10
Glo
ma s
R
owaunce
By Mr. and Mrs.
Rupert Hughes
Hidden Fires
the luu Vane J
orelUed from the Motion Heture Drama of
Oeorre Kleins.
rEATujtnra ran voted stab, nisi min inn
Copyright, 1916, by Adelaide M. Hughes.
SIXTH INSTALLMENT.
- The sudden and perilous illness of
Gloria Stafford threw her official lov
er, Freneau, also into a sudden and
perilous situation. He and his part
ner, Mulry, had counted on using
Freneau's engagement to the daugh:
ter of the great Pierpont Stafford
as a kind of collateral at the hank.
When the girl wa- stricken down
with pneumonia, Freneau's heart was
wrung as well as his purse. He was
genuinely in love with Gloria. It was!
not hard to love so neautitui, so ncn,
and so infatuated a girl. But lie had
not counted on death as a possible
rival.
And there was another, a more
certain rival Dr. Stephen Koycc
whom Gloria's brother D:vid had
called in to take charge of the case.
Royce had loved Gloria before Fre
neau ever saw her. It was Hoyce
who had' actually saved her from the
Seminole Indians. Royce despised
Freneau and had told him so. Royce
would not even permit Freneau to
enter the sick room, where he was
master. - - .
Freneau was permitted to send up
flowers, but he could not be sure tha:.
they reached her. He wondered what
Royce was saying about him to Gloria
and whether she believed it.
He did not know that Royce had
been discouraged to make even what
protest he might have given voice to.
When he first entered Gloria's room
Royce saw on the little table near
her bed a silver-framed portrait of
Freneau. -Gloria was too delirious to
see how his lip curled with scorn.
But her- father saw it, and when
Royce said, "This fellow is a scoun
drel," Pierpont answered, sternly:
"I called you to treat . my daugh
ter's health, not her .heart.
Freneau did not know that he hid
such an ally in the family. But he
knew that he had an enemy of a
peculiar sort, an enemy who loved
him not. wisely, but too well. And
that was Lois, the wife ot David Stafford.
The poor Don Juan of a Freneau
had never dreamed when he began a
casual flirtation with Lois that she
would prove so desperate a worship-
fier. He had expect that she would
et him go with a sigh-or a smile, as
his other sweethearts had done when
they realized that his heart had
wings, and used them. He was to
learn how seriously Lois took his at
tentions and to learn it at a most
inconvenient time. He had respected
Pierpont's wish that the engagement
to Gloria should be kept secret, and
had told no one but his partner.
Mulry. He had most decidedly not tola
I-oii. He was planning to discard
her as gracefully as possibJes before
the news broke.
Mulry had chuckled with joy at
the news of the engagement. But he
frrew as glum as an owl when he
earned of Gloria's illness. At length
he said to.Frenau:
"My boy, you've got to go and
borrow of your papa-in-law to be, or
we've got to close the shop. Our
branch offices are howling for their
back pay, and we've got to pull down
Am Matt .nni.urll.p. a. mall lmun
the blinds.' Go talk to "Pierpont and
show iim the books. Show him the.
big killing we're going to make in the
street if he'll tide us over. Go -on,
and come back with the bacon, or
don't come back at alt. -'
Freneau would almost rather have
gone to the electric chair, but needs
must when the devit drives. ; So he
took a big bouquet and a big ledger
and a taxicab to the Stafford house.
And whom should he meet as he
was ushered in but Lois telling Pier
pont good -by. And what should Pier
pont say but, "I am here to tell you.
a great secret, Lois. Dick, here, is
engaged to Gloria. Don't tell any
one. ' -
. Lois had, no more self-control than
to topple over. Freneau was disgusted
with her more than ever now. She
had enough presence of mind to
blame her collapse on the heat of the
room and her alarm for Gloria. And
the excuse sufficed for old Stafford,
but as she left she gave the sadly
shaken Freneau a took that said, "Oh,
no, I won't tell anyone, 'but I'll tell
you something." '
That was what her eyes said, while
her lips said: "Congratulation to you
both. I'm sure you 11 be very happy,
Goodby." s .
- Freneau's heart fluttered still more
when he broached the subject of the
loan to Pierpont broke to Pierpont
the unpleasant news that his new son-in-law'
first act was to borrow
money. He put it on a business ba
sis, but Pierpont, tike most other mil
lionaires, hated to be sponged on and
lie shook his head in answer to Fre
neau's proposition.
Freneau was in a pitiable plight.
He was about to slink away in de
spair when he happened to think to
say: "You offered me a reward for
the rescuing of Gloria from the Indi
ans. I refused the money then, so I
"thought that now perhaps -well I
thought"
; "That's true," said Pierpont. "That
suggests a way out of it. Your prop
osition does not appeal to my busi
ness sense, hut I can do this. I'll pay
you ' double the reward with ' com-
' pound interest for five years. That
will square us up."
Freneau smiled with a renewal of
hope and Stafford wrote him an im
portant check. !
Freneau thanked him, promised to
return tne money and left the bouquet
for Gloria. As he made his way out
he met Royce just coming down from
Glorias room. Freneau hated the
light of Royce tor many reasons. We
Mually hate people we have wronged.
tie managed to ask how liloria was.
Royce said she was better, but not
' yet out of danger. A curious look
:ame over his face as he added:
"Look here, Freneau. I don't like
you a little bit, but Gloria loves you a
lot. I don't sec why, but she dos.
Women are peculiar. Now, I'd rather
break my own heart than hers.. She
wants you for a husband, and if you'll
play fair and walk straight from now
on, I'll do nothing to interfere with
your plans. ,. But if you play false
witn ner, Ml well there a nothing 1
won't do to save her from vou."
Freneau promised glibly that he
would be an ideal lover and amodcl
f loyalty.- Royce said: "I hone so.
. v . bout much hope, and "You'd bet-
with rather too much emphasis.
1. Freneau had the check in his
- ' et, and he went back to his office
i jie bacon." Mulry made him so
ue that he forgot other troubles
V:.:- v & Wf-;"'
) . mfm- '"t- ' '
"BEAUTIFUL," GROANED DR. ROYCE. SHE WAS TOO HAPPY TO HEAR THE SORROW IN HIS VOICE.
r . . CLAIMED: "HURRY UP, FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE, AND GET ME WELL."-
SHE MERELY EX-
in the radiance of the new business
plans.' ',!,., "
But his promise to Royce was put
to the test at once, for that very after
noon, when he reached his apartment,
Lois appeared there. She was heav
ily veiled, but Freneau's valet seemed
to know her. He backed out dis
creetly. When Lois threw off the
shroud her face was (terrible in its
resolution.
"You shan't marry Gloria, Dick,"
she said. "You shan t throw me over
not for herl You shan't marry her
of alt the people in the world."
Freneau was tired of Lois and tired
of interference. He forgot to be gen
tle. He laughed. .
"No? And how are you going to
stop me?" i .
Lois' cold, hard answer bowled hun
over: "Even Gloria can't be so crazy
about you that she would marry you
if 1 were found dead here,"
Freneau stared at her aghast. He
could not quite be sure of her mean
ing till he saw a tittle phial in her
hand. He leaped for it. But she
dodged round his desk and put it to
her lips.
"Don't you come near me or you'll
wish you hadn't," she cried. "If you
take another step i ll swallow wis.
Freneau had to temporize with tne
mad woman. He surrendered weakly
and dropped into a chair.
"Listen to me, Lois," he pleaded.
"1 4 went to her lather to borrow
monev. I ve not to have his support
or go bankrupt. If I do that I'll blow
my brains out. ui course, i oon t
love Gloria. My heart is yours.. But
I can t marrrv vou. If 1 marry her
she won't interfere with your love and
mine. We shall be all the safer. If
you love me, you won't ruin me. (
you don't love me,' give me the phial
and I'll get out of your way." '
she was in so insane a mood oi
jealously and' longing, that she be
lieved him. She made him .swear
that he spoke the truth, as if an oath
or two meant anything to him. 'Then
she suffered herself to remain his
dupe, and he took her down to a taxi
cab, feeling sure that he was well
rid of her. . . s ' , ' '
When she had gone he breathed
more easily.- He even laughed. He
had everybody working for him.! Hit
rival, Royce, was toiling to save Glor
ia's life. His ex-flame, Lois was in
league with him to keep up the de
ception. Gloria's father was lending
him money. . He was plainly a child
of destiny.
He was so reassured by his luck
that he made a holiday with Mulry,
who had planned to start off at once
on a round ol the ditierent cities
where they had branch offices for the
convenience of victims who lived far
from New lork. )
' . ,'; ;
Ignorance may be bliss, but it is not
preparedness. Freneau was blissful
in nis oenei tnai i-ois w quieiea. ne
did not dream, nor did she, that David
Stafford was now awakened. ' When
Freneau took Lois to the taxicab. she
lowered her veil, but a veil is only a
partial disguise at best, and it may
attract attention. ' Neither Freneau
nor Lois' noted that a certain Mrs.
Coleridge was passing, or that sht
stared hard. Mrs. Coleridge was one
of the prettiest faces in Freneau's
pack of discards. Sne was a sort of
female Freneau, but in rreneau she
had met her match, because she al
lowed herself to be more thrilled
than thrilling. He had passed on
without a long pause before her
shrine. .
Mrs. Coleridge bad seen Freneau
with Lois at various tea dances and
she recognized Lois all the more read'
fly for her veil, She was outraged in
her - finest sensibilities. She felt it
her duty that Lois was punished. She
did not want to appear as a complain.
ing .witness, but her righteous indig
nation carried her to a large hotel in
whose writing room she found pen,
ink, paper, envelopes and secrecy. She
dashed off a little note to David ad
vising him that his wife was show,
ing more interest than he might an
prove in a certain heart-breaker. Mrs.
Coleridge neglected to sign her name.
In fact, she rather disguised her hand
writing, though this made little dif
ference, since David did not know it,
anyway, she dropped the little letter
into a mail box with the innocent glee
of an anarchist slipping a bomb with
a time fuse under a millionaire's auto
mobile.
The United" States oostofnee au
thorities carried the loaded letter to
David's office for her. He opened it
and read it, but could not understand
it. He read it again and understood
it, but could not believe it. He was
about to toss it in the wastebasket,
where such messages belong. He
read it again. It threw him into a
black pit of agony and consterna
tion. -. ...
Now. he could, but would not. be
lieve it. '. He wondered who the
"heart-breaker" might, be. He re
membered that Lois had been fond
of Freneau years before. - He dis
missed this suspicion with contempt.
He loathed the letter. Unlv cowards
and mischief-makers write such let
ters. He threw this one from him
as if it were something unclean. Yet
the anonymous poison gnawed away
in his brain. He clenched and un
clenched his ' hands and paced the
floor, beads of perspiration dripping
down his face.
At last he ought it out with him-J
self and decided that he would trust
Lois till she was proved unworthy.
However, the letter seemed to whis
per to him, "A little test will do no
harm." ' -
Of course. Lois was guiltless, but
perhaps she had been careless of ap
pearances. It would be better to wait
and rebuke the indiscretion when it
occurred. He had been talking of a
trip south to a meeting of a board of
railroad directors on which his fa
ther had placed him. It was not
necessary for him to go. But he
might pretend that it was and tell
Lois goodby and pretend to leave and
then. ' He dared not put the scheme
into words. But he dared not let
the chance go past to make sure. -
That evening when he went home
Lois greeted him with her usual
warmth. Before he had quite' de
cided what, to do he had told her that
he was called south for ten days and
he had not urged her to go with him.
She did not ask to go. - In fact, he
thought that she took the bad news
with just a little too much philoso
phy. He was tormented with shame
and suspicion.
The next dav. when he went to his-
office, he bade her. goodby as if he
were the criminal and she the saint.
He could not have imagined that Lois
only waited his departure to fling on
her hat and her veil and speed to
Freneau .before he should leave for
his own office. -
1 She found him' and he gave her a
cold welcome. When she told -him
that David was to be in the far south
for a week, he did not seem to be
interested. " When she rejoiced that
now they could be together without
the annoyance of David's presence.
Freneau solemnly reminded her of
the danger from gossips and servants.
He must walk warily, now that he
was betrothed to a bank account like
Stafford's, i - . T .
To this Lois made the astonishing
answer that if New York was too
full of spies, she would go elsewhere.
She reminded him of a beautiful vil
lage in the Catskill mountains, and
declared it her intention of paying it
a visit; also she advised freneau to
happen there at the same time his
fiancee, Gloria, was too ill to see him,
anyway, and he could give a business
trip as an excuse.
Freneau was indignant, but Lois
was dangerous. She threatened hnn
again with the awful weapon of sui
cide, against which there was no de
fense.. He. realized that he was the
prey of a kind of. blackmailer. He
had once thoughtvof Lois as a con
quest to be proud of; now he saw
that hie himself was the victim and she
the tyrant. With one rash act, she
could not only destroy herself but
alt Freneau's plans. , , .
Again he surrendered. Surrender
was becoming a habit. He made one
condition, that they should take along
the tetters they had exchanged and
destroy them. He wanted no written
evidence of his past to imperil his fu
ture. Lois consented, and hurried
away,, rejoicing.
She left Freneau in a mood of
black rage and remorse. The quality
of his remorse was shown in his
meditations He thought of the many
women he had dealt with lightly, and
he wondered if any more of them
would arise Co threaten his security
as a son-in-law of Pierpont Stafford.
That very day the most pitiful of
his conquests appeared.' Nell Trask
had learned from a newspaper that
her father had been knocked down by
an automobile and taken to a hospi
tal. She visited him there. His bodily
injuries were not serious, but he was
brooding so bitterly over- Freneau
that Nell began to fear for his reason.
He told her that he had seen Freneau
and had denounced him and Freneau
had struck him in the face. Old
Trask was not of the , sort that con
ceals a family dishonor; he burned to
avenge it. He whispered to Nell that
he would reach Freneau yet and
strangle him like a dog. She feared
both (or her own father and for the
father of her dead child. She thought
of writing Freneau to warn him, but
that might only lead him to perse
cute her father. Perhaps if she
begged him to marry her he would be
rich enough now. She found out
Freneau's address with tittle diffi
culty and appeared at his door soon
after Lois had left him, in an ugly
mood. The apparition now of so
humble an incident in his past as the
daughter of a bargeman was too dis
gusting to endure.
When the valet opened Freneau's
door Nell .slipped past him and ran
straight to Freneau. He could not
even pretend the ordinary courtesies.
He would not listen to her. . He or
dered his valet to bundle her out and
to take his own two-weeks' notice,.
Nell had no more fight in her than
a violet. Like a violet, she bloomed
to be trodden on or plucked for a
moment and tossed aside. She drifted
back to the shabby barge moored at
the dock and waited for her father
to return "home."
Freneau, raging and calling himself
a fool, drove his arms into the over
toat his man held for him and left'
for his office, wondering whether he
was to be compelled to close up the
office because of the follies he had
committed. He agreed that flirta
tion was a poor business.
All this while .Gloria lay in her bed
M'VM !jfjI
t
-621
residents of Nebraska
tegistered at Hotel
Astor during the past
year. -
Single Room, without batb.
a.oo co 13.00
Double f 3.00 to S44)
Single Rooms, with bathi
S3. 00 to 6.00
Double I4.00 to 7,00
Parlor, Bedroom and bub,
fiojx tt 14.00
TIMES SQUARE '
At Broadway, 44th to iljth Strut
th omtr of New York s social and
buniMss acTtvtnt. Inclose proximity t
U rati way wmuultv
iiiimuiiu;;i!iuiiu!i!i:(iiauiau9
by the window ' imagining that
Freneau was pining away for her,
while she was getting well as fast as
she could for him. Dr. Royce's treat
ment consisted mainly in keeping out
of the way of nature, helping it, but
not impeding it with drugs. Gloria
was responding with all the rush of
youth. He was glad of his success
as a physician, but he was miserable
over her eagerness to get back to her
romance. Once, while be watched her
as the slept, he saw that she smiled.
He was afraid he knew why. When
her eyes opened and stared about her
room and at him in bewilderment he
understood that jFTe had come out of
the dream realm. .'
"Oh, such a wonderful dream I've
had. I dreamed I was well all of a
sudden I hopped out of bed, and
pKsto, my clothes were on without all
the trouble of buttons and hooks and
eyes, and I floated through the wall
and over the roofs and climbed down
the chimney of Dick's apartment
house like a regular Santa Claus.
"Then I came out through the
steam radiator without even rumpling
my frock, and there I found Dick so
lonely' and forlorn as never was.
When he saw me he nearly expired of
joy.
' Then I took him by the hand" and
floated .with him through the wall and
across the roof to the darlingest little
church. The darlingest little minister
floated through the pulpit, and then
dog on it! I had to go and wake up.
But wasn't it a beautiful dream?" .
. "Beautiful," groaned Dr. Royce.
She was too happy to hear the sor
row in his voice. She merely ex
claimed: "Hurry up, for heaven's sake,
and get me well."
And, like a dutiful young physician,
he promised. But he wondered
whether it was kindness or not t0
restore her to the world where dreams
do not often come true unless they
are bad dreams. .
(To Be Continued.)
Girl Workers Who Win
The Movie Actress Achieves Success
By JANE M'LEAN.
Margaret was like hundreds of other
girls carried away by the spirit of the
times, She was determined to be in
dependent and she wanted her inde
pendence to glitter with romance and
teem with excitement. In short she
wanted to go into the movies.
Now, if Margaret had been, young
and foolish her longing for excitement
might have brought her much in the
way of unpleasant experience. ' But
Margaret was fairly level headed and
not easily carried away by affairs of
the heart." '
She was rather a striking looking
girl, with a beautiful complexion and
the well-groomed appearance which is
so obvious among the better class
of New York girls. Therefore she
had two assets in her favor toward
success, and she was determined to
try her luck.
Margaret's mother was plainly wor
ried., The idea of a daughter in the
movies looked ratheralarming to her,
but she did not oppose the matter
when she saw that Margaret had made
up her mind. She avas a tactful moth
er and said very simply:
"If you make good in that field it
is just as good as any other"
Margaret's mother hardly believed
what she had said, but she knew her
daughter very well, and was deter
mined not to oppose her.
Margaret herself beamed in re
sponse. .
"Of course, it's a good field, moth
er. I know that it must seem strange
to you and dad, but every girl can't
teach school or learn to make hats.
I want to do what I am called to do,
and it seems that I simply must make
good in the movies."
Down at the moving picture studio
Margaret was only one of a hundred
other pretty girls. -The one thing that
distinguished her from the rest was
her daintiness, and the fact that she
refrained from giggling a lot and
talking in rapturous tones about the
star. She looked like a girl 1 who
meant business, and was in conse
quence one of the, supers chosen for
a banquet scene.
"Four of the tallest srirls at this ta
ble," yelled the director from the end
ot the long room, the girl with the
hair, will you come up, please, your
hair ought to register well; sit here,
please," and Margaret, cheeks flushed
and breath coming hard, sat at the
hrst table and ate make-believe dishes
and drank make-believe wine to the
click of the moving picture camera as
the picture was filmed.
Your re a new mrl here, aren t
you?" said the director, pausing by her
side some time later. Do you think
you'll like the movies?"
the man made the remark to be
kind, and Margaret seized her oppor
tunity with both hands. . ,
"I know I shall like the movies."
she said promptly. "I have determined
to make good. Wilt you give me a
chance?"
"Never had any experience before?"
"No, but we all have to begin some
time," she answered.
"Well, I might try you. There's a
-smalt part in a picture we are taking
tomorrow. You'll have to go in rags
and play a gray-haired mother."
The man was watching her nar
rowly. He expected her to back out
gracefully, as they all did when they
found that alt acting in the movies
does not necessarily mean a satin
gown and a handsome lover.
"I'll be only too glad to," said Mar
garet promptly, "and thank you so
much."
"Just a minute, young lady. I'm
going to try you, and if you make up
your mind to stick you'll make good.
The thing to do in this world is to
choose a profession and then sfick to
it through thick and thin. If you
think this is your profession, stick to
it. You'll find plenty of people to
help an earnest worker. All right, 9
o'clock tomorrow. Don't thank me,
just work hard, keep cheery and,
above all, "act naturally."
' And Margaret walked home with
her feet on the earth and her head
in the clouds, sure that she could
make good in the field she had chosen.
Advice to Lovelorn
By Beatrice Fairfax
An Xagae-emeat Reception.
Dear Mlaa Fairfaxl Ur flnaaaement re
caption will be hele la a bell room ot a
hotel, from I la the afternoon until S. Would
It look well not to have daaolnat Kindly let
me know what la proper to wear, an eve
nlna drees or an afternoon dreeet And about
my flanoe, does he have to wear full dreeet
Could I wear a hat la the ball room, and la
It proper for me to carry a bouquet, or ehmll
I only wear a cones bouquet T V, B.
Even In this modern day, when the world
has tone dance mad, I think an enaasement
reception la much more dignified If there
Is no danolng. However, let your lncllna
tlone decide the nutter for you. The ques
tion ot propriety la not Involved. ' As a gen
eral rule the bride-to-be wean an evening
dreeeven at an afternoo'nf reeptlon. With
this no hat h-worn. I think an armful of
Jlowere looksfother prettier than a coreege
bouquet Tour fiance must not wear a full
dress eult full dress Is reeerved for eve
sing occasions. . Frock coat and striped
trousers Is the regulation coetume.
' Formal Dress for Men.
Deep Mies Fairfax: Pleaee tell mi the
proper dreee for the bridegroom, beet men
and mele gueeta at a wedding on Sunday et
t In the afternoon? H. E.
Frock coat, etrlped troueere, patent
leather shoes with cloth tope, wing collar'
and pale gray Aecot" tie are the proper cos
tume for men on any formal afternoon occa-
3 one. So this should be applicable to groom,
t man and wedding gueeta.
,':-.' ' .';'' i '- . -
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