THE CHAUFFEUR AND THE JEWELS
, IW6, WJ B
CIUITKH XIII.
"Yetl fhall ht-mt f'"" rly la
the iiu.rriltijc." the IikmIi I'rlnre del
I'lno bad told Mr. Waring when In
left ber at hr houa; and lbn, turn
ing Ll motor In the direction of hi
hotel, ho gave himself up la the bual-
nras c f lit moment, mulling the moat
of the brief lime left him.
It w half paal ttn hmi he stood
outside of house on 8 strwt and
consulted hie watch.
Ilalfpaat ten. Very late for a vial!
and yet they were- awake In the
house! I
Tli ro lit It Ibe bowed shutters and
open wlnduwa came lh aoinid of one
of Chimin' waltses, played by a girl
' slightly amateur flng"r on a piano
that wat not of the best. Hut on
that nlKlit of witchery, In the silent
Unfiled street, the air floated, out
With a certain graceful atatellneaa
Curbing hi Impatience, Barto watt
ed until the lam note of the phrase
wa (ilnyod, regardless; of the flight
of II run, and then, mounting the steps
rang the bell.
Tb-re wa a sIIkIiI healtatlou b'
fore a light tread came along the ball
and the door opened.
"I had a Ilium I given up Your High
neaa," aald Annette Bancroft.
Her vlitl tor atood, hat In band,
looking up at her.
"I am all apologies for the bite-
neaa of tin) hour," ho began In a low
vot''. "nut I have been dining at
Cli"v Cnaht- and 'allied long
er :un 1 thought t ! n'l only atuy
a moment."
The girl led the way without a peak
ing. Into the drawing room, whore
two randlea were burning, revealing
the open piano heaped with mimic.
Behind It the window atood open, let
ting in the light from the at reel.
- "Hoses!" ejuculated the mock
prince. Ho daintily anlffed at a bowl
ful standing on the center of the
table. "I'apa Gontler," he murmur
ed, lifting the heavy heads. "He lias
good tame In flower the Englishman."
Annette made a faint acqulesence.
BY EDITH MOftCAN MUllXTT
All
pery, diverse nature, no other rourae
unurrml. The matt who Iovd An
nette Ilaturofl and waa loved In re
turn could no longer mak btlilnd
the j'rluce e lino.
I'g the air from llial, bird Ilk
atoma of sound threading the roar of
the rlty.
At lat Annette spoke. "What
have you done with the diamond?"
she asked vvry quietly.
The man before her raught hi
breath. "Ah, the diamonds! I had
forgotten about them."
for an Instant he stared at
the
girl blankly. All this time .udotc
Ludovlo must come forth and bear Harto had been thinking of himself
hi responsibilities. The law of aelf chauffeur, Hurely that was lo
preservation, which he had only ac enough! Hut now, with a heavy. Ir-
knowledge so far, bad given way to retrievable aense of doom, he saw In
another, diviner. For the first time u,"r "J"' h"iice he had fallen and
In bis lire the mercurial chauffeur now r twin the peeatal on
bent hi head to the law of self sac-1 Wbl('n Plat ed the I'rlnce ddj
rifle. I'lno. down to the thief the robber
Turning suddenly, he looked at the of Wra- War'" diamond. What
girl at the piano. descent! And In the fall lov,
Annette wa leaning forward, fa- ,bt Drlt,K delicate thing, lay shat-
dug him. a faint nervous smile on t'rt". broken into fragments.
her lips, ber eye full of a dawning. filtrt0 suddenly face to face
shy expectancy, "h a Judge, young, austere, Implac-
Walcblng her, hi wonderfully keen UK whose clear tone there
almost feminine perception dls- ou,u,,,1 no oul distant I'ur-
sect lug the girl' soul. Barto saw. u "cslor; In whose glance be
with shuddering, alckeulna- horror ,aw himself condemned.
and aelfdlNgust, all that the girl In
her Innocent romantic soul was Im
agining, A fairy tale no less foob
Inn enough! with a prince, for Its
hero and for It heroine
The man who loved her knew, with
"The diamond," he repeated with
an effort, "go to Mr. Waring to
morrow, with a notu ,f of riplana
Hon. I shall see t it the first
Inmg In the morning.
iu iAuiuiii ,t mm hmmI i
an Inward recoil, that It fell to him P'"'ial air of a s rvant. his eyes on
to shatter this pretty Ilttlo castle In tno ground, and for a moment An
the air with It occupant. netto listened silently
Standing before her ,he spoke for "What are you doing here then?
many. "Mis Ilancroft, tell me. how r00 amideniy. "JJoiri you
long have we known each other k,,ow tlial " Count Bouravleff gf.
you and I?" l,"r yu. he may be here at any mo-
Annette raised her tycs to his. and "''r vol,e ro" sharply
a vivid color tinged her pale cheeks. "You will bo caught, Imprisoned!"
Two weeks." she said, without the lm th9 chauffeur only amlled with
faintest hint of coquetry or beslta- "IWalo In hi keen eye which had
Hon. "It wa Jmit two week aco not Ul''n ,h,'re before. Blight as It
tonight tha: wo met on board the Ma- I ,hat no,e ot anxiety bad not -
estlc." caped blm. Though In fragmenu
"No!" Barto hook hi head. "t111 tnere WM ,ovo or n'm In tbe
You have known me longer than 'rI' heart.
that. Ixiok at me!" " " "afe enough Indeed!
He drew nearer, with audden do- 06 n'red confidently. "My motor
termination. "Where have you seen u atandlng In front of a pharmacle
me before? Think! Kemember!" ln F "'reet at this moment. For my
But the girl only gazed at him with ' Mt ,he botel " hour aK0
aHtonlehed. half frightened eyes. nd ,ook my valise with Ita contents
"Before?" she faltered: "I don"t lo "he hesitated "well, never mind
understand."
Sarto moved Impatiently. The sus
pense was becoming unbearable.
where. When one leads a double
life. Miss Bancroft, one find It con
ven lent sometime to live ln two
She had seated herself on the piano i "Think!" he urged relentlessly. "Of Plott'8- And then I came on here.
whom did you say I reminded you? le8 11 lulte gafe; but 11 ' ell
Have you forgotten Sarto, the chauf-ltx&l yu remind me Chat I must go.'
tool, a ghost-like little figure ln the
half light.
Turning away from tho table, Sar
to moved toward the piano.
"Ah, I had forgotten that!" he
said, speaking aotto-voce. "M. Bulst
remains after I am gone. He has the
best of It!"
"After you have gone!" echoed
Annette.
She stood motionless, staring with
parted lips and widened eyes Into
the face of the man who bent over
the piano, hla dark, mobile features
to near her.
"Yes," he said, speaking In very
iulet tones, to which hi curiously
expressive voice lent a certain pa
tho. "It Is to say good by I am
come tonight. Before morning I will
have left Washington. I shall never
ee you again."
The last words rang with an Irre
pressible melancholy that sent a
ahJjver through his listener. Turn
lug, forgetful of all the revealing
lights in the street below, she look
ed up Into his face, her own white
with the shock of hla words her
eyes wide with the secret of her
ieart.
"Annette!" cried Ludovlc Sarto.
tLove is a great mystery!
It moves through the winding pas
sages of our cold, dark hearts bo si
lently that we never suspect its pres
ence until suddenly one day we see
It for the first time mirrored ln the
light of another's eyes.
At some time when the chaff eur
could not tell some Midas touch had
turned the gratitude the friendship
he felt for this girl Into the gold of
lis heart.
And in thia Instant of miracles the
man's whole being, his double na
ture, even the dark side which had
.achieved its sinister triumph one
short hour ago, seemed touched by
that same Divine alchemy the base
metal in him transformed and puri
iled. '
There are certain moments In this
.dull life of ours when the froth is on
the wine moments of dazzling, diamond-like
brilliance moments as
sweet as the first' taste of a nectar
ine and as evanescent.
Even as Ludovlc Sarto and An
nette Bancroft gazed into each other's
eyes, the moment passed by, never
.to return.
The next a terrible realization
.came Into the man's heart. "Wait
A moment!" he said hoarsely. "I
I have something to tell you!"
Turning sharply away, he took a
few turns up and down the room,
grappling with the ordeal that was
'suddenly upon him.
For the girl must be told the truth
now! It was inevitable! Alas! the
discovery of her secret demanded
the revealing of his.
It was a strange pBychic fact that
to Sarto now, in spite of his slip-
"What will become of you?" ask
ed the girl, almost ln a whisper.
She still sat, her face turned away.
taring fixedly at the opposite wall
Sarto moved toward the door.
What will become of me?" he
echoed, with, his old fatalistic shrug
feur?'
"You Sarto?" Annette half whls
pored the word. "Sarto and the
Prince del Pino!"
Her lrrdpresslble Imagination was
at work again.
With a half groan Sarto turned
away. "No more fairy tales, child!" ot the shoulders. "Who knows?"
he said roughly. "The book is clos- 1118 volce dropped. "I have sinned
ed now! The man you have known and 1 "1U8t do penance, make expla-
Is not the Prince del Pino." His tlon- There Is much ahead of me."
voice vibrated. Only an Impostor He Pe"ed the door abruptly and
a miserable Impostor. Listen!" He 8tod hesitating. "Will you not look
hesitated, standing with his back to at me before I go, and pity, forgive,
the window, a silhouette of a man, forget?"
looking at the girl between her two f"or tne 'lrst t,me Annette met his
candles as a lost soul might look at glance- Sne na1 Deel listening to
an angel ln heaven. I lne leatner-coated chauffeur, shrink-
Then he told his story, from the "' from tne thlef: now. raising her
time that he looked into Mrs. War- uead- Bne Baw. standing in the door
ing's trunk to the present. way a curiously attractive figure,
Perhaps never In the course of his 'ooa'ng t her with wistful eyes. The
checkered career had the chauffeur. man atter all.whoin she loved.
pastmaster as he was in the science Ha,f unconsciously, she leaned to-
of the tongue, acquitted himself so ward nIm w,tn a desolate little cry.
ill. By a skillful suppression of a "plty- fo've, yes!" she repeat
fact here, the strengthening of an ed- "YeB- But forget? Oh, I cannot
episode there ln fact, a little Judl- and w111 not 8lv you up!'
clous light and shade the tale might "is'ng to her feet, she stood, her
have made a very creditable autobl- hald8 clasped tightly, her lips parted
ography, ln which Ludovlc Sarto, the azlnK at him with the soul itself
hero, would have shone forth in an shining in her eyes. But Sarto did
adventurous, seductive possibly an not move. He stood looking at her
heroic light. standing between her candles, the
to a lover all things are possible, sculpted image of a saint carved ln
permissible. But for the time being
Sarto was not a lover.
He stood as it were in his confes
sional, speaking io a hidden ear, dis
ectlng his conduct with the scrupu
lous exactness of the penitent. And
the pale girl sitting between the two
candles was to him a distant vision
n a dim church, silent, inspiring, up
lilting! Only at the last, the man
looked out through the sinner's eyes,
with a faint satisfaction in his own
sin, an irresistible pride in his own
performance.
"I must say I played the part
well!" Sarto boasted. "My acting
was successful as far as it went. I
dare say there are a score here who
would say a good word for me "
A wail crept into his voice. "Ah,
the irony of fate! While they are
applauding the Prince del Pino out
there in the audience, the poor moun
tebank must crawl off to hide him
self and his broken heart. But I for
got" with a jarring laugh "chauf
feurs people of a certain class are
not permitted to have hearts!"
He Btood, poor Sarto, very human
and very much in love, his face work
ing, his heart rebelling at the bitter
ness of his cup, the injustice that de
prived him of the fruits of his own
triumphs the enjoyment of his own
happiness.
And there was silence in the little
room, while from the street outside
came the smooth roll of wheels and
a man's tenor ln the distance sing-
stone, and a very wistful look came
into his face.
"There is a lighted shrine ln my
heart," he said, speaking to himself,
"and the flame can never go out. The
candle will be burning there always
through the long, lonely pilgrimage
and at the end "
"I will be. waiting," said Annette
very softly.
For a long InBtant their eyes met.
Hers were full of tears, but Into the
man's there came a far-off, ineffable
look as of one who sees visions and
dreams dreams.
"Some day the pilgrim will come
back to you," he said.
And, with love burning triumphant
ly at the candles of his shrine, Sar
to went out Into the night.
At ten o'clock the next morning,
while Mrs. Waring was sitting up in
bed and sipping her chocolate, her
maid brought her a flat, square, be
wrappea parcel, just arrived by a
messenger boy.
Giving a glance at the address
written in a delicate, foreign-looking
hand, Gussue tore open the wrap
pings with excited fingers, pulled out
the orthodox cottonwool so sugges
tive of a jeweler, and revealed a
chamois glove case!
Pinned to it was a card on which
was engraved, "II Principe Roderigo
del Pino," and underneath, in pencil.
Better known as Ludovlc Sarto, Mrs.
Waring's ex-chauffeur, begs to send
(Continued on last page!)
a
HERE WE ARE AGAIN
With another line of Holiday Goods. This
time it's a beautiful line of Umbrellas fine
gold filled, detachable handles, the very best
of steel frames and fine silk covers. Some
thing every possessor will be proud to own.
A suitable present for old or young and some
thing that has real value and comfort and will
make the giver and receiver happy. An in
dispensable article for this time of the year,
especially with the ladies. Make your selec
tion early and we will engrave them free of
charge.
O. A. KRAMER
Jeweler and Optician
SELLING OUT
AT COST
Entire stock consisting of Harness, Whips,
Blankets, all kinds of strap work, all. goods
used in harness and saddle making, and
Leather Goods must be closed out. I am
positively going out of business, and will sell
the stock at actual cost.
This is an opportunity for farmers to buy
their horse goods at .actual cost. It will not
be their privilege to again have such a chance,
perhaps, in a lifetime. to buy at such low prices.
This sale will last only until the first of
December. My stock of goods must be sold
by that time as the shop will be closed on
that date. Other business demanding my at
tention makes it impossible for me to contin
ue the harness shop in Independence.
George G Dunham
The Harness Man
2j