7h& T hird D cgrec A K m t B Â Ï Ï D V E (DIT rôett ™ im )[ lqïïaw [locnil ^CHARLES KLEIN Y y A rthur 3HORNBLOW • Y ILLU5TRATION5 BY RAY WALTEfi$ COrrWICHT, 1909, 8 Y C .W . DILLINOHAM COflMWY SY N O P S IS . H o w a r d Joffrlo s, b a n k e r ’« «on, u n d e r t h e evil in fl u e n c e o f R o b e r t U n d e r w o o d , f e l l o w - s t u d e n t a t Yule, l e a d s a life o f d i s ­ s ip a t io n , m a r r i e s t h e d a u K h t e r o f a « a m ­ b l e r w h o di e d in p ris o n , a n d is d is o w n e d by his f a t h e r . H e Is o u t o f w o r k a n d In de sp e ra te straits. U nderw ood, who h a d o n r e b e en e n g a g e d to H o w a r d ’s s t e p ­ m o t h e r . A lic ia , I * a p p a r e n t l y In p r o s p e r ­ ous c ircum stances. T a k in g a d v a n ta g e of h is I n t i m a c y w i t h A ll cta , h e b e c o m e s a s o r t o f s ocia l h i g h w a y m a n . D i s c o v e r i n g h is t r u e c h a r a c t e r , A li c ia d e n ie s h i m t h e house. H e s e n d s h e r a n o te t h r e a t e n i n g pu tc lda. A r t d e a l e r s f<»r w h o m h e a c t e d a s commissioner, d e m a n d a n accounting. H e c a n n o t m a k e good. H o w a r d c a l l s a t h i s a p a r t m e n t s In a n I n t o x i c a t e d c o n d i ­ t io n to r e q u e s t a lo a n o f $2,000 to e n a b l e h i m to t a k e u p a b u s i n e s s p ro p o s itio n . H o w a r d d r i n k s h i m s e l f Into a m a u d l i n c o n d it io n , a n d g o e s to s le e p on a d iv a n . A c a l l e r Is a n n o u n c e d a n d U n d e r w o o d d ra w s a screen aro u n d the d ru n k en deeper. A ll e le e n t e r s . Him d e m a n d s s p r o m i s e f r o m U n d e r w o o d t h a t h e will n o t t a k e h is life. H e r e f u s e s u n l e s s s h e will r e n e w h e r p a t r o n a g e . T h i s s h e re f u s e s , a n d t a k e s h e r leave. U n d e r w o o d kill s h im s e lf. T h e r e p o r t o f t h e pis to l a w a ­ k e n s H o w a r d , if** fin d s U n d e r w o o d d e a d . H o w a r d < h t u r n e d o v e r t o t h e police. C n p t C lin to n , n o t o r i o u s f o r h ts b r u t a l tr e a tm e n t of prisoners, pu ts H o w ard t h r o u g h t h e t h i r d d e g r e e , a n d fln nlly g e ts a n a l l e g e d c o n f e s s io n fr o m t h e h a r a s s e d man. Annie, Howard's wife, declares her b e li e f In h e r h u s b a n d ' s I n n o c e n c e , a n d c a l l s o n J e f frie s , Hr. H e r e f u s e s to h e lp u n le s s s h e will c o n s e n t to a d iv o rc e . T o sav e H o w a rd she consents, but w hen she fin ds t h a t t h e e l d e r J e f f r i e s d o e s n o t In ­ t e n d to s t a n d by h ls son, e x c e p t f i n a n ­ c ia lly , s h e s c o r n s Ills help. A n n ie a p p e a l s to J u d g e B r e w s t e r , a t t o r n e y f o r J e f frie s , Hr., to t a k e H o w a r d ' s c as e. l i e decl in es . I t Is r e p o r t e d t h a t A n n ie Is g o i n g o n t h e s t a g e . T h e h a n k e r a n d hls w ife cal l on J u d g e B r e w s t e r to And s o m e w a y to p r e ­ v e n t It. A n n i e a g n l n p l e a d s w i t h B r e w - • t e r to d e f u n d H o w a r d . C H A P T E R X V .— Continutd. "You’re not afraid to help him," «he said. “I know th a t—you Just ■aid so.” Judgo n re w stc r raised hls fist and brought It down on th e desk w ith a hang which rnlscd In a cloud tho ac­ cum ulated dust of weeks. Ills face set and determ ined, he said: ■'You're qiflte right! I'm going to take your c a se !” Annie felt h erself giving way. It w as more Ilian she could stand. For victory to bo hers when only a mo­ m ent before defeat seem ed certain was too much fur her nerves. All Bhe could gasp was: "Oh. Judge!" The law yer ad justed hls eyeglasses, blew hls nose with suspicious energy, and took up a pen. "Now don't pretend to be surprised —you knew 1 would. And please don't thank me. I hate to bo thanked for doing w hat I w ant to do. If 1 didn't w ant to do It, I w ouldn't—" Through her te a rs she m urm ured: "I’d like to say 'th a n k you.’ " "W ell, please don 't,” he snapped. But she persisted. Tenderly, she said: "May I say you're th e dearest, kind • s t —” Judge B rew ster shook hls head. "No—no—nothing of th e kind." "M ost gracious — noble-hearted — courageous." she w ent on. The Judge stru ck th e table ano th er form idable blow. "M rs. Jeffries!" he exclaimed. She tu rn ed away h e r head to hide h er feelings. "Oh, how I'd like to have a good cry,” she m urm ured. "If Howard only knew !” Judge B rew ster touched an electric button, and hls head clerk entered. “Mr. Jones,” said the law yer quick­ ly, "get a stenographic re p o rt of the ra s e of th e People against Howard Jeffries, J r.; get th e coroner’s Inquest, th e grand Jury Indictm ent, and get a copy of the Jeffries confession—get everything—rig h t aw ay !" The clerk looked inquiringly, first a t Annie and then a t hls employer. T hen respectfully he asked: "Do wo, s l r r "Wo do," said th e law yer laconic­ ally. C H A P T E R X V I. "Now , m y dear young woman." said Judge Brew ster, when the astonished head clerk had w ithdraw n, "If we are going to g et your husband free we m ust get to work, ami you m ust help m e.” Ills visitor looked up eagerly. " I’ll do anything In my power," she said quickly. ‘‘W hat can I do?” "W ell—first of all,” said th e law yer with some hesitatio n , "I w ant you to see a certain lady and to be ex­ ceedingly nice to her." "L ady?” echoed Annie, surprised. "W hat lady?" "M rs. H oward Jeffries, Sr.,” he re ­ plied slowly. "H ow ard's step m o th er I” she ejacu­ lated. A clerk enterod and handed hls em ­ ployer a card. The law yer nodded and said In an undertone: "Show h er In.” T urning round again, he w ent ou: "Y es—H ow ard's stepm other. She's out th ere now. She w ants to see you. She w ishes to be of service to you. Now, you m ust conciliate her. She may be of g reat use to us.” Annie s face expressed considerable doubt. "P erh ap s so,” she said, "but the door was slnmm ed In my face when 1 culled to see her.” "T h a t's nothing," answ ered the Judge. “She probably knows nothing about It. In any case, please rem em ­ b er th a t she is my clien t—” She bowed her head and m urm ured obediently: “I'll rem em ber.” Tho door of th e office opened and Alicia entered. She stopped sh o rt on seeing who was th ere, and an aw k­ w ard pause followed. Judge B rew ster Introduced them. "Mrs. Jeffries, may I p resen t Mrs. Howard, Jr.? ” Alicia bowed stifll and som ew hat haughtily. Annie rem ained self-pos­ sessed and on the defensive. A ddress­ ing the ban k er's wife, the law yer said: ”1 told Mrs. Howard th a t you wished to speak to h er.” A fter a pause he added: "1 think, perhaps. I'll leave you together. Excuse me." He left th e office and th ere w as a n ­ o th er em barrassing silence. Annie w aited for Mrs. Jeffries to begin. H er attitu d e suggested th a t she expected som ething u n pleasant and w as fully prepared for It. At last Alicia broke the silence: "You may th in k It stran g e th a t 1 have asked for th is Interview ,” she began, "but you know, A nnie—’’ In­ terru p tin g herself, she ask ed : “ You do n 't mind my calling you Annie, do you?” The young woman smiled. "I don't see why 1 should. It's my nam e and w e're relativ es—by m ar rlage.” T h ere was an Ironical ring In h er voice as she w ent on: "R ela­ tives! It seem s funny, d o esn 't It. but we don't pick and choose o u r reta tlves. We m ust tak e them as they come.” Alicia made an effort to ap p ear con d ila to ry . “As we a re —w hat we a re —let's try to m ake th e best of It." "M ake th e best of It?" echoed An nle. "God knows I'm willing, but I've had m ighty little encouragem ent, Mrs. Jeffries. W hen I called to see you the o th er day, to beg you to use your Influence with Mr. Jeffries, 'not a t home' was handed to me by the liveried footm an and the door was slam m ed In my face. Ten m inutes la te r you walked out to your carriage and w ere driven away." ' i knew nothing of th is—believe me,” m urm ured Alicia apologetically "It's w hat I got Just the sam e,” said the o th er dryly. Quickly she went on: "But I'm not com plaining, understand —I'm not cotnplainiug. Only 1 did think th a t at such a tim e one woman m ight have held out a helping hand to another." Alicia held up her hand protest- lr.*ly. "How could I?" she exclaim ed. “Now, be reasonable. You a re held responsible for H ow ard’s p resen t po­ sition." “Yes—by the police," re to rte d An­ nie grimly, "and by a couple of yellow Journals. I didn’t th in k you'd believe all the gossip and scandal th a t’s been printed about me. I didn’t believe w hat w as said about you." Alicia sta rte d and changed color. "W hat do you m ean?" sin exclaim ed haughtily. "W hat was said about me ?" "W ell, It has been said th a t you m arried old Jeffries for hls money and hls social position.” " ‘Old Je ffrie s!’ " p rotested Alicia Indignantly. "H ave you no resp ect for your husband's fath er?" "N ot a particle," answ ered th e o th ­ er coolly, "and I never will have till he acts like a fath er. I only had one Interview with him and It finished him with me for all tim e. He a in 't a fath er—h e’s a fish.” "A fish !” exclaim ed Alicia, scandal­ ized at such lese m ajeste. Annie w ent on recklessly: "Yes—a cold-blooded—” "B ut surely,” Interru p ted Alicia, "you resp ect his position—hls—’’ "No, m 'm ; 1 respect a man because he behaves like a man, not because he lives In a m arble palace on R iver­ side drive.” Alicia looked pained. T his girl was certainly Impossible. “But surely,” she said, "you re a l­ ized th a t when you m arried H ow ard you—you made a m istake— to say th e least?” “Yes, th a t p art of It ' been made pretty plain. It w as . ..¡stake— hls m istake—my m istake. Hut now I t’B done and It can 't be undone. I don’t see why you ca n 't take It as It Is and —and—” She stopped sh o rt and Alicia com ­ pleted the sentence for her: “—and welcome you Into our fam ­ ily—" "W elcome m e? No, m a'am . I’m not welcome and nothing you o r your set could say would ever m ake me be­ lieve th a t I was welcome. All I ask Is th a t H ow ard’s fa th e r do hls duty by hls son.” "1 do not thin k —pardon my saying so,” Interru p ted Alicia stiffly, " th a t you are quite In a position to Judge of w hat c o n stitu tes Mr. JefTrles’ duty to hls son.” "P erh ap s not. I only know w hat I would do—w hat my fa th er would have done—w hat any one would do If they had a spark of hum anity In them . But they do say th a t a fte r th ree gen­ eratio n s of society life red blood tu rn s Into blue." Alicia turned to look out of th e w in­ dow. H er face still averted she said: "W hat Is th ere to do? H ow ard has acknow ledged hls guilt. W h at sac- flees we may m ake will be throw n aw ay.” Annie eyed her com panion w ith con­ tem pt. H er voice quivering w ith In­ dignation, she b u rst out: “W hat Is th ere to dol T ry and save him, of course. M ust we s it and do nothing because things look black? Ah! I w asn ’t brought up th a t way. No, m a’am, I'm going to m ake a fight!" “It's useless," m urm ured Alicia, shaking h e r head. “Judge B rew ster doesn 't think so,” replied th e o th er calmly. Tho b an k er's wife gave a s ta r t of surprise. Quickly she dem anded: “You mean th a t Judge B rew ster has encouraged you to—to—” "H e's done m ore th an encourage me —God bless h im !—he's going to tak e up the case." Alicia w as so th u n d erstru ck th a t for a m om ent she could find no answ er. "W h at!" she exclaim ed, "w ithout consulting Mr. Jeffries?” Bhe p u t h er handkerchief to her face to conceal h er agitation. Could It be possible th a t the Judge w as go­ ing to act, a fte r all, In defiance of her husband's w ishes? If th a t w ere true, w hat would become of her? C onceal­ m ent would be no longer possible. Discovery of h er clandestine v isit to U nderwood’s a p artm en t th a t fatal night m ust come H ow ard m ight still bo the m urderer, U nderwood m ight not have com m itted suicide, b u t her v isit to hls room s a t m idnight would become known. Judge B rew ster was n o t th e m an to be d eterred by diffi­ culties once he took up a case. He would see the Im portance of finding tho m ysterious woman who w ent se­ cretly to U nderw ood's room s th a t night of th e tragedy. "H e consulted only hls own feel­ ings,” w ent on Annie. "H e believes In Howard, and he's going to defend him .” Alicia looked a t h e r anxiously as If trying to read w hat m ight be In her mind. Indifferently she w ent on: "T he papers say th ere w as a q u ar­ rel about you, th a t you and Mr. Un­ derwood w ere too friendly. T hey Im­ plied th a t H ow ard w as Jealous. Is th is tru e ? ” "It's all talk ,” cried Annie Indig­ n an tly —"nothing b u t scandal—lies! T h ere's n o t a word of tru th In I t Howard never had a lealous thought of m e—and as for me— why—I've al­ ways w orshiped the ground he walked on. D idn't he sacrifice everything for my sake? D idn't he quarrel w ith hls fath e r for m e? D idn't he m arry me? Didn’t he try to educate and m ake a lady of m e? My G od!—do you sup­ pose I'd give a man like th a t cause for Jealousy? W hat do the new spa pers care? T hey p rin t cruel state­ m ents th a t c u t into a woman’s heart, w ithout giving It a thought, w ithout know ing or caring w hether It’s true or not, as long as It Interests and am uses th e ir readers. You—you don’t really believe I'm the cause of hit m isfortunes, do you?" Alicia shook her head as she an sw ered kindly: “No, I don’t. Believe me, I don’t You w ere rig h t when you said th a t at such a tim e as this one woman should stand by another. I’m going to stand by you. L et me be your friend, lei me help you.” E xtending her hand she said: “Will you?” A nnie grasped th e proffered hand It w as th e first th a t had been held out to h er In h er p resen t trouble. A lump rose in her th ro at. Much af fected. she said: “I t’s the first kind word th a t—” Bh« stopped and looked closely for a mo m ent a t Alicia. T hen she w ent on: “It’s th e queerest thing, Mrs. Jeff ries, but It keeps coming Into mj mind. H ow ard told me th a t while h« w as a t U nderw ood’s th a t dreadful night he thought he heard your voice It m ust have been a dream , of course yet he thought he w as sure of it Your voice— th a t’s queer, Isn’t itl W hy—w h at's the m a tte r? ” A licia had grown deathly pale an< staggered against a chair. Annie rai to h er aid. thin k in g she w as 111. “I t’s nothing — n o th in g !” stam m ered Alicia, recovering herself. F earin g she had said som ething t< h u rt h e r feelings, Annie said sympa th e tlc a lly : "I haven’t said an y th in g —anythin! out of the w ay—have I? If I have I’n sorry—aw fully sorry. I’m afraid—I— I’ve been very rude and you’ve beet so k in d !” “No, n o !” In terru p ted Alicia quick ly. "Y ou’ve said nothing—done noth lng—you’ve had a g re a t deal to beai —a g re a t d