THE DESTROYING ANGEL
By LOUIS JOSEPH VANCE
C H APTE R XVIII -Continued.
—
I
'
21 —
But she wus gone. The hull door
s.ammcd before he could reach it.
It’s simplicity Itself: I’m going to buy
him.”
“ Buy Max 1”
“ Body— artistic soul—and breeches,”
Whitaker utfiriued confidently.
“ Impossible 1”
“ You forget how well fixed I am.
What’s the use o f my ownlug half the
gold In New Guinea If It won’t buy
me what I already own by every moral
and legul right?”
“ He won’t listen to you; you don’t
know Max.”
“ I’m willing to lay you a small bet
thut there will be no first performance
at the Theater Max tomorrow night.”
“ You’ll never persuade him— ”
’I’ll buy the show outright and my
w ife’s freedom to boot—or else Max
will begin to accumulate the local
color o f u hospital ward.”
Ember smiled grimly. “ You’re be
ginning to convince even me. When,
may I usk, do you propose to pull off
this spurtlug proposition?”
“ Do you know where Max can be
found tonight?”
“ At the theater— ”
“Then the matter will be arranged
at the theater between this hour and
midnight”
“ I doubt If you succeed In getting
the ear of the great man before mid
night ; however, I’m not disposed to
quibble about a few hours."
“ But why shouldn’t I?”
"Because Max Is going to be the
busiest young person In town tonight
And that Is why I’ ve been looking for
you. . . . Conforming to bis cus
tom. he’s been giving nn advance
glimpse o f the production to the crit
ics and a few friends In the form of
n final grand dress rehearsal tonight
Again, In conformance with his cus
tom, he has honored me with a bid.
I ’ve been chasing you all day to find
out If you cared to go— ”
“ Eight o’clock and a bit after.”
Whitaker Interrupted briskly, consul
ting his watch. “ Here, boy,” he hailed
a passage puge; "call a taxicab for
me.” And then, rising alertly: "Come
along; I’ve got to hustle home; and
make myself look respectable enough
for the occasion; but at that, with
luck, I fancy we'll be there before the
first curtain.”
This mood of faith, of self-reliance
and assured optimism held unruffled
throughout the dash homeward, his
hurried change of clothing and the
ride to the theater. Nothing that Em
ber, purposely pessimistic, could say
or do availed to diminish the high
buoyancy o f his humor.
He maln-
She paused again, but still he wus
CH APTER XIX.
mute and tminobile.
"So now you know me— what 1 ain.
One Way Out.
No other man has ever known or ever
Toward eight In the evening, after
will. But 1 had to tell you the truth.
It seems that the only thing my career a day-long search through all his ac
had left uncalloused was my funda customed haunts. Ember ran Whita
mental sense o f honesty. So 1 had ker to earth In the dining room of the
Primordial.
The youug man, alone
to come and tell you.”
And still he held silence, attentive, at table, was In the act o f topping
but with a set face that betrayed noth off an excellent dinner with u still
more excellent cordiul and a super-
ing of the tenor of his thoughts.
Almost timidly, with uervously fum excellent cigur.
He wore rough tweeds, and they
bling fingers, she extracted from her
were damp and baggy; his boots were
pocketbook a small ticket envelope.
“ Mux was afraid you might upset muddy; his hair was a trifle disorder
the performance again, as you did on ly. The ensemble made a figure wildly
my last appearance, Hugh.” she said; Incongruous to the soberly splendid
“ but I assured him It was just the and stately dining hall of the Primor
shock of recognizing you that bowled dial club, with Its sparse patrouuge
me over. So I’ve brought you a box of members In eveniug dress.
Ember, himself us severely beauti
for tomorrow night. I want you to
ful in black and white as the ceremo
use It—you and Mr. Ember.”
He broke In with a curt monosyl nious livery o f toduy permits a man
to be, was wonder-struck at sight of
lable; "W hy?”
In such unconventional
“ Why— why because— because I want Whitaker
you— I suppose It’s simply my vanity— guise, at such a time, In such a place.
to see me a ct Perhaps you’ll feel a With neither Invitation nor salutation,
little less hnrdly toward me If you see he slipped Into a chair on the other
that I am really a great actress, that side o f the table, and stared.
Whitaker smiled benlgnantly upon
I give you up for something bigger
him, and called a waiter.
than just love— ”
Ember, always abstemious, lifted
“ What ro t!" he said with an odd.
short laugh. “ Besides, I harbor no his hand and smiled a negative smile.
Whitaker dismissed the waiter.
resentment"
“ Well . . .
Y’ he Inquired cheer
She stared, losing a little color, eyes
fully.
darkening with apprehension.
“ What right have you got to look
“ I did hope you’d come,” she mur
like that?” Ember demanded.
mured.
“The right of every free-born Amer-
“Oh. I’ll come.” he said with sp irit
“ Wild horses couldn’t keep me away.” lean citizen to make an ass o f himself
“ Really, Hugh?
And you don’t according to the dictates o f his con
science. I’ve been exploring the dark
mind ? Oh, I ’m so glad 1”
“ I really don’t mind," he assured her backwards and abysm o f the Bronx—
with a strange smile. “ But . . . afoot. Got caught in the rain on the
would you mind excusing me one mo way home. Was late getting back,
ment? I ’ve forgotten something very and dropped In here to celebrate.”
“ I ’ve been looking for you every
Important.”
where,
since morning.”
“ Why, certainly . . .”
“ I suspected you would be. That’s
He was already at the telephone In
the hallway. Just beyond the living- why I went walking— to be lonesome
room door. It was Impossible to escape and thoughtful for once In a way."
Ember stroked his chin with thought
overhearing his words. The woman
listened perforce with, in the begin ful fingers.
“ You’ve heard the news, then?”
ning, a Uttle visible wonder, then with
“ In three ways,” Whitaker re
astonishment ultimately with a con
sternation that shook her with violent turned, with calm.
“ How’s that— three ways?”
tremblings.
“Through the newspapers, the bill
“ Hello,” said Whitaker; “ get me
boards, and from the lips o f my
Rector two-two-hundred. . . .
w ife."
“ Hello?
Rector two-two-hundred?
Ember opened his eyes wide.
North German Lloyd? . . . This is
“ You’ve been to see her?”
Mr. H. M. Whitaker. I telephoned
“ She called this morning— ”
you fifteen minutes ago about reser
But Ember interrupted, thrusting a
vation on the George Washington,
ready and generous hand across the
sailing Saturday . . . Yes. . . .
table:
Yes. . . . Yes, I promised to call
“ My dear man, 1 am g la d !”
for the ticket before noon, but I now
Whitaker took the proffered hand
find I sha’n’t be able to go. W ill you
be kind enough to cancel It, if you readily and firmly. “Thank you. . . .
please. . . . Thank you. . . . I was saying: she called this morning
to inform me that, though wedded
Goodby.”
once,
we must be strangers now— and
But when he turned back Into the
living room he found awaiting him a everm ore!”
"But you— of course— you argued
quiet and collected woman.
that nonsense out o f her head.”
“ Why did you do that?” she asked
“ T o the contrary— again.”
evenly.
“ But— ray dear man !— you said you
“ Because," said Whitaker, “ I ’ve had
my eyes opened. I’ ve been watching were celebrating; you permitted me
the finest living actress play a care to congratulate you Just now— ”
“The point U,” said Whitaker, with
fully rehearsed role, one that she had
given long study and all her heart to— a bland and confident g rin ; “ I ’ve suc
but her interpretation didn’t ring true. ceeded In arguing thut nonsense out
Mary, I admit, at first you got me: I of my head— not hers— mine.”
Ember gave a helpless gesture. “ I’m
believed you meant what you said.
But only my mind believed i t ; my afraid thi3 is one of my stupid
heart knew better, Just as it has al nights . . .”
ways known better, all through this
“ I mean that, though Mary ran away
wretched time of doubt and misery from me, wouldn't listen to reason, I
and separation you’ve subjected us have, in the course of an afternoon’s
both to. And that was why I couldn’t hard tramping, come to the conclu
trust myself to answer you; for if I sion that there is nothing under the
had, I should have laughed for Joy. sun which binds me to sit back and
0 Mary, Mary 1” he cried, his voice accept whatever treatment she pur
softening, “ my dear, dear woman, you poses according me
by courtesy of
can’t lie to love! You betray yourself Jules Max.”
in every dear word that would be
Whitaker bent forward, his coun
heartless. In every adorable gesture tenance discovering a phase o f seri
“ I Am Afraid o f You.”
that would seem final!
And love ousness hitherto masked by his twist
knows better always. . . . O f course ed smile.
tained a serene fulth in his star, a
1 shall be In that box tomorrow night;
I mean I’m tired o f all this poppy
o f course I shall be there to witness cock. Unless I ’m an Infatuated ass, spirited temper thut refused to recog
your triumph 1 And after you’ve won Mary loves me with all her heart. She nize obstacles In the way of his de
sire.
it, dear, I shall carry you off with has made up her mind to renounce me
In the taxicab, en route to the Thea
me . . .”
partly because Max has worked upon
He opened his arms wide, but with her feelings by painting some lurid ter Max, he contrived even to distil a
a smothered cry she backed away, picture o f his Imminent artistic and good omen from the driving autumnal
downpour Itself.
placing the table between them.
financial damnation If she leaves him,
” On such u day ns this,” he told his
“ No 1” she protested; and the words partly because she believes, 'o f has
doubting friend, “ I won her first; on
were almost sobs— “ N o !”
been led to believe, In this ‘destroy such a day I shull win her anew, final
" Y e s !” he exclaimed exultantly. ing angel’ moonshine. Now she’s got ly and for all tim e!" . . .
“ Y es !
A thousand times yes!
It to Ü8teu to reason. So, likewise, Max.”
From Broadway to Sixth avenue.
must be s o !”
“ You’re becoming more human word Forty-sixth,street wns bright with the
With a sw ift movement she seized by word,” commented Ember with yellow glare of the huge sign In front
ber muff and scarf from the ch yr aDd open approval. "Continue; elucidate; o f the Theater Max. But this night,
fled to the door. There, pausing, she I can understand how a fairly resolute unlike "that other night wher he had
lover with the gift of gab can talk a nppronched the stage o f his w ife’s tri
turned, her face white and blazing.
“ It Is not tru e!” she cried. “ You weak-minded, fond female into deny umphs, there was no crawling rank of
are mistaken. Do you hear me? You ing her pet superstition; buf how cabs, no eager and curious press of
are utterly mistaken. I do not love you’re^oln g to get around Max passes people In the street; hut few vehicles
you. You are mad to think It. I have my comprehension. The man unques disputed their way; otherwise the rain
Just told you I don’t love you. I am tionably has her under contract— ”
and the hurrying, rain-coated wayfar
“ But you forgot his god Is Mam ers had the thoroughfare to them-
afraid o f y o n ; I daren’t stay with you
mon," Whitaker put in. “ Max will do thenaselves. . . . And even this he
fo r fear o f you. I— I despise you I”
“ I don’t believe It I” he cried, advanc anything In the world for money. chose to consider n favorable omen:
Therein resides the kernel of my plan. them was not now a public to come
ing.
m
m
Try Grandmother’s Old Favorite
Recipe of Sage Tea and
Sulphur.
betweeti him and Ills love—-only Max
and her frightened fauclea.
The muu at the door recognised Em
ber with a cheerful nod; Whitaker be
did not kuow,
“ Just In time, Mr. Ember; curtain’!
been up about ten minutes.” . . .
Black Out.
The auditorium was In almost total
darkness. A single voice was audible
from the singe that confronted It like
some tremendous, moonlight canvas in
n huge frume of tarnished gold. They
stole silently round the orchestra scuts
to the singe-box— the sume box that
Whitaker hud on the former oecasoln
occupied In company with Mux.
Almost everyone knows that Bags
Tea and Bulphur. properly compound
ed. brings back the natural color and
lustre to the hair when faded, streak
ed or gray. Years ago the only way
to get this mixture was to make It at
home, which la muaay and trouble
some.
Nowadays wo simply ask at any
drug store for “ W yeth’s Hage and Sul
phur Compound." You will get a large
bottle of this old-time recipe Improved
by the addition of other Ingredients for
6(Tcenu” ‘ E T Ó r y b ^ r ü « ^ this
pr<,par(U|0n now. because no one can
powwlbly tell that you darkened your
hair, as It does It ao naturally and
evenly. You dampon a sponge or soft
bruah with It and draw this through
your hair, taking one small strand at
m time; by morning the gray hair dls-
w
S t^ m
.... ‘n
without
attracting
o
r - T y ^ o u í am|
Ü Z ||ou
S r Í Z aml B you
f f i K look
R
dafk
C H APTE R XX.
T °r
attention, either
from the owners o f that scanty scat-
terlng o f shirt bosoms lu the orchestra
— the critical fruternlty and those In-
tlmutes hidden by the manager to tba
flrst glimpse o f his new revelation In
stagecraft—or from those occupying
the stage.
The latter were but two. Evidently,
though the curtain hnd been up for
some minutes, the action o f t?te piece
»....i
. . .
... .
had not y .t b e e n perm "ted to begin
to unfold. Whitaker Inferred that Mux
mnl bw‘n <11 tom tl* fled with Hoiuething
about the lighting o f the scene. The
manager was atnndlng In mid-stage.
staring up at the borders—a stout und
pompous figure, tenacious to every de
tail o f that public self which he bad
striven so successfully to mnke unfor
gettably Individual; a figure qunlntly
Incongruous In his Impeccable morn
ing coat and strlin-d trousers and flat-
brimmed silk lint, perched well back
on his head, with hla mu lucen stick
and lemon-colored gloves and small
and excessively glossy patent-leather
shoes, posed ugalnst the counterfeit
of a moonlit formal gnrden.
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
MR. SMOOTH’S NEAT GETAWAY
— ......
Insurance Agent With Keen Eye to
Business Came Near "Putting
Hia root in i t «
____
__,
.
.
. PI' ng on i d untennnted banana
skin, the homely young woman **t
on the pavement with un unmusical
splnsh. With efficient presence of
mind, Eustace Smooth, agent for the
General and Particular Insurance com-
puny, slipped on unother peel und sat
down beside her, with two muttered
<urscs.
Accidents will happen on the best
regulated pavements, w ont they?" he
observed with a snarl. “ Oh. well.
luckily I happen to be an Insurance
agent, and I can Insure you against
slipping on bununu peelings or even on
a cake o f Ice for the small sum of $14
a week, and the first time you slip af
ter being Insured, one of our uutomo-
blles, with absolutely no advertising
matter on the outside, will take you
home for $7.2». or. If you prefer, to
any old hospital.”
“ The Idea!” scoffed the enraged
woman, “ It’s too much J"
"But think of the risk we run.” pur
sued Smooth. "Now. other kinds of
insurance, such as Insurance against
being bitten by wild beasts, come as
low ns $1» a month.”
“ I ’ll take one o f them.” she said
promptly. "I always was a great one
for bargains.” And she handed him
her card, which read: “ Mile. Kutie.
Wild Animal Trainer. Lions, Tigers
and Leopards a Specialty."
"Excuse me a moment, I gotta see
a man,” stammered Eustace Smooth.
Listen to the Uplifter.
W e think rural people are pretty
good-natured, especially when the
c-hnutauqua comes to town. There’s al
ways a man there who comes on the
platform and scolds the audience. He
usually calls himself a community ex
pert, or a “ town doctor,” or something
o f the kind. He is almost ns bad as un
editor nhont giving advice, nnd Isn’t
half ns polite about It. If we scolded
you as frankly as a recent town doctor,
that we happened to hear, scolded
his audience, you would probably sny,
“ Stop niy paper.”
Yet the audience
was pnylng the town doctor for telling
them wlint misguided mutts they were.
Probably he told them the truth. In the
main— or whnt seemed to be the truth
— and maybe It was good for their
souls, as he declared. It seems almost
pathetic to us, sometimes, this eager
ness with which we benighted country
folk will sit at the feet o f the uplifter,
who comes from nfnr to point out our
fniilts nnd tell us how to remedy them.
Yet we could probably get the uplifter
on a bench nnd stand up on the plat
form and ronst bint Just ns delightedly
nnd truthfully as he lias been roasting
us. Only we never do it. The gnme
Isn’t played that way.- Farm Life.
yeari younger.
Wyeth a Sage and
Sulphur Compound la a delightful toll-
et requisite. It la not Intended for the
cure, mitigation or prevention of dls-
ease.— Adv.
Universal Acqualntancaa.
"I know Juat about everybody In this
town." remarked the prominent cltl-
le J):
,„
„
...
_
"Lucky man! replied Miss Cayenne,
„ No ma[ tor whal ^ „ g numbe r t h e ’
telephone operator gives you. you can
always find souhhw «* to talk to.*'—
Exchange.
----------------------------
YOU QET STRONG. If you’re a
tired o u t
or
"run down” wo
man. with I>r.
Pierce's Favor-
11 e Prescrip
tion.
And, If
you suffer from
any
“ female
complaints" or
disorder,
you
get well. K o r
these
two
things— to build up women's strength,
and to cure women's ailments— this la
the beat medicine to benefit or cure.
The “ Prescription" regulates and
promotes all the natural functions.
never conflicts with them, and Is per-
harmless in any condition of
11,0 female system. It brings refresh-
! ln* sleep, and restores health and
I vigor. Tablets 60c.
| If you eat the right foods, and not
too much o f them, the poisons in your
system can be kept down and thrown
out by taking a natural laxative, such
as that composed of May apple, Juice
of aloes, root of Jalap, sugarcoated.
and *‘>,nK ,old by »>* druggists as Dr.
Pierce’s Pleasant Pellets. Get them
Adv-_________________
Itching Burning Skins.
For eoz.mas rashto. Itching*. Irrlta-
flons, p.mplea, dandruff, sore hands,
nn(, baby
Cut|puril *
ointment nr. supremely ,-ffectlve Kor
fm .
riirill Dept.
X, Boston." At druggists und by mall.
Soap 25, Ointment 25 and 50.— Adv.
A Sheep Ain't Got No Rights.
A supreme court decision upholds
the validity of the Idaho law barring
sheep from cattle ranges. About the
only constitutional right a sheep has
l«ft 1* to mingle with a goat.— New
York World.
NERVOUS
PROSTRATION
_ -
.
M a y be O vercom e by Lydia
E. Pinkham ’s V e g e ta b le
~
Com pound — This
Letter P ro v e» it.
W est Philadelphia. Pa. — “ During (hr.
thirty years I have been married, | ha ..
been in bad health
and hnd several at
tacks o f nervous
prostration until ic
| seemed as if the
organs in my v;! ole
body w e r e w o r n
out. 1 was finally
persuaded to t.-y
I.ydiaE. Pinkhnr 's
V e g e t a b l e ( < m-
pound and it ma w
u well woman o f
me. I can now do
all my housework
and advise all ailing women to try
Lydia E. Pinkham’s Vegetable Con-
pound and I will guarantee tiny will
derive great benefit from i t ” — Mrs.
M .
F ran k F itzg e r ald , 25 N. 41st Street,
W est Philadelphia, Pa.
There are thousands of women every
where in Mrs. Fitzgerald’s condition,
suffering from nervousness, backache,
headaches, and other symptoms of n
functional derangement
It was a
grateful spirit for health restored which
led her to write this letter so thnt other
women may benefit from her experience
and find health ns she has done.
For suggestions in regard to your con
dition write Lydia E. Pinkham Medicine
Co., Lynn. Mass. The result of their
40 years experience is at your service.