thing to which his mind came
back with a sickening sense OF uttel
voidl
when his arm was unbandaged again
| he went out and about to theatefS
| alone, unrecognized. He went to the
great airdrome and witnessed the spec.
| tacle within spectacle there. He saw
the enormous crowd see the battle Of
| Trafalgar, the Johnstown Flood, Ma.
poleon's frightful Russian retreat and
a typhoon on the Indian Ocean. He
wondered if Aunt Relief Brainard saw
these, and If so what might now be
her ideas of dramatic wholeS!
| And then he went back and sat III
/ his small studio again at last and put
out feeler to see what Jerry Ballard
was doing-and learned that Jerry Bal
lard and Ferdinand Mortimer had dis
/ appeared!
They had vanished in a night, these
two, each from his own house under
| cover of darkness and fog which had
swallowed them utterly. And they did
not return.
Inquiry directed to their Offices
elected the information that they had
gone abroad. And nothing Brainard
/ could pick up in the time he had
patience to give told him anything to
the contrary.
AS we'll search directly for the Dawn
| Maiden as for them! So there came
suddenly time again when for thirty
eight crazed hours he searched for her
| With no clue! He knew too little OF
soils and trees and grasses to form any
notion In his memory of these as to
zone or cline of his woodland dell. Her
garb? 1t was like pixies weaving! II
real it might have been from ancient
| harem or modern dancing school. And
/ the woman? She was only woman
sun-kissed, white skinned, inimitable
| And lost!
F.! He tried TO rest again, and did 1T
fully for day or two. Then he could