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About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 25, 1906)
1 : i ' V..;mt.ir--T-T-::' -- I'erclval imrienn swung V; touiiiJ lelurIy Id hl chair. as he iipoke A and . prenaml an electric bell at hi l . .. bOW. '-- '.'..' t". " Hla aervant. cominc In a, moment latar found him Jpanini back with hla I . flxfd on the celling and th tip of ' iIb ' flnera - lightly prad tonethar. J", Their, waa a look In hla fac which aven I.' tha man noticed a look. of one who waa v iinea up wno wnoie rr- raded with the mtoxicanor ' ubllm contentment. - ... V Fpom thla pcaltlon he did not move. Hla . eyes followed the aervant be " placed the allver readlna--lamp on the table, drew the heary eurUln acroaa the windows, and finally Temovet the tray and tea-thlna-a, which stood nes lected -where they had been set down half an hour beore. but hie mind waa far away tn some distant dreamland. . - A' fiance around tb eosy room lit up with the soft effulcence thrown by the yellow ahade of the lamp was sufficient t reveal that the owner was a man of expensive and artlstl taste. Tet the whole place waa tn orderly confusion. The desk at which he sat was littered with proofs of books; there were -books i on the floor and bobka on the seat of every chair within reach of his arm. !. Moat Of these volumes were uncut. . Perclvml . Dufferln. ooet. crltio and readeT io the putnahlnir flrui nf whlrh tie waa partner, was perhaps the moat conscientious worker In London, His i I ace. handsome always, waa almoet : . beautiful at this moment. The brown :" eves were soarkllnc and the well-formed mouth was parted in a smile which ' seemed to express unfathomable depths - of baplpneaa. ... -... , : v., j Although atm early, he waa In even- Ins dress. The tailcoat, however, had " been discarded for a well-worn smoklnn--, Jacket emblazoned on the pocket with " Mag trim rnii ,t" h"l "f tt f;ars lay open on the table before him. - "Tea. a baronetcy." he repeated to ' himself, cominc suddenly to an upright ... position,- "How pleased Owen wlU be!" He bent forward aa ; he Tpoke-and opened one of J the drawers of the bu .'. reao. Tne manuscript of novel lay Inelda. neatly tied with pink tape. It ' was typewritten.-but on the-uppermost - sheet was scrawled, in running hand, X. 'Madame Delilah. by H. R. H. Prince." '- and then followed the name of the Ulus- trlous author. , ' Bo immersed was 'he In bis eentempla- Hon that Dufferln did not hear the door open, and It was jinly at the sound of the soft frou-frou of A woman's skirt which made h Ira look -up quickly and ""then spring to his feet wkh a little . plantation of delight, . ,.. . , "Owen!" ? -. . ! M. ','.' , ' , V . "Vair ': ' Bh east a quick glance around the room, and ha went forward to meet tier a with outstretched hands, i . ' '' -. "I thought I must come up for a mo ment, aha said, rather breathleaaly. ; "Tou are not bueyT" ,. "Never, when I have you to idle with," he answered, softly. , . Her white fingers lay In hla for a ' moment, and then he turned and swept a pile of books from an easy chair, wheeling tt up to the fir for her. "I must not stop," she said, with as other quick glance around the . room. Tet she did not reslat aa he bent over her to remove her cloak, only her hands trembled a little as they rested on his arm. . . . . . He ca'.ried the wrap across the room, poked the fire Into a blase, and came . back to where she was standing In her shimmering white silk dress, and the plnmes of her fan pressed against her - cheek. Dufferln noticed a subtle per- fume 1n the room -Jt wae a. scent, he loved, the scent of vlolers. 'which, some how, he always associated with ber In his mind. . "Are you glad to see me, valT" the "lrl aakedEha Jjatf JvnkJUl.t.Jhe prof fered chair, and her blue .eyea Tookeat up half coquettish ly into his handsome lace. . "Owen, when you are not with me life becomes merely existence." - He spoke passionately, and then, with a reetleas movement, he turned round and laid his fingers on the mantelpiece and stared down with unseeing eyesat the leaping flamea. The fan, which lay across the girl's knee,- trembled s little. Gwendoline Mallow was a girl whom men called beautiful, and women, with, a shrug of .their shoulders. good-looklig. flhe made a lovely, pltture In that dim -ruddy light as aha sal in the depths of th low, roomy chair, such as a imn delights in. The rippling hair was brought down low over the forehead so low that only a glimpse of white skin showed over the delicate arch nf the eyebrows. Her eyes were bluest of blue, ' large and rather expansive.' Her feat ures were small and regular, and the bright coloring lent a certain piquancy to the face. ' Tet the smiling Hps had a dangerous tendency to fall In aarcastle curves at the corners. - There were many time when the tender expression melted away till the mouth became Stern and almost cruel. " '. i A moment passed In silence, and then the nan spoke again, without changing his position. There as a paliHtble tremor la his voice. " ( Own, how -long hsva yoti been' en aVtrel to air Heory? How long has this miserable fare been going oar i .gat - . .a . I i ' '"' 1 '-'.'"i. I;T r'i,, II I.M.I'-' , IF . 7 ur-m U B I J THE v ,..' . iS. "::'$JV I I V S Hi " - - TOW ??' ri ' " ' v i l ;i :)iri,i ; mm:' ; M : r Mi ;;: i..;, ' II I I f III Mfi W$Mi$ 1 W J.' ''v vi t . ? :i'-.iv:; ill;;if I I U::1 .y ' ,YJa 1 fSIf , ' vr vn't terns .y , Mh-'-X- wMmM' There was a disdainful shrug of the pretty shoulders. - " " "Tt dont-hnow. ' About three yeara,' 1 suppose. : It , seems an Interminable tme." , ; And yet you ire tOlng to make- t an eternMyT You are going to marry him In spite of everything"" He turned now and faced ber. A subdued light was burning in hlit eyes, and his hands wer clasped together. 7 ' "1 shppoee soT Her voice sounded hard and Indifferent. Tet she was ner vous and agitated, far more so than he, who could only judge by the outward appearance, had any idea. " . ; 'Tou see," (ho went on, "thla engaga? ment has been published as it were on the housetops! It cannot very well he broken oft Besides -a woman must marry some day." 2' - , ' She had arisen with an evident Inten tion uf going, and stood for a moment with her hands outstretched towsrdp the fire. Her heart was beating fast, and the long, white arms trembled a little. "There is no law against her msrry- ing the man she loves," observed Duf ferln dryly. , . - , ' . "Perhaps he has nsver said a , word that could be construed into a proposal of marriage. It would be rather ven turesome for a woman to set her heart on that before he had ever asked her to bo his wife.? ,., -, ' Just for a moment a sudden light came into the man s faee.j Waa It pos sible that she meant all her words con veyed? He hesitated for a moment, and then hlrtountenance fell.. tr "Ifo sll very well for you to cast that In my teeth." ha said 'with sudden warmih-.-Tet you know why I have never spoken; ou know that your am bition Is too great to be content wlt,h any husband who could not give you a title." ..'.!- -' ."That goes without saying, ,of course, " She saw Tigniiy. . - But she was dreadfully angry with him all ' the same more angryt per haps, than she had ever been in her life. ..'". f (.' Dufferln, however, did not notice the ominous compression of the tips. To him there was nothing extraordinary Tn' s"UeBffTptrtnon: 1 In lelea' Mai- low's place be would ' certainly ' have played his cards to become "My Lady." Owen." he said, passionately, ."sup pose that I were to win a baronetey would you marry ms then? For, Heav en's aake, have pity on me!" He stood before her with bowed head. Outside they eoald hear the dull roar of the Plead Illy traffic the rumble of wheel;-, the thud of horses' feet on the slippery .wood, the shrill voices of the newsboys.- ; . ,., r There waa still anger In the girl's hearts Yet she felt that she wee power less before this man; , her body . and aoul were his. . At last sho spoke.' """,''" ' "That would certainly make a dif ference," she said, deliberately. . ' "Then you will marry mef cried Dufferln eagerly. "Tou are not a baronet yet, she re plied wltb a rippling laugh. . It wae then that there rarna. to his lyes (hut l-ok which had given a sort of sublimity to his faoe earlier in the evening. His joy was almost too great to be contained. He went across the room to his desk and laid hla 'hand on the open drawer. . "In here."-he s.lid, "Is the menu script Of a novel, called Madnme Del ilah.' by Prinoe j that; is good enough for me." ' . Mls Mallow cams across the room to his aide. Her blue eyes were opened' Wide -with amaaement. .. j, - . . '"But surely you don't mean that you OREGON SUNDAY JOURNAL, PORTLAND, SUNDAY will get a baronetcy for publishing a book lust because it la written by a I memberothe royal family t ; . "Not In (the ordinary way.-perhaps; But, In the first place, this Is the at- hi5rtwaaaTe7rmuslBse" money Tvef It- ' I deserve something as a recom pense for that. Besides I have al ready done something for my party! This will be the finishing touch.' Ha untied the pink tape aa he sppge and placed the first two chapters; of the story In Miss Mallow's hand. "It seems to me," she said, dropping for a moment Into the . comfortable writing chair and spreading the manu script upon the table, "that It Is Iniqu itous that members of toe royal fern lly do this kind of thing. Their books ought to be published for private .cir culation only. To the publlo, of course. It does not matter; they take a morbid delight in getting a peep Into the work ings of these august minds; It Is strug gling suthors and those who have to make their living out- of writing on whom It Is so hard!" m "It la not a bad plot. said Dufferln, half apologetically. Ha was quite In accordance with the girl's sentiment that if "Madams Delilah", had been written by anyone alas more than the flrat three or four chapters would never have been read. He told her the outline , of the story briefly while she sat at the table turning over the leaves in her hand. When h4 flniehed aha looked Op. "What an extraordinary thing," shs exclaimed, "Tou remember that man uscript you gave me to read the other day, Val. and which you said began so well that you were sure It was quite worth reading Well, that turns much on the earns plot as you havs been tell ing me. Precisely the same. And what Is mora,, it is a maatarpteoe; It Is a book which Is bound to sell and which win become famous. I meant to have told you before." ... Dufferln shrugged his shoulders. 'It is hard on the author, whoever ho may be some absolutely unknown man, wasn't Itf : , "It is hard on the Prinoe, I should say." , - Why,, it-won't -me ke-any difference to hint." , "Tea It will The novel I read for you was written first; you will have to publish ir and. let the other go." Dufferln laughed with a quiet amuse ment - -,... "I am afraid, Owen, you are not a woman of business. The manuscript you have will not even be mentioned U -.V.?" 5. wU1 ImPlr' be rejeoted with thanks." - - Owen's eyes flashed Indignantly. t And what excuee will you giver she inquired, swinging round In the chslr, with an ironical lift of her pretty eye brows. . ' j That oh t Anything, don't you knowT That It Is not suitable; that the plot Is not a new one." . The Sound Of the rlnrk rlbln. I the girl look op. ' "Surely it Is not so late as that! . I must bo going at once. I promised to meet father at the Lyceum punctually She rose In sudden consternation at finding how the time had slipped by. Dufferlng went across the room for her cloak. Kho forgot everything, except that they were going te part. 1 ' In fastening Ur wrap his face came very near to here. . She felt his warm breath on her cheek: she could almost hear hla heart beating against hers. The hext Instant his arm had slipped round her waist, and for one delirious Intoxicating moment their ;ipe msk . miauu liter, and shs was gone. Perclval Dufferln closed the door be hind her and went -back to his desk. For soma time bo sat thinking over his good, fortune, hi, eyes closed and hla legs stretched out under fhe tabic. TBftTTIl-Tolls WTlffilBXY pen, finished and sealed the letter he had been writing, and east a look round, preparatory to leaving off work for the night In the mood ho was In business waa Impoaaibls. " Suddenly ha leaned across the desk and drew a pile of manuscript towards him. I was the story which ha bad given Gwendoline Mallow to read. He took tt up,-glanced through the flrat chapters, which ha had already pe rused, and began reading with the ex traordinary rapidity which men who read much acquire. x - At flrat he waa merely 'amused at the similarity of the plots; then he be came Interested and finally absorbed He read on, forgetful of time, forgetful of his own dinner, oblivious to every thing but the vivid style and the en trancing Interest of the story. Finally the last chapter was reached. The room seemed to have become close. There was perspiration on his forehead; yet, when he turned around, he found that the firs had burned down and was out. Tt is a pity," he said musingly. Tet this will havs to wasted." He roes and began pacing up and down the room. In the interests of the firm he ought to reject the prince's book. Tet to do that waa to throw away everything which made Ufa worth living, to ruin his own happiness.-' . Finally ha went hack to the writing table, aeribbled a abort note, and ringing for his servant, told him to take the manuscript round that night by hand. The sight of It waa htedmlng obnoxious. . Then he remembered that fee had had nothing to eat since lunch, smt for a cab, and drove rotn-d to the club for dinner la an exceedingly happy frame of mind. ' The following evening Perclval Duf ferln went to call on the Matlowa. It waa a clear starlight evening, and aa he was early In starting ho decided to to via Hyde Park on foot. As hs strolled alongr-Ma-inm -wen- back the- 1rei vioue evening, , nil conscience nao Bricked him more than once during the day on the matter of the rejeoted manu script Tet ho consoled himself with the thought that a poor novel by a mem ber of the royal family would poaalbly sell aa well aa a clever book by an un known author. It was weak comfort, but It assuaged the feeling of having betrayed hie trust. - -Very few people were about In the Park. As ho smerged by the sldVof the Serpentina It waa hard to realise that he waa standing in the heart of the busiest city In the world,- There ..was not a sound .to be distinguished except the deft licks of the water against the sides of the little bridge at the eastern extremity of the lake.. - He rested bare for a while, and presently became aware of some one who had risen from an iron seat a few hundred yards away, and was now standing gaslng down Into the water. By degrees the man came towarda the bridge.' Dufferln could not distinguish his face, but he saw he waa in a rage, and hla movements somo how raised his auptolons. "If I were driven 40 sleeping bare," he thought, ri . think I should be coward enough, to put . myself out of my misery. ' " 1 . Then he began io think what an un just world It waa which drove men to such extremities. ' ' ' , "Perhaps," he psld to himself, "this Is men' of education and refinement Perbapa hs Is even a genius whom the. MORNING. NOVEMBER world will hot recognise. What num bers of capable men there are starving at the preaent moment", .All the time . ha -was watohlng the Tasti elossly. his own thoughts, "declare that a man must have some flaw if he eannot keep hla head above water. That I do not believe. It may be the sins of the fat hrrrs -visited upon ihe children ; eome malign destiny seems to thwart them through life." , - -; ; Hla reflection came to a sudden and. Without a cry, without a algn of hla Intention the melancholy stranger had suddenly plunged into the aratar. It did not take an Inatant . for Dufferln to fling off hla coat and diva from where ho stood Into the circling eddy, which marked the spot where the man had sunk. - - '-,-..',.. There was a short ' struggle In the water; the suicide fought with terrible despair for death. Mora than once Dufferln felt himself being drawn down la the dutches of this desperste man. -Finally he conquered ..- . r The two men. drlDDlnc from head to foot, stood facing one another on the bank. By the light of the flickering gas lamp Dufferln aaw that this poor crea ture be had aaved was little more than a boy; his fsca was whits and thin, his eyea bloodshot. -. , They were both out of breath. : Presently the boy spoke. "Why did you not let ma drown r he asked. In a thick, husky voice, - "I don't want to live. What Is the use of llv- Ingr , Dufferln laid his hand kindly on the hoy a shoulder. "Some day you will thank ma.' No man, remember, has a right to put an end to his lire. - Existence la a debt which he owes to bis Maker." - The boy began to ahlver. Dufferln bimetlf felt a chill run through him. . ' "My rooms are near here," ha said. "Come along and I will lend you some thing dry to put on." They boy resisted.. Dufferln became authoritative, and hs yielded with- a bad grace; . , . . "What made you attempt to take your own life 7" he eaked, aa they walked rapfdly-toward his rooms. The boy's teeth -chattered. V , "Because any death is better than Starvation," he answered grimly. - By degrees Dufferln wormed his story from him. It waa the saddest and moat pathetic atory he bad. ever heard. The boy had, been thrown out. of work; he had attempted to gain empioym V but failed; there was aa Invalid mother at home, and a girl whom be loved. Things had gone from bad to worse. After a time, hla mother had died. His poverty became so awful that the laat atom of self-respect left him, and he no longer dared even to see his, divinity, He wrote and told her that he was going away, that ha would never coma back again, and his letter must be farewell forever. .... s , In his rags no employer would look at him. . His last ehancs of obtaining work had gone. - Finally ho had at tempted to writs a book, keeping him self by holding horses In the street . "At college I hsd been the Idltor of the O rants," he said with a sudden flash of pride, Vi hs noticed the look which unconsciously spread over Duf fertn's faee. "t knew I had it In ma to rite. This was my last hope. I aent the work in to soma publishers snd waited. Two weeka paaeed, and I be gan to hope. The voice broke off abruptly. "Well? It may be all right still. Somettmee it Is weeks before a pub lisher has time to read the 'MS, which Is ent la to him. - 23. 1808. Y t;:teV7 VJ t ! , It came back last night rejected. " " Dufferln felt Inexpressibly sorry for the boy. . ' - "Do you think It was a good otoryr he aaked kindly. He wondered whether his unknown author had bean In such a plight aa thla poor fellow. "I thought it waa; it seemed good t me." - a."T , '. :' v'" "111 tell you what," said Dufferlnj "send it along to ma... 1 am a publisher. Perhape l might be able to help you. Opinions differ, you know, on the merits of almoat every work." , The boy aelsed his hand In sudden gratitude, - The tears sprang to hla ayes and choked him. He attempted to aay something, and broke down utterly. "My name la Dufferln," the publisher went on. deeply moved by the other's "Ah!" ' ' K ' ''" . " ' ' It was almost a cry of agony whloh broke from the boy's Hps. Dufferln etood etUl as If be had been shot PeN nape a auaplcion of the truth flashed through his mind. ' - "It waa you who sent back my book. Dufferln said afterwards that that waa the aupremeet moment of his life, yet he did not hesitate an Inatant "What la ' your - namer - hs Inquired gently,- '' " " "Murray.' . ' ' "Tour manuscript was not returned." "It waa, and a letter oama with It from you," ; ' 'There muet have been soma mistake; that la all Tour book will be published aa soon aa we can set tt up in type." . No one, perhape, will ever know what that mement coat Perclval Dufferln. He waa' acting on Impluae. Tet he spoke deliberately deliberately ha . swept away hla whols future hsppiness; In a doaen words ha banished forever his haps of marrying the girl ho loved. . After that hs went on -like a man In a dream.. At last his rooms were- reached; ha shook himself together, ordered two baths to bs prepared, and arranged everything In his own bedroom that the boy could want Then ha left him. and went as ha B AKBAROUS tribes In vsrtous parta of tha world employ sig ns! fires at ntghte and Other methods for the rapid convey. anoe of information. .In aome respects the system employed among the moun tains In tha Interior of British New Oulnea la the most effective , yet de vised. : Wireless Telegraphy Among. Barbarians Pxtte.uraliatwbAJ.Wt.w eentlv scent two years among tha na- Uvea of this great island, gives In bis new book rather mora detailed informa tion on this eubjeot than earlier writ era have done. - Mora than ones ha found the extraordinary system of In tercommunication ' among the Papuana of the greatest assistance to him In hiSWork. Ha calls U ths wireless tel egraphy of tha wilds. One day ha needed to send ft msssage to a native named Gaberlo, who was collecting butterflies and birds for ths expedition. His whereabouts waa not exactly known, but ha was in the north eaef somewhere, about 80 miles away. ' From tha naturalist's eamp could bs seen hill after hill arising to tha north. each of them covered by -native villagea. Men with aapeclaUy good voices are assigned to the ervlcs or passing thee wlrelesa messages irom nunop to hilltop until they reach their destin ation. . ' ' Mr. Pratt set tne service in motion to find Oaberto and deliver the meeaage to him. , Ha saya that after ba had given tha order at his station ha heard In a few minutes the-natives calling from hill to hill. In tha pura air of these altitudes their voloes carried magnlfl aontlv for Ion a- dlstancea and village anewered village with' perfect ease front! nage to nun- A little later tne natives wno were attending to thla telegraphy at Pratt's ramp came to' him with the ttdtngs that Oaberto had been found tn ft village V. was and sat down In the sitting-room, and covered hla face with -his bands, and. strong man that he was. orlad his heart out like a child. Preeently he looked up and discov ered a letter lying on hla blotting pad. One glance, and ha knew that it. -waa Owennla Mallows writing. Ha opened It mechanically. ' -It-was perfumed slightly, wltb.- the trlolata, and the eoent made hint turn w Sick ana raint. m pusoeo wy him; hia eyea wars blurred and ha eoald not aee to read. - ' ' Presently a Bttlo Blip of newspaper cutting Inclosed tn the envelope caught his attention. '- ....,- . Then ha made another effort to road . h IBS letter; pernepe inerv -mmm rhtnh-ha mieht do fOT her. ' It waa qalte a shoi-tpotarrlttauJ A Wjlrnooth-runnlng band no aivew so well. "Dear Mr. Dufferin." It ran. "no doubt you will havs seen the Inolosed notloe of Bir Henry Ornham'a death In the ovsn ing papera. I am writing to you at onoo leat you should raise any falaa hopea pon It I am free now, but I can never marry you. It may seem ridiculous Indeed. I know It Is ridiculous yet X ean never bring myself to think of you aa I did before, after lest night Tour action In regard to the Prince 's novel Is unjust snd unfair, nor Is tt worthy of a gentleman. I do not know what strange optnlona you hare formed of me, nor ean X. Imagine why you should have supposed that X would only marry soms ono wbo could give mo a title. 1: Believe me, tha Mr. Dufferin X used to know will aver hold a place tn my heart, which Sir Perclval Dufferln never 'wlU and never can. Tours eln eerly, O. MALLOW." For a moment Dufferln set rigid la bis chair. ' Then he rose slowly to his feet Bis eyes were shining and tha old smile bad come back to his Hps. He crossed over the room and glanced at the olock, "There la still time to go round there tonight" ha aaid to himself. And when he had changed his clothes hs went round and took Murray with him tA InlmAnM Ih Ktw 6a t K a WAmAfl who had first found merit tn his story. ) only about 10 mllea away. Tha mes sage waa delivered to him and hs re turned word that ho waa coming back by the seme route ha had followed on the outward tourney and would reach camp next day. . A few months later Pratt who was making preparetlona to move to other ooiiectlng grounds, found that hs eould around hlra to transfer his baggage to tne otner neia. use day aome big. strong men of ths Ivala tribe, with , Willi,, he' ar- y were j Y, they their- chief, called on him and b ranged with them that, when they summonod oy wireless telegraphy, would etart from their homes, 10 miles away among the mountalne, and carry his baggage to the new camp. Ha felt sure .that they would respond ' to hla call beoause ha promised them tobaooo In payment, and they , were very fond of the weed. - s . Several weeka elapsed before hs waa ready to move. ' Then he set the tele graph In motion; one village called up another, and so on. stage by stage, the message was communicated to the dis tant horns of the plotureaque mountain sera. v , It aeema aatonlshlng, but Pratt says that thla message waa delivered to tha thief to whom it waa sent In- less than 10 minutes after It left hla tent. Tim journey on foot between these two places among tha ateep mountains re quires five days, though tha distance Is only 10 miles.- - s ) In the afternoon the answer cam that the natives would bs on their way tha next morning. 60 In due time they appeared cn the scene eager to earn tneir tobacco. ' . - ' " XJberalltr. ' - ' 1 ' From the Chicago Newa. ' ' ' When.- It comes to giving advice th average man la liberal. v. 1 0