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THE
Masquerader
By KATHERINE CECIL THURSTON,
Author of "The Circle," Etc.
argains I
Copyrltfht. 1005, 1004, by Harper O Brother
(Our May B
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I 00NTINUEB.1
GIIAPTKU XXXIV.
mO fully appreciate a great an
nouncement wo must have time
at our disposal. At the mo
ment of Loder' disclosure time
-was denied to Kve. for Hcarcely had the
words Icft his lips before the thought
that dominated him asserted Its prior
claim. Blind to the Incredulity In her
eyes, he drew her swiftly forward and
half impelling, half supporting her
forced her to descend the stairs.
Never in after life could he obliterate
the remembrance of that descent.
Tear, such as he could never experi
ence in his own concerns, possessed
him. One desire overrode ail others,
the desire that Kve's reputation, which
lie himself had so nearly imperiled,
hould remain uuimperiled. In the
s-hadow of that urgent duty, the de
spair of the past hours, the appalling
fact so lately realized, the future, with
its possible trials, became dark to his
Imagination. In his new victory over
self the question of her protection pre
dominated. Moving under his compulsion, he
giiided her hastily and silently down
the deserted stairs, drawing u breath
of deep relief as one after another the
landings were successively passed, and,
.still actuated by the suppressed need
of haste, he passed through the door
way that they had entered under such
different conditions only a few min
utes before.
To leave the quiet court, to gain the
Strand, to hail a belated hansom, was
The work of a moment. Itj nn odd con
trivance of circumstance the luck that
had attended every phase of his dual
life was again exerted in Ids behalf.
.No one bad noticed their entry into
'llfford's Inn; no one was moved to
curiosity by their exit. With an Invol
untary thrill of feeling he gave expres
sion t.i Ids relief.
"Thank Goil it's over!" he said as a
?ab drew up. "You don't know what
the strain lias been."
' Moving as It! in a dream, Kve stepped
Into the cab. As yet the terrible de
nouement to their enterprise had made
no clear impression upon Iter mind.
I'or the moment all that she was con-'
scions of, all that she Instinctively ac
knowledged, was the fact that I.oder
whs still beside her.
In quiet obedience she took her place,
drawing aside her skirts to make room
for him, and In the same subdued man
ner he stopped into the vehicle. Then,
with the strange sensation of reliving
their earlier drive, they were aware of
the tightened rein and of the horse's
llrst forward movement.
For several seconds neither spoke.
Kve, shutting out all other thoughts,
sat close to Lodcr, clinging tenaciously
to the momentary comforting sense of
protection. I.oder. striving to marshal
Ills Ideas, hesitated before the ordeal
of speech. At last, realizing ids re-t-ponslblllty,
he turned to her slowly.
"Kve," ho said in a low voice and
with some hesitation, "I want you to
.know that In all this from the moment
I saw him from the moment I under-stoodv-I
have had you In my thoughts
you and no one else.'.'
She raised her eyes to his face.
"Do you realize" he began, afresh.
"Do you know what this this thing
mean?"
Still she remained silent.
"It moans that after tonight there
will be no such person in London as
John Loder. Tomorrow the man who
wan known by that name will be found
In his rooms; his body will be removed,
nnd at the post mortem examination It
will be stated that he died of an over
dose of morphia. Ills charwoman will
Identify him as n solitary man who liv
ed respectably for years and then sud
denly went down hill with remarkablo
fjpocd. It will be quite a common case.
Nothing of Interest will be found In his
rooms. No relation will claim Ids body.
After the usual time he will be given
the usual burial of his class. These do
talis are horrible, but there are times
when wo must look at the horrible side
of life, because life Is Incomplete with
out It.
"These things I speak of aro tho
things that will moot the casual eye,
but In our sight they will have a very
different meaning.
"Eve," he said, mora vehemently, "a
whole chapter In my life has been clos
ed tonight, and my llrst Instinct is to
shut tho book and throw It away. Hut
I'm thinking of you. ltomember, I'm
thinking of you. Whatever tho trial,
whatever tho dltllculty, no harm shall
come to you. You huvo my word for
that.
"I'll return with you now to Gros
yCUP.r square. I'Jl remain there J jH a
reasonable excuse can ho given for
f'hllcote's going abroad. I will avoid
Fralde. I will out politics whatever
the cost. Then at tho llrst reasonable
moment I will do what I would do
now, tonight, If It were possible. I'll
go away, start afresh; do In another
country what I have done In this."
There was a long silence; then Kve
turned to him. The apathy of a mo
ment Itefore had left her face. "In an
other country V she repeated. "In an
other country?"
"Yes, a fresh onrecr In a fresh coun
try, something clean to offer you. I'm
not too old to do what other men huvo
lone."
lie paused, and for a moment I'.ve
looked ahead at the gleaming chain of t
lamps. Then very slowly she brought )
her glance hack again. "No." she said j
very sljwly. "You are not too old. Hut I
theie are times when agc-iind things
like age-are not the real consideration.
It seems to me that your own inclina
tion, your own individual sense of
right and wrong, has nothing to do
with the present moment. The ques
tion is whether you are .Instilled in go
ing away" she paused, her eyes llxcd
steadily upon his "whether you are
free to go away and make a new life,
whether it is ever Justlllable to follow
a phantom light when when there's a
lantern waiting to bo carried." Her
breath caught. She drew away from
him, frightened and chit oil by her own
words.
Loder turned to her sharply. "Kve!"
he exclaimed; then his tone changed.
"You don't know what you're saying,"
he added quickly. "You don't under
stand what you're saying."
Kve leaned forward again. "Yes,"
she said slowly. "I do understand."
Her voice was controlled, her manner
convinced. She was no longer the girl
conquered by strength greater than her
own. She was the woman strenuously
demanding her right to Individual hap
piness. "I understand It all," she repeated.
"I understand every point. It was not
chance that made you change your
identity, that made you care for inc.
that brought about his death. I don't
believe it was chance. I believe It was
something much higher. You are not
meant to go away."
As Loder watched her the remem
brance of ids llrst days as Chllcote
rose again, the remembrance of how
he had been dimly tilled with the be
lief that below her self possession lay
a strength-a depth uncommon In wo
man. As he studied her now the in
stinctive belief tla'ined Into conviction.
"Kve!" he said Involuntarily.
With a quick gesture she raised her
head. "No!" she exclaimed. "No; don't
say anything. You are going to see
things as 1 see them you must do so
you have no choice. No real man ever
casts away the substance for the shad
ow." Her eyes shone the color, the
glow, the vitality, rushed back Into her
face.
"John," she said softly, "I love you,
and I need Von, but there Is something
with a greater claim a greater noed
than mine. Don't you know what It
Is?"
He said nothing. lie made no ges
ture. "It is tho party the country. You
may put love aside, but duty is differ
ent. You have pledged yourself. You
are .not meant to draw back."
Loder's lips parted.
"Don't," she said again. "Don't say
anything. I know all that lu In your
mind. But when we sift things light
through It Isn't- my love or our happi
ness that's really In the balance. It Is
your future." Her voice thrilled. "You
are going to be a great iiiimi, and a
great man Is tho property of his coun
try. He has no right to Individual ac
tion." Again Loder made an effort to speak,
but again she checked him.
"Walt!" she exclaimed. "Walt! You
believe you have ncted wrongly, and
you aro desperately afraid of acting
wrongly again. But Is It really truer,
more loynl for us to work out a long
probation In grooves that are already
overfilled than to mnrry quietly abroad
and fill the places that have need of us?
That Is the question I want you to nn
Bwer. Is It really truer and nobler?
Oh, I see the doubt that Is In your
mind! You think It finer to gr away
and innko a new life than to live the
life that Is waiting you because one Is
Independent and tho other means the
use of another man's namo and another
man's money that Is tho thought In
your mind. But what Is It that prompts
that thought?" Again her volco caught,
but her eyes did not falter. "I will
tell you. It Isjnot self .sacrifice,, but
1 (Continued on Pk Biz.)
Wmm
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India Linons, front ....... .8 1-3 to 30c yd
Barred Dimities, from 10 to 20c yd
Barred Nainsooks, from 10 to 20c yd
Dotted Swiss, from 15 to 25c yd
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Silks.
Japanese Silk, 27 inches wide 50c yd
La Siren Silk, 27 inches wide 60c yd
Black Taffeta. 36 in., guaranteed. . .$1 to $1.25
Black Beau de Soie, 36 in., guaranteed. . .51.50
Crocheted Silk 1 loods, each 50c
Crocheted Baby Jackets, each $1.00
Laces and Embroideries.
Valenciennes Laces in all widths, with insertion to match, from 2c to 25c yard.
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Embroidery from 3c to 55c yard. Come in and look our line over before buying and
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Hosiery Burson Fashioned Stockings
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Ladies' Lace Hose, at
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Children's Hose, lace
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Infants' Hose, from 10c
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The famous Burson
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any KHHWiir
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thtp.1 fart
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Without &
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ioned shaped as &J
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HI HHH IHH1" H
III I
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Ladies9 and Children's Gauze Knit Underwear
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ft rfFPMIt
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This month9 s Butter ick Patterns I
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l MWHOUSE,
Immi mmmmammmmmmmmmm
Hfid HI nn A Mr
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