THE HOOD RIVER NEWS, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1909
5
The Lure of
the Mask
By HAROLD NACGRATH
Copjrrijhl. 1904. by the Bobbs
M.rrill Ct.
ibe turned. Sue regarded tits earneat-
(CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK)
chapter vi.
INTO Till TOO AGAIN.
DitESENTI.T ib ipoke. still play
lug loftly.
I "My father waa ao American,
A niy mother Italian. But I bar
lived Id Europe uearlj all my life.
There! You have more of my history
than I Intended telling you." The
niusk- went dreamily.
"I knew It! Who but an American
woman would have the courage to do
what you are doing tonight 7 Who
but one of mine own countrywomen
would trust me ao wholly and accept
me ao rrnnkly for what I am an
American centlenmn?"
"Softly!'' she warned. "You will dig
a lt for your vanity."
' "No I urn an American gentleman,
and I am proud of It though thla stater
merit In your ears may have a ecbool
boy ring."
"A nobility in thla country! Impos
sible!"
"Not the kind you find In the Al
manacb de (iotha. I speak of the no
bility of the heart and the mind." He
was very much In earnest now.
"Indeed!" The music atopped, and
Open River Transportation Co
St...,. J. N. TEAL
Operated to protect thmo living ulm thn Rivet
(. C. I)eN, lirnril Aurnt
Paul S. Trikbkk. Duck Agent
Oregon
Shoit line
akd Union Pacific
TIH13 TABLE
Effective Sunday, Sept. 12, train?
will arrive and depart at Mood River,
Oregon, on the following schedule:
WliSr BOUND
No. 6. Omron A Wsjthinitton Limited 5:50 A. M.
Na. . Portland Express 6.00 "
No. S. Suo-Spokane-Portland 6:46 '
No. 11. rcifie Express 3.20 P. M.
No. 7. Portland Special 6:45 "
Train No. 11 makes all Hops between Hood
Hirer and Portland.
Train No. 9 will stop only at Wyeth. Cascade
Locks. Ronneville. Hri.lsl Veil, Troutdale, Fair
view. Columbia Heaeh, Latourellr and Corbetts.
Trains No. S. No. 6 and No 7 will mike no stops
between Huud River and Portland.
f
No. 12.
No. I.
No. 6.
No. 4.
No. 10.
:IKAST BOl'NI
Atlantic Fx press.
M.
10:25 A
Chicago Special U: "
Oreiron A Washington Limited h:3o P. M.
Soo-Spokane- Portland 9:00 "
Salt Lake Express 10:25 "
No. 12 stops at all stations east of Hood River,
i No. 10 stops at Miisirr. The Dalles. Olilo. Ues
rhutes. Rufus. Arlington. Umatilla. Hermiston,
BtannelJ. Echo and other way stations.
! No. f and No. 8 stop only at The Dulles. Umatil
la, Pendleton. Gibbon. ta'jrande and Raker City.
I No. 8 will only handle passengers for Nampa.
da ho, and points east thereof.
' Paasenters for local points east of Hood River
must take train No. I?, or train No. 10 to points at
which they stop.
J. H. f RHDRICY, Agent.
I NURSERY STOCK
! For biir. woll matured apple trees, standing
from e to 7 feet in row. Newtons and Spitz, call
f write
" s. w. tir:PPM:R
Two Miles West of Town
L
W. J. BAKER
Real Estate
Loans
V Insurance
APPLE AND STRAWBERRY
LAND A SPECIALTY
Correspondence Solicited
REAL ESTATE!
If you want
Portland City Property
or
Willammette Valley
Lands
you can get the best on
best terms by writing
or visiting
D. N Byorlee
St. Johns, OrsKOn
neas with favor, lie continued:
"1 have traveled much. I have found
noblemen everywhere, lu all climes,
and also 1 have fouud beasts. OU. 1
coufess that my couutry is uot wholly
free from the beast! Hut the beast
here Is a beast sbuuued, discredited,
outcast. On the other side. If be be
mentioned lu the Almanach, they give
him aashea and decorations. Aud they
credit us with being money mad! It
Is not true."
"But, if you are not money mad, wby
these great fortunes?" dubiously.
"At a certain age a fortune In this
country doubles Itself without any ef
fort on the part of the owner. Few of
ua marry for money, and when we do
wo at least bavt the manhood to keep
the letter of our bargain."
"And when you marry Y' she queried.
"Well, It is generally the woman we
love. Dowrlea are not considered
There la no social law wbtob forbids
a dowerleRS girl to marry a dowerleas
man," laughing. "But over there it Is
always and eternally a business coo-
tract simply. You know that."
"Yes, a business contract." listlessly.
"But they talk of nobility on the
other side. That Is It; they talk, talk
Italy. France. Germany! Why, 1 had
rather be the son of an English farm
er than a prince on the continent. And
I had rather be what 1 am than the
greatest nobleman in England."
"Go on, go on! I like it. What do
you call It Jingo?" she laughed.
"Call It what you will. Look at the
men we produce. Three or four hun
dred years ago Europe gave us great
poets, great artists, great soldiers.
great churchmen and great rascals. I
admire a great rascal when he Is
Napoleon, a Talleyrand, a MacblavellL
But a petty one! We have no art, no
music, no antiquity, but we have a
race of gentlemen. The old country Is
not breeding them nowadays."
"Signers, dinner Is served," the maid
announced.
' Slgnora!" thought Ilillard.
"After you. Mr. Hlllard," she said.
He bowed and passed on before her,
but not till he bad passed did he un
derstand the maneuver. To follow her
would have beeu nothing less than the
temptation to pluck at the strings of
her mask. Would he have touched It?
He could not say.
That dinner! Was be In New York?
Was it not Bagdad, the bottle and the
genii? Had he ever, even In his most
romantic drenms. expected to turn a
page bo charming, so enchanting or a
dangerous to his peace of mind, a
game of magical hide and seek?
And she? A whim, a fantastic, un
accountable whim the whim of a wo
man seeking forgetfulness, not count
ing tbo cost nor caring, simply a
w ulin.
On the little table was a Tuscany
brass lamp of three wicks, fed by olive
oil. It was sufficient to light the ta
ble, but the rest of the room was sunk
In darkness. He half understood that
there was a definite purpose In this
seml-tlluinlnation. She bad no wish
that he shou.d by chance recognlxe
anything familiar In this bouse.
'May I ask you one question?" he
asked.
"No," promptly. There was some
thing In his eyes that made her grow
wary of a sudden.
Then I shan't ask It. I shall not
ask you If you are married."
And I shall not say one way or the
other."
She smiled, and be laughed quietly.
A running conversation; a fencing
match with words and phrases; time
after time she touched htm, but with
all his skill he could not break through
her guard.
"And that tnterestlug dissertation on
the American gentleman?" she said
Icily.
"That's the trouble with posing as a
moralist. One must live up to the
film Mi
'
She ic;.T(i(i drew a line across (As
confer of th Utu'c
precepts. ould you believe me If 1
told you that at the age of three and
thirty I am still heart whole?"
She parried. "1 trust you will not
spoil that excellent record by making
love to me." She reached for the
mntches, touched off one, watched It
bum for a moment, extinguished It
and then deliberately drew a line
across the center of the tablecloth.
"Now, what might that represent?"
he asked curiously.
"A line. Mr Hll'nrd. The moment
yon cross that line that moment you
leave this bouse. On guard!"
"Come, that Is not brave. Yon can
retreat till your shoulders touch the
mat, but I must stand this aide of the
line, unuble to reach you. And you
have the advantage of the mask be
sides. You are not a fair fencer."
"The odds should be in my faror,
am a woman. My wrist la not ao
atrong as yours."
"Physically, of course, 1 may pass
the line, to reach the salt, for Instance.
Will that be agalnat the rules? You
have put temptation In my path."
"Bid Satan get behind thee."
"1 wish I knew the color of your
eyes. Itchlnd those boles I see nothing
but points of Ore, no color."
"They are blue. But supposing
wear thla mask because my face la
dreadully scarred?"
"Vanity, yes; but scars, never. At
least never so deep as you yourself can
make. You wear that mask but out
of mercy to me."
Once she rose and approached the
window, slyly raising the mask and
breathing deeply of the cold air which
rushed in through the crevices. When
she turned she found that he, too, had
risen.' He waa looking at the steins,
one of which be held in his hand.
Moreover, be returned and set the stein
down beside bis plate.
"Tell me, why do you do that?"
There was an anxious note In her
voice.
"I have an idea. But let us proceed
with the dinner. This salad"
"I am more Interested in the idea."
She pushed aside the salad and took
a sip of the ruby burgundy. Bad be
discovered something?
"May 1 smoke?" he asked.
"By all means."
He lighted a cigarette and put the
case near the. line.
"Do you enjoy a cigarette?"
"Sometimes," she answered. "But
the idea"
"Will you hot have one?" He moved
the case still nearer to the line.
She reached out a firm round white
arm.
"One moment," he aald. "Let us un
derstand each other thoroughly."
"What do you mean?" ber arm pois
ed in midair.
"To touch a cigarette you must cross
the Hue to this side."
She withdrew ber arm slowly.
"I shall not smoke. If I crossed the
line I should establish a dangeroua
precedent. And I must have that idea."
"The mirror over the plmo confused
me. I have seen It somewhere before.
Then there is that old copy of Botti
celli. The frame is familiar, but I
could not place it. This stein, how
ever!" He laughed. Che laughter waa
boyish, even triumphant.
"Well, that stein?" She was now
leaning across the table, ber fingers
tense on the cloth.
'I bought that stein two aeasona
ago. This is the Sandfords place, and
you are the veiled lady who has been
riding Mrs. Sandford s favorite hunter
in the park."
They stood up simultaneously. In a
matter of this sort be was by far the
quicker. In an Instant be bad caught
ber by the wrist, at the same time
drawing her irresistibly round the ta
ble toward blm.
"I must see your face. I shall never
be at peace if I do not."
Certainly you will never know any
peace If you 1o. Be careful."
His free baud stole toward the
strings of her mask. She moved not
His face was very close to hers now.
If only she would struggle! He re
leased her wrist.
"No; I haven't the courage. If I take
that mask from your face It will be
the end. And I do not want this ever
to end. If you will not let me see your
face of your own free will, so be It. I
shall see It some day, mark me. Fate
does not cross two paths In this man
ner wlthou: a purpose." He stepped
back slowly. "You do not understand
the lure of that mask."
"Perhaps I do. I am beginning to
admire your self control, Mr. Hlllard.
But I am tired now, and I must ask
you to go."
'Once more, will you let me see
your face?"
No. If, as you say, fate intends for
us to meet again you will see It. But
I bnve ray doubts. So It Is my will to
pass out of your life as completely as
though I had never entered It from
one fog Into another. No, I am not a
happy woman. I am not happy In my
friendships. Listen to me," and her
voice grew low and sweet. "Let me
appeal to your imagination. This light
adventure shall be a souvenir for your
old age. One night romance stepped
Into your life and out of it. Think!
There will always be the same cbarm,
the same mystery, the same enchant
ment. I shall alwaya be Cinderella
or the sleeping beauty or what your
fancy wills. Do you understand me?
"Nothing," she proceeded, "nothlug
lasts so long In the recollection as a
pleasant mystery In other days. In
other times. Well, on my side I shall
recall this night pleasantly. Without
knowing it you have given me a new
foothold In life. I did not believe that
there lived a single man who could
keep to the letter of his bargain.
Qood night! And do not lean out of
ny more windows," she added lightly.
"You are right," he said reluctantly.
"something to dream over In my old
age. Aud certainly I shall dream or
It a flash of sunlight In the window."
Then slowly ho reached down to
ward her wineglass. She understood
his purpose and essayed to stop him.
Do not deny me this little thing,"
he said.
She let her hand fall. He took the
glass, held It nunlnst the light to see
where her Hps had touched It. Care
fully he poured out the wine from the
opposite side and kissed the rim.
'I shall keep this glass. I must hsvs
some visible object to make sure that
this hasn't Itoon a dream."
"You may kiss my hand, Mr. nillard."
He bent quickly and kissed not the
hand, but the wrist where the marks
of his fingers still remained faintly.
He squared himself and gazed long
aud steadfastly Into ber eyes. There
was a flutter in ber bean that she
was unable to define. On bis part he
realized the sooner he waa gone the
better. There was a limit to his self
control. He gained the street some
how. There be stopped aud turned.
Did the curtain move? He wasn't
sure, but be raised his hat, settled it
firmly on bis head and walked rapidly
away.
There was little sleep for him that
night, and In the morning the first
thing be did was to pick up the wine-'
glass. It was all true. And then his
good resolutions melted and vanished.
He must have one more word with her.
happen what might. So at 10 o'clock
he called a cab and drove rapidly to
the Sandford place. Snow bad fallen
during the night, and many of the
steps were still spotless white. Impos
sible! He leaned from the cab and
rubbed his eyes. Absolutely Impossi
ble! For what did he see? Wooden
shutters over all the lower windows
and the Iron gates closed before the
doors! And not a footprint anywhere.
This was extraordinary, ne Jumped
from the cab, ran up the steps and
rang the bell rang it ten times with
minute Intervals. And no one an
swered. Then he heard a call from
"Be careful!"
across the street. A man stood In one
of the areawoys.
"Nobody home!" he shouted. "Gone
to Egypt."
"But there was some one here last
night," Hlllard shouted back.
"Dreaming. That bouse has been
empty since November. I happen to
te the caretaker."
Hlllard went back to his cab dazed.
No one there last night? Come, come;
there was a mistake somewhere. He
would soon find out whether or not he
had dined there the night before.
"A cable oflice!" he cried to the
cabby. "Hurry!"
Once there he telephoned downtown
and secured Sandford s cable address.
Then he filled out a blank, which cost
him $10. Late that night at the club
he received his reply. It was terse
Tou are crazy. House absolutely empty.
SANDFORD.
TO BE CONTINUED
NEVER AGAIN
Will you be able to buy Lots in
fiivcrvicw Pc.rk Addition at the
present prices. Lots are oijig
fastthere's a reason.
Sewer, Water, Fine View, No Heavy Grades,
Desirable Surroundings and last but not least
LOW PRICES. Make your selection early
DO IT NOW!
J. F. BATCHELDER
1 106 State Street
Phone 163. M
FURNITURE STORE
IDreeeers
Carpets
Art Squares
Linoleums
ALSO BUILDING MATERIAL
S. E. BARTMESS
Hood River, Oregon
Fresh Eastern nnd Olympla oysters
at IK'Iiussey's Oyster House by pint,
qunrt or gallon. Mount Hood oys
ter cocktails In any quantity,"
Don't Leave the Hood River District
WITHOUT INVESTIGATING
Mosier Valley
Natural advantages for fruit grow in
unexcelled. Land price have doubted in
last two years but are not half that asked
for similar land Lin other sections. Buy
now before speculators add their profits.
Commercial Club of Mosier
MOSIER, OREGON
6 Miles East of Hood River, Oregon
L. B. STEVENS & CO.
A PINE LINE Or
Cigars, tTcfcacccs,
tSmcfttfrs' Supplies
Confectionery, Stationery,
Notions, Etc.
Stop in at "The raaatime"
On the Heights
Tafi Transfer Go.
Draying. . .
Wood Yard
HAY,
FLOUR and
For Sale
FEED
Office Phone 29
Residence 232-M
BUY YOUR GROCERIES I
FROM J
WOOD & HUGGINS
THE SPOT CASH GROCERY
The largest stock to select from. Our large trade
enables you to always get the freshest goods at
our store. We make a specialty of fancy
and high grade stock. Give us a call.
WOOD & HUGGlNlS
Phone 7
w, u tM till
& ill! h&iW
rf it :f ?. i
II. II. Bailey
W. E. Colby
BAILEY & COLBY
Electric Wiring and Fixtures
All kinds of Electrical
Supplies at Moderate Prices
Office and Display Rxm at 1 1 7 State Street
Shor Phone :::-k
Residence Phone ?ee-L
HC. F.SUMNER
Lavatorico
'Coitcto
E PLUMBING
S setter and Drill
1 TILE
Electric
Suction
Cleaner
The very best way to keep your carpet clean
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Form a club of four in your immediate neigh
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the power. Will demonstrate in your house.
The Light & Water Co.