JHffl MENS CMMM
:M:rSJm, .
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lUustT&.ticnsrDy c?
DOM.J.LW1N Cogyrigk ISWTjbcBODDS.MEPniLL CO.
14
SYNOPSIS.
Hill Cnnnon. the IntinnzH klnK, and hi:
fltiUKhtfr. Hose, who hml pattttwl up Mrs
'iiipIIim Itynn'M Imll at Sun Kranclnco U
ti' company iinr fnther. nrrlvn ut Antelop
l'r.iniiilik man i-Hllrt on hl mother tr
I'nilllllirK JMWO I'HIIH fill IIIH iiivfiii. i
fi i, ii bnll Invltntlon for 111 wife, ami l
refunpd Tin- detrrmltN'tl "Id iHily rpfuP(i
- - - 1 I l 1.... I. Inn- IW.tn-
111 I'lilKIHZi HIT llrtllKllltll 'HCItin. ww...
nlflt tm.l been tntppeil lulu ft innrrtuKO
will Hemlie Ivtrw)ti. ii nlf'iiiHCriipnor.
e.rul i ir hi m nlor Slip qwtntlpr hlB
anfn thf hBVr frcfiUHtil qiinrrelH, anil
o Hlipi ii him Cnnnon nml his daughter
U nil'T ItWIl v Milium llina ....-rj.-- - -
ro urn wnl In ftt Antelope. Domini' X
.. .. ... , ,.... .... I, uniinn.
MV"!1 I" rHI'!Ml lllllll KIV1.IIII . !".
W!ihis condition nml brought to Antelope
niiK'l Aniriopp is nil on ny riuiiii "!'""
Pnrmni mitiip Ilnnillilck Imrk to Hip
Tun w.nUii Inter Jlprrilin illnrovpm In n.
, ip r when- htiBhnml In nml wrlteB IcttPr
It I'ik tn Mtnoi.tli over illflli'illtlPH between
h. in Dcmilnlek nt lHHt Im able tn Join
M'ow nnowlHiuml prisoner In hotel pnr
li i Up lone tPinper oit tnlk nt Hiifonl.
nn (if lor. After three weeks, pml of lm
prlHonment Im seen TelegniiiM nml, mnll
nrrlvp Domlnlck khIm letter from wlfp
Tl'i Iluse hp doesn't love wlfp, nml never
flld Htormbound people IipbIii to depiirt
Hone nml Domlnlck embrace, fnthnr Bees
llicni nnd riemnndi nn explanation Hose n
brother Qeiio In made nmniiKer of nmi'li,
ml l to (tot It If Im Htuys inlipr n yenr.
"urmnn pxptence sympathy for Poiiii
nUk's position In tnlk with lloe Horn -nltk
rpjurnH Iioiiip. Herny etPrtB hprseir
to plcnip lilm. hut Im In InilllTprPnt Cnn
non onllH on Mrn Kynn. They iIIupubb
Domlnlrk'H innrrlnKM dlflUiiltlPS, nml rnn
lion subkchIii huyltiK off Horny DotnlnlcK
kopb to pnt-k on Hnndny with lli-rny nml
fiinlly. opes Mips Cnnnon, bowH to Imt
mill dtiirtn ummslnpim In Homy. In airii
Iljnii'n nnitic Cnnnon nffprn IJprny w,ix
to lenvp her liunlinml mid permit divorce
Blip rpfiispw Doinlnli'k hpi Hone. Cor
iplln Hvnn onKnK'-il to Jnk DnlTy Cnh
tion offprn Uornv $100,000 nnd is turned
1iiwn Uiirny ipIIb nUtem of offer. Hu
rnrd. Hip nrtor. mnkPH u hit In vaudeville.
Hoiie tpllH Domlnlck thnt ho miuit ntlck
in wlfp, nnd firm tlmo ncknowlpduw that
hi Iovph lilm. Cnnnon offers Horny 300,
ton which bIip rpf:iHB, BnylnK ('unnon
wmilB Doinlnlcli far lloim. Gpno wIiib the
fnnch.
CHAPTER XVII. Continued.
It VnB, however, lier huHbnnil'a voice
tlmt answered her. Ho npoko quickly,
nn If In ft hurry, telHiiR her thnt ho
would not bo homo to dinner, jib a
rollego friend of his from Now York
had Jimt arrived and ho would dine
nnd go to tho theater with him that
Dvenlnp. Herny'n ear, ready to dis
cover, in tho most ullen subjects, mat
tor bearlni; on her husband's Interest
In Hoao Cannon, listened Intontly for
the man'H name. Ab Domlnlck did
not glvo It alio asked for It, and to
her strained and' waiting attention It
Reomod to come with an lntontlopnl
Indistinctness.
"What Is his name?" alio called
AKaln, her voice hard and IiIrIi. "I
didn't catch It."
It wns repeated and for tho second
tlmo alio did not hear It. Ueforo sho
could demnnd It onco more, Doml
nlck's "Qood-by" hummed nlonp the
wlro nnd the connection was cut.
Sho did not wnut any more lunch
mil went Into tho parlor, whero sho
But down on tho cushioned window
scat and looked out on the vaporous
transparencies of tho foj. Sho had
waked with tho sense of weight and
apprehension heavy on her. As sho
nresaod sho had thought of tho Inter
view of yesterday with anger and also
with something as much like fenr ns
sho was capablo of feeling. She real
Izod tho folly of tho rngo sho hnd
shown, tho folly and tho futility of It,
nnd she realized tho danger of nn
open dcclarntlon of war with tho
llorco and unscrupulous old mnu who
was hoc adversary. Thin, with her
customary bold courngo, sho now tried
to push from her mind. After all, ho
couldn't kill her, and that wns about
tho only way ho could got rid of hor.
lOvon IIIH Canhon would hardly dare,
In tho present day In Snn KrnuclBco,
cold-bloodedly to murder a womnn.
Tho thought cnused 11 slight, Bnrcustlc
millcto touch hor lips. Fortunately
tor her, tho lawless days of CnllCarnln
were passed.
With the curtnlnn caught botwoen
.ier flngor-tlps, hor llgure bent forward
ami motionless, sho looked out Into
tho street as If she saw soiunthlnR
thero of absorbing Interest. Dut she
law nothing. All her mental activity
wiib bent on tho problem of Doml
nick's telephone message. Sbo did not
bollovc It. She was In that state
whore tittles light as air all point one
way, and to have Domlnlck stay out
to dinner with a sudden nnd uupxpect
sd "friend from Now York" wns tnoro
than a trllle. She assured horself with
slow, cold reiteration that ho was din
ing with Roso Cannon In tho big house
on California Street. If they walked
'ogothor on Sunday mornings, why
shouldn't they dlno together on week
dny nights? They were catoful of np
ponrunces and thoy would never let
themeelvcB bo aeon together In any
public place till they wore formally
engaged. Tho man from Now York
was a llctlon, She that Immaculate,
perfect girl hnd Invented him. Doml
nlck could not Invent anything. Ho
wns not that kind of a man. Hut Hor
sy knew thnt all women can lie when
tho occasion demands, nnd lloso Can
non could thtiH supply her lover's do
HcicnelcB. With her blankly-staring cyeB fixed
jn tho white outside world, her men
tal vision conjured up a picture of
them nt dinner that ntuht, Bitting op
poslte cuch other at a table glistening
with the richest of glass and silver,
while soft-footed mcnlnlB waited ob
oqulotisly upon them. Bill Cannon
was not In tho picture, borny's Imagi
nation had excluded ,htui, pushing hltn
out of tho romance jlntb some unseen,
uninteresting region where peoplo who
4c
a?
i .
wero not lovers dined dully by them
selves. Sho could not lmnglne Hoso
and Domlnlck othorwlso than alone,
exchanging tendor glances over the
nowost form of champagne glasses
tilled with the choicest brand of cham
pagne. A sound escaped her, a sound ot
pain, as If forced from her by the
grinding of Jealous passions within.
She dropped tho curtain and rose to
hor foot. If they married It would
bo always thnt way with them. They
would have everything In the world,
everything that to Horny made life
worth while. Even Paris, with her
thiee hundred thousand dollars to
open all Its doors, would be a savor
less place to her If Rose and Domlnlck
wore to bo left to tho enjoyment of
all tho plensurcB and luxuries of life
back In California.
Unable to rest, fretted by jealousy,
tormented by her longing for tho of
fered money, oppressed by uneasiness
nH to Cannon's next move, tho thought
of tho long afternoon In the house wiib
unendurable to her. Sho could not re
main unemployed nnd passive while
hor mind wus In this Btute of disturb
ance. Though tho day was bad and
thero wns nothing to do down town,
she determined to go out. She might
llnd some distraction In watching the
pussorshy nnd looking nt tho ahop
windows.
Hy tho time sho waa dressed, It was
four o'clock. Tho fog was thicker
than over, banging over tho city In
an even, motionless pull of vapor. Its
bnnth had a l'ccn, penetrating chill,
like that exhaled by tho mouth of n
cavern. Coming down tho BtepB into
It she seemed to bo entering a whlto,
still sea, off which an nlr camo that
was pleasant on tho heated dryness
of her fnco. Sho had no place to go
to, no engagement to keep, but In
stinctively turned her steps in tho
down-town direction. Walking would
pass mora tlmo than going on tho car,
and alio started down the street which
slanted to a level and then climbed a
long, dim reach of hill beyond. Ub
emptlneHB n characteristic of San
Francisco streets struck upon her
observation with a aotiHO of grip
ing, bleak dreariness. She could look
nlong the two lines of sidewalk till
they wero lost In the gradual milky
thickening of tho fog, and nt Intervnls
bco n tlguio, faint nnd dreamlike, ei
ther emerging from spneo in alow ap
proach, or molting Into It In phantas
mal withdrawal.
It waa a melancholy, depressing
vista. Sho had not reached tho top of
tho long hill beroro she decided that
sho would walk no farther. Walking
wns only bearable when there was
something to ace. Dut aha did not
know what elso to do or whero to go.
Indecision was not'usually a feature of
hor character. To-day, however, tho
unaccustomed atrnlnof temptation and
"A Man Doesn't Tell His Wife About
His Affairs With Other Women."
worry Boomed to hnvo weakened hor
resourcefulness and resolution. The
ono point on which uba felt deter
mined was thnt sho would not go
homo.
Tho advancing front ot a car, loom
ing suddenly through tho mist, di.ci.i.
d her. Sho hailed It, climbed on
hoard) and snn.. Into a sent on the In
side There wiib no ono oIbo thuro. It
smelt of dampncHB, ot wet woolens
and rubber overshoes, and Its closed
windows, lllmed jvlth fog, showed
semicircular streaks aciOBs them
where pnsBougors had rubbed them
clean to look out. Tho conductor, nn
unkempt man, with an unshaven chin
nnd dirty collar, slouched In for hor
rare, exteniung a grimy paw toward
her. Ab he took tho money and
punched tho tag, he hummed n tuno
to himself, scorning to convoy In that
harmless act a slighting opinion of
hla passenger. Homy looked at him
BQveroly, which mado him hum still
loudor, and lounge Indifferently out
to tho back platform, whero he loaned
on tho brnko and spat scornfully Into
tho Btreet.
Derny felt thnt sitting thoro was
worao thun walking. Thoro waa ho
ono to look nt, thero was nothing, to
be aeon from tho windows. The car
lipped over the edge of an Incline,
slid with an oven, skimming swiftness
down tho face of the hill, and then,
with n Borlos of small Jouncing,
crossed tho rails of another line Not
knowing or caring where sh? was, she
signaled tho conductor to atop, nnd
nllghtod. Sho looked round her for
nn uncortnln moment, nnd then recog
nized tho locality. Sho waB cIobo to
tho old Union Street plaza on which
tho Greok Church fronted. Here In
tho days before her marriage, whon
she and Hazel had boon known as
"tho pretty Iverson girls," she had
been wont to como on Btinny Sunday
mornings and sit on the benches with
such beaux as brightened tho monot
ony of that unnsplrluK period.
Sho felt tired now and thought It
would not be n bad Idea to cross to
tho plaza and rest there for a space.
She waa warmly dressed and her
clotho3 would not be hurt by tho damp.
Threading her wny down tho street,
sho camo out on tho opening where
the Ilttlo park lies like an unrolled
won cloth round which the Hhabby,
gray city erowdB.
She sank down on the llrst empty
bench, and looking round bIio Baw
other dark shapes, having a vague,
huddled nppvarance, lounging In
bunched-up attitude on tho adjacent
seals. They seemed preoccupied. It
struck her that thoy, like herself,
wero plunged In meditation on mat
ters which they had sought this damp
seclusion silently to ponder. The only
region of activity In the dim, atlll
acono was whero somo boys were
playing under tho faintly-defined out
line of a largo willow tree. They
were bending closo to the ground In
tho performnnco of a game over which
periods of quietness fell to bo broken
by sudden disrupting cries. As Demy
took her sent their Imp-like shapes
dark and without detail, danced about
under the tree In what appeared n fan
tastic ecstasy, whllo their cries brolto
through tho woolly thickness of tho
air with an intimate clearness strange
ly at variance with tho remote effect
of their figures.
The fact thnt no one noticed her, or
could clenrly see her, affected her as
It seemed to have done- the other occu
pants of the benches. Sho relaxed
from her alert sprlghtllneas of poae,
nnd wank against the back of the seat
In tho limpness of unobserved Indiffer
ence. Sitting thus, her eyes on tho
ground, sho heard, at first unheeding,
then with a growing sense of atten
tion, footsteps approaching on the
gravel walk. Thoy were tho short,
quick footsteps of a woman. Borny
looked up nnd snw a woman, ti little
darker than tho atmosphere, emerging
from the surrounding grayness, as If
sho were slowly rising to tho surfneo
through water.
Her form detnehod Itself gradually
from the fog, the effect of delibcrotion
being due to the fact that sho was
dressed in gray, a long, loose coat
and a round hat with a film of veil
about It. Sho would have been a
study In monochrome but for tho
color In tho cheek turned to Bcrny,
a glowing, roBo-ttntcd cheek Into
which tho dump had called a pink
brighter than nny rouge. Berny looked
nt It with reluctant admiration, and
the woman turned and presented her
full faco, blooming as a flower, to the
watcher's eye. It waa Roso Cannon.
If In thuso wnn nnd dripping sur
roundings the young girl hnd not
looked so freshly fnlr and comely.
Berny might have let her pass un
checked. Hut upon the elder woman's
sore and bitter mood tho vision ot
ths rosy youthfulnoss, triumphant
where all tho rest of tho world sank
unprotcsting under tho weight or a
common ugliness, enmo with a sense
of unbearable wrong and grievance.
As Roso passed, Berny, with a sudden
blinding tip-rush of excitement,
lennod forwurd and roso.
"M18B Cannon," b,1hj said loudly. "Oh,
MIbb Cnnnon Just n moment."
Rose turned quickly, looking Inquir
ingly nt tho ownor of tho voice, Sho
hnd had a vague Impression of a fig
ure on the bench but had not looked
at It. Now, though tho face sho saw
waa unfamiliar, sho amiled nnd said:
"Did you wnnt to speak to mo?"
The Ingratiating amiability of her
expression added to Uerny'a swelling
sense of Injury and injustice Thus
did this alron smllo upon Domlnlck,
nnd It waa a 3inllo thnt was very
sweet, The excitement that had
seized upon the older woman made
her tremble, but sho waa glad, fierce
ly, burning glnd, that alio had stopped
MIbs Cannon.
"cs,-" sho said, "Just for a moment,
If you don't mind."
Roso had never seen tho woman be
fore, and at tho llrat glance supposed
hor to be some form of peddler or ii
porson soiling tickets. The daughter
of Bill Cannon was eagerly sought by
membors of hor own sex who had
wares for sole, und It did not striko
her as odd that bIio should be stopped
In tho plnza on n foggy nftornoon. Rut
n second glance showed hor that the
woman boforo her waa better dressed,
more nasured In manner thon the fe.
malo vender, nnd sho felt puzzled nnd
Interested.
"You had something to any to mo?"
sho queried ngnln, tho questioning in
flection n little more marked.
"Yes, but not much. I won't keep
you more thnn n few moments. Won't
you Bit down?"
Bcrny designated the bench and
they sat on It, n apace between them
Roso ant forward on tho edgo of tho
seat, looking at tho Btrnngo woman
whose business with her Bho could uot
gueas.
"You've never Been mo before, hnvo
you, Miss Cnnnon?" said Borny. "You
don't know who I nm?"
Tho young girl shook her head with
an nlr ot embarrassed admission.
"I'm nfrald 1 don't," sho said. "If
I've f ver met you before, It must have
bpen a long time ago."
' You'vo never met mo," said Borny,
"but I guess you'vo hoard of me. I
am the wife of Domlnlck Ryan"
Sho said the words enslly, but her
ejos wero lit with devouring fires as
they fastened on tho young woman's
faff Upon this, signs of perturba
tion Immediately displayed them-i
selves. For a moment Rose was shak
en beyond Bpooch. She flushed to hor
hair, nnd her eyes dropped. To a
Jealou3 observation, she looked con
fused, trapped, guilty.
"Really," sho said after the first mo
ment of a shock, "I I I really don't
think I ovor did moot you." With her
fare crimson alio raised her eyes and
looked at hor companion. "If I have,
I must have forgotten It."
"You haven't," said Bcrny, "but
you've met my husband."
Robo'b color did not fade, but this
tlmo Bho did not uvert hor oyea. I'rldo
nnd social training had come to nor
aid She answered quietly and with
something of dignity.
"Yea, I met Mr. Ryan nt Antelope
when wo wero anowed up there. I
suppose he's told you till about It?"
"No," said Berny, her voice begin
ning to vlbrntc, "ho hasn't tojd mo all
about it. He's told just ns puch as
he thought I ought to know."
Her glance, riveted on Rose'B face,
contained a llorco antagonism that
was like an Illumination of hatred
shining through her apecch. "He
didn't think it neceasary to tell me
everything that happened up there,
Miss Cannon,"
Roso turned half from hor without
answorlng. Tho action waa like that
of a child whlfh shrinks from the an
gry face of punishment. Herny leaned
forward that sho might still see lier
and wont on.
"Ho couldn't tell me all that hap
pened up at Antelope. There are
somo things thnt it wouldn't have
done for hltn to tell me. A man doesn't
toll hla wife about his nffnlrs with
othor women. But aometlmes, Miss
Cnnnon, she finds them out."
Roso turned suddenly upon her.
"Mrs. Ryrfn," she said In a cold, au
thorltatlve voice, "what do you want
to say to me? You stopped mo just
now to say something. Whatever U
is, say It and any It out."
Borny's rages lnvnriably worked
themselves out on the same linca.
With bnttlo boiling within her, alio
could preserve up to a certain point
a specious, outward Calm. Then sud
denly, at some alight, harmless word,
some touch as light as the pressure on
the electric button that sets oft tho
dynamite explosion, the bonds of her
wrath were broken and It buret Into
expression. Now her enforced re
straint wns torn Into shreds, and she
cried, her voice qunverlng with pas
sion, shaken with breathlessness:
"What do you suppose 1 want to
say? I want to nsK you what right
you'vo got to try to steal my hus
band?" "I have no right," said Rose.
Berny waa, for the moment, so tak
en aback, that sho said nothing hut
stared with her whole faco set In a
rigidity of fierce attention. After a
moment's quivering amaze she burst
out:
"Then what are you doing It for?"
"I am not doing It."
"You're n liar," she cried furiously.
"You're worse' than a liar. You're a
thief. You're trying to get him every
wny you know how. You sit thero
looking nt mo with a faco like a little
Innocent, nnd you know there's not a
thing you can do to get him away
from mo you're not doing. If a com
mon gutter girl had acted that
way they'd call her some pretty
dirty names, names that would ninko
you sit up if you thought any ono
would uso them to you. But 1 don't
see where thoro'a any difference. You
think because you're rich and on top
of tho heap that you can do anything.
Just let mo tell you, Miss (Rose Can
non, you can't stonl Domlnlck Ryan
from mo. You may bo Bill Cannon's
daughter, with all the mines of tho
Comstock behind you, but you can't
buy my husband."
Roso was aghast. Tho words ot
Homy'B outburst were nothing to her,
sound and fury, the madness of n
Jealous woman. Thnt this was a lov
ing wlfo fighting for tho husband
whoso heart sho had lost was all sho
understood nnd heard. That wns tho
tragic, tho nppnlllng thought. The
weight of her own guilty conscience
Bocmod drugging her down Into sick
ened sllenco. The only thing it seemed
to her she could honestly say was to
refuto tho woman's nccusntlo'ns that
Domlnlck was being stolen from hor.
','Mra. Ryan," alio Implored, "what
ever else you may think, do plenBe
undrratand that I nm not trying to
tnke your huebnnd nwny from you.
You're making a ralatake. I don't
know what you'vo heard or guessed,
but you're distracting yourself with
out any necessity. How could I ever
do that? 1 never meet him. I never
see him."
Sho leaned forward In her eager
ness. Horny cast a biting, sidelong
look at her.
"How about Sunday morning on Tel
egraph Hill?" Bho Bald.
"I did meet him there, that's true,"
a memory of the conversation aug
mented the young girl's sense of guilt.
If half this woman Bald waa mntlncBB.
halt wna fact. Domlnlck loved Roso
Cnnnon, .not his wife, and to Rose
thnt wna tho whole tragedy. Meetings,
words, renouncements wero nothing.
She Btnmmored In her misery,
"Yes but but you must believe
mo when I toll you that that time and
onco bofore ono evening In tho moon
light on tho steps of our Iioubo were
tho only times I'vo seen your hus
band bUico I came back from Ante
lopo." "Well, I don't," said Berny, "I don't
for a moment bellove you. ' You must
lake me for tho easiest fruit that ever
grow on the tree If you think I'll swal
low a fnlry tale like that. If you met
once on Telegraph Hill, and onco In
the moonlight, what's to prevent your
meeting at other times, and othor
plncos? You haven't montlonod tho
visits up at your house and tho dinner
to-night."
Rose drew back, frowning uncom
prchendlngly. "What dinner to-night?" she said.
"The one you're going to take with
my husband."
For the that time in tho Interview,
tho young girl waa lifted from tho
sonso of dishonesty that crushed her
by a rising flood of angry pride.
"I take dlnnor with my father to
night In our house on California
Street," she said coldly.
"Bosh!" said Herny, giving her head
a furious Jerk. "You needn't bother
wasting time on lies like that to me.
I'm not a complete fool."
"Mrs. Rynn," said Rose, "I think
we'd better end this tnlk. Wo can't
have any rational converBntlon whon
you keep telling me what I say Is a
lie. I am sorry you feel so badly, and
I wish I could say something to you
that you'd bellove. All I can do to
ease your mind is to assure you that
I never, except on those two occa
sions, have scon your hUBbnnd since
Ills return from the country and I cor
talnly never Intend to Bee him again."
She roso from the bench nnd, as she
did so, Herny cried:
"Then how do you account for the
money that was offered me yester
day?" "Money?" said the young girl, paus
ing as sho stood. "What money?"
"Tho three hundred thousand dol
lars that your father offered mo yes
terday afternoon to leave my huaband
and let him get a divorce from me."
Rose sat down on tho bench and
turned a startled face on tho speaker.
"Tell me that again," she said. "I
don't quite understand it."
Herny gave a little, dry laugh.
"Oh, as many times as you like,"
she said with her most Ironical air of
politeness, "only I should think It
would bo rather stalo news to you by
this time. Yesterday afternoon your
father made mo his third offer to de
sert my huaband and force him to di
vorce me at tho end of a year. The
offers have gone up from titty thou
sand dollars that' waa the flrat one,
m? Jf JmyLj J
LaviM
"You Poor, Unfortunate
and, all these things considered, I
thought It was pretty mean to the
three hundred thousand dollars they
tried me with yesterday. Mra. Ryan
waa suppoacd to have mndo the flrat
offer, but your father did tho offering.
This last tlmo ho had to como out
and show me his hand and admit that
one-third ot tho money was from him "
She turned and looked at Rose with
a cool, Imperturbable impudence "It's
good to have rich parcnta, Isn't it?"
Rose stared back without answer
ing. She had become very pale.
"That," aald Berny, giving her head
a Judicial nod, and, delivering hor
words with n sort ot impersonal
auavenesa, "Is the way it waa man
aged; you wero kept carefully out,
I waan't supposed to know thero wns
a lady In the case, but of course. I
did. You can't negotiate the sale of
a husband aa you do that ot a piece of
real estate, especially when his wifo
objects. That, Mlaa Cannon, was the
difficulty. While all you peoplo wero
so anxious to buy, I wns not willing
to Bell. It tnkes two to make n bar
gnln." Robc, pnlo now to her lips, said In
a low volco:
"I don't bellove it. It's not true."
Herny laughed again.
"Well, that's only fair." she aald
,5. j &r
with an nlr of debonair large-minded-nesa.
"I've been telling you what you
Bay la Ilea and now you toll me what
1 sny la lies. It's not, nnd ypu know
It's not. How would I hnve found out
about all this? Do you think Doml
nlck told mo? Men don't toll their
wives when they wnnt to got rid of
thorn. They're stupid, hut they're not
that stupid."
Roso gave a low cxclamntlon and
turned her head away. Berny wns
walling for a second denial of her
statements, whon the young girl rose
to her feet, saying In a horrified mur
mur: "How awful 1 How perfectly awful!"
"Of course," Borny continued, ad
dressing her back, "I was to under
stand you didn't know anything nbout
it. I had my own opinions on that.
Fathers don't go round buying hus
bands for their daughters unleBB they
know their uiiughtors are dead sot
on having the husbands. Hill Can
non was not trying to get Domlnlck
away from mo just because he wanted
to bo philanthropic. Neither waa Mra.
Ryan. You're the kind of wife sho
wanted for her boy, just as Domi
nions tho husband your father'd like
for you. So you stood back and let
the old people do tho dirty work.
You"
Rose turned quickly, sat down on
tho edgo of U10 bench, and leaned
toward the speaker. Her face was
full of a quivering intensity of con
cern. "You poor, unfortunate woman!" Bho
said in a shaken voice, and laid her
hand on Berny's knee.
Berny waa so astonished thnt for a
moment she had no words, but stared
uncomprehending, still alertly sus
picious. "You poor 8011I!" Rose went on. "If
I'd known or guessed for a moment I'd
have spoken differently. I can't say
anything. I didn't know. 1 couldn't
have gueBscd. It's the most horrlblo
thing I ever heard of. It's too too"
She stopped, biting her lip. Herny
saw that she was unable to command
her voice, though sho had no appear
ance of tears. Her face looked qulto
dlfCorent from what It had at the be
ginning of tho interview, All Its ami
able, rosy softness waa gone. Tho
elder woman was too astonished to
say anything. She had a feeling that,
just for that moment, nothing could
be aald. Sho waa silenced by some-
Woman," She Said.
thing that she did not underatand.
Like an amazed child she stared at
Rose, bafued, confused, a Ilttlo awed.
Aftor a minute of silence, the young
girl went on.
"I can't talk about it. I don't alto
gether understand. Other people thoy
muat explain. I've been no, not de
ceivedbut kept In tho dark. But
be sure ot ono thing, yesterday was
the end of It. Thoy'll never no one
thnt 1 have nny power over will over
mnko you such offors again. I'll prom
ise you that. I don't know how It
could have happened. There's been a
mistake, a horrible, unforglvablo mis
take. You'vo been wronged and Insult
od, and I'm sorry, sorry nnd humlll
uted and nshnmed. Thero are no
words "
She Btopped again with n gesture ot
helpless Indignation and disgust, nnd
rose to hor feot. Berny, through tho
darkness of her stunned astonishment,
realized that she was shaken by feol
IngB ahe could uot express.
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
Oblivion.
"If our man doesn't mnke a record
In tho legislature," says tho Whltsett
Courier, "we'll send him to congress,
where he'll be lost sight of and never
heard from again."
