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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/17390-8.txt b/17390-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..91efc99 --- /dev/null +++ b/17390-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3725 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, Hearts and Masks, by Harold MacGrath + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: Hearts and Masks + +Author: Harold MacGrath + + + +Release Date: December 25, 2005 [eBook #17390] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HEARTS AND MASKS*** + + + +E-text prepared by Al Haines + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 17390-h.htm or 17390-h.zip: + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/7/3/9/17390/17390-h/17390-h.htm) + or + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/7/3/9/17390/17390-h.zip) + + + + + +HEARTS AND MASKS + +by + +HAROLD MACGRATH + +Author of The Puppet Crown, The Grey Cloak, The Man on the Box + +With Illustrations by Harrison Fisher + + + + + + + +[Frontispiece: Five people dressed for costume ball, four sitting, one +standing.] + + + + + +New York +Grosset & Dunlap +Publishers +Copyright 1905 +The Bobbs-Merrill Company + + + + + +TO MY WIFE + + + + +List of Illustrations + + +Five people dressed for costume ball, four sitting, one standing . . . + (Frontispiece) + +The handsomest girl I had set eyes upon in a month of moons. + +"This is what I want. How much?" I inquired. + +Turning, I beheld an exquisite Columbine. + +I led her over to a secluded nook. We sat down. + +And there we sat, calmly munching the apples. + +"Madame, will you do me the honor to raise your mask?" + +We watched the girl as she bathed and bandaged the wounded arm. + +With a contented sigh she rested her blue-slippered feet on the brass +fender. + + + + +HEARTS AND MASKS + + +I + +It all depends upon the manner of your entrance to the Castle of +Adventure. One does not have to scale its beetling parapets or assault +its scarps and frowning bastions; neither is one obliged to force with +clamor and blaring trumpets and glittering gorgets the drawbridge and +portcullis. Rather the pathway lies through one of those many little +doors, obscure, yet easily accessible, latchless and boltless, to which +the average person gives no particular attention, and yet which +invariably lead to the very heart of this Castle Delectable. The +whimsical chatelaine of this enchanted keep is a shy goddess. +Circumspection has no part in her affairs, nor caution, nor +practicality; nor does her eye linger upon the dullard and the +blunderer. Imagination solves the secret riddle, and wit is the guide +that leads the seeker through the winding, bewildering labyrinths. + +And there is something in being idle, too! + +If I had not gone idly into Mouquin's cellar for dinner that night, I +should have missed the most engaging adventure that ever fell to my +lot. It is second nature for me to be guided by impulse rather than by +reason; reason is always so square-toed and impulse is always so +alluring. You will find that nearly all the great captains were and +are creatures of impulse; nothing brilliant is ever achieved by +calculation. All this is not to say that I am a great captain; it is +offered only to inform you that I am often impulsive. + +A _Times_, four days old; and if I hadn't fallen upon it to pass the +twenty-odd minutes between my order and the service of it, I shouldn't +have made the acquaintance of the police in that pretty little suburb +over in New Jersey; nor should I have met the enchanting Blue Domino; +nor would fate have written Kismet. The clairvoyant never has any fun +in this cycle; he has no surprises. + +I had been away from New York for several weeks, and had returned only +that afternoon. Thus, the spirit of unrest acquired by travel was +still upon me. It was nearing holiday week, and those congenial +friends I might have called upon, to while away the evening, were +either busily occupied with shopping or were out of town; and I +determined not to go to the club and be bored by some indifferent +billiard player. I would dine quietly, listen to some light music, and +then go to the theater. I was searching the theatrical amusements, +when the society column indifferently attacked my eye. I do not know +why it is, but I have a wholesome contempt for the so-called society +columns of the daily newspaper in New York. Mayhap, it is because I do +not belong. + +I read this paragraph with a shrug, and that one with a smirk. I was +in no manner surprised at the announcement that Miss High-Culture was +going to wed the Duke of Impecune; I had always been certain this girl +would do some such fool thing. That Mrs. Hyphen-Bonds was giving a +farewell dinner at the Waldorf, prior to her departure to Europe, +interested my curiosity not in the least degree. It would be all the +same to me if she never came back. None of the wishy-washy +tittle-tattle interested me, in fact. There was only one little +six-line paragraph that really caught me. On Friday night (that is to +say, the night of my adventures in Blankshire), the Hunt Club was to +give a charity masquerade dance. This grasped my adventurous spirit by +the throat and refused to let go. + +The atmosphere surrounding the paragraph was spirituous with +enchantment. There was a genuine novelty about this dance. Two packs +of playing-cards had been sent out as tickets; one pack to the ladies +and one to the gentlemen. Charming idea, wasn't it? These cards were +to be shown at the door, together with ten dollars, but were to be +retained by the recipients till two o'clock (supper-time), at which +moment everybody was to unmask and take his partner, who held the +corresponding card, in to supper. Its newness strongly appealed to me. +I found myself reading the paragraph over and over. + +By Jove, what an inspiration! + +I knew the Blankshire Hunt Club, with its colonial architecture, its +great ball-room, its quaint fireplaces, its stables and sheds, and the +fame of its chef. It was one of those great country clubs that keep +open house the year round. It stood back from the sea about four miles +and was within five miles of the village. There was a fine course +inland, a cross-country going of not less than twenty miles, a +shooting-box, and excellent golf-links. In the winter it was cozy; in +the summer it was ideal. + +I was intimately acquainted with the club's M. F. H., Teddy Hamilton. +We had done the Paris-Berlin run in my racing-car the summer before. +If I hadn't known him so well, I might still have been in durance vile, +next door to jail, or securely inside. I had frequently dined with him +at the club during the summer, and he had offered to put me up; but as +I knew no one intimately but himself, I explained the futility of such +action. Besides, my horse wasn't a hunter; and I was riding him less +and less. It is no pleasure to go "parking" along the bridle-paths of +Central Park. For myself, I want a hill country and something like +forty miles, straight away; that's riding. + +The fact that I knew no one but Teddy added zest to the inspiration +which had seized me. For I determined to attend that dance, happen +what might. It would be vastly more entertaining than a possibly dull +theatrical performance. (It was!) + +I called for a messenger and despatched him to the nearest drug store +for a pack of playing-cards; and while I waited for his return I +casually glanced at the other diners. At my table--one of those long +marble-topped affairs by the wall--there was an old man reading a +paper, and the handsomest girl I had set eyes upon in a month of moons. +Sometimes the word handsome seems an inferior adjective. She was +beautiful, and her half-lidded eyes told me that she was anywhere but +at Mouquin's. What a head of hair! Fine as a spider's web, and the +dazzling yellow of a wheat-field in a sun-shower! The irregularity of +her features made them all the more interesting. I was an artist in an +amateur way, and I mentally painted in that head against a Rubens +background. The return of the messenger brought me back to earth; for +I confess that my imagination had already leaped far into the future, +and this girl across the way was nebulously connected with it. + +I took the pack of cards, ripped off the covering, tossed aside the +joker (though, really, I ought to have retained it!) and began +shuffling the shiny pasteboards. I dare say that those around me sat +up and took notice. It was by no means a common sight to see a man +gravely shuffling a pack of cards in a public restaurant. Nobody +interfered, doubtless because nobody knew exactly what to do in the +face of such an act, for which no adequate laws had been provided. A +waiter stood solemnly at the end of the table, scratching his chin +thoughtfully, wondering whether he should report this peculiarity of +constitution and susceptibility occasioning certain peculiarities of +effect from impress of extraneous influences (_vide_ Webster), +synonymous with idiocrasy and known as idiosyncrasy. It was quite +possible that I was the first man to establish such a precedent in +Monsieur Mouquin's restaurant. Thus, I aroused only passive curiosity. + +From the corner of my eye I observed the old gentleman opposite. He +was peering over the top of his paper, and I could see by the glitter +in his eye that he was a confirmed player of solitaire. The girl, +however, still appeared to be in a dreaming state. I have no doubt +every one who saw me thought that anarchy was abroad again, or that +Sherlock Holmes had entered into his third incarnation. + +Finally I squared the pack, took a long-breath, and cut. I turned up +the card. It was the ten-spot of hearts. I considered this most +propitious; hearts being my long suit in everything but love,--love +having not yet crossed my path. I put the card in my wallet, and was +about to toss the rest of the pack under the table, when, a woman's +voice stayed my hand. + +"Don't throw them away. Tell my fortune first." + +I looked up, not a little surprised. It was the beautiful young girl +who had spoken. She was leaning on her elbows, her chin propped in her +palms, and the light in her grey _chatoyant_ eyes was wholly innocent +and mischievous. In Monsieur Mouquin's cellar people are rather +Bohemian, not to say friendly; for it is the rendezvous of artists, +literary men and journalists,--a clan that holds formality in contempt. + +"Tell your fortune?" I repeated parrot-like. + +"Yes." + +"Your mirror can tell you that more accurately than I can," I replied +with a frank glance of admiration. + +She drew her shoulders together and dropped them. "I spoke to you, +sir, because I believed you wouldn't say anything so commonplace as +that. When one sees a man soberly shuffling a pack of cards in a place +like this, one naturally expects originality." + +"Well, perhaps you caught me off my guard,"--humbly. + +"I am original. Did you ever before witness this performance in a +public restaurant?"--making the cards purr. + +"I can not say I have,"--amused. + +"Well, no more have I!" + +"Why, then, do you do it?"--with renewed interest. + +"Shall I tell your fortune?" + +"Not now. I had much rather you would tell me the meaning of this +play." + +I leaned toward her and whispered mysteriously: "The truth is, I belong +to a secret society, and I was cutting the cards to see whether or not +I should blow up the post-office to-night or the police-station. You +mustn't tell anybody." + +"Oh!" She started back from the table. "You do not look it," she +added suddenly. + +"I know it; appearances are so deceptive," said I sadly. + +Then the old man laughed, and the girl laughed, and I laughed; and I +wasn't quite sure that the grave waiter did not crack the ghost of a +smile--in relief. + +[Illustration: The handsomest girl I had set eyes upon in a month of +moons.] + +"And what, may I ask, was the fatal card?" inquired the old man, +folding his paper. + +"The ace of spades; we always choose that gloomy card in secret +societies. There is something deadly and suggestive about it," I +answered morbidly. + +"Indeed." + +"Yes. Ah, if only you knew the terrible life we lead, we who conspire! +Every day brings forth some galling disappointment. We push a king off +into the dark, and another rises immediately in his place. Futility, +futility everywhere! If only there were some way of dynamiting habit +and custom! I am a Russian; all my family are perishing in Siberian +mines,"--dismally. + +"Fudge!" said the girl. + +"Tommy-rot!" said the amiable old gentleman. + +"Uncle, his hair is too short for an anarchist." + +"And his collar too immaculate." (So the old gentleman was this +charming creature's uncle!) + +"We are obliged to disguise ourselves at times," I explained. "The +police are always meddling. It is discouraging." + +"You have some purpose, humorous or serious," said the girl shrewdly. +"A man does not bring a pack of cards--" + +"I didn't bring them; I sent out for them." + +"--bring a pack of cards here simply to attract attention," she +continued tranquilly. + +"Perhaps I am a prestidigitator in a popular dime-museum," I suggested, +willing to help her out, "and am doing a little advertising." + +"Now, that has a plausible sound," she admitted, folding her hands +under her chin. "It must be an interesting life. _Presto--change_! +and all that." + +"Oh, I find it rather monotonous in the winter; but in the summer it is +fine. Then I wander about the summer resorts and give exhibitions." + +"You will pardon my niece," interpolated the old gentleman, coughing a +bit nervously. "If she annoys you--" + +"Uncle!"--reproachfully. + +"Heaven forfend!" I exclaimed eagerly. "There is a charm in doing +unconventional things; and most people do not realize it, and are +stupid." + +"Thank you, sir," said the girl, smiling. She was evidently enjoying +herself; so was I, for that matter. "Do a trick for me," she commanded +presently. + +I smiled weakly. I couldn't have done a trick with the cards,--not if +my life had depended upon it. But I rather neatly extricated myself +from the trap. + +"I never do any tricks out of business hours." + +"Uncle, give the gentleman ten cents; I want to see him do a +sleight-of-hand trick." + +Her uncle, readily entering into the spirit of the affair, dived into a +pocket and produced the piece of silver. It looked as if I were caught. + +"There! this may make it worth your while," the girl said, shoving the +coin in my direction. + +But again I managed to slide under; I was not to be caught. + +"It is my regret to say,"--frowning slightly, "that regularity in my +business is everything. It wants half an hour for my turn to come on. +If I tried a trick out of turn, I might foozle and lose prestige. And +besides, I depend so much upon the professor and his introductory +notes: 'Ladies and gents, permit me to introduce the world-renowned +Signor Fantoccini, whose marvelous tricks have long puzzled all the +crowned heads of Europe--'" + +"Fantoccini,"--musingly. "That's Italian for puppet show." + +"I know it, but the dime-museum visitors do not. It makes a fine +impression." + +She laughed and slid the dime back to her uncle. + +"I'm afraid you are an impostor," she said. + +"I'm afraid so, too," I confessed, laughing. + +Then the comedy came to an end by the appearance of our separate +orders. I threw aside the cards and proceeded to attack my dinner, for +I was hungry. From time to time I caught vague fragments of +conversation between the girl and her uncle. + +"It's a fool idea," mumbled the old gentleman; "you will get into some +trouble or other." + +"That doesn't matter. It will be like a vacation,--a flash of old +Rome, where I wish I were at this very moment. I am determined." + +"This is what comes of reading romantic novels,"--with a kind of +grumble. + +"I admit there never was a particle of romance on your side of the +family," the girl retorted. + +"Happily. There is peace in the house where I live." + +"Do not argue with me." + +"I am not arguing with you. I should only be wasting my time. I am +simply warning you that you are about to commit a folly." + +"I have made up my mind." + +"Ah! In that case I have hopes," he returned. "When a woman makes up +her mind to do one thing, she generally does another. Why can't you +put aside this fool idea and go to the opera with me?" + +"I have seen _Carmen_ in Paris, Rome, London and New York," she replied. + +(Evidently a traveled young person.) + +"_Carmen_ is your favorite opera, besides." + +"Not to-night,"--whimsically. + +"Go, then; but please recollect that if anything serious comes of your +folly, I did my best to prevent it. It's a scatter-brained idea, and +no good will come of it, mark me." + +"I can take care of myself,"--truculently. + +"So I have often been forced to observe,"--dryly. + +(I wondered what it was all about.) + +"But, uncle dear, I am becoming so dreadfully bored!" + +"That sounds final," sighed the old man, helping himself to the +_haricots verts_. (The girl ate positively nothing.) "But it seems +odd that you can't go about your affairs after my own reasonable +manner." + +"I am only twenty." + +The old man's shoulders rose and fell resignedly. + +"No man has an answer for that." + +"I promise to tell you everything that happens; by telegraph." + +"That's small comfort. Imagine receiving a telegram early in the +morning, when a man's brain is without invention or coherency of +thought! I would that you were back home with your father. I might +sleep o' nights, then." + +"I have so little amusement!" + +"You work three hours a day and earn more in a week than your father +and I do in a month. Yours is a very unhappy lot." + +"I hate the smell of paints; I hate the studio." + +"And I suppose you hate your fame?" acridly. + +"Bah! that is my card to a living. The people I meet bore me." + +"Not satisfied with common folks, eh? Must have kings and queens to +talk to?" + +"I only want to live abroad, and you and father will not let +me,"--petulantly. + +The music started up, and I heard no more. Occasionally the girl +glanced at me and smiled in a friendly fashion. She was evidently an +artist's model; and when they have hair and color like this girl's, the +pay is good. I found myself wondering why she was bored and why Carmen +had so suddenly lost its charms. + +It was seven o'clock when I pushed aside my plate and paid my check. I +calculated that by hustling I could reach Blankshire either at ten or +ten-thirty. That would be early enough for my needs. And now to route +out a costumer. All I needed was a grey mask. I had in my apartments +a Capuchin's robe and cowl. I rose, lighting a cigarette. + +The girl looked up from her coffee. + +"Back to the dime-museum?"--banteringly. + +"I have a few minutes to spare," said I. + +"By the way, I forgot to ask you what card you drew." + +"It was the ten of hearts." + +"The ten of hearts?" Her amazement was not understandable. + +"Yes, the ten of hearts; Cupid and all that." + +She recovered her composure quickly. + +"Then you will not blow up the post-office to-night?" + +"No," I replied, "not to-night." + +"You have really and truly aroused my curiosity. Tell me, what does +the ten of hearts mean to you?" + +I gazed thoughtfully down at her. Had I truly mystified her? There +was some doubt in my mind. + +"Frankly, I wish I might tell you. All I am at liberty to say is that +I am about to set forth upon a desperate adventure, and I shall be very +fortunate if I do not spend the night in the lock-up." + +"You do not look desperate." + +"Oh, I am not desperate; it is only the adventure that is desperate." + +"Some princess in durance vile? Some villain to smite? Citadels to +storm?" Her smile was enchantment itself. + +I hesitated a moment. "What would you say if I told you that this +adventure was merely to prove to myself what a consummate ass the +average man can be upon occasions?" + +"Why go to the trouble of proving it?"--drolly. + +"I am conceited enough to have some doubts as to the degree." + +"Consider it positive." + +I laughed. "I am in hopes that I am neither a positive ass nor a +superlative one, only comparative." + +"But the adventure; that is the thing that mainly interests me." + +"Oh, that is a secret which I should hesitate to tell even to the +Sphinx." + +"I see you are determined not to illuminate the darkness,"--and she +turned carelessly toward her uncle, who was serenely contemplating the +glowing end of a fat perfecto. + +I bowed and passed out in Sixth Avenue, rather regretting that I had +not the pleasure of the charming young person's acquaintance. + +The ten-spot of hearts seemed to have startled her for some reason. I +wondered why. + +The snow blew about me, whirled, and swirled, and stung. Oddly enough +I recalled the paragraph relative to Mrs. Hyphen-Bonds. By this time +she was being very well tossed about in mid-ocean. As the old order of +yarn-spinners used to say, little did I dream what was in store for me, +or the influence the magic name of Hyphen-Bonds was to have upon my +destiny. + +Bismillah! (Whatever that means!) + + + + +II + +After half an hour's wandering about I stumbled across a curio-shop, a +weird, dim and dusty, musty old curio-shop, with stuffed peacocks +hanging from the ceiling, and skulls, and bronzes and marbles, +paintings, tarnished jewelry and ancient armor, rare books in vellum, +small arms, tapestry, pastimes, plaster masks, and musical instruments. +I recalled to mind the shop of the dealer in antiquities in Balzac's +_La Peau de Chagrin_, and glanced about (not without a shiver) for the +fatal ass's skin. (I forgot that I was wearing it myself that night!) +I was something of a collector of antiquities, of the inanimate kind, +and for a time I became lost in speculation,--speculation rather +agreeable of its kind, I liked to conjure up in fancy the various +scenes through which these curiosities had drifted in their descent to +this demi-pawnshop; the brave men and beautiful women, the clangor of +tocsins, the haze of battles, the glitter of ball-rooms, epochs and +ages. What romance lay behind yon satin slipper? What _grande dame_ +had smiled behind that ivory fan? What meant that tarnished silver +mask? + +The old French proprietor was evidently all things from a pawnbroker to +an art collector; for most of the jewelry was in excellent order and +the pictures possessed value far beyond the intrinsic. He was waiting +upon a customer, and the dingy light that shone down on his bald bumpy +head made it look for all the world like an ill-used billiard-ball. He +was exhibiting revolvers. + +From the shining metal of the small arms, my glance traveled to the +face of the prospective buyer. It was an interesting face, clean-cut, +beardless, energetic, but the mouth impressed me as being rather hard. +Doubtless he felt the magnetism of my scrutiny, for he suddenly looked +around. The expression on his face was not one to induce me to throw +my arms around his neck and declare I should be glad to make his +acquaintance. It was a scowl. He was in evening dress, and I could +see that he knew very well how to wear it. All this was but momentary. +He took up a revolver and balanced it on his palm. + +By and by the proprietor came sidling along behind the cases, the +slip-slip fashion of his approach informing me that he wore slippers. + +"Do you keep costumes?" I asked. + +"Anything you like, sir, from a crusader to a modern gentleman,"--with +grim and appropriate irony. "What is it you are in search of--a +masquerade costume?'" + +"Only a grey mask," I answered. "I am going to a masked ball to-night +as a Grey Capuchin, and I want a mask that will match my robe." + +"Your wants are simple." + +From a shelf he brought down a box, took off the cover, and left me to +make my selection. Soon I found what I desired and laid it aside, +waiting for Monsieur Friard to return. Again I observed the other +customer. There is always a mystery to be solved and a story to be +told, when a man makes the purchase of a pistol in a pawnshop. A man +who buys a pistol for the sake of protection does so in the light of +day, and in the proper place, a gun-shop. He does not haunt the +pawnbroker in the dusk of evening. Well, it was none of my business; +doubtless he knew what he was doing. I coughed suggestively, and +Friard came slipping in my direction again. + +"This is what I want. How much?" I inquired. + +[Illustration: "This is what I want. How much?" I inquired.] + +"Fifty cents; it has never been worn." + +I drew out my wallet. I had arrived in town too late to go to the +bank, and I was carrying an uncomfortably large sum in gold-bills. As +I opened the wallet to extract a small bill, I saw the stranger eying +me quietly. Well, well, the dullest being brightens at the sight of +money and its representatives. I drew out a small bill and handed it +to the proprietor. He took it, together with the mask, and sidled over +to the cash-register. The bell gave forth a muffled sound, not unlike +that of a fire-bell in a snow-storm. As he was in the act of wrapping +up my purchase, I observed the silent customer's approach. When he +reached my side he stooped and picked up something from the floor. +With a bow he presented it to me. + +"I saw it drop from your pocket," he said; and then when he saw what it +was, his jaw fell, and he sent me a hot, penetrating glance. + +"The ten of hearts!" he exclaimed in amazement. + +I laughed easily. + +"The ten of hearts!" he repeated. + +"Yes; four hearts on one side and four on the other, and two in the +middle, which make ten in all,"--raillery in my tones. What the deuce +_was_ the matter with everybody to-night? "Marvelous card, isn't it?" + +"Very strange!" he murmured, pulling at his lips. + +"And in what way is it strange?" I asked, rather curious to learn the +cause of his agitation. + +"There are several reasons,"--briefly. + +"Ah!" + +"I have seen a man's hand pinned to that card; therefore it is +gruesome." + +"Some card-sharper?" + +He nodded. "Then again, I lost a small fortune because of that +card,"--diffidently. + +"Poker?" + +"Yes. Why will a man try to fill a royal flush? The man next to me +drew the ten of hearts, the very card I needed. The sight of it always +unnerves me. I beg your pardon." + +"Oh, that's all right," said I, wondering how many more lies he had up +his sleeve. + +"And there's still another reason. I saw a man put six bullets into +the two central spots, and an hour later the seventh bullet snuffed the +candle of a friend of mine. I am from the West." + +"I can sympathize with you," I returned. "After all that trouble, the +sight of the card must have given you a shock." + +Then I stowed away the fatal card and took up my bundle and change. I +have in my own time tried to fill royal flushes, and the disappointment +still lingers with a bitter taste. + +"The element of chance is the most fascinating thing there is," the +stranger from the West volunteered. + +"So it is," I replied, suddenly recalling that I was soon to put my +trust in the hands of that very fickle goddess. + +He nodded and returned to his revolvers, while I went out of the shop, +hailed a cab, and drove up-town to my apartments in Riverside. It was +eight o'clock by my watch. I leaned back against the cushions, +ruminating. There seemed to be something going on that night; the ten +of hearts was acquiring a mystifying, not to say sinister, aspect. +First it had alarmed the girl in Mouquin's, and now this stranger in +the curio-shop. I was confident that the latter had lied in regard to +his explanations. The card _had_ startled him, but his reasons were +altogether of transparent thinness. A man never likes to confess that +he is unlucky at cards; there is a certain pride in lying about the +enormous stakes you have won and the wonderful draws you have made. I +frowned. It was not possible for me to figure out what his interest in +the card was. If he was a Westerner, his buying a pistol in a pawnshop +was at once disrobed of its mystery; but the inconsistent elegance of +his evening clothes doubled my suspicions. Bah! What was the use of +troubling myself with this stranger's affairs? He would never cross my +path again. + +In reasonable time the cab drew up in front of my apartments. I +dressed, donned my Capuchin's robe and took a look at myself in the +pier-glass. Then I unwrapped the package and put on the mask. The +whole made a capital outfit, and I was vastly pleased with myself. +This was going to be such an adventure as one reads about in the +ancient numbers of _Blackwood's_. I slipped the robe and mask into my +suit-case and lighted my pipe. During great moments like this, a man +gathers courage and confidence from a pipeful of tobacco. I dropped +into a comfortable Morris, touched the gas-logs, and fell into a +pleasant dream. It was not necessary for me to start for the +Twenty-third Street ferry till nine; so I had something like +three-quarters of an hour to idle away. . . . What beautiful hair that +girl had! It was like sunshine, the silk of corn, the yield of the +harvest. And the marvelous abundance of it! It was true that she was +an artist's model; it was equally true that she had committed a mild +impropriety in addressing me as she had; but, for all I could see, she +was a girl of delicate breeding, doubtless one of the many whose family +fortunes, or misfortunes, force them to earn a living. And it is no +disgrace these days to pose as an artist's model. The classic oils, +nowadays, call only for exquisite creations in gowns and hats; +mythology was exhausted by the old masters. Rome, Paris, London; +possibly a bohemian existence in these cities accounted for her ease in +striking up a conversation, harmless enough, with a total stranger. In +Paris and Rome it was all very well; but it is a risky thing to do in +unromantic New York and London. However, her uncle had been with her; +a veritable fortress, had I over-stepped the bounds of politeness. + +The smoke wavered and rolled about me. I took out the ten of hearts +and studied it musingly. After all, should I go? Would it be wise? I +confess I saw goblins' heads peering from the spots, and old Poe +stories returned to me! Pshaw! It was only a frolic, no serious harm +could possibly come of it. I would certainly go, now I had gone thus +far. What fool idea the girl was bent on I hadn't the least idea; but +I easily recognized the folly upon which I was about to set sail. +Heigh-ho! What was a lonely young bachelor to do? At the most, they +could only ask me to vacate the premises, should I be so unfortunate as +to be discovered. In that event, Teddy Hamilton would come to my +assistance. . . . She was really beautiful! And then I awoke to the +alarming fact that the girl in Mouquin's was interesting me more than I +liked to confess. + +Presently, through the haze of smoke, I saw a patch of white paper on +the rug in front of the pier-glass. I rose and picked it up. + + + NAME: _Hawthorne_ + COSTUME: _Blue Domino_ + TIME: _5:30 P. M._ + RETURNED: + ADDRESS: _West 87th Street_ + + FRIARD'S + + +I stared at the bit of pasteboard, fascinated. How the deuce had this +got into my apartments? A Blue Domino? Ha! I had it! Old Friard had +accidentally done up the ticket with my mask. A Blue Domino; evidently +I wasn't the only person who was going to a masquerade. Without doubt +this fair demoiselle was about to join the festivities of some +shop-girls' masquerade, where money and pedigree are inconsequent +things, and where everybody is either a "loidy" or a "gent." Persons +who went to my kind of masquerade did not rent their costumes; they +laid out extravagant sums to the fashionable modiste and tailor, and +had them made to order. A Blue Domino: humph! + +It was too late to take the ticket back to Friard's; so I determined to +mail it to him in the morning. + +It was now high time for me to be off. I got into my coat and took +down my opera hat. Outside the storm was still active; but the snow +had a promising softness, and there were patches of stars to be seen +here and there in the sky. By midnight there would be a full moon. I +got to Jersey City without mishap; and when I took my seat in the +smoker, I found I had ten minutes to spare. I bought a newspaper and +settled down to read the day's news. It was fully half an hour between +Jersey City and Blankshire; in that time I could begin and finish the +paper. + +There never was a newspaper those days that hadn't a war-map in some +one of its columns; and when I had digested the latest phases of the +war in the far East, I quite naturally turned to the sporting-page to +learn what was going on among the other professional fighters. (Have I +mentioned to you the fact that I was all through the Spanish War, the +mix-up in China, and that I had resigned my commission to accept the +post of traveling salesman for a famous motor-car company? If I have +not, pardon me. You will now readily accept my recklessness of spirit +as a matter of course.) I turned over another page; from this I +learned that the fair sex was going back to puff-sleeves again. Many +an old sleeve was going to be turned upside down. + +Fudge! The train was rattling through the yards. Another page +crackled. Ha! Here was that unknown gentleman-thief again, up to his +old tricks. It is remarkable how difficult it is to catch a thief who +has good looks and shrewd brains. I had already written him down as a +quasi-swell. For months the police had been finding clues, but they +had never laid eyes on the rascal. The famous Haggerty of the New York +detective force,--a man whom not a dozen New York policemen knew by +sight and no criminals save those behind bars, earthly and +eternal,--was now giving his whole attention to the affair. Some +gaily-dressed lady at a ball would suddenly find she had lost some +valuable gems; and that would be the end of the affair, for none ever +recovered her gems. + +The gentleman-thief was still at large, and had gathered to his account +a comfortable fortune; that is, if he were not already rich and simply +a kleptomaniac. No doubt he owned one of my racing-cars, and was clear +of the delinquent lists at his clubs. I dismissed all thought of him, +threw aside the paper, and mentally figured out my commissions on sales +during the past month. It was a handsome figure, large enough for two. +This pastime, too, soon failed to interest me. I gazed out of the +window and watched the dark shapes as they sped past. + +I saw the girl's face from time to time. What a fool I had been not to +ask her name! She could easily have refused, and yet as easily have +granted the request. At any rate, I had permitted the chance to slip +out of my reach, which was exceedingly careless on my part. Perhaps +they--she and her uncle--frequently dined at Mouquin's; I determined to +haunt the place and learn. It would be easy enough to address her the +next time we met. Besides, she would be curious to know all about the +ten of hearts and the desperate adventure upon which I told her I was +about to embark. Many a fine friendship has grown out of smaller +things. + +Next, turning from the window, I fell to examining my fellow +passengers, in the hope of seeing some one I knew. Conversation on +trains makes short journeys. . . . I sat up stiffly in my seat. +Diagonally across the aisle sat the very chap I had met in the +curio-shop! He was quietly reading a popular magazine, and +occasionally a smile lightened his sardonic mouth. Funny that I should +run across him twice in the same evening! Men who are contemplating +suicide never smile in that fashion. He was smoking a small, +well-colored meerschaum pipe with evident relish. Somehow, when a man +clenches his teeth upon the mouth-piece of a respectable pipe, it seems +impossible to associate that man with crime. But the fact that I had +seen him selecting a pistol in a pawnshop rather neutralized the good +opinion I was willing to form. I have already expressed my views upon +the subject. The sight of him rather worried me, though I could not +reason why. Whither was he bound? Had he finally taken one of +Friard's pistols? For a moment I was on the point of speaking to him, +if only to hear him tell more lies about the ten of hearts, but I +wisely put aside the temptation. Besides, it might be possible that he +would not be glad to see me. I always avoid the chance acquaintance, +unless, of course, the said chance acquaintance is met under favorable +circumstances--like the girl in Mouquin's, for instance! After all, it +was only an incident; and, but for his picking up that card, I never +should have remembered him. + +Behind him sat a fellow with a countenance as red and round and +complacent as an English butler's,--red hair and small twinkling eyes. +Once he leaned over and spoke to my chance acquaintance, who, without +turning his head, thrust a match over his shoulder. The man with the +face of a butler lighted the most villainous pipe I ever beheld. I +wondered if they knew each other. But, closely as I watched, I saw no +sign from either. I turned my collar up and snuggled down. There was +no need of his seeing _me_. + +Then my thoughts reverted to the ten of hearts again. My ten of +hearts! The wrinkle of a chill ran up and down my spine! My ten of +hearts! + +Hastily I took out the card and examined the _back_ of it. It was an +uncommonly handsome back, representing Diana, the moon, and the +midnight sky. A horrible supposition came to me: supposing they looked +at the back as well as at the face of the card? And again, supposing I +was miles away from the requisite color and design? I was staggered. +Here was a pretty fix! I had never even dreamed of such a contingency. +Hang it! I now wished I had stuck to my original plan, and gone to the +theater. Decidedly I was in for it; there was no backing down at this +late hour, unless I took the return train for Jersey City; and I +possessed too much stubbornness to surrender to any such weakness. +Either I should pass the door-committee, or I shouldn't; of one thing I +was certain-- + +"Blankshire!" bawled the trainman; then the train slowed down and +finally came to a stop. + +No turning back for me now. I picked up my suit-case and got out. On +the platform I saw the curio-shop fellow again. Tramping on ahead, the +smell from his villainous pipe assailing my nostrils, was the man who +had asked for a match. The former stood undecided for a moment, and +during this space of time he caught sight of me. He became erect, gave +me a sudden sardonic laugh, and swiftly disappeared into the dark. All +this was uncommonly disquieting; in vain I stared into the blackness +that had swallowed him. What could he be doing here at Blankshire? I +didn't like his laugh at all; there was at once a menace and a +challenge in it. + +"Any baggage, sir?" asked one of the station hands. + +"No." But I asked him to direct me to a hotel. He did so. + +I made my way down the street. The wind had veered around and was +coming in from the sea, pure and cold. The storm-clouds were broken +and scudding like dark ships, and at times there were flashes of +radiant moonshine. + +The fashionable hotel was full. So I plodded through the drifts to the +unfashionable hotel. Here I found accommodation. I dressed, sometimes +laughing, sometimes whistling, sometimes standing motionless in doubt. +Bah! It was only a lark. . . . I thought of the girl in Mouquin's; +how much better it would have been to spend the evening with her, +exchanging badinage, and looking into each other's eyes! Pshaw! I +covered my face with the grey mask and descended to the street. + +The trolley ran within two miles of the Hunt Club. The car was crowded +with masqueraders, and for the first time since I started out I felt +comfortable. Everybody laughed and talked, though nobody knew who his +neighbor was. I sat in a corner, silent and motionless as a sphinx. +Once a pair of blue slippers attracted my eye, and again the flash of a +lovely arm. At the end of the trolley line was a carryall which was to +convey us to the club. We got into the conveyance, noisily and +good-humoredly. The exclamations of the women were amusing. + +"Good gracious!" + +"Isn't it fun!" + +"Lovely!" And all that. It must have been a novelty for some of these +to act naturally for once. Nothing lasts so long as the natural +instinct for play; and we always find ourselves coming back to it. + +Standing some hundred yards back from the road was the famous Hollywood +Inn, run by the genial Moriarty. Sometimes the members of the Hunt +Club put up there for the night when there was to be a run the +following morning. It was open all the year round. + +We made the club at exactly ten-thirty. Fortune went with me; +doubtless it was the crowd going in that saved me from close scrutiny. +My spirits rose as I espied Teddy Hamilton at the door. He was on the +committee, and was in plain evening clothes. It was good to see a +familiar face. I shouldered toward him and passed out my ten dollars. + +"Hello, Teddy, my son!" I cried out jovially. + +"Hello!"--grinning. Teddy thought it was some one he knew; well, so it +was. "What's your card?" he cried, as I pressed by him. + +"The ten of hearts." + +"The ten of hearts," repeated Teddy to a man who was keeping tally on a +big cardboard. + +This sight did not reassure me. If they were keeping tally of all the +cards presented at the door, they would soon find out that there were +too many tens of hearts, too many by one! Well, at any rate, I had for +the time being escaped detection; now for the fun. It would be +sport-royal while it lasted. What a tale to give out at the club of a +Sunday night! I chuckled on the way to the ball-room: I had dispensed +with going up to the dressing-room. My robe was a genuine one, heavy +and warm; so I had no overcoat to check. + +"Grave monk, your blessing!" + +Turning, I beheld an exquisite Columbine. + +[Illustration: Turning, I beheld an exquisite Columbine.] + +"_Pax vobiscum_!" I replied solemnly. + +"_Pax_ . . . What does that mean?" + +"It means, do not believe all you see in the newspapers." + +Columbine laughed gaily. "I did not know that you were a Latin +scholar; and besides, you gave me to understand you were coming as a +Jesuit, Billy." + +Billy? Here was one who thought she knew me. I hastened to +disillusion her. + +"My dear Columbine, you do not know me, not the least bit. My name is +not Billy, it is Dicky." + +"Oh, you can not fool me," she returned. "I heard you call out to +Teddy Hamilton that your card was the ten of hearts; and you wrote me, +saying that would be your card." + +Complications already, and I hadn't yet put a foot inside the ball-room! + +"I am sorry," I said, "but you have made a mistake. Your Jesuit +probably told you his card would be the nine, not the ten." + +"I will wager--" + +"Hush! This is a charity dance; no one makes wagers at such affairs." + +"But--Why, my goodness! there's my Jesuit now!" And to my intense +relief she dashed away. + +I carefully observed the Jesuit, and made up my mind to keep an eye +upon him. If he really possessed the ten of hearts, the man who kept +tally on the cardboard was doing some tall thinking about this time. I +glided away, into the gorgeous ball-room. + +What a vision greeted my eye! The decorations were in red and yellow, +and it seemed as though perpetual autumnal sunset lay over everything. +At the far end of the room was a small stage hidden behind palms and +giant ferns. The band was just striking up _A Summer Night in Munich_, +and a wonderful kaleidoscope revolved around me. I saw Cavaliers and +Roundheads, Puritans and Beelzebubs, Musketeers, fools, cowboys, +Indians, kings and princes; queens and empresses, fairies and Quaker +maids, white and black and red and green dominoes. Tom Fool's night, +indeed! + +Presently I saw the noble Doge of Venice coming my way. From his +portly carriage I reasoned that if he wasn't in the gold-book of Venice +he stood very well up in the gold-book of New York, He stopped at my +side and struck an attitude. + +"_Pax vobiscum_!" said I, bowing. + +"Be at the Inquisition Chamber, directly the clock strikes the midnight +hour," he said mysteriously. + +"I shall be there to deliver the supreme interrogation," I replied. + +"It is well." He drifted away like a stately ship. + +Delightful foolery! I saw the Jesuit, and moved toward him. + +"Disciple of Loyola, hast thou the ten of hearts?" + +"My hearts number nine, for I have lost one to the gay Columbine." + +"I breathe! Thou art not he whom I seek." + +We separated. I was mortally glad that Columbine had made a mistake. + +The women always seek the monk at a masquerade; they want absolution +for the follies they are about to commit. A demure Quakeress touched +my sleeve in passing. + +"Tell me, grave monk, why did you seek the monastery?" + +"My wife fell in love with me,"--gloomily. + +"Then you have a skeleton in the clothes-press?" + +"Do I look like a man who owned such a thing as a clothes-press, much +less so fashionable a thing as a family skeleton?" + +"Then what do you here?" + +"I am mingling with fools as a penance." + +A fool caught me by the sleeve and batted me gaily over the head with a +bladder. + +"Merry come up, why am I a fool?" + +"It is the fashion," was my answer. This was like to gain me the +reputation of being a wit. I must walk carefully, or these thoughtless +ones would begin to suspect there was an impostor among them. + +"Aha!" There was mine ancient friend Julius. "Hail Caesar!" + +He stopped. + +"Shall I beware the Ides of March?" I asked jovially. + +"Nay, my good Cassius; rather beware of the ten of hearts," said Caesar +in hollow tones, and he was gone. + +The ten of hearts again! Hang the card! And then with a sigh of +relief I recollected that in all probability he, like Columbine, had +heard me call out the card to Hamilton. Still, the popularity of the +card was very disquieting. I wished it had been seven or five; there's +luck in odd numbers. . . . A Blue Domino! My heart leaped, and I +thought of the little ticket in my waistcoat pocket. A Blue Domino! +If, by chance, there should be a connection between her and the ticket! + +She was sitting all alone in a corner near-by, partly screened by a pot +of orange-trees. I crossed over and sat down by her side. This might +prove an adventure worth while. + +"What a beautiful night it is!" I said. + +She turned, and I caught sight of a wisp of golden hair. + +"That is very original," said she. "Who in the world would have +thought of passing comments on the weather at a masque! Prior to this +moment the men have been calling me all sorts of sentimental names." + +"Oh, I am coming to that. I am even going to make love to you." + +She folded her hands,--rather resignedly, I thought,--and the +rollicking comedy began. + + + + +III + +When they give you a mask at a ball they also give you the key to all +manner of folly and impudence. Even stupid persons become witty, and +the witty become correspondingly daring. For all I knew, the Blue +Domino at my side might be Jones' wife, or Brown's, or Smith's, or even +Green's; but so long as I was not certain, it mattered not in what +direction my whimsical fancy took me. (It is true that ordinarily +Jones and Brown and Smith and Green do not receive invitations to +attend masquerades at fashionable hunt clubs; but somehow they seem to +worry along without these equivocal honors, and prosper. Still, there +are persons in the swim named Johnes and Smythe and Browne and Greene. +Pardon this parenthesis!) + +As I recollected the manner in which I had self-invited the pleasure of +my company to this carnival at the Blankshire Hunt Club, I smiled +behind my mask. Nerves! I ought to have been a professor of clinics +instead of an automobile agent. But the whole affair appealed to me so +strongly I could not resist it. I was drawn into the tangle by the +very fascination of the scheme. I was an interloper, but nobody knew +it. The ten of hearts in my pocket did not match the backs of those +cards regularly issued. But what of that? Every one was ignorant of +the fact. I was safe inside; and all that was romantic in my system +was aroused. There are always some guests who can not avail themselves +of their invitations; and upon this vague chance I had staked my play. +Besides, I was determined to disappear before the hour of unmasking. I +wasn't going to take any unnecessary risks. I was, then, fairly secure +under my Capuchin's robe. + +Out of my mind slipped the previous adventures of the evening. I +forgot, temporarily, the beautiful unknown at Mouquin's. I forgot the +sardonic-lipped stranger I had met in Friard's. I forgot everything +save the little ticket that had accidentally slipped into my package, +and which announced that some one had rented a blue domino. + +And here was a Blue Domino at my side. Just simply dying to have me +talk to her! + +"I am madly in love with you," I began. "I have followed you often; I +have seen you in your box at the opera; I have seen you whirl up Fifth +Avenue in your fine barouche; and here at last I meet you!" I clasped +my hands passionately. + +"My beautiful barouche! My box at the opera!" the girl mimicked. +"What a cheerful Ananias you are!" + +"Thou art the most enchanting creature in all the universe. Thou art +even as a turquoise, a patch of radiant summer sky, eyes of sapphire, +lips--" + +"Archaic, very archaic," she interrupted. + +"Disillusioned in ten seconds!" I cried dismally. "How could you?" + +She laughed. + +"Have you no romance? Can you not see the fitness of things? If you +have not a box at the opera, you ought at least to make believe you +have. History walks about us, and you call the old style archaic! +That hurts!" + +"Methinks, Sir Monk--" + +"There! That's more like it. By my halidom, that's the style!" + +"Odds bodkins, you don't tell me!" There was a second ripple of +laughter from behind the mask. It was rare music. + +"I _could_ fall in love with you!" + +"There once was a Frenchman who said that as nothing is impossible, let +us believe in the absurd. I might be old enough to be your +grandmother,"--lightly. + +"Perish the thought!" + +"Perish it, indeed!" + +"The mask is the thing!" I cried enthusiastically. "You can make love +to another man's wife--" + +"Or to your own, and nobody is the wiser,"--cynically. + +"We are getting on." + +"Yes, we are getting on, both in years and in folly. What are you +doing in a monk's robe? Where is your motley, gay fool?" + +"I have laid it aside for the night. On such occasions as this, fools +dress as wise men, and wise men as fools; everybody goes about in +disguise." + +"How would you go about to pick out the fools?"--curiously. + +"Beginning with myself--" + +"Thy name is also Candor!" + +"Look at yonder Cavalier. He wabbles like a ship in distress, in the +wild effort to keep his feet untangled from his rapier. I'll wager +he's a wealthy plumber on week-days. Observe Anne of Austria! What +arms! I'll lay odds that her great-grandmother took in washing. +There's Romeo, now, with a pair of legs like an old apple tree. The +freedom of criticism is mine to-night! Did you ever see such +ridiculous ideas of costume? For my part, the robe and the domino for +me. All lines are destroyed; nothing is recognizable. My, my! +There's Harlequin, too, walking on parentheses." + +The Blue Domino laughed again. + +"You talk as if you had no friends here,"--shrewdly. + +"But which is my friend and which is the man to whom I owe money?" + +"What! Is your tailor here then?" + +"Heaven forbid! Strange, isn't it, when a fellow starts in to pay up +his bills, that the tailor and the undertaker have to wait till the +last." + +"The subject is outside my understanding." + +"But you have dressmakers." + +"I seldom pay dressmakers." + +"Ah! Then you belong to the most exclusive set!" + +"Or perhaps I make my own dresses--" + +"Sh! Not so loud. Supposing some one should overhear you?" + +"It was a slip of the tongue. And yet, you should be lenient to all." + +"Kind heart! Ah, I wonder what all those interrogation points +mean--the black domino there?" + +"Possibly she represents Scandal." + +"Scandal, then, is symbolized by the interrogation point?" + +"Yes. Whoever heard of scandal coming to a full stop, that is to say, +a period." + +"I learn something every minute. A hundred years ago you would have +been a cousin to Mademoiselle de Necker." + +"Or Madame de Staël." + +"Oh, if you are married--" + +"I shall have ceased to interest you?" + +"On the contrary. Only, marriage would account for the bitterness of +your tone. What does the Blue Domino represent?" + +"The needle of the compass." She stretched a sleeve out toward me and +I observed for the first time the miniature compasses woven in the +cloth. Surely, one does not rent a costume like this. + +"I understand now why you attracted me. Whither will you guide +me?'"--sentimentally. + +"Through dark channels and stormy seas, over tropic waters, 'into the +haven under the hill.'" + +"Oh, if you go to quoting Tennyson, it's all up with me. _Are_ you +married?" + +"One can easily see that at any rate _you_ are not." + +"Explain." + +"Your voice lacks the proper and requisite anxiety. It is always the +married woman who enjoys the mask with thoroughness. She knows her +husband will be watching her; and jealousy is a good sign." + +"You are a philosopher. Certainly you must be married." + +"Well, one does become philosophical--after marriage." + +"But are you married?" + +"I do not say so." + +"Would you like to be?" + +"I have my share of feminine curiosity. But I wonder,"--ruminating, +"why they do not give masquerades oftener." + +"That is easily explained. Most of us live masquerades day by day, and +there might be too much of a good thing." + +"That is a bit of philosophy that goes well with your robe. Indeed, +what better mask is there than the human countenance?" + +"If we become serious, we shall put folly out of joint," said I, +rising. "And besides, we shall miss the best part of this dance." + +She did not hesitate an instant. I led her to the floor, and we joined +the dancers. She was as light as a feather, a leaf, the down of the +thistle; mysterious as the Cumaean Sibyl; and I wondered who she might +be. The hand that lay on my sleeve was as white as milk, and the +filbert-shaped horn of the finger-tips was the tint of rose leaves. +_Was_ she connected with the ticket in my pocket? I tried to look into +her eyes, but in vain; nothing could I see but that wisp of golden hair +which occasionally brushed my chin as with a surreptitious caress. If +only I dared remain till the unmasking! I pressed her hand. There was +an answering pressure, but its tenderness was destroyed by the low +laughter that accompanied it. + +"Don't be silly!" she whispered. + +"How can I help it?" + +"True; I forgot you were a fool in disguise." + +"What has Romance done to you that you should turn on her with the +stuffed-club, Practicality?" + +"She has never paid any particular attention to me; perhaps that is the +reason." + +As we neared a corner I saw the Honorable Julius again. He stretched +forth his death's-head mask. + +"Beware the ten of hearts!" he croaked. + +Hang his impudence! . . . The Blue Domino turned her head with a jerk; +and instantly I felt a shiver run through her body. For a moment she +lost step. I was filled with wonder. In what manner could the ten of +hearts disturb _her_? I made up my mind to seek out the noble Roman +and learn just how much he knew about that disquieting card. + +The music ceased. + +"Now, run away with your benedictions," said the Blue Domino +breathlessly. + +"Shall I see you again?"--eagerly. + +"If you seek diligently." She paused for a moment, like a bird about +to take flight. "Positive, fool; comparative, fooler; superlative, +foolest!" + +And I was left standing alone: What the deuce did she mean by that? + +After all, there might be any number of blue dominoes in the land; and +it seemed scarcely credible that a guest at the Hunt Club would go to a +costumer's for an outfit. (I had gone to a costumer's, but my case was +altogether different. I was an impostor.) I hunted up _Imperator +Rex_. It was not long ere we came face to face, or, to speak +correctly, mask to mask. + +"What do you know about the ten of hearts?" I began with directness. + +"I am a shade; all things are known to me." + +"You may be a lamp-shade, for all I care. What do you know about the +ten of hearts?" + +"Beware of it,"--hollowly. From under his toga he produced a ten of +hearts! + +My knees wabbled, and there was a sense of looseness about my collar. +The fellow _knew_ I was an impostor. Why didn't he denounce me? + +"Is the back of your card anything like this one?"--ironically. "I +dare say it isn't. But have your good time, grave monk; doubtless you +are willing that the fiddlers shall be paid." And wrapping his toga +about him majestically, he stalked away, leaving me staring +dumfoundedly after his receding form. + +Discovered! + +The deuce! Had I been attired like yon Romeo, I certainly should have +taken to my heels; but a fellow can not run in a Capuchin's gown, and +retain any dignity. I would much rather be arrested than laughed at. +I stood irresolute. What was to be done? How much did he know? Did +he know who I was? And what was his object in letting me run my +course? I was all at sea. . . . Hang the grisly old Roman! I shut my +teeth; I would see the comedy to its end, no matter what befell. If +worst came to worst, there was always Teddy Hamilton to fall back on. + +I made off toward the smoking-room, rumbling imprecations against the +gods for having given me the idea of attending this masquerade, when it +would have been cheaper and far more comfortable to go to the theater. + +But as soon as I entered the smoking-room, I laughed. It was a droll +scene. Here we were, all of us, trying savagely to smoke a cigar or +cigarette through the flabby aperture designated in a mask as the +mouth. It was a hopeless job; for myself, I gave it up in disgust. + +Nobody dared talk naturally for fear of being identified. When a man +did open his mouth it was only to commit some banal idiocy, for which, +during office hours, he would have been haled to the nearest insane +asylum and labeled incurable. Added to this was a heat matching +Sahara's and the oppressive odor of weltering paint. + +By Jove! Only one man knew that the back of my card was unlike the +others: the man who had picked it up in old Friard's curio-shop, the +man who had come to Blankshire with me! I knew now. He had been there +buying a costume like myself. He had seen me on the train, and had +guessed the secret. I elbowed my way out of the smoking-room. It +wouldn't do me a bit of harm to ask a few polite questions of Mr. +Caesar of the sardonic laugh. + +But I had lost the golden opportunity. Caesar had gone to join the +shades of other noble Romans; in vain I searched high and low for him. +Once I ran into Hamilton. His face was pale and disturbed and anxious. + +"What's the trouble, Hamilton?" I asked, with forced gaiety. + +He favored me with a penetrating glance. + +"The very devil is the trouble," he growled. "Several of the ladies +have begun to miss valuable jewels. Anne of Austria has lost her +necklace and Queen Elizabeth is without a priceless comb; altogether, +about ten thousand dollars." + +"Robbery?" I looked at him aghast. + +"That's the word. Curse the luck! There is always something of this +sort happening to spoil the fun. But whoever has the jewels will not +get away with them." + +"What are you going to do?" + +"I have already sent for the village police. Now I shall lock +all the doors and make every man and woman produce cards for +identification,"--abruptly leaving me. + +Thunderbolts out of heaven! My knees and collar bothered me again; the +first attack was trifling compared to this second seizure. How the +devil was I to get out? + +"Are you searching for me?" inquired a soft voice at my elbow. + +I turned instantly. The Blue Domino had come back to me. + +"I have been searching for you everywhere," I said gallantly. + +"Oh! but that is a black one. Never mind; the fib was well meant." + +I led her over to a secluded nook, within a few feet of the door which +gave entrance to the club cellars. This door I had been bearing in +mind for some time. It is well to know your topography. The door was +at the left of the band platform. There was a twin-door on the other +side. We sat down. + +[Illustration: I led her over to a secluded nook. We sat down.] + +"Have you heard the news?" I asked. + +"No. Has some one been discovered making love to his own wife by +mistake?" + +"It's serious. Anne of Austria and Queen Elizabeth have been robbed of +some jewels." + +"A thief among us?" + +"A regular Galloping Dick. I'm a thief myself, for that matter." + +"You?" she drew away from me a bit. + +"Yes. My name is Procrastination." + +"Ah, my grave Capuchin, we do not steal time; we merely waste it. But +is what you tell me true?" + +"I am very sorry to say it is. The jewels were worth something like +ten thousand dollars." + +"Merciful heavens!" + +"It is true, infernally true,"--looking around to see if by chance +Caesar had reappeared on the scene. (How was I to manage my escape? +It is true I might hie me to the cellars; but how to get out of the +cellars!) "Have you seen Julius Caesar?" I asked. + +"Caesar?" + +"Yes, Miss Hawthorne--" + +The Blue Domino swung about and leaned toward me, her hands tense upon +the sides of her chair. + +"What name did you say?"--a strained note in her voice. + +"Hawthorne," I answered, taking out the slip of pasteboard. "See! it +says that one blue domino was rented of Monsieur Friard at five-thirty +this afternoon." + +"How did you come by that ticket?" she demanded. + +"It was a miracle. I purchased a mask there, and this ticket was +wrapped up in my bundle by mistake." + +"It is a curious coincidence,"--her voice normal and unagitated. + +I was confused. "Then I am mistaken?"--my chagrin evident. (All this +while, mind you, I was wondering if that cellar-door was unlocked, and +how long it would take me to reach it before the dénouement!) + +"One way or the other, it does not matter," said she. + +"Yet, if I could reach the cellars,"--absently. Then I bit my tongue. + +"Cellars? Who said anything about cellars? I meant that this is not +the hour for unmasking or disclosing one's identity,"--coldly. + +"And yet, when Caesar whispered 'Beware the ten of hearts' you turned +and shuddered. What have you to offer in defense?" + +"It was the horrid mask he wore." + +"Well, it wasn't handsome of him." + +"What did you mean by cellars?"--suddenly becoming the inquisitor in +her turn. + +"I? Oh, I was thinking what I should do in case of fire,"--nimbly. + +"That is not the truth." + +"Well, no, it isn't. Can you keep a secret?" I whispered. + +"If it isn't a terrible one." + +"Well, I have no earthly business here. I am an impostor." + +"An impostor!" + +"Yes. And for the past few minutes, since I heard of the robbery, I've +been thinking how I could get out of here upon the slightest notice." +While the reckless spirit was upon me, I produced the fatal card and +showed the back to her. "You will find that yours is of a different +color. But _I_ am not the Galloping Dick; it was only a hare-brained +lark on my part, and I had no idea it would turn out serious like this. +I was going to disappear before they unmasked. What would you advise +me to do?" + +She took the card, studied it, and finally returned it. There followed +an interval of silence. + +"I have known the imposition from the first," she said. + +"What!" + +She touched the signet-ring on my little finger. "I have seen that +once before to-night. No," she mused, "you will not blow up the +post-office to-night, nor the police-station." + +She lifted the corner of her mask, and I beheld the girl I had met in +Mouquin's! + +"You?" + +"Silence! So this is the meaning of your shuffling those cards? Oh, +it is certainly droll!" She laughed. + +"And are you Miss Hawthorne?" + +"I am still in the mask, sir; I shall answer none of your questions." + +"This is the finest romance in the world!" I cried. + +"You were talking about getting out," she said. "Shall I lend you my +domino? But that would be useless. Such a prestidigitator as Signor +Fantoccini has only to say--Presto! and disappear at once." + +"I assure you, it is no laughing matter." + +"I see it from a different angle." + +An artist's model, and yet a guest at this exclusive function? + +A commotion around the stage distracted us. Presently we saw Teddy +Hamilton mount the stage and hold up his hands. + +"Attention, ladies and gentlemen!" he called. + +Silence gradually fell upon the motley groups of masqueraders. + +"A thief is among us. I have had all the exits closed. Everybody will +be so kind as to present cards at the main entrance. Three ten-spots +of hearts have been tallied on the comparing lists. We have been +imposed upon. The police are on the way. Very sorry to cause you this +annoyance. The identity of the holders of the cards will be known only +to those of us on the committee." + +Silence and then a murmur which soon became a fuzzing like that of many +bees. + +The Blue Domino suddenly clutched my arm. + +"Please take me away, take me away at once! I'm an impostor, too!" + +Two of us! + +This was disaster. I give you my solemn word, there was nothing I +regretted so much as the fact that I hadn't gone to the theater. + +But I am a man of quick thought and resource. In the inelegant +phrasing of the day, me for the cellars! + +"Come," said I to the girl; "There's only one chance in a hundred, but +we'll take it together." + +"Together? Where?" + +"Why, to the cellars. I've a pocketful of matches. We can make a try. +For, if there's a thief around, and we are caught and proved +impostors--Well, I leave you to imagine!" + +"I will go with you," she replied resolutely. + +The gods were with us. The door leading to the cellars was not locked. +I opened it, passed the girl before me, and closed the door. + +"I am frightened!" she whispered. + +"So am I," I offered, to reassure her. "You are not afraid of rats, +are you?" + +"No-o!" + +"Bully!" I cried. Then I laughed. + +"How _can_ you laugh? It is horrible!" she protested. + +"You would come, though I heard your uncle warn you. Look at it the +way I do. It's a huge joke, and years from now you'll have great fun +telling it to your grandchildren." + +"I wish, at this moment, I could see so far ahead--What was +that?"--seizing my arm. + +Click! + +Somebody had locked the door behind us! + + + + +IV + +In other words, we had departed the scene of festivities none too soon. +I could readily understand why the door had been locked: it was not to +keep us in the cellars; rather it was to prevent any one from leaving +the ball-room by that route. Evidently our absence had not been +noticed, nor had any seen our precipitate flight. I sighed gratefully. + +For several minutes we stood silent and motionless on the landing. At +length I boldly struck a match. The first thing that greeted my +blinded gaze was the welcome vision of a little shelf lined with +steward's candles. One of these I lighted, and two others I stuffed +into the pocket of my Capuchin's gown. Then we tiptoed softly down the +stairs, the girl tugging fearfully at my sleeve. + +There was an earthy smell. It was damp and cold. Miles and miles away +(so it seemed) the pale moonshine filtered through a cobwebbed window, +It was ghostly; but so far as I was concerned, I was honestly enjoying +myself, strange as this statement may seem. Here was I, setting forth +upon an adventure with the handsomest, wittiest girl I had ever laid +eyes upon. If I extricated her neatly, she would always be in my debt; +and the thought of this was mighty pleasant to contemplate. + +"Do you know the way out?" + +I confessed that, so far as I knew, we were in one of the fabled +labyrinths of mythology. + +"Go ahead," she said bravely. + +"I ask only to die in your Highness' service,"--soberly. + +"But I do not want you to die; I want you to get me out of this cellar; +and quickly, too." + +"I'll live or die in the attempt!" + +"I see nothing funny in our predicament,"--icily. + +"A few moments ago you said that our angles of vision were not the +same; I begin to believe it. As for me, I think it's simply immense to +find myself in the same boat with you." + +"I wish you _had_ been an anarchist, or a performer in a dime-museum." + +"You might now be alone here. But, pardon me; surely you do not lack +the full allotment of the adventurous spirit! It was all amusing +enough to come here under false pretenses." + +"But I had not reckoned on any one's losing jewels." + +"No more had I." + +"Proceed. I have the courage to trust to your guidance." + +"I would that it might be always!"--with a burst of sentiment that was +not wholly feigned. + +"Let us be on,"--imperatively. "I shall not only catch my death of +cold, but I shall be horribly compromised." + +"My dear young lady, on the word of a gentleman, I will do the best I +can to get you out of this cellar. If I have jested a little, it was +only in the effort to give you courage; for I haven't the slightest +idea how we are going to get out of this dismal hole." + +We went on. We couldn't see half a dozen feet in front of us. The +gloom beyond the dozen feet was Stygian and menacing. And the great +grim shadows that crept behind us as we proceeded! Once the girl +stumbled and fell against me. + +"What's the matter?" I asked, startled. + +"I stepped on something that--that moved!"--plaintively. + +"Possibly it was a potato; there's a bin of them over there. Where the +deuce are we?" + +"If you swear, I shall certainly scream!" she warned. + +"But I can swear in the most elegant and approved fashion." + +"I am not inclined to have you demonstrate your talents." + +"Aha! Here is the coal-bin. Perhaps the window may be open. If so, +we are saved. Will you hold the candle for a moment?" + +Have you ever witnessed a cat footing it across the snow? If you have, +picture me imitating her. Cautiously I took one step, then another; +and then that mountain of coal turned into a roaring tread-mill. +Sssssh! Rrrrr! In a moment I was buried to the knees and nearly +suffocated. I became angry. I would reach that window-- + +"Hush! Hush! The noise, the noise!" whispered the girl, waving the +candle frantically. + +But I was determined. Again I tried. This time I slipped and fell on +my hands. As I strove to get up, the cord of my gown became tangled +about my feet. The girl choked; whether with coal-dust or with +laughter I could not say, as she still had on her cambric-mask. + +"Forgive me," she said. And then I knew it was not the coal-dust. + +"I'll forgive you, but I will not promise to forget." + +"Merciful heavens! you must not try that again. Think of the noise!" + +"Was I making any noise?"--rubbing the perspiration from my forehead. +(I had taken off my mask.) + +"Noise? The trump of Judgment Day will be feeble compared to it. +Surely some one has heard you. Why not lay that board on top of the +coal?" + +A good idea. I made use of it at once. The window was unlatched, but +there was a heavy wire-screen nailed to the sills outside. There was +no getting out that way. The gods were evidently busy elsewhere. + +"Nothing doing," I murmured, a bit discouraged. + +"And even if there was, you really could not expect me to risk my neck +and dignity by climbing through a window like that. Let us give up the +idea of windows and seek the cellar-doors, those that give to the +grounds. I declare I shall leave by no other exit." + +"It was very kind of you to let me make an ass of myself like that. +Why didn't you tell me beforehand?" + +"Perhaps it's the angle of vision again. I can see that we shall never +agree. Seriously, I thought that if you got out that way, you might +find the other exit for me. I am sorry if my laughter annoyed you." + +"Not at all, not at all. But wouldn't it be wise to save a little +laughter to make merry with when we get out?" + +I stepped out of the bin and relieved her of the candle; and we went on. + +"You did look funny," she said. + +"Please don't!" I begged. + +Soon we came to a bin of cabbages. I peered in philosophically. + +"I might find a better head in there than mine," I suggested. + +"Now you are trying to be sarcastic," said the girl. + +We went on. + +"Wait a moment!" she cried. "Here's a bin of nice apples." + +Apples! Well, my word, she was a cool one! I picked up one, polished +it on my sleeve, and gave it to her. + +"I'm hungry," she said apologetically. + +"And plucky, too," I supplemented admiringly. "Most women would be in +a weeping state by this time." + +"Perhaps I am waiting till it is all over." + +"You had better take off your mask." In fact I felt positive that the +sight of her exquisite face would act like a tonic upon my nerves. + +"I am doing very well with it on. I can at least keep my face clean." +She raised the curtain and took a liberal bite of the apple--so +nonchalantly that I was forced to smile. + +"Here's a box," said I; "let's sit down while we eat. We are safe +enough. If any one had heard the racket in the coal-bin, the cellar +would have been full of police by this time." + +And there we sat, calmly munching the apples, for all the world as if +the iron hand of the law wasn't within a thousand miles of us. It was +all very amusing. + +[Illustration: And there we sat, calmly munching the apples.] + +"Are--_are_ you the man they are hunting for?" she asked abruptly. + +"I never stole anything more terrible than green apples--and ripe +ones"--with a nod toward the apple-bin. + +"Pardon me! I feel very guilty in asking you such a question. You +haven't told me your name." + +"Haven't I? My name is Richard Comstalk. My friends call me Dickey." + +"Dickey," she murmured. "It's a nice name." + +"Won't you have another apple?" I asked impulsively. + +"My appetite is appeased, thank you." + +An idea came to me. "Hamilton said there were three tens of hearts. +That meant that only one was out of order. Where did you get your +card?" + +"That I shall tell you--later." + +"But are you really an impostor?" + +"I should not be in this cellar else." + +"You are very mystifying." + +"For the present I prefer to remain so." + +We tossed aside the apple-cores, rose, and went on. It was the longest +cellar _I_ ever saw. There seemed absolutely no end to it. The +wine-cellar was walled apart from the main cellar, and had the +semblance of a huge cistern with a door opening into it. As we passed +it, the vague perfume of the grape drifted out to us. + +"Let's have a bottle," I began. + +"Mr. Comstalk!" + +"By absent-treatment!" I hastened to add. + +"You will make a capital comrade--if we ever get out of this cellar." + +"Trust me for that!" I replied gaily. "Be careful; there's a pile of +empty bottles, yearning to be filled with tomato-catsup. Give me your +hand." + +But the moment the little digits closed over mine, a thrill seized me, +and I quickly bent my head and kissed the hand. It was wrong, but I +could not help it. She neither spoke nor withdrew her hand; and my +fear that she might really be offended vanished. + +"We are nearly out of it," I said exultantly. "I see the cellar-stairs +on ahead. If only those doors are open!" + +"Heaven is merciful to the fool, and we are a pair," she replied, +sighing gratefully. "It seems strange that nobody should be in the +cellar on a night like this. Hark! They are playing again up stairs +in the ball-room." + +"And wondering a whole lot where that third ten of hearts has gone." + +"But, listen. How are we to get back to the trolley? We certainly can +not walk the distance in these clothes." + +"Oh, that carryall will come to our rescue. We are weary and are +leaving early, don't you know? That part is simple; the complicated +thing is to shake the dust of this cellar." + +"What a big furnace!" she exclaimed, as we came into view of the huge +heating apparatus. "And there's more coal." + +A man stepped out from behind the furnace, and confronted us. A red +bandana covered the lower part of his face and his hat was pulled down +over his eyes. But I recognized him instantly. It was the fellow with +the villainous pipe! Something glittered ominously at the end of his +outstretched arm. + +"If you make any noise, sir, I'll have to plug you, sir," he said in +polite but muffled tones. + +The candle slipped from my fingers, and the three of us stood in +darkness! + + + + +V + +There was a clicking sound, and the glare of a dark-lantern struck my +blinking eyes. + +"Pick up the candle, sir," said the tranquil voice from behind the +light. + +I obeyed readily enough. Fate was downright cruel to us. Not a dozen +feet away was liberty; and now we were back at the beginning again, +with the end nowhere in sight. + +"Shall I light it, sir?" I asked, not to be outdone in the matter of +formal politeness. + +"Yes, sir, doubtless you will need it." + +I struck a match and touched the candle-wick. + +"Burglar?" said I. (For all my apparent coolness, my heart-beats were +away up in the eighties!) + +The girl snuggled close to my side. I could feel her heart beating +even faster than mine. + +"Burglar?" I repeated. + +"Indeed, no, sir,"--reproachfully. "Mine is a political job." + +"A political job?"--thunderstruck. + +"Yes, sir; I am an inspector of cellars,"--grimly. "I couldn't get +around to this here cellar earlier in the day, sir, and a fellow's work +_must_ be done." + +Here was a burglar with the sense of humor. + +"What can I do for you?" I asked blandly. + +"Firstly, as they say, you might tell me what you and this lady _are_ +doing in this lonesome cellar." + +"Say 'sir,' when you address me." + +"Yes, sir." + +"The lady and I were playing hide-and-seek." + +"Nice game, sir,"--grinning. "Were you trying to hide under the coal?" + +"Oh, no; I was merely exploring it." + +"Say 'sir,' when you address me." + +"Sir." + +"You're a cool hand, sir." + +"I am gratified to learn that our admiration is mutual. But what are +_you_ doing here?" + +"I was ascertaining if the law was properly observed, sir," shaking +with silent laughter. + +"But what puzzles me," I went on, "is the fact that you could gather +the gems in that garb." For I was positive that this was the Galloping +Dick every one was looking for. + +"I don't understand a word you say, sir. I'm an inspector of cellars, +sir, not a jeweler. So you and the lady was playing hide-and-seek? +Come, now, _what_ is your graft? Is _all_ the push here to-night?" + +"That depends,"--cursing under my breath that I wore a gown which +hampered my movements. For, truth to tell, I was watching him as a cat +watches a mouse. + +"Well, sir, we of the profession never interferes with gentlemanly +jobs, sir. All I want of you is to help me out of here." + +"I am not a burglar." + +"Oh, I understand, sir; I understand completely. A gentleman is always +a gentleman, sir. Now, you can return to that coal-bin. I was just +about to make for it when you lit that candle." + +"Why not leave by the cellar-doors?" + +"I have my reasons, sir; most satisfactory reasons, sir. _I_ prefer +the window. Get along!"--his tones suddenly hardening. + +I got along. + +"The lady may sit down, sir," he said courteously. + +"Thank you, I will," replied the girl, plumping down on an empty +winecase. (She afterward confessed that if she had not sat down on the +box, she would have sat down on the cellar-floor, as a sort of +paralysis had seized her knees.) + +I stepped into the coal-bin, and rested the candle on the little shelf +for that purpose. I was downright anxious to see the fellow safely +away. There wasn't room in that cellar for the three of us. His +presence doubly endangered us and multiplied the complications. I was +in no position to force the gems from him. A man who has ten thousand +dollars' worth of jewels on his person doesn't stop at shooting; and I +possessed a healthy regard for my skin. I opened the window and caught +it to the ceiling by a hook I found there. + +"There is a stout screen, my man." + +"Take this, sir, and cut it out,"--handing me a pair of wire-clippers, +holding his lantern under his arm meanwhile. The muzzle of the +revolver, during all this time, never wavered in its aim at my head. + +I went to work at the screen, and presently it fell inward. + +"Is that satisfactory?"--with impressive irony. + +"You are the most _perfect_ gentleman that _I_ ever see, sir!" + +The girl laughed hysterically. + +"Now what?" The fun was beginning to pall on me. + +"Step out of the bin and stand aside. Sit down by the lady. Maybe +she's a bit frightened." + +I obeyed him to the letter. + +"Thanks!" With the agility of a cat he leaped up and wriggled through +the window. He turned. "Good night, sir. Sometime maybe I'll do the +same for you, sir." + +"Go to the devil!" I snarled. + +"My, my! What a temper, sir! I wouldn't have thought it of you, and a +nice lady in speaking distance!" + +He disappeared. + +The girl laid a hand on my arm. + +"You have acted very sensibly, Mr. Comstalk. If you had not, it is +quite certain he would have shot you." + +"It would have been a good thing for me if he had. He has gone, and +the jewels have gone with him. I hadn't the least chance; the wretch! +He probably came disguised as a plumber, and nobody suspected him." + +"But if he possessed the ten of hearts, why should he have left this +way?" + +"Possibly my idea was only an imitation of his. There must have been +at least a dozen tens of hearts. My dear young lady, I would give a +good deal if you were well out of this. I believed my plan was for the +best, and instead I have simply blackened the case against us. I have +been too adventurous. The situation looks very serious just now. Of +course, in the long run, we shall clear ourselves; but it will take +some fine arguing to do it, and possibly half a dozen lawyers." + +"It is a terribly embarrassing predicament; but since we started out +together, we'll hang together." She held out her hand to me. "It will +be fun to extricate ourselves with full honors." + +"You're a brick!" And I pressed her hand tightly. + +"Now, I wonder why the burglar didn't try those cellar-doors?" she +murmured. + +"By Jove, I'll soon find out! Come on. There's hope yet." + +This time we reached the stone steps without interference. I gave the +candle to the girl, cautiously put a shoulder against one of the doors, +and gave a gentle heave. It was not locked. Through the thin crack I +looked out upon the bright world of moonshine and crystal. Instantly I +permitted the door to settle into its accustomed place. I readily +understood the burglar's reasons. Seated upon a box, less than a dozen +feet away, and blissfully smoking one of the club's cigars, sat a burly +policeman. So _they_ had arrived upon the scene! + +"What is it?" asked the girl, as I motioned her to retreat. + +"The worst has come: the police!" dramatically. + +"Gracious heavens, _this_ is frightful! We shall never get out now. +Oh dear! Why did I ever come? It will be in the papers, with horrid +pictures. We ought not to have left the ball-room. Our very actions +will tell heavily against us. Awful!" + +"Now, don't you worry. They will not take any notice of you, once they +set eyes upon me. _Homo sum_! They are looking for _me_. There's +only one superfluous ten of hearts. I have it." + +"But I shall be found with you, and the stupid police will swear I am +an accomplice." She wrung her hands. + +"But no jewels will be found upon us," I argued half-heartedly. + +"They will say we have already disposed of them." + +"But the real burglar--" + +"They will say that he came into the cellar at our bidding." + +This girl was terribly reasonable and direct. + +"Hang it! I know Teddy Hamilton, the M. F. H. He'll go my bail, and +yours, too, for that matter. Come, let's not give up. There _must_ be +some other way out." + +"I wish I might believe it. Why _did_ I come?"--a bit of a wail +stealing into the anger in her voice. + +"This is Tom Fool's Night, and no mistake," I assented ruefully. + +"But I am a bigger fool than you are; I had an alibi, and a good one." + +"An alibi? Why on earth, then, did you follow me? What is your alibi?" + +"Never mind now. We should still be in this miserable +cellar,"--briefly. "What a night! I am so ashamed! I shall be +horribly compromised." + +"I'll take the brunt of it all. I'm sorry; but, for the love of +Heaven, don't cry, or I shall lose what little nerve I have left." + +"I am not crying!" she denied emphatically. "My inclination is to +shriek with laughter. I'm hysterical. And who wouldn't be, with +police officers and cells staring one in the face? Let us be going. +That policeman outside will presently hear us whispering if we stand +here much longer." + +There was wisdom in this. So, once again I took the candle, and we +marched back. There wasn't a single jest left in my whole system, and +it didn't look as if there was ever going to be another supply. We +took the other side of the furnace, and at length came to a flight of +wooden stairs, leading somewhere into the club. It was our last +chance, or we should indeed be obliged to stay all night in some bin; +for it would not be long before they searched the cellars. If this +flight led into the kitchen, we were saved, for I could bluff the +servants. We paused. Presently we ascended, side by side, with light +but firm step. We reached the landing in front of the door without +mishap. From somewhere came a puff of air which blew out the candle. +I struck a match viciously against the wall---and blundered into a +string of cooking-pans! It was all over, the agony of suspense! + +Blang! Rumpity-bumpity-blang-blang! + +I have heard many stage thunders in my time, but that racket beat +anything and everything this side of siege-guns. + +Instantly the door opened and a policeman poked his head in. Before I +had time to move, he grabbed me by the arm and yanked me--into the +ballroom! The girl and I had made a complete circuit of the cellars, +and had stumbled into the ball-room again by the flight opposite to +that by which we left it. Cheerful prospect, wasn't it? The adventure +had ceased to have any droll side to it. + +"Aha!" cried the base minion of the law. "_Here_ you are, then! +Hello, everybody! Hello!" he bawled. + +Caught! Here we were, the Blue Domino and myself, the Grey Capuchin, +both of us in a fine fix. Discovery and ejection I could have stood +with fortitude and equanimity; but there was bad business afoot. There +wasn't any doubt in my mind what was going to happen. As the girl +said, there would be flaring head-lines and horrid pictures. We were +like to be the newspaper sensation of the day. Arrested and lodged in +jail! What would my rich, doting old uncle say to that, who had +threatened to disinherit me for lesser things! I felt terribly sorry +for the girl, but it was now utterly impossible to help her, for I +couldn't help myself. + +And behold! The mysterious stranger I had met in the curio-shop, the +fellow who had virtually haunted me for six hours, the fellow who had +masqueraded as Caesar, suddenly loomed up before me, still wearing his +sardonic smile. At his side were two more policemen. He had thrown +aside his toga and was in evening dress. His keen glance rested on me. + +"Here he is, Mr. Haggerty!" cried the policeman cheerfully, swinging me +around. + +A detective! And Heaven help me, he believed me to be the thief! Oh, +for Aladdin's lamp! + + + + +VI + +I stood with folded arms, awaiting his approach. Nonchalance is always +respected by the police. I must have presented a likely picture, +however--my face blackened with coal-dust, cobwebs stringing down over +my eyes, my Capuchin gown soiled and rent. The girl quietly took her +place beside me. + +"So you took a chance at the cellars, eh?" inquired the detective +urbanely. "Well, you look it. Will you go with us quietly, or shall +we have to use force?" + +"In the first place, what do you and your police want of _me_?" I +returned coolly. + +He exhibited his star of authority. + +"I am Haggerty of the Central Office. I want you for several things." + +Several things? I stared at him stupidly. Several things? Then it +came to me, with a jar like an earthquake. The story in the newspaper +returned to my vision. Oh, this was too much, altogether too much! He +took me to be the fashionable thief for whom half the New York police +force were hunting. My sight swam for a moment in a blur. + +"What is it you think I have done?" I demanded. + +"You have, or have had, several thousand dollars' worth of gems on your +person to-night." + +I shrugged. The accusation was so impossible that my confidence +returned. + +"Mr. Haggerty, you are making a stupid mistake. You are losing time, +besides. I am not the man for whom you are hunting. My name is +Richard Comstalk." + +"One name or another, it does not matter." + +"Plenty of gall," murmured one of the minions of the law, whom I +afterward learned was the chief of the village police. + +"The card by which you gained admittance here," demanded the great +Haggerty truculently. + +I surrendered it. A crowd had by this time collected curiously about +us. I could see the musicians on the stage peering over the plants. + +"The thief you are looking for has gone," said I. "He escaped by the +coal-window." By this statement, my feet sank deeper still. + +"What did I tell you?" cried Haggerty, turning to his men. "They had +an accomplice hidden in the cellars." + +"I beg to inform you that you are making a mistake that will presently +cost you dear,"--thinking of the political pull my uncle had in New +York. "I am the nephew of Daniel Witherspoon." + +"Worse and worse!" said the chief of police. + +"We shall discuss the mistake later and at length. Of course you can +easily explain how you came to impose upon these people,"--ironically. +"Bah! the game is up. When you dropped that card in Friard's and said +you were going to a masquerade, I knew your game in a minute, and laid +eyes upon you for the first time since I began the chase. I've been +after you for weeks. Your society dodge has worked out, and I'll land +you behind the bars for some time to come, my gay boy. Come,"--roughly. + +"I request Mr. Hamilton to be called. He will prove to you that you +are greatly mistaken." Everything looked pretty black, I can tell you. + +"You will see whom you please, but only after you are safely landed in +the lockup. Now, Madame,"--turning swiftly upon the Blue Domino, "what +is your part in this fine business?" + +"It certainly has no part in yours,"--icily. + +Haggerty smiled. "My skin is very thick. Do you know this fellow?" + +She shook her head. He stood undecided for a space. + +"Let me see your card." + +"I decline to produce it,"--haughtily. + +Haggerty seemed staggered for a moment. "I am sorry to annoy you, but +you must be identified at once." + +"And why?"--proudly. "Was it forbidden to go into the club cellars for +such harmless things as apples?" + +Apples! I looked at her admiringly. + +"Apples?" repeated Haggerty. "Couldn't you have sent a servant for +them?" + +She did not reply. + +"You were with this clever gentleman in the cellars. You may or may +not be acquainted with him. I do not wish to do anything hasty in +regard to yourself, but your position is rather equivocal. Produce +your card and be identified--if you really can." + +"I refuse!" + +"Then I shall ask you to accompany us to the room up stairs till the +police-patrol arrives." + +"I will go,"--quietly. + +"Nonsense!" I objected. "On my word of honor, I do not know this lady. +Our presence in the cellar was perfectly harmless. There is no valid +reason for detaining her. It is an outrage!" + +"I am not going to stand here arguing with you," said Haggerty. "Let +the lady produce her card; let her disclose her identity. That is +simple enough." + +"I have already given you my determination on that subject," replied +the girl. "I can very well explain my presence here, but I absolutely +decline to explain it to the police." + +I didn't understand her at all. She had said that she possessed an +alibi. Why didn't she produce it? + +So the two of us left the gorgeous ball-room. Every one moved aside +for us, and quickly, too, as if we had had the plague. I looked in +vain for Hamilton. He was a friend in need. We were taken into the +steward's office and the door was shut and locked. The band in the +ball-room went galloping through a two-step, and the gaiety was in full +swing again. The thief had been rounded up! How the deuce was it +going to end? + +"I can not tell you how sorry I am to have mixed you up in this," I +said to the girl. + +"You are in no manner to blame. Think of what _might_ have happened +had you blown up the post-office!" + +She certainly was the least embarrassed of the two of us. I addressed +my next remarks to the great Haggerty. + +"Did you find a suitable pistol in Friard's?" + +"A man in my business," said Haggerty mildly, "is often found in such +places. There are various things to be recovered in pawnshops. The +gentlemen of this club sent _me_ the original ten of hearts, my +presence being necessary at such big entertainments. And when I saw +that card of yours, I was so happy that I nearly put you on your guard. +Lord, how long I've been looking for you! I give you credit for being +a clever rascal. You have fooled us all nicely. Not a soul among us +knew your name, nor what you looked like. And but for that card, you +might still be at large. Until the lady submits to the simple process +of identification, I shall be compelled to look upon her and treat her +as an accomplice. She has refused the offer I have made her, and she +can not blame me if I am suspicious, when to be suspicious is a part of +my business." He was reasonable enough in regard to the girl. + +He turned to the chief of the village police, who was sitting at the +desk ordinarily used by the club's steward. + +"No reporters, mind you." + +"Yes, sir. We'll see that no reporter gets wind of the capture." + +The telephone bell rang. One of the police answered it. + +"For you, Mr. Haggerty," he said. + +Haggerty sprang to the telephone and placed the receiver to his ear. + +"What?" we heard him exclaim. "You have got the other fellow? A horse +and carriage at once!" + +"Take mine," said the chief excitedly. "What is it?" + +"My subordinate at the railway station has just landed the fellow with +the jewels. Mighty quick work. I must hustle into town at once. +There'll be plenty of time to attend to these persons. Bring them to +town the moment the patrol arrives. The gems are the most important +things just now." + +"Yes, sir. You can rely upon us, Mr. Haggerty. Billy, go down with +Mr. Haggerty and show him my rig." + +"Good!" said Haggerty. "It's been a fine night's work, my lads, a fine +night's work. I'll see that all get some credit. Permit no one to +approach the prisoners without proper authority." + +"Your orders shall be obeyed to the letter," said the chief +importantly. He already saw his name figuring in the New York papers +as having assisted in the capture of a great thief. + +I cursed under my breath. If it hadn't been for the girl, I am ashamed +to confess, I should have cursed out loud. She sat rigid and +motionless. It must have been a cruel ordeal for her. But what was +puzzling me was the fact that she made not the slightest effort to +spring her alibi. If _I_ had had one! Where was Hamilton? I scarcely +inclined to the idea of sleeping in jail in a dress-suit. + +Haggerty departed. A silence settled gloomily down on us. Quarter of +an hour passed. The grim-visaged police watched us vigilantly. Half +an hour, three-quarters, an hour. Far away we heard the whistle of an +out-going train. Would I had been on it! From time to time we heard +faint music. At length there was a noise outside the door, and a +moment later Hamilton and two others came in. When he saw me, he +stopped, his eyes bulging and his mouth agape. + +"Dicky Comstalk?" he cried helplessly. "What the devil does this +mean?"--turning to the police. + +"Do you know this fellow, Mr. Hamilton?" asked the chief. + +"Know him? Of course I know him," answered Teddy; "and I'll stake my +last dollar on his honesty." + +(Thanks, Teddy!) I began to breathe. + +"But--" began the chief, seized with sudden misgivings. + +"It is impossible, I tell you," interrupted Hamilton. "I know this +gentleman is incapable of the theft. There is some frightful mistake. +How the dickens did you get here, Dicky?" + +And briefly I told him my story, my ass's ears growing inch by inch as +I went along. Hamilton didn't know whether to swear or to laugh; +finally he laughed. + +"If you wanted to come, why didn't you write me for an invitation?" + +"I shouldn't have come to your old ball, had I been invited. It was +just the idea of the lark." + +"We shall have to hold him, nevertheless," said the chief, "till +everything is cleared up. The girl--" + +Hamilton looked at the Blue Domino. + +"Madame, will you do me the honor to raise your mask?" + +[Illustration: "Madame, will you do me the honor to raise your mask?"] + +She did so; and I saw Hamilton draw in his breath. Her beauty was +certainly of an exquisite pattern. He frowned anxiously. + +"I never saw this young woman before," he admitted slowly. + +"Ha!" cried the chief, glad to find some one culpable. + +"Did you receive your invitation through the proper channels?" asked +Hamilton. + +"I came here to-night,"--coldly, "on the invitation of Mrs. +Hyphen-Bonds, who sailed for Europe Wednesday." + +Here was an alibi that was an alibi! I was all at sea. Hamilton +bowed; the chief coughed worriedly behind his hand. The girl had told +me she was an impostor like myself, that her ten of hearts was as +dark-stained as my own. I could not make head or tail to it. Mrs. +Hyphen-Bonds! She was a law in the land, especially in Blankshire, the +larger part of which she owned. What did it all mean? And what was +her idea in posing as an impostor? + +The door opened again. + +"The patrol has come," said the officer who entered. + +"Let it wait," growled the chief. "Haggerty has evidently got us all +balled up. I don't believe his fashionable thief has materialized at +all; just a common crook. Well, he's got him, at any rate, and the +gems." + +"You have, of course, the general invitation?" said Hamilton. + +"Here it is,"--and she passed the engraved card to him. + +"I beg a thousand pardons!" said Hamilton humbly. "Everything seems to +have gone wrong." + +"Will you guarantee this man?" asked the chief of Hamilton, nodding +toward me. + +"I have said so. Mr. Comstalk is very well known to me. He is a +retired army officer, and to my knowledge a man with an income +sufficient to put him far beyond want." + +"What is your name?" asked the chief of the girl, scowling. It was +quite evident he couldn't understand her actions any better than I. + +"Alice Hawthorne," with an oblique glance at me. + +I had been right! + +"What is your occupation? I am obliged to ask these questions, Miss." + +"I am a miniature painter,"--briefly, + +Hamilton came forward. "Alice Hawthorne? Pardon me, but are you the +artist who recently completed the miniatures of the Emperor of Germany, +the Princess of Hesse, and Mrs. Hyphen-Bonds?" + +"I am. I believe there is no further reason for detaining me." + +"Emperor of Germany?" echoed the now bewildered chief. "Why didn't you +tell all this to Mr. Haggerty?" + +"I had my reasons." + +Once again the door opened. A burly man in a dark business-suit +entered. His face ruddy and his little grey eyes sparkled with +suppressed ire. He reminded me of Vautrin, the only difference being +that Vautrin was French while this man was distinctly Irish. His +massive shoulders betrayed tremendous strength. He was vastly angry +about something. He went to the chief's desk and rested his hands upon +it. + +"You are a nice specimen for a chief of police, you are!" he began. + +"And who the devil are _you_?" bawled the chief, his choler rising. + +"I'll tell you who I am presently." + +We all eyed him in wonder. What was going to happen now? + +"Which of you gentlemen is Mr. Hamilton?" asked the new-comer gruffly. + +Hamilton signified that he was the gentleman by that name. + +"Some ladies at your ball have been robbed of their diamonds, I +understand?" + +"About ten thousand dollars' worth." + +"Look here, sir," cried the chief, standing up and balling his fist, "I +want you to explain yourself, and mighty quick. You can't come into my +presence in this manner." + +"Bah! You have just permitted the cleverest rascal in the state to +slip through your butterfingers. _I_ am Haggerty." + +The chief of police sat down suddenly. + + + + +VII + +The consummate daring of it! Why, the rascal ought to have been in +command of an army. On the Board of Strategy he would have been +incomparable! + +There followed a tableau that I shall not soon forget. We all stared +at the real Haggerty much after the fashion of Medusa's victims. +Presently the tension relaxed, and we all sighed. I sighed because the +thought of jail for the night in a dress-suit dwindled in perspective; +the girl sighed for the same reason and one or two other things; the +chief of the village police and his officers sighed because darkness +had suddenly swooped down on them; and Hamilton sighed because there +were no gems. Haggerty was the one among us who didn't sigh. He +scowled blackly. + +This big athlete looked like a detective, and the abrupt authority of +his tones convinced me that he was. Haggerty was celebrated in the +annals of police affairs; he had handled all sorts of criminals, from +titled impostors down to petty thieves. He was not a man to trifle +with, mentally or physically, and for this reason we were all shaking +in our boots. He owned to a keen but brutal wit; to him there was no +such thing as sex among criminals, and he had the tenacity of purpose +that has given the bulldog considerable note in the pit. But it was +quite plain that for once he had met his match. + +"I don't see how you can blame me," mumbled the chief. "None of us was +familiar with your looks, and he showed us his star of authority, and +went to work in a business-like way--By George! and he has run away +with my horse and carriage!"--starting from his chair. + +"Never mind the horse. You'll find it safe at the railway station," +snarled Haggerty. "Now, then, tell me everything that has happened, +from beginning to end." + +And the chief recounted the adventure briefly. Haggerty looked coldly +at me and shrugged his broad shoulders. As for the girl, he never gave +her so much as a single glance. He knew a gentlewoman without looking +at her twice. + +"Humph! Isn't he a clever one, though?" cried Haggerty, in a burst of +admiration. "Clever is no name for it. I'd give a year of my life to +come face to face with him. It would be an interesting encounter. +Hunted him for weeks, and to-day laid eyes on him for the first time. +Had my clumsy paws on him this very afternoon. He seemed so willing to +be locked up that I grew careless. Biff! and he and his accomplice, an +erstwhile valet, had me trussed like a chicken and bundled into the +clothes-press. Took my star, credentials, playing-card, and +invitation. It was near eleven o'clock when I roused the housekeeper. +I telegraphed two hours ago." + +"Telegraphed!" exclaimed the chief, rousing himself out of a melancholy +dream. (There would be no mention of him in the morrow's papers.) + +"Yes, telegraphed. The despatch lay unopened on your office-desk. +You're a good watch-dog--for a hen-coop!" growled Haggerty. "Ten +thousand in gems to-night, and by this time he is safe in New York. +You are all a pack of blockheads. + +"Used the telephone, did he? Told you to hold these innocent persons +till he went somewhere to land the accomplice, eh? The whistle of the +train meant nothing to you. Well, that whistle ought to have told you +that there might be a mistake. A good officer never quits his +prisoners. If there is an accomplice in toils elsewhere, he makes them +bring him in, he does not go _out_ for him. And now I've got to start +all over again, and he in New York, a bigger catacomb than Rome ever +boasted of. He's not a common thief; nobody knows who he is or what +his haunts are. But I have seen his face; I'll never forget him." + +The chief tore his hair, while his subordinates shuffled their feet +uneasily. Then they all started in to explain their theories. But the +detective silenced them with a wave of his huge hand. + +"I don't want to hear any explanations. Let these persons go," he +commanded, with a jerk of his head in our direction. "You can all +return to town but one officer. I may need a single man," Haggerty +added thoughtfully. + +"What are you going to do?" asked the chief. + +"Never you mind. I have an idea; it may be a good one. If it is, I'll +telephone you all about it when the time comes." + +He stepped over to the telephone and called up central. He spoke so +low that none of us overheard what he said; but he hung up the +receiver, a satisfied smile on his face. + +The girl and I were free to go whither we listed, and we listed to +return at once to New York. Hamilton, however, begged us to remain, to +dance and eat, as a compensation for what we had gone through; but Miss +Hawthorne resolutely shook her head; and as there was nothing in the +world that would have induced me to stay without her, I shook my head, +too. It seemed to me I had known this girl all my life, so closely +does misfortune link one life to another. I had seen her for the first +time less than eight hours before; and yet I was confident that as many +years, under ordinary circumstances, would not have taught me her real +worth. + +"Mrs. Hyphen-Bonds will never forgive me," said Hamilton dismally, "if +she hears that I've been the cause, indirectly and innocently, of +turning you away." + +"Mrs. Hyphen-Bonds need never know," replied the girl, smiling +inscrutably. "In fact, it would be perfectly satisfactory and +agreeable to me if she never heard at all." + +"I will call a conveyance for you," said the defeated M. F. H. "I +shall never forgive you, Dicky." + +"Yes, you will, Teddy. A loving-cup, the next time we meet at the +club, will mellow everything." + +Quarter of an hour later Miss Hawthorne and I, wrapped in +buffalo-robes, our feet snugly stowed away in straw, slid away, to the +jangle and quarrel of sleighbells, toward Moriarty's Hollywood Inn. +The moon shone; not a cloud darkened her serene and lovely countenance. +The pearly whiteness of the world would have aroused the poetry in the +most sordid soul; and far, far away to the east the black, tossing line +of the sea was visible. + +"What a beautiful night!" I volunteered. + +"The beginning of the end." + +"The beginning of the end? What does that mean?" + +"Why, when you first spoke to me, it was about the weather." + +"Oh, but this isn't going to be the end; this is the true beginning of +all things." + +"I wish I could see it in that light; but we can not see beauty in +anything when hunger lies back of the eyes. I haven't had anything to +eat, save that single apple, for hours and hours. I was so excited at +Mouquin's that I ate almost nothing." + +"You are hungry? Well, we'll fix that when we get to Moriarty's. I'll +find a way of waking him up, in case he's asleep, which I doubt. There +will be cold chicken and ham and hot coffee." + +"Lovely!" + +"And we shall dine with the gods. And now it is all over and done, it +_was_ funny, wasn't it?" + +"Terribly funny!"--with a shade of irony. "It would have been funnier +still if the real Haggerty hadn't turned up. The patrol had arrived." + +"But it didn't happen. I shall never forget this night,"--romantically. + +"I should be inordinately glad to forget it completely,"--decidedly. + +"Where's your romance?" I asked. + +"I'd rather have it served to me between book-covers. As I grow older +my love of repose increases." + +"Do you know," I began boldly, "it seems that I have known you all my +life." + +"Indeed!" + +"Yes. Why, I might really have known you all my life, and still not +have known you as well as I do this very minute,--and less than a dozen +hours between this and our first meeting. You are as brave as a +paladin, wise as a serpent, cool, witty--and beautiful!" + +"Shall I ask the driver to let me out?" Then she laughed, a +rollicking, joyous laugh. + +"What is so funny?" + +"I was thinking of that coal-bin." + +"Well, I didn't permit a lonely potato to frighten me," I retorted. + +"No, you were brave enough--among the potatoes." + +"You _are_ beautiful!" + +"I am hungry." + +"You are the most beautiful girl--" + +"I want something to eat." + +"--I ever saw! Do you think it possible for a man to fall in love at +first sight?" + +"Oh, nothing is impossible on Tom Fool's night. Positive, fool; +comparative, fooler; superlative, foolest. You are marching on with +your degrees, Mr. Comstalk." + +"You might call me Dicky," I said in an aggrieved tone. + +"Dicky? Never! I should always be thinking of paper collars." + +"I wish _I_ were witty like that!" + +She snuggled down beneath the robes. + +An artist's model, thought I. Never in this world. I now understood +the drift of her uncle's remark about her earning capacity. The Alice +Hawthorne miniatures brought fabulous prices. And here I was, sitting +so close to her that our shoulders touched: and she a girl who knew +intimately emperors and princesses and dukes, not to mention the +worldly-rich. I admit that for a moment I was touched with awe. And +it was beginning to get serious. This girl interested me marvelously. +I summoned up all my courage. + +"Are--are you married?" + +"No-o." + +"Nor engaged to be married?" + +"No-o. But you mustn't ask all these questions." + +"How would you like to ride around in a first-class motor-car the rest +of your days?" + +She laughed merrily. Possibly it _was_ funny. + +"Are you always amusing like this?" + +"Supposing I were serious?" + +"In that case I should say you had not yet slipped off your fool's +motley." + +This directness was discouraging. + +"I wonder if the ten of hearts is lucky, after all," I mused. + +"We are not in jail. I consider that the best of good fortune." + +"Give me your card," said I. + +She gave me the card, and I put it with mine. + +"Why do you do that?" + +"Perhaps I want to bring about an enchantment,"--soberly. + +"As Signor Fantoccini, or as Mr. Comstalk?" + +"I have long since resigned my position in the museum; it was too +exciting." + +She made no rejoinder; and for some time there was no sound but the +music of the bells. + +Finally we drew up under the colonial portè-cochere of Hollywood Inn +and were welcomed by the genial Moriarty himself, his Celtic +countenance a mirror of smiles. + +"Anything in the house to eat?" I cried, shaking the robes from me. + +"Anything ye like, if you like cowld things. I can hate ye a pot of +coffee on the gasolene-burner, and there's manny a vintage in the +cillars." + +"That will be plenty!"--joyfully, helping Miss Hawthorne to alight. + +"Sure, and ye are from the Hunt Club!"--noting our costumes. "Well, +well! They niver have anny too much grub. Now, I'll putt ye in a +little room all be yersilves, with a windy and a log-fire; cozy as ye +plaze. Ye'll have nearly two hours to wait for the car-r from the +village." + +We entered the general assembly-room. It was roomy and quaint, and +somewhere above us was the inevitable room in which George Washington +had slept. The great hooded fireplace was merry with crackling logs. +Casually I observed that we were not alone. Over yonder, in a shadowed +corner, sat two men, very well bundled up, and, to all appearances, +fast asleep. Moriarty lighted a four-branched candelabrum and showed +us the way to the little private dining-room, took our orders, and left +us. + +"This is romance," said I. "They used to do these things hundreds of +years ago, and everybody had a good time." + +"It is now all very wicked and improper," murmured the girl, laying +aside her domino for the first time; "but delightful! I now find I +haven't the least bit of remorse for what I have done." + +In that dark evening gown she was very beautiful. Her arms and +shoulders were tinted like Carrara marble; and I knew instantly that I +was never going to recover. I drew two chairs close to the grate. I +sat down in one and she in the other. With a contented sigh she rested +her blue-slippered feet on the brass fender. + +[Illustration: With a contented sigh she rested her blue-slippered feet +on the brass fender.] + +"My one regret is that I haven't any shoes. What an adventure!" + +"It's fine!" Two hours in the society of this enchanting creature! It +was almost too good to be true. Ah, if it might always be like +this--to return home from the day's work, to be greeted warmly by a +woman as beautiful as this one! I sighed loudly. + +Moriarty came with the chicken and ham and coffee. + +"If ye would like, it won't be a bit of trouble to show ye George +Washington's room; or"--with inimitable Irish drollery--"I can tell ye +that he dined in this very room." + +"That will serve," smiled the girl; and Moriarty bowed himself out. + +His departure was followed by the clatter of silver upon porcelain. Of +a truth, both of us were hungry. + +"I was simply ravenous," the girl confessed. + +"And as for me, I never dreamt I could be so unromantic. Now," said I, +pushing aside my plate, and dropping sugar into my coffee, and vainly +hunting in my pockets for a cigar, "there remains only one mystery to +be cleared up." + +"And what might this mystery be?" she asked. "The whereabouts of the +bogus Haggerty?" + +"The bogus Haggerty will never cross our paths again. He has skipped +by the light of the moon. No, that's not the mystery. Why did you +tell me you were an impostor; why did you go to the cellars with me, +when all the while you were at the ball on Mrs. Hyphen-Bonds' +invitation?" + +She leaned on her elbows and smiled at me humorously. + +"Would you really like to know, Signor? Well, I was an impostor." She +sat with her back to the fire, and a weird halo of light seemed to +surround her and frame her. "Mrs. Hyphen-Bonds accidentally dropped +that invitation in my studio, a few days before she sailed for Europe. +I simply could not resist the temptation. That is all the mystery +there is." + +"And they still think you were there rightfully!" + +"You are no longer mystified?" + +"Yes; there is yet another mystery to solve: myself." I knew it. +Without rhyme or reason, I was in love; and without rhyme or reason, I +was glad of it. + +"Shall you ever be able to solve such a mystery?"--quizzically. + +"It all depends upon you." + +"Mr. Comstalk, you will not mar the exquisite humor of our adventure by +causing me any annoyance. I am sure that some day we shall be very +good friends. But one does not talk of love on eight hours' +acquaintance. Besides, you would be taking advantage of my +helplessness; for I really depend upon you to see me safe back to New +York. It is only the romance, the adventure; and such moonlight nights +often superinduce sentimentality. What do you know of me? Nothing. +What do I know of you? Nothing, save that there is a kindred spirit +which is always likely to lead us into trouble. Down in your heart you +know you are only temporarily affected by moonshine. Come, make me a +toast!"--lifting her cup. + +"You are right," said I. "I am a gentleman. But it was only +consistent that, having been the fool, I should now play the ass. +Here's!"--and I held up my cup. + +But neither of us drank; there wasn't time. + +For the door opened quietly, and in walked the two men we had seen upon +entering the Inn. One of them gently closed the door and locked it. +One was in soiled every-day clothes, the other in immaculate evening +dress. The latter doffed his opera hat with the most engaging smile +imaginable. The girl and I looked up at him in blank bewilderment, and +set our cups down so mechanically that the warm amber liquid spattered +on the table-cloth. + +Galloping Dick and the affable inspector of the cellars stood before us! + + + + +VIII + +"The unexpected always happens," began the pseudo-detective, closing +his hat, drawing off his gloves and stuffing them into a pocket. "As a +friend of mine used to say, it is the unexpected that always surprises +us. We never expected to see these charming masqueraders again, did +we, William?" + +"No, sir," said William, grinning affably, "we didn't. The gentleman +was very nice and obliging to me, sir, when I was in the cellars." + +"So I understand. Now," continued the late Mr. Haggerty, with the +deadly affability of a Macaire, "I beg of you, Mr. Comstalk, I beg of +you not to move or to become unduly excited. Physicians tell us that +excitement wastes the red corpuscles, that is to say, the life of the +blood." + +"Your blood, sir, must be very thin," I returned coolly. But I cursed +him soundly in my mind. William's bulging side-pocket convinced me +that any undue excitement on my part would be exceedingly dangerous. + +"William, you can always tell a gentleman," said the chief rogue +admiringly. "A gentleman always recognizes his opportunities, and +never loses his sense of the balance of things." + +"And he is usually witty, too, sir," William assented. + +The girl sat pale and rigid in her chair. + +"What do you want?" I demanded savagely. + +"For one thing, I should like to question the propriety of a +gentleman's sitting down to dine with a lady without having washed his +face. The coal-dust does not add to your manly beauty. You haven't a +cake of soap about you, William, have you?" + +"No, sir." William's face expressed indescribable enjoyment of the +scene. + +The girl's mouth stiffened. She was struggling to repress the almost +irresistible smile that tickled her lips. + +"In times like these," said I, determined not to be outdone, "we are +often thoughtless in regard to our personal appearances. I apologize +to the lady." + +"Fine, fine! I sincerely admire you, Mr. Comstalk. You have the true +spirit of adventure. Hasn't he, William?" + +"He certainly has, sir." + +"Comes to a private ball without an invitation, and has a merry time of +it indeed. To have the perfect sense of humor--that is what makes the +world go round." + +"Aren't you taking extra risk in offering me these pleasantries?" I +asked. + +"Risks? In what manner?" + +"The man you so cleverly impersonated is at the club." I do not know +what prompted me to put him on his guard. + +The rogue laughed lightly. "I know Mr. Haggerty's habits. He is +hustling back to New York as fast as he can. He passed here ten +minutes ago in the patrol, lickety-clip! He wishes to warn all +pawnbrokers and jewelers to be on the lookout for me to-morrow. Ten +thousand in a night!"--jovially. + +"A _very_ tidy sum, sir," said William. + +"A fourth of which goes to you, my good and faithful friend." + +"Thank you, sir," replied William. + +Two cooler rogues I never wish to meet! + +"But wouldn't it be well, sir, to hasten?" asked William. + +"We have plenty of time now, my son." + +"You have not entered this room," said the girl, her terror slipping +from her, "simply to offer these banalities. What do you wish?" + +"What perspicacity, William!" cried the rogue, taking out a cigarette +case. + +"I don't know what that word means, sir, but as you do, it seems to fit +the occasion proper enough." + +"It means, William, that this charming young lady scents our visit from +afar." + +"I had a suspicion, sir, that it might mean that." William leaned +against the wall, his beady eyes twinkling merrily. + +The master rogue lighted a cigarette at one of the candles. + +"Pardon me," he said, "but will you join me?"--proffering the handsome +gold case. + +I took a cigarette and fired it. (I really wanted it.) I would show +up well before this girl if I died for it. I blew a cloud of smoke at +the candle-flame. There _was_ a sparkle of admiration in the girl's +eyes. + +"Mr. Comstalk, my respect for you increases each moment." The rogue +sat down. + +"And to whom might this handsome case belong?" I asked, examining it +closely. + +"Oh, that has always been mine. There was a time,"--blowing rings at +the candelabrum,--"when I was respected like yourself, rich, sought +after. A woman and a trusted friend: how these often tumble down our +beautiful edifices! Yes, I am a scamp, a thief, a rogue; but not +because I need the money. No,"--with retrospective eyes--"I need +excitement, tremendous and continuous,--excitement to keep my vigilance +and invention active day and night, excitement to obliterate memory. + +"But we can't do it, my friend, we can't do it. Memory is always with +us. She is an impartial Nemesis; she dogs the steps of the righteous +and the unrighteous. To obliterate memory, that is it! And where +might I find this obliteration, save in this life? Drugs? Pah! Oh, I +have given Haggerty a royal chase. It has been meat and drink to me to +fool the cleverest policeman in New York. Till yesterday my face, as a +criminal, was unknown to any man or woman, save William here, who was +my valet in the old days. I have gone to my clubs, dined, played +billiards; a fine comedy, a fine comedy! To-morrow William and I sail +for Europe. Miss Hawthorne, you wear one of the most exquisite rubies +I have ever seen. Permit me to examine it." + +The girl tore the ring from her finger and flung it on the table. I +made a move as though to push back my chair. + +"I wouldn't do it, sir," warned William quietly. + +My muscles relaxed. + +"Do not commit any rash action, Mr. Comstalk," said the girl, smiling +bravely into my eyes. "This gentleman would not appreciate it." + +The master rogue picked up the ring and rolled it lovingly about his +palms. + +"Beautiful, beautiful!" he murmured. "Finest pigeon-blood, too. It is +easily worth a thousand. Shall I give you my note of exchange for +it?"--humorously. The girl scorned to reply. He took out a little +chamois bag and emptied its contents on the table. How they sparkled, +scintillated, glowed; thousands in the whitest of stones! How he ever +had got his fingers on them is something I shall never learn. "Aren't +they just beautiful?" he asked naïvely. "Can you blame me for coveting +them?" He set the ruby on top of the glittering heap. It lay there +like a drop of blood. Presently he caught it up and--presented it to +the girl, who eyed him in astonishment. "I only wanted to look at it," +he said courteously. "I like your grit as much as I admire your +beauty. Keep the ring." + +She slipped it mechanically over her finger. + +"But you, my dear Mr. Comstalk!" he cried, turning his shining eyes +upon me, while his fingers deftly replaced the gems in the bag. + +"I have no jewelry," I replied, tossing aside the cigarette. + +"But you have something infinitely better. I am rather observant. In +Friard's curio-shop you carelessly exhibited a wallet that was simply +choking to death with long yellow-boys. You have it still. Will you +do me the honor?"--stretching out his slim white hand. + +I looked at William; he nodded. There wasn't the slightest chance for +me to argue. So I drew out my wallet. I extracted the gold-bills and +made a neat little packet of them. It hurt, hurt like the deuce, to +part with them. But--! + +"Game, William, isn't he? Most men would have flung the wallet at my +head." + +"Oh, he is game, sir; never you doubt it, sir," said the amiable +William. + +"I have some silver in change," I suggested with some bitterness. + +"Far be it that I should touch silver," he said generously, did this +rogue. "Besides, you will need something to pay for this little supper +and the fare back to New York." My bills disappeared into his pocket. +"You will observe that I trust you implicitly. I haven't even counted +the money." + +William sniggered. + +"And is there anything further?" I inquired. The comedy was beginning +to weary me, it was so one-sided. + +"I am in no particular hurry," the rogue answered, his sardonic smile +returning. "It is so long since I have chatted with people of my kind." + +I scowled. + +"Pardon me, I meant from a social point of view only. I admit we would +not be equals in the eye of the Presbyter." + +And then followed a scene that reminds me to this day of some broken, +fantastic dream, a fragment from some bewildering nightmare. + + + + +IX + +For suddenly I saw his eyes widen and flash with anger and +apprehension. Quick as a passing sunshadow, his hand swept the +candelabrum from the table. He made a swift backward spring toward the +door, but he was a little too late. The darkness he had created was +not intense enough, for there was still the ruddy glow from the logs; +and the bosom of his dress-shirt made a fine target. Besides, the eyes +that had peered into the window were accustomed to the night. + +Blang! The glass of the window shivered and jingled to the floor, and +a sharp report followed. The rogue cried out in fierce anguish, and +reeled against the wall. William whipped out his revolver, but, even +from his favorable angle, he was not quick enough. The hand that had +directed the first bullet was ready to direct the second. + +All this took place within the count of ten. The girl and I sat +stiffly in our chairs, as if petrified, it was all so swiftly +accomplished. + +"Drop it!" said a cold, authoritative voice, and I saw the vague +outlines of Haggerty's face beyond the broken window-pane. + +William knew better than to hesitate. His revolver struck the floor +dully, and a curse rolled from his lips. Immediately a heavy body +precipitated itself against the door, which crashed inward, and an +officer fearlessly entered, a revolver in each hand. This tableau, +which lasted fully a minute, was finally disturbed by the entrance of +Haggerty himself. + +"Don't be alarmed, Miss," he said heartily; "it's all over, I'm sorry +for the bullet, but it had to be done. The rascal has nothing more +serious than a splintered bone, I am a dead shot. A fine +night!"--triumphantly. "It's been a long chase, and I never was sure +of the finish. You're the cleverest rogue it has been my good fortune +to meet this many a day. I don't even know who you are yet. Well, +well! we'll round that up in time." + +Not till the candles again sputtered with light, and William was +securely handcuffed and disarmed, did I recollect that I possessed the +sense of motion. The smoke of powder drifted across the flickering +candles, and there was a salty taste on my tongue. + +"Horrible!" cried the girl, covering her eyes. + +The master rogue and his valet were led out into the assembly-room, and +we reluctantly followed. I saw it all now. When Haggerty called up +central at the club, he ascertained where the last call had been from, +and, learning that it came from Hollywood Inn, he took his chance. The +room was soon filled with servants and stable-hands, the pistol-shot +having lured them from their beds. The wounded man was very pale. He +sat with his uninjured hand tightly clasped above the ragged wound, and +a little pool of blood slowly formed at his side on the floor. But his +eyes shone brightly. + +"A basin of water and some linen!" cried the girl to Moriarty. "And +send all these people away." + +"To yer rooms, ivery one of ye!" snapped Moriarty, sweeping his hands. +"'Tis no place for ye, be off!" He hurried the servants out of the +room, and presently returned with a basin of water, some linen and balm. + +We watched the girl as she bathed and bandaged the wounded arm; and +once or twice the patient smiled. Haggerty looked on approvingly, and +in William's eyes there beamed the gentle light of reverence. It _was_ +a picture to see this lovely creature playing the part of the good +Samaritan, moving here and there in her exquisite gown. Ah, the tender +mercy! I knew that, come what might, I had strangely found the right +woman, the one woman. + +[Illustration: We watched the girl as she bathed and bandaged the +wounded arm.] + +"You're a good little woman," said the rogue, his face softening; "and +a good woman is the finest thing God ever placed upon earth. Had I +only found one!" He turned whimsically toward me. "Are you engaged to +marry this little woman?" + +"No." + +"Surely you love her!" + +"Surely I do!" I looked bravely at the girl as I spoke. + +But she never gave any sign that she heard. She pinned the ends of the +bandages carefully. + +"And what brought you to this?" asked Haggerty, looking down at his +prisoner. + +The prisoner shrugged. + +"You've the making of a fine man in you," went on Haggerty generously. +"What caused you to slip up?" + +"That subject is taboo," replied the thief. "But I want to beg your +pardon for underestimating your cunning." + +"It was all due to a chance shot at the telephone." + +"I kept you guessing." + +"Merrily, too. My admiration is wholly yours, sir," returned Haggerty, +picking up the telephone exchange-book. He rang and placed his lips to +the transmitter, calling a number. "Hello! Is this the chief of the +Blankshire police? Yes? Well, this is Haggerty. That idea I hinted +to you was a mighty good one. Prepare two strong cells and have a +doctor on hand. What? Oh, you will find your horse and carriage at +Moriarty's. Good-by!" + +My money was handed over to me. I returned it to my wallet, but +without any particular enthusiasm. + +"It's a bad business, William," said I. + +"It's all in the game, sir,"--with a look at Haggerty that expressed +infinite hatred. "In our business we can't afford to be careless." + +"Or to talk too much," supplemented his master, smiling. "Talk, my +friend, rounds me up with a bullet in the arm, and a long sojourn +behind stone walls. Never talk. Thank you, Miss Hawthorne, and you, +too, Mr. Comstalk, for the saving grace of humor. If it were possible, +I should like to give Miss Hawthorne the pick of the jewels. This is a +sordid world." + +"Ye'er car-r is coming!" shouted Moriarty, running to the window. + +So the girl and I passed out of Hollywood Inn, leaving Haggerty with +his mysterious prisoners. I can't reason it out, even to this day, but +I was genuinely sorry that Haggerty had arrived upon the scene. For +one thing, he had spoiled the glamour of the adventure by tingeing it +with blood. And on the way to the car I wondered what had been the +rogue's past, what had turned him into this hardy, perilous path. He +had spoken of a woman; perhaps that was it. They are always behind +good actions and bad. Heigh-ho! + +Once we were seated in the lonely car, the girl broke down and cried as +if her heart would break. It was only the general reaction, but the +sight of her tears unnerved me. + +"Don't cry, girl; don't!" I whispered, taking her hand in mine. She +made no effort to repulse me. "I am sorry. The rascal was a gallant +beggar, and I for one shouldn't have been sorry to see him get away. +There, there! You're the bravest, tenderest girl in all this world; +and when I told him I loved you, God knows I meant it! It is one of +those inexplicable things. You say I have known you only eight hours? +I have known you always, only I had not met you. What are eight hours? +What is convention, formality? We two have lived a lifetime in these +eight hours. Can't you see that we have?" + +"To shoot a human being!" she sobbed. Her head fell against my +shoulder. I do not believe she was conscious of the fact. And I did +not care a hang for the conductor. + +I patted her hand encouragingly. "It had to be done. He was in a +desperate predicament, and he would have shot Haggerty had the +detective been careless in has turn; and he wouldn't have aimed to +maim, either." + +"What a horrible night! It will haunt me as long as I live!" + +I said nothing; and we did not speak again till the first of the +Blankshire lights flashed by us. By this time her sobs had ceased. + +"I know I haven't done anything especially gallant to-night; no +fighting, no rescuing, and all that. They just moved _me_ around like +a piece of stage scenery." + +A smile flashed and was gone. It was a hopeful sign. + +"But the results are the same. You have admitted to me that you are +neither engaged nor married. Won't you take me on--on approval?" + +"Mr. Comstalk, it all seems so like a horrid dream. You _are_ a brave +man, and what is better, a sensible one, for you submitted to the +inevitable with the best possible grace. But you talk of love as +readily as a hero in a popular novel." + +"I never go back," said I. "It seems incredible, doesn't it, that I +should declare myself in this fashion? Listen. For my part, I believe +that all this was written,--my Tom-foolery in Mouquin's, my imposture +and yours, the two identical cards,--the adventure from beginning to +end." + +Silence. + +"Suppose I should say," the girl began, looking out of the window, +"that in the restaurant you aroused my curiosity, that in the cellars +my admiration was stirred, that the frank manner in which you expressed +your regard for me to--to the burglar--awakened--" + +"What?" I cried eagerly. + +"Nothing. It was merely a supposition." + +"Hang it; I _do_ love you!" + +"Are you still the Capuchin, or simply Mr. Comstalk?" + +"I have laid aside all masks, even that which hides the heart." + +She turned and looked me steadily in the eyes. + +"Well?" said I. + +"If I took you on--on approval, what in the world should I do with you +in case you should not suit my needs?" + +"You could return me," said I laughing. + +But she didn't. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HEARTS AND MASKS*** + + +******* This file should be named 17390-8.txt or 17390-8.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/7/3/9/17390 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at <a href = "http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></pre> +<p>Title: Hearts and Masks</p> +<p>Author: Harold MacGrath</p> +<p>Release Date: December 25, 2005 [eBook #17390]</p> +<p>Language: English</p> +<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p> +<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HEARTS AND MASKS***</p> +<br><br><center><h3>E-text prepared by Al Haines</h3></center><br><br> +<hr class="full" noshade> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<A NAME="img-front"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG SRC="images/img-front.jpg" ALT="Five people dressed for costume ball, four sitting, one standing." BORDER="2" WIDTH="433" HEIGHT="574"> +<H4> +[Frontispiece: Five people dressed for costume ball, four sitting, one standing.] +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H1 ALIGN="center"> +HEARTS AND MASKS +</H1> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +BY +</H3> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +HAROLD MACGRATH +</H2> + +<BR><BR> + +<h4 align="center">Author of The Puppet Crown, The Grey Cloak, The Man on the Box +</h4> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY +<BR><BR> +HARRISON FISHER +</H4> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +New York +<BR><BR> +GROSSET & DUNLAP +<BR><BR> +Publishers +</H4> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H5 ALIGN="center"> +COPYRIGHT 1905 +<BR><BR> +THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY +</H5> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +TO MY WIFE +</H3> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CONTENTS +</H3> + +<CENTER> + +<TABLE WIDTH="60%"> +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="left"><A HREF="#chap0101">Chapter I </A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="left"><A HREF="#chap0104">Chapter IV </A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="left"><A HREF="#chap0107">Chapter VII </A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="left"><A HREF="#chap0102">Chapter II </A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="left"><A HREF="#chap0105">Chapter V </A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="left"><A HREF="#chap0108">Chapter VIII </A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="left"><A HREF="#chap0103">Chapter III </A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="left"><A HREF="#chap0106">Chapter VI </A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="left"><A HREF="#chap0109">Chapter IX </A></TD> +</TR> + +</TABLE> + +</CENTER> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +List of Illustrations +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-front"> +Five people dressed for costume ball, four sitting,<BR>one standing ……… <I>Frontispiece</I> +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-010"> +The handsomest girl I had set eyes upon in a month of moons. +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-022"> +"This is what I want. How much?" I inquired. +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-038"> +Turning, I beheld an exquisite Columbine. +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-058"> +I led her over to a secluded nook. We sat down. +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-070"> +And there we sat, calmly munching the apples. +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-098"> +"Madame, will you do me the honor to raise your mask?" +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-124"> +We watched the girl as she bathed and bandaged the wounded arm. +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-110"> +With a contented sigh she rested her blue-slippered feet on the brass +fender. +</A> +</H3> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0101"></A> +<H1 ALIGN="center"> +HEARTS AND MASKS +</H1> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +I +</H3> + +<P> +It all depends upon the manner of your entrance to the Castle of +Adventure. One does not have to scale its beetling parapets or assault +its scarps and frowning bastions; neither is one obliged to force with +clamor and blaring trumpets and glittering gorgets the drawbridge and +portcullis. Rather the pathway lies through one of those many little +doors, obscure, yet easily accessible, latchless and boltless, to which +the average person gives no particular attention, and yet which +invariably lead to the very heart of this Castle Delectable. The +whimsical chatelaine of this enchanted keep is a shy goddess. +Circumspection has no part in her affairs, nor caution, nor +practicality; nor does her eye linger upon the dullard and the +blunderer. Imagination solves the secret riddle, and wit is the guide +that leads the seeker through the winding, bewildering labyrinths. +</P> + +<P> +And there is something in being idle, too! +</P> + +<P> +If I had not gone idly into Mouquin's cellar for dinner that night, I +should have missed the most engaging adventure that ever fell to my +lot. It is second nature for me to be guided by impulse rather than by +reason; reason is always so square-toed and impulse is always so +alluring. You will find that nearly all the great captains were and +are creatures of impulse; nothing brilliant is ever achieved by +calculation. All this is not to say that I am a great captain; it is +offered only to inform you that I am often impulsive. +</P> + +<P> +A <I>Times</I>, four days old; and if I hadn't fallen upon it to pass the +twenty-odd minutes between my order and the service of it, I shouldn't +have made the acquaintance of the police in that pretty little suburb +over in New Jersey; nor should I have met the enchanting Blue Domino; +nor would fate have written Kismet. The clairvoyant never has any fun +in this cycle; he has no surprises. +</P> + +<P> +I had been away from New York for several weeks, and had returned only +that afternoon. Thus, the spirit of unrest acquired by travel was +still upon me. It was nearing holiday week, and those congenial +friends I might have called upon, to while away the evening, were +either busily occupied with shopping or were out of town; and I +determined not to go to the club and be bored by some indifferent +billiard player. I would dine quietly, listen to some light music, and +then go to the theater. I was searching the theatrical amusements, +when the society column indifferently attacked my eye. I do not know +why it is, but I have a wholesome contempt for the so-called society +columns of the daily newspaper in New York. Mayhap, it is because I do +not belong. +</P> + +<P> +I read this paragraph with a shrug, and that one with a smirk. I was +in no manner surprised at the announcement that Miss High-Culture was +going to wed the Duke of Impecune; I had always been certain this girl +would do some such fool thing. That Mrs. Hyphen-Bonds was giving a +farewell dinner at the Waldorf, prior to her departure to Europe, +interested my curiosity not in the least degree. It would be all the +same to me if she never came back. None of the wishy-washy +tittle-tattle interested me, in fact. There was only one little +six-line paragraph that really caught me. On Friday night (that is to +say, the night of my adventures in Blankshire), the Hunt Club was to +give a charity masquerade dance. This grasped my adventurous spirit by +the throat and refused to let go. +</P> + +<P> +The atmosphere surrounding the paragraph was spirituous with +enchantment. There was a genuine novelty about this dance. Two packs +of playing-cards had been sent out as tickets; one pack to the ladies +and one to the gentlemen. Charming idea, wasn't it? These cards were +to be shown at the door, together with ten dollars, but were to be +retained by the recipients till two o'clock (supper-time), at which +moment everybody was to unmask and take his partner, who held the +corresponding card, in to supper. Its newness strongly appealed to me. +I found myself reading the paragraph over and over. +</P> + +<P> +By Jove, what an inspiration! +</P> + +<P> +I knew the Blankshire Hunt Club, with its colonial architecture, its +great ball-room, its quaint fireplaces, its stables and sheds, and the +fame of its chef. It was one of those great country clubs that keep +open house the year round. It stood back from the sea about four miles +and was within five miles of the village. There was a fine course +inland, a cross-country going of not less than twenty miles, a +shooting-box, and excellent golf-links. In the winter it was cozy; in +the summer it was ideal. +</P> + +<P> +I was intimately acquainted with the club's M. F. H., Teddy Hamilton. +We had done the Paris-Berlin run in my racing-car the summer before. +If I hadn't known him so well, I might still have been in durance vile, +next door to jail, or securely inside. I had frequently dined with him +at the club during the summer, and he had offered to put me up; but as +I knew no one intimately but himself, I explained the futility of such +action. Besides, my horse wasn't a hunter; and I was riding him less +and less. It is no pleasure to go "parking" along the bridle-paths of +Central Park. For myself, I want a hill country and something like +forty miles, straight away; that's riding. +</P> + +<P> +The fact that I knew no one but Teddy added zest to the inspiration +which had seized me. For I determined to attend that dance, happen +what might. It would be vastly more entertaining than a possibly dull +theatrical performance. (It was!) +</P> + +<P> +I called for a messenger and despatched him to the nearest drug store +for a pack of playing-cards; and while I waited for his return I +casually glanced at the other diners. At my table—one of those long +marble-topped affairs by the wall—there was an old man reading a +paper, and the handsomest girl I had set eyes upon in a month of moons. +Sometimes the word handsome seems an inferior adjective. She was +beautiful, and her half-lidded eyes told me that she was anywhere but +at Mouquin's. What a head of hair! Fine as a spider's web, and the +dazzling yellow of a wheat-field in a sun-shower! The irregularity of +her features made them all the more interesting. I was an artist in an +amateur way, and I mentally painted in that head against a Rubens +background. The return of the messenger brought me back to earth; for +I confess that my imagination had already leaped far into the future, +and this girl across the way was nebulously connected with it. +</P> + +<P> +I took the pack of cards, ripped off the covering, tossed aside the +joker (though, really, I ought to have retained it!) and began +shuffling the shiny pasteboards. I dare say that those around me sat +up and took notice. It was by no means a common sight to see a man +gravely shuffling a pack of cards in a public restaurant. Nobody +interfered, doubtless because nobody knew exactly what to do in the +face of such an act, for which no adequate laws had been provided. A +waiter stood solemnly at the end of the table, scratching his chin +thoughtfully, wondering whether he should report this peculiarity of +constitution and susceptibility occasioning certain peculiarities of +effect from impress of extraneous influences (<I>vide</I> Webster), +synonymous with idiocrasy and known as idiosyncrasy. It was quite +possible that I was the first man to establish such a precedent in +Monsieur Mouquin's restaurant. Thus, I aroused only passive curiosity. +</P> + +<P> +From the corner of my eye I observed the old gentleman opposite. He +was peering over the top of his paper, and I could see by the glitter +in his eye that he was a confirmed player of solitaire. The girl, +however, still appeared to be in a dreaming state. I have no doubt +every one who saw me thought that anarchy was abroad again, or that +Sherlock Holmes had entered into his third incarnation. +</P> + +<P> +Finally I squared the pack, took a long-breath, and cut. I turned up +the card. It was the ten-spot of hearts. I considered this most +propitious; hearts being my long suit in everything but love,—love +having not yet crossed my path. I put the card in my wallet, and was +about to toss the rest of the pack under the table, when, a woman's +voice stayed my hand. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't throw them away. Tell my fortune first." +</P> + +<P> +I looked up, not a little surprised. It was the beautiful young girl +who had spoken. She was leaning on her elbows, her chin propped in her +palms, and the light in her grey <I>chatoyant</I> eyes was wholly innocent +and mischievous. In Monsieur Mouquin's cellar people are rather +Bohemian, not to say friendly; for it is the rendezvous of artists, +literary men and journalists,—a clan that holds formality in contempt. +</P> + +<P> +"Tell your fortune?" I repeated parrot-like. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"Your mirror can tell you that more accurately than I can," I replied +with a frank glance of admiration. +</P> + +<P> +She drew her shoulders together and dropped them. "I spoke to you, +sir, because I believed you wouldn't say anything so commonplace as +that. When one sees a man soberly shuffling a pack of cards in a place +like this, one naturally expects originality." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, perhaps you caught me off my guard,"—humbly. +</P> + +<P> +"I am original. Did you ever before witness this performance in a +public restaurant?"—making the cards purr. +</P> + +<P> +"I can not say I have,"—amused. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, no more have I!" +</P> + +<P> +"Why, then, do you do it?"—with renewed interest. +</P> + +<P> +"Shall I tell your fortune?" +</P> + +<P> +"Not now. I had much rather you would tell me the meaning of this +play." +</P> + +<P> +I leaned toward her and whispered mysteriously: "The truth is, I belong +to a secret society, and I was cutting the cards to see whether or not +I should blow up the post-office to-night or the police-station. You +mustn't tell anybody." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh!" She started back from the table. "You do not look it," she +added suddenly. +</P> + +<P> +"I know it; appearances are so deceptive," said I sadly. +</P> + +<P> +Then the old man laughed, and the girl laughed, and I laughed; and I +wasn't quite sure that the grave waiter did not crack the ghost of a +smile—in relief. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-010"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG SRC="images/img-010.jpg" ALT="The handsomest girl I had set eyes upon in a month of moons." BORDER="2" WIDTH="429" HEIGHT="546"> +<H4> +[Illustration: The handsomest girl I had set eyes upon in a month of moons.] +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<P> +"And what, may I ask, was the fatal card?" inquired the old man, +folding his paper. +</P> + +<P> +"The ace of spades; we always choose that gloomy card in secret +societies. There is something deadly and suggestive about it," I +answered morbidly. +</P> + +<P> +"Indeed." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. Ah, if only you knew the terrible life we lead, we who conspire! +Every day brings forth some galling disappointment. We push a king off +into the dark, and another rises immediately in his place. Futility, +futility everywhere! If only there were some way of dynamiting habit +and custom! I am a Russian; all my family are perishing in Siberian +mines,"—dismally. +</P> + +<P> +"Fudge!" said the girl. +</P> + +<P> +"Tommy-rot!" said the amiable old gentleman. +</P> + +<P> +"Uncle, his hair is too short for an anarchist." +</P> + +<P> +"And his collar too immaculate." (So the old gentleman was this +charming creature's uncle!) +</P> + +<P> +"We are obliged to disguise ourselves at times," I explained. "The +police are always meddling. It is discouraging." +</P> + +<P> +"You have some purpose, humorous or serious," said the girl shrewdly. +"A man does not bring a pack of cards—" +</P> + +<P> +"I didn't bring them; I sent out for them." +</P> + +<P> +"—bring a pack of cards here simply to attract attention," she +continued tranquilly. +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps I am a prestidigitator in a popular dime-museum," I suggested, +willing to help her out, "and am doing a little advertising." +</P> + +<P> +"Now, that has a plausible sound," she admitted, folding her hands +under her chin. "It must be an interesting life. <I>Presto—change</I>! +and all that." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, I find it rather monotonous in the winter; but in the summer it is +fine. Then I wander about the summer resorts and give exhibitions." +</P> + +<P> +"You will pardon my niece," interpolated the old gentleman, coughing a +bit nervously. "If she annoys you—" +</P> + +<P> +"Uncle!"—reproachfully. +</P> + +<P> +"Heaven forfend!" I exclaimed eagerly. "There is a charm in doing +unconventional things; and most people do not realize it, and are +stupid." +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you, sir," said the girl, smiling. She was evidently enjoying +herself; so was I, for that matter. "Do a trick for me," she commanded +presently. +</P> + +<P> +I smiled weakly. I couldn't have done a trick with the cards,—not if +my life had depended upon it. But I rather neatly extricated myself +from the trap. +</P> + +<P> +"I never do any tricks out of business hours." +</P> + +<P> +"Uncle, give the gentleman ten cents; I want to see him do a +sleight-of-hand trick." +</P> + +<P> +Her uncle, readily entering into the spirit of the affair, dived into a +pocket and produced the piece of silver. It looked as if I were caught. +</P> + +<P> +"There! this may make it worth your while," the girl said, shoving the +coin in my direction. +</P> + +<P> +But again I managed to slide under; I was not to be caught. +</P> + +<P> +"It is my regret to say,"—frowning slightly, "that regularity in my +business is everything. It wants half an hour for my turn to come on. +If I tried a trick out of turn, I might foozle and lose prestige. And +besides, I depend so much upon the professor and his introductory +notes: 'Ladies and gents, permit me to introduce the world-renowned +Signor Fantoccini, whose marvelous tricks have long puzzled all the +crowned heads of Europe—'" +</P> + +<P> +"Fantoccini,"—musingly. "That's Italian for puppet show." +</P> + +<P> +"I know it, but the dime-museum visitors do not. It makes a fine +impression." +</P> + +<P> +She laughed and slid the dime back to her uncle. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm afraid you are an impostor," she said. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm afraid so, too," I confessed, laughing. +</P> + +<P> +Then the comedy came to an end by the appearance of our separate +orders. I threw aside the cards and proceeded to attack my dinner, for +I was hungry. From time to time I caught vague fragments of +conversation between the girl and her uncle. +</P> + +<P> +"It's a fool idea," mumbled the old gentleman; "you will get into some +trouble or other." +</P> + +<P> +"That doesn't matter. It will be like a vacation,—a flash of old +Rome, where I wish I were at this very moment. I am determined." +</P> + +<P> +"This is what comes of reading romantic novels,"—with a kind of +grumble. +</P> + +<P> +"I admit there never was a particle of romance on your side of the +family," the girl retorted. +</P> + +<P> +"Happily. There is peace in the house where I live." +</P> + +<P> +"Do not argue with me." +</P> + +<P> +"I am not arguing with you. I should only be wasting my time. I am +simply warning you that you are about to commit a folly." +</P> + +<P> +"I have made up my mind." +</P> + +<P> +"Ah! In that case I have hopes," he returned. "When a woman makes up +her mind to do one thing, she generally does another. Why can't you +put aside this fool idea and go to the opera with me?" +</P> + +<P> +"I have seen <I>Carmen</I> in Paris, Rome, London and New York," she replied. +</P> + +<P> +(Evidently a traveled young person.) +</P> + +<P> +"<I>Carmen</I> is your favorite opera, besides." +</P> + +<P> +"Not to-night,"—whimsically. +</P> + +<P> +"Go, then; but please recollect that if anything serious comes of your +folly, I did my best to prevent it. It's a scatter-brained idea, and +no good will come of it, mark me." +</P> + +<P> +"I can take care of myself,"—truculently. +</P> + +<P> +"So I have often been forced to observe,"—dryly. +</P> + +<P> +(I wondered what it was all about.) +</P> + +<P> +"But, uncle dear, I am becoming so dreadfully bored!" +</P> + +<P> +"That sounds final," sighed the old man, helping himself to the +<I>haricots verts</I>. (The girl ate positively nothing.) "But it seems +odd that you can't go about your affairs after my own reasonable +manner." +</P> + +<P> +"I am only twenty." +</P> + +<P> +The old man's shoulders rose and fell resignedly. +</P> + +<P> +"No man has an answer for that." +</P> + +<P> +"I promise to tell you everything that happens; by telegraph." +</P> + +<P> +"That's small comfort. Imagine receiving a telegram early in the +morning, when a man's brain is without invention or coherency of +thought! I would that you were back home with your father. I might +sleep o' nights, then." +</P> + +<P> +"I have so little amusement!" +</P> + +<P> +"You work three hours a day and earn more in a week than your father +and I do in a month. Yours is a very unhappy lot." +</P> + +<P> +"I hate the smell of paints; I hate the studio." +</P> + +<P> +"And I suppose you hate your fame?" acridly. +</P> + +<P> +"Bah! that is my card to a living. The people I meet bore me." +</P> + +<P> +"Not satisfied with common folks, eh? Must have kings and queens to +talk to?" +</P> + +<P> +"I only want to live abroad, and you and father will not let +me,"—petulantly. +</P> + +<P> +The music started up, and I heard no more. Occasionally the girl +glanced at me and smiled in a friendly fashion. She was evidently an +artist's model; and when they have hair and color like this girl's, the +pay is good. I found myself wondering why she was bored and why Carmen +had so suddenly lost its charms. +</P> + +<P> +It was seven o'clock when I pushed aside my plate and paid my check. I +calculated that by hustling I could reach Blankshire either at ten or +ten-thirty. That would be early enough for my needs. And now to route +out a costumer. All I needed was a grey mask. I had in my apartments +a Capuchin's robe and cowl. I rose, lighting a cigarette. +</P> + +<P> +The girl looked up from her coffee. +</P> + +<P> +"Back to the dime-museum?"—banteringly. +</P> + +<P> +"I have a few minutes to spare," said I. +</P> + +<P> +"By the way, I forgot to ask you what card you drew." +</P> + +<P> +"It was the ten of hearts." +</P> + +<P> +"The ten of hearts?" Her amazement was not understandable. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, the ten of hearts; Cupid and all that." +</P> + +<P> +She recovered her composure quickly. +</P> + +<P> +"Then you will not blow up the post-office to-night?" +</P> + +<P> +"No," I replied, "not to-night." +</P> + +<P> +"You have really and truly aroused my curiosity. Tell me, what does +the ten of hearts mean to you?" +</P> + +<P> +I gazed thoughtfully down at her. Had I truly mystified her? There +was some doubt in my mind. +</P> + +<P> +"Frankly, I wish I might tell you. All I am at liberty to say is that +I am about to set forth upon a desperate adventure, and I shall be very +fortunate if I do not spend the night in the lock-up." +</P> + +<P> +"You do not look desperate." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, I am not desperate; it is only the adventure that is desperate." +</P> + +<P> +"Some princess in durance vile? Some villain to smite? Citadels to +storm?" Her smile was enchantment itself. +</P> + +<P> +I hesitated a moment. "What would you say if I told you that this +adventure was merely to prove to myself what a consummate ass the +average man can be upon occasions?" +</P> + +<P> +"Why go to the trouble of proving it?"—drolly. +</P> + +<P> +"I am conceited enough to have some doubts as to the degree." +</P> + +<P> +"Consider it positive." +</P> + +<P> +I laughed. "I am in hopes that I am neither a positive ass nor a +superlative one, only comparative." +</P> + +<P> +"But the adventure; that is the thing that mainly interests me." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, that is a secret which I should hesitate to tell even to the +Sphinx." +</P> + +<P> +"I see you are determined not to illuminate the darkness,"—and she +turned carelessly toward her uncle, who was serenely contemplating the +glowing end of a fat perfecto. +</P> + +<P> +I bowed and passed out in Sixth Avenue, rather regretting that I had +not the pleasure of the charming young person's acquaintance. +</P> + +<P> +The ten-spot of hearts seemed to have startled her for some reason. I +wondered why. +</P> + +<P> +The snow blew about me, whirled, and swirled, and stung. Oddly enough +I recalled the paragraph relative to Mrs. Hyphen-Bonds. By this time +she was being very well tossed about in mid-ocean. As the old order of +yarn-spinners used to say, little did I dream what was in store for me, +or the influence the magic name of Hyphen-Bonds was to have upon my +destiny. +</P> + +<P> +Bismillah! (Whatever that means!) +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0102"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +II +</H3> + + +<P> +After half an hour's wandering about I stumbled across a curio-shop, a +weird, dim and dusty, musty old curio-shop, with stuffed peacocks +hanging from the ceiling, and skulls, and bronzes and marbles, +paintings, tarnished jewelry and ancient armor, rare books in vellum, +small arms, tapestry, pastimes, plaster masks, and musical instruments. +I recalled to mind the shop of the dealer in antiquities in Balzac's +<I>La Peau de Chagrin</I>, and glanced about (not without a shiver) for the +fatal ass's skin. (I forgot that I was wearing it myself that night!) +I was something of a collector of antiquities, of the inanimate kind, +and for a time I became lost in speculation,—speculation rather +agreeable of its kind, I liked to conjure up in fancy the various +scenes through which these curiosities had drifted in their descent to +this demi-pawnshop; the brave men and beautiful women, the clangor of +tocsins, the haze of battles, the glitter of ball-rooms, epochs and +ages. What romance lay behind yon satin slipper? What <I>grande dame</I> +had smiled behind that ivory fan? What meant that tarnished silver +mask? +</P> + +<P> +The old French proprietor was evidently all things from a pawnbroker to +an art collector; for most of the jewelry was in excellent order and +the pictures possessed value far beyond the intrinsic. He was waiting +upon a customer, and the dingy light that shone down on his bald bumpy +head made it look for all the world like an ill-used billiard-ball. He +was exhibiting revolvers. +</P> + +<P> +From the shining metal of the small arms, my glance traveled to the +face of the prospective buyer. It was an interesting face, clean-cut, +beardless, energetic, but the mouth impressed me as being rather hard. +Doubtless he felt the magnetism of my scrutiny, for he suddenly looked +around. The expression on his face was not one to induce me to throw +my arms around his neck and declare I should be glad to make his +acquaintance. It was a scowl. He was in evening dress, and I could +see that he knew very well how to wear it. All this was but momentary. +He took up a revolver and balanced it on his palm. +</P> + +<P> +By and by the proprietor came sidling along behind the cases, the +slip-slip fashion of his approach informing me that he wore slippers. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you keep costumes?" I asked. +</P> + +<P> +"Anything you like, sir, from a crusader to a modern gentleman,"—with +grim and appropriate irony. "What is it you are in search of—a +masquerade costume?'" +</P> + +<P> +"Only a grey mask," I answered. "I am going to a masked ball to-night +as a Grey Capuchin, and I want a mask that will match my robe." +</P> + +<P> +"Your wants are simple." +</P> + +<P> +From a shelf he brought down a box, took off the cover, and left me to +make my selection. Soon I found what I desired and laid it aside, +waiting for Monsieur Friard to return. Again I observed the other +customer. There is always a mystery to be solved and a story to be +told, when a man makes the purchase of a pistol in a pawnshop. A man +who buys a pistol for the sake of protection does so in the light of +day, and in the proper place, a gun-shop. He does not haunt the +pawnbroker in the dusk of evening. Well, it was none of my business; +doubtless he knew what he was doing. I coughed suggestively, and +Friard came slipping in my direction again. +</P> + +<P> +"This is what I want. How much?" I inquired. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-022"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG SRC="images/img-022.jpg" ALT=""This is what I want. How much?" I inquired." BORDER="2" WIDTH="419" HEIGHT="591"> +<H4> +[Illustration: "This is what I want. How much?" I inquired.] +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<P> +"Fifty cents; it has never been worn." +</P> + +<P> +I drew out my wallet. I had arrived in town too late to go to the +bank, and I was carrying an uncomfortably large sum in gold-bills. As +I opened the wallet to extract a small bill, I saw the stranger eying +me quietly. Well, well, the dullest being brightens at the sight of +money and its representatives. I drew out a small bill and handed it +to the proprietor. He took it, together with the mask, and sidled over +to the cash-register. The bell gave forth a muffled sound, not unlike +that of a fire-bell in a snow-storm. As he was in the act of wrapping +up my purchase, I observed the silent customer's approach. When he +reached my side he stooped and picked up something from the floor. +With a bow he presented it to me. +</P> + +<P> +"I saw it drop from your pocket," he said; and then when he saw what it +was, his jaw fell, and he sent me a hot, penetrating glance. +</P> + +<P> +"The ten of hearts!" he exclaimed in amazement. +</P> + +<P> +I laughed easily. +</P> + +<P> +"The ten of hearts!" he repeated. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; four hearts on one side and four on the other, and two in the +middle, which make ten in all,"—raillery in my tones. What the deuce +<I>was</I> the matter with everybody to-night? "Marvelous card, isn't it?" +</P> + +<P> +"Very strange!" he murmured, pulling at his lips. +</P> + +<P> +"And in what way is it strange?" I asked, rather curious to learn the +cause of his agitation. +</P> + +<P> +"There are several reasons,"—briefly. +</P> + +<P> +"Ah!" +</P> + +<P> +"I have seen a man's hand pinned to that card; therefore it is +gruesome." +</P> + +<P> +"Some card-sharper?" +</P> + +<P> +He nodded. "Then again, I lost a small fortune because of that +card,"—diffidently. +</P> + +<P> +"Poker?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. Why will a man try to fill a royal flush? The man next to me +drew the ten of hearts, the very card I needed. The sight of it always +unnerves me. I beg your pardon." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, that's all right," said I, wondering how many more lies he had up +his sleeve. +</P> + +<P> +"And there's still another reason. I saw a man put six bullets into +the two central spots, and an hour later the seventh bullet snuffed the +candle of a friend of mine. I am from the West." +</P> + +<P> +"I can sympathize with you," I returned. "After all that trouble, the +sight of the card must have given you a shock." +</P> + +<P> +Then I stowed away the fatal card and took up my bundle and change. I +have in my own time tried to fill royal flushes, and the disappointment +still lingers with a bitter taste. +</P> + +<P> +"The element of chance is the most fascinating thing there is," the +stranger from the West volunteered. +</P> + +<P> +"So it is," I replied, suddenly recalling that I was soon to put my +trust in the hands of that very fickle goddess. +</P> + +<P> +He nodded and returned to his revolvers, while I went out of the shop, +hailed a cab, and drove up-town to my apartments in Riverside. It was +eight o'clock by my watch. I leaned back against the cushions, +ruminating. There seemed to be something going on that night; the ten +of hearts was acquiring a mystifying, not to say sinister, aspect. +First it had alarmed the girl in Mouquin's, and now this stranger in +the curio-shop. I was confident that the latter had lied in regard to +his explanations. The card <I>had</I> startled him, but his reasons were +altogether of transparent thinness. A man never likes to confess that +he is unlucky at cards; there is a certain pride in lying about the +enormous stakes you have won and the wonderful draws you have made. I +frowned. It was not possible for me to figure out what his interest in +the card was. If he was a Westerner, his buying a pistol in a pawnshop +was at once disrobed of its mystery; but the inconsistent elegance of +his evening clothes doubled my suspicions. Bah! What was the use of +troubling myself with this stranger's affairs? He would never cross my +path again. +</P> + +<P> +In reasonable time the cab drew up in front of my apartments. I +dressed, donned my Capuchin's robe and took a look at myself in the +pier-glass. Then I unwrapped the package and put on the mask. The +whole made a capital outfit, and I was vastly pleased with myself. +This was going to be such an adventure as one reads about in the +ancient numbers of <I>Blackwood's</I>. I slipped the robe and mask into my +suit-case and lighted my pipe. During great moments like this, a man +gathers courage and confidence from a pipeful of tobacco. I dropped +into a comfortable Morris, touched the gas-logs, and fell into a +pleasant dream. It was not necessary for me to start for the +Twenty-third Street ferry till nine; so I had something like +three-quarters of an hour to idle away.… What beautiful hair that +girl had! It was like sunshine, the silk of corn, the yield of the +harvest. And the marvelous abundance of it! It was true that she was +an artist's model; it was equally true that she had committed a mild +impropriety in addressing me as she had; but, for all I could see, she +was a girl of delicate breeding, doubtless one of the many whose family +fortunes, or misfortunes, force them to earn a living. And it is no +disgrace these days to pose as an artist's model. The classic oils, +nowadays, call only for exquisite creations in gowns and hats; +mythology was exhausted by the old masters. Rome, Paris, London; +possibly a bohemian existence in these cities accounted for her ease in +striking up a conversation, harmless enough, with a total stranger. In +Paris and Rome it was all very well; but it is a risky thing to do in +unromantic New York and London. However, her uncle had been with her; +a veritable fortress, had I over-stepped the bounds of politeness. +</P> + +<P> +The smoke wavered and rolled about me. I took out the ten of hearts +and studied it musingly. After all, should I go? Would it be wise? I +confess I saw goblins' heads peering from the spots, and old Poe +stories returned to me! Pshaw! It was only a frolic, no serious harm +could possibly come of it. I would certainly go, now I had gone thus +far. What fool idea the girl was bent on I hadn't the least idea; but +I easily recognized the folly upon which I was about to set sail. +Heigh-ho! What was a lonely young bachelor to do? At the most, they +could only ask me to vacate the premises, should I be so unfortunate as +to be discovered. In that event, Teddy Hamilton would come to my +assistance.… She was really beautiful! And then I awoke to the +alarming fact that the girl in Mouquin's was interesting me more than I +liked to confess. +</P> + +<P> +Presently, through the haze of smoke, I saw a patch of white paper on +the rug in front of the pier-glass. I rose and picked it up. +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +NAME: <I>Hawthorne</I><BR> +COSTUME: <I>Blue Domino</I><BR> +TIME: <I>5:30 P. M.</I><BR> +RETURNED:<BR> +ADDRESS: <I>West 87th Street</I><BR> +</P> + +<P> + FRIARD'S<BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +I stared at the bit of pasteboard, fascinated. How the deuce had this +got into my apartments? A Blue Domino? Ha! I had it! Old Friard had +accidentally done up the ticket with my mask. A Blue Domino; evidently +I wasn't the only person who was going to a masquerade. Without doubt +this fair demoiselle was about to join the festivities of some +shop-girls' masquerade, where money and pedigree are inconsequent +things, and where everybody is either a "loidy" or a "gent." Persons +who went to my kind of masquerade did not rent their costumes; they +laid out extravagant sums to the fashionable modiste and tailor, and +had them made to order. A Blue Domino: humph! +</P> + +<P> +It was too late to take the ticket back to Friard's; so I determined to +mail it to him in the morning. +</P> + +<P> +It was now high time for me to be off. I got into my coat and took +down my opera hat. Outside the storm was still active; but the snow +had a promising softness, and there were patches of stars to be seen +here and there in the sky. By midnight there would be a full moon. I +got to Jersey City without mishap; and when I took my seat in the +smoker, I found I had ten minutes to spare. I bought a newspaper and +settled down to read the day's news. It was fully half an hour between +Jersey City and Blankshire; in that time I could begin and finish the +paper. +</P> + +<P> +There never was a newspaper those days that hadn't a war-map in some +one of its columns; and when I had digested the latest phases of the +war in the far East, I quite naturally turned to the sporting-page to +learn what was going on among the other professional fighters. (Have I +mentioned to you the fact that I was all through the Spanish War, the +mix-up in China, and that I had resigned my commission to accept the +post of traveling salesman for a famous motor-car company? If I have +not, pardon me. You will now readily accept my recklessness of spirit +as a matter of course.) I turned over another page; from this I +learned that the fair sex was going back to puff-sleeves again. Many +an old sleeve was going to be turned upside down. +</P> + +<P> +Fudge! The train was rattling through the yards. Another page +crackled. Ha! Here was that unknown gentleman-thief again, up to his +old tricks. It is remarkable how difficult it is to catch a thief who +has good looks and shrewd brains. I had already written him down as a +quasi-swell. For months the police had been finding clues, but they +had never laid eyes on the rascal. The famous Haggerty of the New York +detective force,—a man whom not a dozen New York policemen knew by +sight and no criminals save those behind bars, earthly and +eternal,—was now giving his whole attention to the affair. Some +gaily-dressed lady at a ball would suddenly find she had lost some +valuable gems; and that would be the end of the affair, for none ever +recovered her gems. +</P> + +<P> +The gentleman-thief was still at large, and had gathered to his account +a comfortable fortune; that is, if he were not already rich and simply +a kleptomaniac. No doubt he owned one of my racing-cars, and was clear +of the delinquent lists at his clubs. I dismissed all thought of him, +threw aside the paper, and mentally figured out my commissions on sales +during the past month. It was a handsome figure, large enough for two. +This pastime, too, soon failed to interest me. I gazed out of the +window and watched the dark shapes as they sped past. +</P> + +<P> +I saw the girl's face from time to time. What a fool I had been not to +ask her name! She could easily have refused, and yet as easily have +granted the request. At any rate, I had permitted the chance to slip +out of my reach, which was exceedingly careless on my part. Perhaps +they—she and her uncle—frequently dined at Mouquin's; I determined to +haunt the place and learn. It would be easy enough to address her the +next time we met. Besides, she would be curious to know all about the +ten of hearts and the desperate adventure upon which I told her I was +about to embark. Many a fine friendship has grown out of smaller +things. +</P> + +<P> +Next, turning from the window, I fell to examining my fellow +passengers, in the hope of seeing some one I knew. Conversation on +trains makes short journeys.… I sat up stiffly in my seat. +Diagonally across the aisle sat the very chap I had met in the +curio-shop! He was quietly reading a popular magazine, and +occasionally a smile lightened his sardonic mouth. Funny that I should +run across him twice in the same evening! Men who are contemplating +suicide never smile in that fashion. He was smoking a small, +well-colored meerschaum pipe with evident relish. Somehow, when a man +clenches his teeth upon the mouth-piece of a respectable pipe, it seems +impossible to associate that man with crime. But the fact that I had +seen him selecting a pistol in a pawnshop rather neutralized the good +opinion I was willing to form. I have already expressed my views upon +the subject. The sight of him rather worried me, though I could not +reason why. Whither was he bound? Had he finally taken one of +Friard's pistols? For a moment I was on the point of speaking to him, +if only to hear him tell more lies about the ten of hearts, but I +wisely put aside the temptation. Besides, it might be possible that he +would not be glad to see me. I always avoid the chance acquaintance, +unless, of course, the said chance acquaintance is met under favorable +circumstances—like the girl in Mouquin's, for instance! After all, it +was only an incident; and, but for his picking up that card, I never +should have remembered him. +</P> + +<P> +Behind him sat a fellow with a countenance as red and round and +complacent as an English butler's,—red hair and small twinkling eyes. +Once he leaned over and spoke to my chance acquaintance, who, without +turning his head, thrust a match over his shoulder. The man with the +face of a butler lighted the most villainous pipe I ever beheld. I +wondered if they knew each other. But, closely as I watched, I saw no +sign from either. I turned my collar up and snuggled down. There was +no need of his seeing <I>me</I>. +</P> + +<P> +Then my thoughts reverted to the ten of hearts again. My ten of +hearts! The wrinkle of a chill ran up and down my spine! My ten of +hearts! +</P> + +<P> +Hastily I took out the card and examined the <I>back</I> of it. It was an +uncommonly handsome back, representing Diana, the moon, and the +midnight sky. A horrible supposition came to me: supposing they looked +at the back as well as at the face of the card? And again, supposing I +was miles away from the requisite color and design? I was staggered. +Here was a pretty fix! I had never even dreamed of such a contingency. +Hang it! I now wished I had stuck to my original plan, and gone to the +theater. Decidedly I was in for it; there was no backing down at this +late hour, unless I took the return train for Jersey City; and I +possessed too much stubbornness to surrender to any such weakness. +Either I should pass the door-committee, or I shouldn't; of one thing I +was certain— +</P> + +<P> +"Blankshire!" bawled the trainman; then the train slowed down and +finally came to a stop. +</P> + +<P> +No turning back for me now. I picked up my suit-case and got out. On +the platform I saw the curio-shop fellow again. Tramping on ahead, the +smell from his villainous pipe assailing my nostrils, was the man who +had asked for a match. The former stood undecided for a moment, and +during this space of time he caught sight of me. He became erect, gave +me a sudden sardonic laugh, and swiftly disappeared into the dark. All +this was uncommonly disquieting; in vain I stared into the blackness +that had swallowed him. What could he be doing here at Blankshire? I +didn't like his laugh at all; there was at once a menace and a +challenge in it. +</P> + +<P> +"Any baggage, sir?" asked one of the station hands. +</P> + +<P> +"No." But I asked him to direct me to a hotel. He did so. +</P> + +<P> +I made my way down the street. The wind had veered around and was +coming in from the sea, pure and cold. The storm-clouds were broken +and scudding like dark ships, and at times there were flashes of +radiant moonshine. +</P> + +<P> +The fashionable hotel was full. So I plodded through the drifts to the +unfashionable hotel. Here I found accommodation. I dressed, sometimes +laughing, sometimes whistling, sometimes standing motionless in doubt. +Bah! It was only a lark.… I thought of the girl in Mouquin's; +how much better it would have been to spend the evening with her, +exchanging badinage, and looking into each other's eyes! Pshaw! I +covered my face with the grey mask and descended to the street. +</P> + +<P> +The trolley ran within two miles of the Hunt Club. The car was crowded +with masqueraders, and for the first time since I started out I felt +comfortable. Everybody laughed and talked, though nobody knew who his +neighbor was. I sat in a corner, silent and motionless as a sphinx. +Once a pair of blue slippers attracted my eye, and again the flash of a +lovely arm. At the end of the trolley line was a carryall which was to +convey us to the club. We got into the conveyance, noisily and +good-humoredly. The exclamations of the women were amusing. +</P> + +<P> +"Good gracious!" +</P> + +<P> +"Isn't it fun!" +</P> + +<P> +"Lovely!" And all that. It must have been a novelty for some of these +to act naturally for once. Nothing lasts so long as the natural +instinct for play; and we always find ourselves coming back to it. +</P> + +<P> +Standing some hundred yards back from the road was the famous Hollywood +Inn, run by the genial Moriarty. Sometimes the members of the Hunt +Club put up there for the night when there was to be a run the +following morning. It was open all the year round. +</P> + +<P> +We made the club at exactly ten-thirty. Fortune went with me; +doubtless it was the crowd going in that saved me from close scrutiny. +My spirits rose as I espied Teddy Hamilton at the door. He was on the +committee, and was in plain evening clothes. It was good to see a +familiar face. I shouldered toward him and passed out my ten dollars. +</P> + +<P> +"Hello, Teddy, my son!" I cried out jovially. +</P> + +<P> +"Hello!"—grinning. Teddy thought it was some one he knew; well, so it +was. "What's your card?" he cried, as I pressed by him. +</P> + +<P> +"The ten of hearts." +</P> + +<P> +"The ten of hearts," repeated Teddy to a man who was keeping tally on a +big cardboard. +</P> + +<P> +This sight did not reassure me. If they were keeping tally of all the +cards presented at the door, they would soon find out that there were +too many tens of hearts, too many by one! Well, at any rate, I had for +the time being escaped detection; now for the fun. It would be +sport-royal while it lasted. What a tale to give out at the club of a +Sunday night! I chuckled on the way to the ball-room: I had dispensed +with going up to the dressing-room. My robe was a genuine one, heavy +and warm; so I had no overcoat to check. +</P> + +<P> +"Grave monk, your blessing!" +</P> + +<P> +Turning, I beheld an exquisite Columbine. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-038"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG SRC="images/img-038.jpg" ALT="Turning, I beheld an exquisite Columbine." BORDER="2" WIDTH="412" HEIGHT="560"> +<H4> +[Illustration: Turning, I beheld an exquisite Columbine.] +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<P> +"<I>Pax vobiscum</I>!" I replied solemnly. +</P> + +<P> +"<I>Pax</I> … What does that mean?" +</P> + +<P> +"It means, do not believe all you see in the newspapers." +</P> + +<P> +Columbine laughed gaily. "I did not know that you were a Latin +scholar; and besides, you gave me to understand you were coming as a +Jesuit, Billy." +</P> + +<P> +Billy? Here was one who thought she knew me. I hastened to +disillusion her. +</P> + +<P> +"My dear Columbine, you do not know me, not the least bit. My name is +not Billy, it is Dicky." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, you can not fool me," she returned. "I heard you call out to +Teddy Hamilton that your card was the ten of hearts; and you wrote me, +saying that would be your card." +</P> + +<P> +Complications already, and I hadn't yet put a foot inside the ball-room! +</P> + +<P> +"I am sorry," I said, "but you have made a mistake. Your Jesuit +probably told you his card would be the nine, not the ten." +</P> + +<P> +"I will wager—" +</P> + +<P> +"Hush! This is a charity dance; no one makes wagers at such affairs." +</P> + +<P> +"But—Why, my goodness! there's my Jesuit now!" And to my intense +relief she dashed away. +</P> + +<P> +I carefully observed the Jesuit, and made up my mind to keep an eye +upon him. If he really possessed the ten of hearts, the man who kept +tally on the cardboard was doing some tall thinking about this time. I +glided away, into the gorgeous ball-room. +</P> + +<P> +What a vision greeted my eye! The decorations were in red and yellow, +and it seemed as though perpetual autumnal sunset lay over everything. +At the far end of the room was a small stage hidden behind palms and +giant ferns. The band was just striking up <I>A Summer Night in Munich</I>, +and a wonderful kaleidoscope revolved around me. I saw Cavaliers and +Roundheads, Puritans and Beelzebubs, Musketeers, fools, cowboys, +Indians, kings and princes; queens and empresses, fairies and Quaker +maids, white and black and red and green dominoes. Tom Fool's night, +indeed! +</P> + +<P> +Presently I saw the noble Doge of Venice coming my way. From his +portly carriage I reasoned that if he wasn't in the gold-book of Venice +he stood very well up in the gold-book of New York, He stopped at my +side and struck an attitude. +</P> + +<P> +"<I>Pax vobiscum</I>!" said I, bowing. +</P> + +<P> +"Be at the Inquisition Chamber, directly the clock strikes the midnight +hour," he said mysteriously. +</P> + +<P> +"I shall be there to deliver the supreme interrogation," I replied. +</P> + +<P> +"It is well." He drifted away like a stately ship. +</P> + +<P> +Delightful foolery! I saw the Jesuit, and moved toward him. +</P> + +<P> +"Disciple of Loyola, hast thou the ten of hearts?" +</P> + +<P> +"My hearts number nine, for I have lost one to the gay Columbine." +</P> + +<P> +"I breathe! Thou art not he whom I seek." +</P> + +<P> +We separated. I was mortally glad that Columbine had made a mistake. +</P> + +<P> +The women always seek the monk at a masquerade; they want absolution +for the follies they are about to commit. A demure Quakeress touched +my sleeve in passing. +</P> + +<P> +"Tell me, grave monk, why did you seek the monastery?" +</P> + +<P> +"My wife fell in love with me,"—gloomily. +</P> + +<P> +"Then you have a skeleton in the clothes-press?" +</P> + +<P> +"Do I look like a man who owned such a thing as a clothes-press, much +less so fashionable a thing as a family skeleton?" +</P> + +<P> +"Then what do you here?" +</P> + +<P> +"I am mingling with fools as a penance." +</P> + +<P> +A fool caught me by the sleeve and batted me gaily over the head with a +bladder. +</P> + +<P> +"Merry come up, why am I a fool?" +</P> + +<P> +"It is the fashion," was my answer. This was like to gain me the +reputation of being a wit. I must walk carefully, or these thoughtless +ones would begin to suspect there was an impostor among them. +</P> + +<P> +"Aha!" There was mine ancient friend Julius. "Hail Caesar!" +</P> + +<P> +He stopped. +</P> + +<P> +"Shall I beware the Ides of March?" I asked jovially. +</P> + +<P> +"Nay, my good Cassius; rather beware of the ten of hearts," said Caesar +in hollow tones, and he was gone. +</P> + +<P> +The ten of hearts again! Hang the card! And then with a sigh of +relief I recollected that in all probability he, like Columbine, had +heard me call out the card to Hamilton. Still, the popularity of the +card was very disquieting. I wished it had been seven or five; there's +luck in odd numbers.… A Blue Domino! My heart leaped, and I +thought of the little ticket in my waistcoat pocket. A Blue Domino! +If, by chance, there should be a connection between her and the ticket! +</P> + +<P> +She was sitting all alone in a corner near-by, partly screened by a pot +of orange-trees. I crossed over and sat down by her side. This might +prove an adventure worth while. +</P> + +<P> +"What a beautiful night it is!" I said. +</P> + +<P> +She turned, and I caught sight of a wisp of golden hair. +</P> + +<P> +"That is very original," said she. "Who in the world would have +thought of passing comments on the weather at a masque! Prior to this +moment the men have been calling me all sorts of sentimental names." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, I am coming to that. I am even going to make love to you." +</P> + +<P> +She folded her hands,—rather resignedly, I thought,—and the +rollicking comedy began. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0103"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +III +</H3> + + +<P> +When they give you a mask at a ball they also give you the key to all +manner of folly and impudence. Even stupid persons become witty, and +the witty become correspondingly daring. For all I knew, the Blue +Domino at my side might be Jones' wife, or Brown's, or Smith's, or even +Green's; but so long as I was not certain, it mattered not in what +direction my whimsical fancy took me. (It is true that ordinarily +Jones and Brown and Smith and Green do not receive invitations to +attend masquerades at fashionable hunt clubs; but somehow they seem to +worry along without these equivocal honors, and prosper. Still, there +are persons in the swim named Johnes and Smythe and Browne and Greene. +Pardon this parenthesis!) +</P> + +<P> +As I recollected the manner in which I had self-invited the pleasure of +my company to this carnival at the Blankshire Hunt Club, I smiled +behind my mask. Nerves! I ought to have been a professor of clinics +instead of an automobile agent. But the whole affair appealed to me so +strongly I could not resist it. I was drawn into the tangle by the +very fascination of the scheme. I was an interloper, but nobody knew +it. The ten of hearts in my pocket did not match the backs of those +cards regularly issued. But what of that? Every one was ignorant of +the fact. I was safe inside; and all that was romantic in my system +was aroused. There are always some guests who can not avail themselves +of their invitations; and upon this vague chance I had staked my play. +Besides, I was determined to disappear before the hour of unmasking. I +wasn't going to take any unnecessary risks. I was, then, fairly secure +under my Capuchin's robe. +</P> + +<P> +Out of my mind slipped the previous adventures of the evening. I +forgot, temporarily, the beautiful unknown at Mouquin's. I forgot the +sardonic-lipped stranger I had met in Friard's. I forgot everything +save the little ticket that had accidentally slipped into my package, +and which announced that some one had rented a blue domino. +</P> + +<P> +And here was a Blue Domino at my side. Just simply dying to have me +talk to her! +</P> + +<P> +"I am madly in love with you," I began. "I have followed you often; I +have seen you in your box at the opera; I have seen you whirl up Fifth +Avenue in your fine barouche; and here at last I meet you!" I clasped +my hands passionately. +</P> + +<P> +"My beautiful barouche! My box at the opera!" the girl mimicked. +"What a cheerful Ananias you are!" +</P> + +<P> +"Thou art the most enchanting creature in all the universe. Thou art +even as a turquoise, a patch of radiant summer sky, eyes of sapphire, +lips—" +</P> + +<P> +"Archaic, very archaic," she interrupted. +</P> + +<P> +"Disillusioned in ten seconds!" I cried dismally. "How could you?" +</P> + +<P> +She laughed. +</P> + +<P> +"Have you no romance? Can you not see the fitness of things? If you +have not a box at the opera, you ought at least to make believe you +have. History walks about us, and you call the old style archaic! +That hurts!" +</P> + +<P> +"Methinks, Sir Monk—" +</P> + +<P> +"There! That's more like it. By my halidom, that's the style!" +</P> + +<P> +"Odds bodkins, you don't tell me!" There was a second ripple of +laughter from behind the mask. It was rare music. +</P> + +<P> +"I <I>could</I> fall in love with you!" +</P> + +<P> +"There once was a Frenchman who said that as nothing is impossible, let +us believe in the absurd. I might be old enough to be your +grandmother,"—lightly. +</P> + +<P> +"Perish the thought!" +</P> + +<P> +"Perish it, indeed!" +</P> + +<P> +"The mask is the thing!" I cried enthusiastically. "You can make love +to another man's wife—" +</P> + +<P> +"Or to your own, and nobody is the wiser,"—cynically. +</P> + +<P> +"We are getting on." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, we are getting on, both in years and in folly. What are you +doing in a monk's robe? Where is your motley, gay fool?" +</P> + +<P> +"I have laid it aside for the night. On such occasions as this, fools +dress as wise men, and wise men as fools; everybody goes about in +disguise." +</P> + +<P> +"How would you go about to pick out the fools?"—curiously. +</P> + +<P> +"Beginning with myself—" +</P> + +<P> +"Thy name is also Candor!" +</P> + +<P> +"Look at yonder Cavalier. He wabbles like a ship in distress, in the +wild effort to keep his feet untangled from his rapier. I'll wager +he's a wealthy plumber on week-days. Observe Anne of Austria! What +arms! I'll lay odds that her great-grandmother took in washing. +There's Romeo, now, with a pair of legs like an old apple tree. The +freedom of criticism is mine to-night! Did you ever see such +ridiculous ideas of costume? For my part, the robe and the domino for +me. All lines are destroyed; nothing is recognizable. My, my! +There's Harlequin, too, walking on parentheses." +</P> + +<P> +The Blue Domino laughed again. +</P> + +<P> +"You talk as if you had no friends here,"—shrewdly. +</P> + +<P> +"But which is my friend and which is the man to whom I owe money?" +</P> + +<P> +"What! Is your tailor here then?" +</P> + +<P> +"Heaven forbid! Strange, isn't it, when a fellow starts in to pay up +his bills, that the tailor and the undertaker have to wait till the +last." +</P> + +<P> +"The subject is outside my understanding." +</P> + +<P> +"But you have dressmakers." +</P> + +<P> +"I seldom pay dressmakers." +</P> + +<P> +"Ah! Then you belong to the most exclusive set!" +</P> + +<P> +"Or perhaps I make my own dresses—" +</P> + +<P> +"Sh! Not so loud. Supposing some one should overhear you?" +</P> + +<P> +"It was a slip of the tongue. And yet, you should be lenient to all." +</P> + +<P> +"Kind heart! Ah, I wonder what all those interrogation points +mean—the black domino there?" +</P> + +<P> +"Possibly she represents Scandal." +</P> + +<P> +"Scandal, then, is symbolized by the interrogation point?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. Whoever heard of scandal coming to a full stop, that is to say, +a period." +</P> + +<P> +"I learn something every minute. A hundred years ago you would have +been a cousin to Mademoiselle de Necker." +</P> + +<P> +"Or Madame de Staël." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, if you are married—" +</P> + +<P> +"I shall have ceased to interest you?" +</P> + +<P> +"On the contrary. Only, marriage would account for the bitterness of +your tone. What does the Blue Domino represent?" +</P> + +<P> +"The needle of the compass." She stretched a sleeve out toward me and +I observed for the first time the miniature compasses woven in the +cloth. Surely, one does not rent a costume like this. +</P> + +<P> +"I understand now why you attracted me. Whither will you guide +me?'"—sentimentally. +</P> + +<P> +"Through dark channels and stormy seas, over tropic waters, 'into the +haven under the hill.'" +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, if you go to quoting Tennyson, it's all up with me. <I>Are</I> you +married?" +</P> + +<P> +"One can easily see that at any rate <I>you</I> are not." +</P> + +<P> +"Explain." +</P> + +<P> +"Your voice lacks the proper and requisite anxiety. It is always the +married woman who enjoys the mask with thoroughness. She knows her +husband will be watching her; and jealousy is a good sign." +</P> + +<P> +"You are a philosopher. Certainly you must be married." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, one does become philosophical—after marriage." +</P> + +<P> +"But are you married?" +</P> + +<P> +"I do not say so." +</P> + +<P> +"Would you like to be?" +</P> + +<P> +"I have my share of feminine curiosity. But I wonder,"—ruminating, +"why they do not give masquerades oftener." +</P> + +<P> +"That is easily explained. Most of us live masquerades day by day, and +there might be too much of a good thing." +</P> + +<P> +"That is a bit of philosophy that goes well with your robe. Indeed, +what better mask is there than the human countenance?" +</P> + +<P> +"If we become serious, we shall put folly out of joint," said I, +rising. "And besides, we shall miss the best part of this dance." +</P> + +<P> +She did not hesitate an instant. I led her to the floor, and we joined +the dancers. She was as light as a feather, a leaf, the down of the +thistle; mysterious as the Cumaean Sibyl; and I wondered who she might +be. The hand that lay on my sleeve was as white as milk, and the +filbert-shaped horn of the finger-tips was the tint of rose leaves. +<I>Was</I> she connected with the ticket in my pocket? I tried to look into +her eyes, but in vain; nothing could I see but that wisp of golden hair +which occasionally brushed my chin as with a surreptitious caress. If +only I dared remain till the unmasking! I pressed her hand. There was +an answering pressure, but its tenderness was destroyed by the low +laughter that accompanied it. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't be silly!" she whispered. +</P> + +<P> +"How can I help it?" +</P> + +<P> +"True; I forgot you were a fool in disguise." +</P> + +<P> +"What has Romance done to you that you should turn on her with the +stuffed-club, Practicality?" +</P> + +<P> +"She has never paid any particular attention to me; perhaps that is the +reason." +</P> + +<P> +As we neared a corner I saw the Honorable Julius again. He stretched +forth his death's-head mask. +</P> + +<P> +"Beware the ten of hearts!" he croaked. +</P> + +<P> +Hang his impudence! … The Blue Domino turned her head with a jerk; +and instantly I felt a shiver run through her body. For a moment she +lost step. I was filled with wonder. In what manner could the ten of +hearts disturb <I>her</I>? I made up my mind to seek out the noble Roman +and learn just how much he knew about that disquieting card. +</P> + +<P> +The music ceased. +</P> + +<P> +"Now, run away with your benedictions," said the Blue Domino +breathlessly. +</P> + +<P> +"Shall I see you again?"—eagerly. +</P> + +<P> +"If you seek diligently." She paused for a moment, like a bird about +to take flight. "Positive, fool; comparative, fooler; superlative, +foolest!" +</P> + +<P> +And I was left standing alone: What the deuce did she mean by that? +</P> + +<P> +After all, there might be any number of blue dominoes in the land; and +it seemed scarcely credible that a guest at the Hunt Club would go to a +costumer's for an outfit. (I had gone to a costumer's, but my case was +altogether different. I was an impostor.) I hunted up <I>Imperator +Rex</I>. It was not long ere we came face to face, or, to speak +correctly, mask to mask. +</P> + +<P> +"What do you know about the ten of hearts?" I began with directness. +</P> + +<P> +"I am a shade; all things are known to me." +</P> + +<P> +"You may be a lamp-shade, for all I care. What do you know about the +ten of hearts?" +</P> + +<P> +"Beware of it,"—hollowly. From under his toga he produced a ten of +hearts! +</P> + +<P> +My knees wabbled, and there was a sense of looseness about my collar. +The fellow <I>knew</I> I was an impostor. Why didn't he denounce me? +</P> + +<P> +"Is the back of your card anything like this one?"—ironically. "I +dare say it isn't. But have your good time, grave monk; doubtless you +are willing that the fiddlers shall be paid." And wrapping his toga +about him majestically, he stalked away, leaving me staring +dumfoundedly after his receding form. +</P> + +<P> +Discovered! +</P> + +<P> +The deuce! Had I been attired like yon Romeo, I certainly should have +taken to my heels; but a fellow can not run in a Capuchin's gown, and +retain any dignity. I would much rather be arrested than laughed at. +I stood irresolute. What was to be done? How much did he know? Did +he know who I was? And what was his object in letting me run my +course? I was all at sea.… Hang the grisly old Roman! I shut my +teeth; I would see the comedy to its end, no matter what befell. If +worst came to worst, there was always Teddy Hamilton to fall back on. +</P> + +<P> +I made off toward the smoking-room, rumbling imprecations against the +gods for having given me the idea of attending this masquerade, when it +would have been cheaper and far more comfortable to go to the theater. +</P> + +<P> +But as soon as I entered the smoking-room, I laughed. It was a droll +scene. Here we were, all of us, trying savagely to smoke a cigar or +cigarette through the flabby aperture designated in a mask as the +mouth. It was a hopeless job; for myself, I gave it up in disgust. +</P> + +<P> +Nobody dared talk naturally for fear of being identified. When a man +did open his mouth it was only to commit some banal idiocy, for which, +during office hours, he would have been haled to the nearest insane +asylum and labeled incurable. Added to this was a heat matching +Sahara's and the oppressive odor of weltering paint. +</P> + +<P> +By Jove! Only one man knew that the back of my card was unlike the +others: the man who had picked it up in old Friard's curio-shop, the +man who had come to Blankshire with me! I knew now. He had been there +buying a costume like myself. He had seen me on the train, and had +guessed the secret. I elbowed my way out of the smoking-room. It +wouldn't do me a bit of harm to ask a few polite questions of Mr. +Caesar of the sardonic laugh. +</P> + +<P> +But I had lost the golden opportunity. Caesar had gone to join the +shades of other noble Romans; in vain I searched high and low for him. +Once I ran into Hamilton. His face was pale and disturbed and anxious. +</P> + +<P> +"What's the trouble, Hamilton?" I asked, with forced gaiety. +</P> + +<P> +He favored me with a penetrating glance. +</P> + +<P> +"The very devil is the trouble," he growled. "Several of the ladies +have begun to miss valuable jewels. Anne of Austria has lost her +necklace and Queen Elizabeth is without a priceless comb; altogether, +about ten thousand dollars." +</P> + +<P> +"Robbery?" I looked at him aghast. +</P> + +<P> +"That's the word. Curse the luck! There is always something of this +sort happening to spoil the fun. But whoever has the jewels will not +get away with them." +</P> + +<P> +"What are you going to do?" +</P> + +<P> +"I have already sent for the village police. Now I shall lock all the +doors and make every man and woman produce cards for +identification,"—abruptly leaving me. +</P> + +<P> +Thunderbolts out of heaven! My knees and collar bothered me again; the +first attack was trifling compared to this second seizure. How the +devil was I to get out? +</P> + +<P> +"Are you searching for me?" inquired a soft voice at my elbow. +</P> + +<P> +I turned instantly. The Blue Domino had come back to me. +</P> + +<P> +"I have been searching for you everywhere," I said gallantly. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh! but that is a black one. Never mind; the fib was well meant." +</P> + +<P> +I led her over to a secluded nook, within a few feet of the door which +gave entrance to the club cellars. This door I had been bearing in +mind for some time. It is well to know your topography. The door was +at the left of the band platform. There was a twin-door on the other +side. We sat down. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-058"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG SRC="images/img-058.jpg" ALT="I led her over to a secluded nook. We sat down." BORDER="2" WIDTH="405" HEIGHT="549"> +<H4> +[Illustration: I led her over to a secluded nook. We sat down.] +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<P> +"Have you heard the news?" I asked. +</P> + +<P> +"No. Has some one been discovered making love to his own wife by +mistake?" +</P> + +<P> +"It's serious. Anne of Austria and Queen Elizabeth have been robbed of +some jewels." +</P> + +<P> +"A thief among us?" +</P> + +<P> +"A regular Galloping Dick. I'm a thief myself, for that matter." +</P> + +<P> +"You?" she drew away from me a bit. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. My name is Procrastination." +</P> + +<P> +"Ah, my grave Capuchin, we do not steal time; we merely waste it. But +is what you tell me true?" +</P> + +<P> +"I am very sorry to say it is. The jewels were worth something like +ten thousand dollars." +</P> + +<P> +"Merciful heavens!" +</P> + +<P> +"It is true, infernally true,"—looking around to see if by chance +Caesar had reappeared on the scene. (How was I to manage my escape? +It is true I might hie me to the cellars; but how to get out of the +cellars!) "Have you seen Julius Caesar?" I asked. +</P> + +<P> +"Caesar?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, Miss Hawthorne—" +</P> + +<P> +The Blue Domino swung about and leaned toward me, her hands tense upon +the sides of her chair. +</P> + +<P> +"What name did you say?"—a strained note in her voice. +</P> + +<P> +"Hawthorne," I answered, taking out the slip of pasteboard. "See! it +says that one blue domino was rented of Monsieur Friard at five-thirty +this afternoon." +</P> + +<P> +"How did you come by that ticket?" she demanded. +</P> + +<P> +"It was a miracle. I purchased a mask there, and this ticket was +wrapped up in my bundle by mistake." +</P> + +<P> +"It is a curious coincidence,"—her voice normal and unagitated. +</P> + +<P> +I was confused. "Then I am mistaken?"—my chagrin evident. (All this +while, mind you, I was wondering if that cellar-door was unlocked, and +how long it would take me to reach it before the dénouement!) +</P> + +<P> +"One way or the other, it does not matter," said she. +</P> + +<P> +"Yet, if I could reach the cellars,"—absently. Then I bit my tongue. +</P> + +<P> +"Cellars? Who said anything about cellars? I meant that this is not +the hour for unmasking or disclosing one's identity,"—coldly. +</P> + +<P> +"And yet, when Caesar whispered 'Beware the ten of hearts' you turned +and shuddered. What have you to offer in defense?" +</P> + +<P> +"It was the horrid mask he wore." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, it wasn't handsome of him." +</P> + +<P> +"What did you mean by cellars?"—suddenly becoming the inquisitor in +her turn. +</P> + +<P> +"I? Oh, I was thinking what I should do in case of fire,"—nimbly. +</P> + +<P> +"That is not the truth." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, no, it isn't. Can you keep a secret?" I whispered. +</P> + +<P> +"If it isn't a terrible one." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I have no earthly business here. I am an impostor." +</P> + +<P> +"An impostor!" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. And for the past few minutes, since I heard of the robbery, I've +been thinking how I could get out of here upon the slightest notice." +While the reckless spirit was upon me, I produced the fatal card and +showed the back to her. "You will find that yours is of a different +color. But <I>I</I> am not the Galloping Dick; it was only a hare-brained +lark on my part, and I had no idea it would turn out serious like this. +I was going to disappear before they unmasked. What would you advise +me to do?" +</P> + +<P> +She took the card, studied it, and finally returned it. There followed +an interval of silence. +</P> + +<P> +"I have known the imposition from the first," she said. +</P> + +<P> +"What!" +</P> + +<P> +She touched the signet-ring on my little finger. "I have seen that +once before to-night. No," she mused, "you will not blow up the +post-office to-night, nor the police-station." +</P> + +<P> +She lifted the corner of her mask, and I beheld the girl I had met in +Mouquin's! +</P> + +<P> +"You?" +</P> + +<P> +"Silence! So this is the meaning of your shuffling those cards? Oh, +it is certainly droll!" She laughed. +</P> + +<P> +"And are you Miss Hawthorne?" +</P> + +<P> +"I am still in the mask, sir; I shall answer none of your questions." +</P> + +<P> +"This is the finest romance in the world!" I cried. +</P> + +<P> +"You were talking about getting out," she said. "Shall I lend you my +domino? But that would be useless. Such a prestidigitator as Signor +Fantoccini has only to say—Presto! and disappear at once." +</P> + +<P> +"I assure you, it is no laughing matter." +</P> + +<P> +"I see it from a different angle." +</P> + +<P> +An artist's model, and yet a guest at this exclusive function? +</P> + +<P> +A commotion around the stage distracted us. Presently we saw Teddy +Hamilton mount the stage and hold up his hands. +</P> + +<P> +"Attention, ladies and gentlemen!" he called. +</P> + +<P> +Silence gradually fell upon the motley groups of masqueraders. +</P> + +<P> +"A thief is among us. I have had all the exits closed. Everybody will +be so kind as to present cards at the main entrance. Three ten-spots +of hearts have been tallied on the comparing lists. We have been +imposed upon. The police are on the way. Very sorry to cause you this +annoyance. The identity of the holders of the cards will be known only +to those of us on the committee." +</P> + +<P> +Silence and then a murmur which soon became a fuzzing like that of many +bees. +</P> + +<P> +The Blue Domino suddenly clutched my arm. +</P> + +<P> +"Please take me away, take me away at once! I'm an impostor, too!" +</P> + +<P> +Two of us! +</P> + +<P> +This was disaster. I give you my solemn word, there was nothing I +regretted so much as the fact that I hadn't gone to the theater. +</P> + +<P> +But I am a man of quick thought and resource. In the inelegant +phrasing of the day, me for the cellars! +</P> + +<P> +"Come," said I to the girl; "There's only one chance in a hundred, but +we'll take it together." +</P> + +<P> +"Together? Where?" +</P> + +<P> +"Why, to the cellars. I've a pocketful of matches. We can make a try. +For, if there's a thief around, and we are caught and proved +impostors—Well, I leave you to imagine!" +</P> + +<P> +"I will go with you," she replied resolutely. +</P> + +<P> +The gods were with us. The door leading to the cellars was not locked. +I opened it, passed the girl before me, and closed the door. +</P> + +<P> +"I am frightened!" she whispered. +</P> + +<P> +"So am I," I offered, to reassure her. "You are not afraid of rats, +are you?" +</P> + +<P> +"No-o!" +</P> + +<P> +"Bully!" I cried. Then I laughed. +</P> + +<P> +"How <I>can</I> you laugh? It is horrible!" she protested. +</P> + +<P> +"You would come, though I heard your uncle warn you. Look at it the +way I do. It's a huge joke, and years from now you'll have great fun +telling it to your grandchildren." +</P> + +<P> +"I wish, at this moment, I could see so far ahead—What was +that?"—seizing my arm. +</P> + +<P> +Click! +</P> + +<P> +Somebody had locked the door behind us! +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0104"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +IV +</H3> + + +<P> +In other words, we had departed the scene of festivities none too soon. +I could readily understand why the door had been locked: it was not to +keep us in the cellars; rather it was to prevent any one from leaving +the ball-room by that route. Evidently our absence had not been +noticed, nor had any seen our precipitate flight. I sighed gratefully. +</P> + +<P> +For several minutes we stood silent and motionless on the landing. At +length I boldly struck a match. The first thing that greeted my +blinded gaze was the welcome vision of a little shelf lined with +steward's candles. One of these I lighted, and two others I stuffed +into the pocket of my Capuchin's gown. Then we tiptoed softly down the +stairs, the girl tugging fearfully at my sleeve. +</P> + +<P> +There was an earthy smell. It was damp and cold. Miles and miles away +(so it seemed) the pale moonshine filtered through a cobwebbed window, +It was ghostly; but so far as I was concerned, I was honestly enjoying +myself, strange as this statement may seem. Here was I, setting forth +upon an adventure with the handsomest, wittiest girl I had ever laid +eyes upon. If I extricated her neatly, she would always be in my debt; +and the thought of this was mighty pleasant to contemplate. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you know the way out?" +</P> + +<P> +I confessed that, so far as I knew, we were in one of the fabled +labyrinths of mythology. +</P> + +<P> +"Go ahead," she said bravely. +</P> + +<P> +"I ask only to die in your Highness' service,"—soberly. +</P> + +<P> +"But I do not want you to die; I want you to get me out of this cellar; +and quickly, too." +</P> + +<P> +"I'll live or die in the attempt!" +</P> + +<P> +"I see nothing funny in our predicament,"—icily. +</P> + +<P> +"A few moments ago you said that our angles of vision were not the +same; I begin to believe it. As for me, I think it's simply immense to +find myself in the same boat with you." +</P> + +<P> +"I wish you <I>had</I> been an anarchist, or a performer in a dime-museum." +</P> + +<P> +"You might now be alone here. But, pardon me; surely you do not lack +the full allotment of the adventurous spirit! It was all amusing +enough to come here under false pretenses." +</P> + +<P> +"But I had not reckoned on any one's losing jewels." +</P> + +<P> +"No more had I." +</P> + +<P> +"Proceed. I have the courage to trust to your guidance." +</P> + +<P> +"I would that it might be always!"—with a burst of sentiment that was +not wholly feigned. +</P> + +<P> +"Let us be on,"—imperatively. "I shall not only catch my death of +cold, but I shall be horribly compromised." +</P> + +<P> +"My dear young lady, on the word of a gentleman, I will do the best I +can to get you out of this cellar. If I have jested a little, it was +only in the effort to give you courage; for I haven't the slightest +idea how we are going to get out of this dismal hole." +</P> + +<P> +We went on. We couldn't see half a dozen feet in front of us. The +gloom beyond the dozen feet was Stygian and menacing. And the great +grim shadows that crept behind us as we proceeded! Once the girl +stumbled and fell against me. +</P> + +<P> +"What's the matter?" I asked, startled. +</P> + +<P> +"I stepped on something that—that moved!"—plaintively. +</P> + +<P> +"Possibly it was a potato; there's a bin of them over there. Where the +deuce are we?" +</P> + +<P> +"If you swear, I shall certainly scream!" she warned. +</P> + +<P> +"But I can swear in the most elegant and approved fashion." +</P> + +<P> +"I am not inclined to have you demonstrate your talents." +</P> + +<P> +"Aha! Here is the coal-bin. Perhaps the window may be open. If so, +we are saved. Will you hold the candle for a moment?" +</P> + +<P> +Have you ever witnessed a cat footing it across the snow? If you have, +picture me imitating her. Cautiously I took one step, then another; +and then that mountain of coal turned into a roaring tread-mill. +Sssssh! Rrrrr! In a moment I was buried to the knees and nearly +suffocated. I became angry. I would reach that window— +</P> + +<P> +"Hush! Hush! The noise, the noise!" whispered the girl, waving the +candle frantically. +</P> + +<P> +But I was determined. Again I tried. This time I slipped and fell on +my hands. As I strove to get up, the cord of my gown became tangled +about my feet. The girl choked; whether with coal-dust or with +laughter I could not say, as she still had on her cambric-mask. +</P> + +<P> +"Forgive me," she said. And then I knew it was not the coal-dust. +</P> + +<P> +"I'll forgive you, but I will not promise to forget." +</P> + +<P> +"Merciful heavens! you must not try that again. Think of the noise!" +</P> + +<P> +"Was I making any noise?"—rubbing the perspiration from my forehead. +(I had taken off my mask.) +</P> + +<P> +"Noise? The trump of Judgment Day will be feeble compared to it. +Surely some one has heard you. Why not lay that board on top of the +coal?" +</P> + +<P> +A good idea. I made use of it at once. The window was unlatched, but +there was a heavy wire-screen nailed to the sills outside. There was +no getting out that way. The gods were evidently busy elsewhere. +</P> + +<P> +"Nothing doing," I murmured, a bit discouraged. +</P> + +<P> +"And even if there was, you really could not expect me to risk my neck +and dignity by climbing through a window like that. Let us give up the +idea of windows and seek the cellar-doors, those that give to the +grounds. I declare I shall leave by no other exit." +</P> + +<P> +"It was very kind of you to let me make an ass of myself like that. +Why didn't you tell me beforehand?" +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps it's the angle of vision again. I can see that we shall never +agree. Seriously, I thought that if you got out that way, you might +find the other exit for me. I am sorry if my laughter annoyed you." +</P> + +<P> +"Not at all, not at all. But wouldn't it be wise to save a little +laughter to make merry with when we get out?" +</P> + +<P> +I stepped out of the bin and relieved her of the candle; and we went on. +</P> + +<P> +"You did look funny," she said. +</P> + +<P> +"Please don't!" I begged. +</P> + +<P> +Soon we came to a bin of cabbages. I peered in philosophically. +</P> + +<P> +"I might find a better head in there than mine," I suggested. +</P> + +<P> +"Now you are trying to be sarcastic," said the girl. +</P> + +<P> +We went on. +</P> + +<P> +"Wait a moment!" she cried. "Here's a bin of nice apples." +</P> + +<P> +Apples! Well, my word, she was a cool one! I picked up one, polished +it on my sleeve, and gave it to her. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm hungry," she said apologetically. +</P> + +<P> +"And plucky, too," I supplemented admiringly. "Most women would be in +a weeping state by this time." +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps I am waiting till it is all over." +</P> + +<P> +"You had better take off your mask." In fact I felt positive that the +sight of her exquisite face would act like a tonic upon my nerves. +</P> + +<P> +"I am doing very well with it on. I can at least keep my face clean." +She raised the curtain and took a liberal bite of the apple—so +nonchalantly that I was forced to smile. +</P> + +<P> +"Here's a box," said I; "let's sit down while we eat. We are safe +enough. If any one had heard the racket in the coal-bin, the cellar +would have been full of police by this time." +</P> + +<P> +And there we sat, calmly munching the apples, for all the world as if +the iron hand of the law wasn't within a thousand miles of us. It was +all very amusing. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-070"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG SRC="images/img-070.jpg" ALT="And there we sat, calmly munching the apples." BORDER="2" WIDTH="429" HEIGHT="532"> +<H4> +[Illustration: And there we sat, calmly munching the apples.] +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<P> +"Are—<I>are</I> you the man they are hunting for?" she asked abruptly. +</P> + +<P> +"I never stole anything more terrible than green apples—and ripe +ones"—with a nod toward the apple-bin. +</P> + +<P> +"Pardon me! I feel very guilty in asking you such a question. You +haven't told me your name." +</P> + +<P> +"Haven't I? My name is Richard Comstalk. My friends call me Dickey." +</P> + +<P> +"Dickey," she murmured. "It's a nice name." +</P> + +<P> +"Won't you have another apple?" I asked impulsively. +</P> + +<P> +"My appetite is appeased, thank you." +</P> + +<P> +An idea came to me. "Hamilton said there were three tens of hearts. +That meant that only one was out of order. Where did you get your +card?" +</P> + +<P> +"That I shall tell you—later." +</P> + +<P> +"But are you really an impostor?" +</P> + +<P> +"I should not be in this cellar else." +</P> + +<P> +"You are very mystifying." +</P> + +<P> +"For the present I prefer to remain so." +</P> + +<P> +We tossed aside the apple-cores, rose, and went on. It was the longest +cellar <I>I</I> ever saw. There seemed absolutely no end to it. The +wine-cellar was walled apart from the main cellar, and had the +semblance of a huge cistern with a door opening into it. As we passed +it, the vague perfume of the grape drifted out to us. +</P> + +<P> +"Let's have a bottle," I began. +</P> + +<P> +"Mr. Comstalk!" +</P> + +<P> +"By absent-treatment!" I hastened to add. +</P> + +<P> +"You will make a capital comrade—if we ever get out of this cellar." +</P> + +<P> +"Trust me for that!" I replied gaily. "Be careful; there's a pile of +empty bottles, yearning to be filled with tomato-catsup. Give me your +hand." +</P> + +<P> +But the moment the little digits closed over mine, a thrill seized me, +and I quickly bent my head and kissed the hand. It was wrong, but I +could not help it. She neither spoke nor withdrew her hand; and my +fear that she might really be offended vanished. +</P> + +<P> +"We are nearly out of it," I said exultantly. "I see the cellar-stairs +on ahead. If only those doors are open!" +</P> + +<P> +"Heaven is merciful to the fool, and we are a pair," she replied, +sighing gratefully. "It seems strange that nobody should be in the +cellar on a night like this. Hark! They are playing again up stairs +in the ball-room." +</P> + +<P> +"And wondering a whole lot where that third ten of hearts has gone." +</P> + +<P> +"But, listen. How are we to get back to the trolley? We certainly can +not walk the distance in these clothes." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, that carryall will come to our rescue. We are weary and are +leaving early, don't you know? That part is simple; the complicated +thing is to shake the dust of this cellar." +</P> + +<P> +"What a big furnace!" she exclaimed, as we came into view of the huge +heating apparatus. "And there's more coal." +</P> + +<P> +A man stepped out from behind the furnace, and confronted us. A red +bandana covered the lower part of his face and his hat was pulled down +over his eyes. But I recognized him instantly. It was the fellow with +the villainous pipe! Something glittered ominously at the end of his +outstretched arm. +</P> + +<P> +"If you make any noise, sir, I'll have to plug you, sir," he said in +polite but muffled tones. +</P> + +<P> +The candle slipped from my fingers, and the three of us stood in +darkness! +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0105"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +V +</H3> + + +<P> +There was a clicking sound, and the glare of a dark-lantern struck my +blinking eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"Pick up the candle, sir," said the tranquil voice from behind the +light. +</P> + +<P> +I obeyed readily enough. Fate was downright cruel to us. Not a dozen +feet away was liberty; and now we were back at the beginning again, +with the end nowhere in sight. +</P> + +<P> +"Shall I light it, sir?" I asked, not to be outdone in the matter of +formal politeness. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, sir, doubtless you will need it." +</P> + +<P> +I struck a match and touched the candle-wick. +</P> + +<P> +"Burglar?" said I. (For all my apparent coolness, my heart-beats were +away up in the eighties!) +</P> + +<P> +The girl snuggled close to my side. I could feel her heart beating +even faster than mine. +</P> + +<P> +"Burglar?" I repeated. +</P> + +<P> +"Indeed, no, sir,"—reproachfully. "Mine is a political job." +</P> + +<P> +"A political job?"—thunderstruck. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, sir; I am an inspector of cellars,"—grimly. "I couldn't get +around to this here cellar earlier in the day, sir, and a fellow's work +<I>must</I> be done." +</P> + +<P> +Here was a burglar with the sense of humor. +</P> + +<P> +"What can I do for you?" I asked blandly. +</P> + +<P> +"Firstly, as they say, you might tell me what you and this lady <I>are</I> +doing in this lonesome cellar." +</P> + +<P> +"Say 'sir,' when you address me." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, sir." +</P> + +<P> +"The lady and I were playing hide-and-seek." +</P> + +<P> +"Nice game, sir,"—grinning. "Were you trying to hide under the coal?" +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, no; I was merely exploring it." +</P> + +<P> +"Say 'sir,' when you address me." +</P> + +<P> +"Sir." +</P> + +<P> +"You're a cool hand, sir." +</P> + +<P> +"I am gratified to learn that our admiration is mutual. But what are +<I>you</I> doing here?" +</P> + +<P> +"I was ascertaining if the law was properly observed, sir," shaking +with silent laughter. +</P> + +<P> +"But what puzzles me," I went on, "is the fact that you could gather +the gems in that garb." For I was positive that this was the Galloping +Dick every one was looking for. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't understand a word you say, sir. I'm an inspector of cellars, +sir, not a jeweler. So you and the lady was playing hide-and-seek? +Come, now, <I>what</I> is your graft? Is <I>all</I> the push here to-night?" +</P> + +<P> +"That depends,"—cursing under my breath that I wore a gown which +hampered my movements. For, truth to tell, I was watching him as a cat +watches a mouse. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, sir, we of the profession never interferes with gentlemanly +jobs, sir. All I want of you is to help me out of here." +</P> + +<P> +"I am not a burglar." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, I understand, sir; I understand completely. A gentleman is always +a gentleman, sir. Now, you can return to that coal-bin. I was just +about to make for it when you lit that candle." +</P> + +<P> +"Why not leave by the cellar-doors?" +</P> + +<P> +"I have my reasons, sir; most satisfactory reasons, sir. <I>I</I> prefer +the window. Get along!"—his tones suddenly hardening. +</P> + +<P> +I got along. +</P> + +<P> +"The lady may sit down, sir," he said courteously. +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you, I will," replied the girl, plumping down on an empty +winecase. (She afterward confessed that if she had not sat down on the +box, she would have sat down on the cellar-floor, as a sort of +paralysis had seized her knees.) +</P> + +<P> +I stepped into the coal-bin, and rested the candle on the little shelf +for that purpose. I was downright anxious to see the fellow safely +away. There wasn't room in that cellar for the three of us. His +presence doubly endangered us and multiplied the complications. I was +in no position to force the gems from him. A man who has ten thousand +dollars' worth of jewels on his person doesn't stop at shooting; and I +possessed a healthy regard for my skin. I opened the window and caught +it to the ceiling by a hook I found there. +</P> + +<P> +"There is a stout screen, my man." +</P> + +<P> +"Take this, sir, and cut it out,"—handing me a pair of wire-clippers, +holding his lantern under his arm meanwhile. The muzzle of the +revolver, during all this time, never wavered in its aim at my head. +</P> + +<P> +I went to work at the screen, and presently it fell inward. +</P> + +<P> +"Is that satisfactory?"—with impressive irony. +</P> + +<P> +"You are the most <I>perfect</I> gentleman that <I>I</I> ever see, sir!" +</P> + +<P> +The girl laughed hysterically. +</P> + +<P> +"Now what?" The fun was beginning to pall on me. +</P> + +<P> +"Step out of the bin and stand aside. Sit down by the lady. Maybe +she's a bit frightened." +</P> + +<P> +I obeyed him to the letter. +</P> + +<P> +"Thanks!" With the agility of a cat he leaped up and wriggled through +the window. He turned. "Good night, sir. Sometime maybe I'll do the +same for you, sir." +</P> + +<P> +"Go to the devil!" I snarled. +</P> + +<P> +"My, my! What a temper, sir! I wouldn't have thought it of you, and a +nice lady in speaking distance!" +</P> + +<P> +He disappeared. +</P> + +<P> +The girl laid a hand on my arm. +</P> + +<P> +"You have acted very sensibly, Mr. Comstalk. If you had not, it is +quite certain he would have shot you." +</P> + +<P> +"It would have been a good thing for me if he had. He has gone, and +the jewels have gone with him. I hadn't the least chance; the wretch! +He probably came disguised as a plumber, and nobody suspected him." +</P> + +<P> +"But if he possessed the ten of hearts, why should he have left this +way?" +</P> + +<P> +"Possibly my idea was only an imitation of his. There must have been +at least a dozen tens of hearts. My dear young lady, I would give a +good deal if you were well out of this. I believed my plan was for the +best, and instead I have simply blackened the case against us. I have +been too adventurous. The situation looks very serious just now. Of +course, in the long run, we shall clear ourselves; but it will take +some fine arguing to do it, and possibly half a dozen lawyers." +</P> + +<P> +"It is a terribly embarrassing predicament; but since we started out +together, we'll hang together." She held out her hand to me. "It will +be fun to extricate ourselves with full honors." +</P> + +<P> +"You're a brick!" And I pressed her hand tightly. +</P> + +<P> +"Now, I wonder why the burglar didn't try those cellar-doors?" she +murmured. +</P> + +<P> +"By Jove, I'll soon find out! Come on. There's hope yet." +</P> + +<P> +This time we reached the stone steps without interference. I gave the +candle to the girl, cautiously put a shoulder against one of the doors, +and gave a gentle heave. It was not locked. Through the thin crack I +looked out upon the bright world of moonshine and crystal. Instantly I +permitted the door to settle into its accustomed place. I readily +understood the burglar's reasons. Seated upon a box, less than a dozen +feet away, and blissfully smoking one of the club's cigars, sat a burly +policeman. So <I>they</I> had arrived upon the scene! +</P> + +<P> +"What is it?" asked the girl, as I motioned her to retreat. +</P> + +<P> +"The worst has come: the police!" dramatically. +</P> + +<P> +"Gracious heavens, <I>this</I> is frightful! We shall never get out now. +Oh dear! Why did I ever come? It will be in the papers, with horrid +pictures. We ought not to have left the ball-room. Our very actions +will tell heavily against us. Awful!" +</P> + +<P> +"Now, don't you worry. They will not take any notice of you, once they +set eyes upon me. <I>Homo sum</I>! They are looking for <I>me</I>. There's +only one superfluous ten of hearts. I have it." +</P> + +<P> +"But I shall be found with you, and the stupid police will swear I am +an accomplice." She wrung her hands. +</P> + +<P> +"But no jewels will be found upon us," I argued half-heartedly. +</P> + +<P> +"They will say we have already disposed of them." +</P> + +<P> +"But the real burglar—" +</P> + +<P> +"They will say that he came into the cellar at our bidding." +</P> + +<P> +This girl was terribly reasonable and direct. +</P> + +<P> +"Hang it! I know Teddy Hamilton, the M. F. H. He'll go my bail, and +yours, too, for that matter. Come, let's not give up. There <I>must</I> be +some other way out." +</P> + +<P> +"I wish I might believe it. Why <I>did</I> I come?"—a bit of a wail +stealing into the anger in her voice. +</P> + +<P> +"This is Tom Fool's Night, and no mistake," I assented ruefully. +</P> + +<P> +"But I am a bigger fool than you are; I had an alibi, and a good one." +</P> + +<P> +"An alibi? Why on earth, then, did you follow me? What is your alibi?" +</P> + +<P> +"Never mind now. We should still be in this miserable +cellar,"—briefly. "What a night! I am so ashamed! I shall be +horribly compromised." +</P> + +<P> +"I'll take the brunt of it all. I'm sorry; but, for the love of +Heaven, don't cry, or I shall lose what little nerve I have left." +</P> + +<P> +"I am not crying!" she denied emphatically. "My inclination is to +shriek with laughter. I'm hysterical. And who wouldn't be, with +police officers and cells staring one in the face? Let us be going. +That policeman outside will presently hear us whispering if we stand +here much longer." +</P> + +<P> +There was wisdom in this. So, once again I took the candle, and we +marched back. There wasn't a single jest left in my whole system, and +it didn't look as if there was ever going to be another supply. We +took the other side of the furnace, and at length came to a flight of +wooden stairs, leading somewhere into the club. It was our last +chance, or we should indeed be obliged to stay all night in some bin; +for it would not be long before they searched the cellars. If this +flight led into the kitchen, we were saved, for I could bluff the +servants. We paused. Presently we ascended, side by side, with light +but firm step. We reached the landing in front of the door without +mishap. From somewhere came a puff of air which blew out the candle. +I struck a match viciously against the wall—-and blundered into a +string of cooking-pans! It was all over, the agony of suspense! +</P> + +<P> +Blang! Rumpity-bumpity-blang-blang! +</P> + +<P> +I have heard many stage thunders in my time, but that racket beat +anything and everything this side of siege-guns. +</P> + +<P> +Instantly the door opened and a policeman poked his head in. Before I +had time to move, he grabbed me by the arm and yanked me—into the +ballroom! The girl and I had made a complete circuit of the cellars, +and had stumbled into the ball-room again by the flight opposite to +that by which we left it. Cheerful prospect, wasn't it? The adventure +had ceased to have any droll side to it. +</P> + +<P> +"Aha!" cried the base minion of the law. "<I>Here</I> you are, then! +Hello, everybody! Hello!" he bawled. +</P> + +<P> +Caught! Here we were, the Blue Domino and myself, the Grey Capuchin, +both of us in a fine fix. Discovery and ejection I could have stood +with fortitude and equanimity; but there was bad business afoot. There +wasn't any doubt in my mind what was going to happen. As the girl +said, there would be flaring head-lines and horrid pictures. We were +like to be the newspaper sensation of the day. Arrested and lodged in +jail! What would my rich, doting old uncle say to that, who had +threatened to disinherit me for lesser things! I felt terribly sorry +for the girl, but it was now utterly impossible to help her, for I +couldn't help myself. +</P> + +<P> +And behold! The mysterious stranger I had met in the curio-shop, the +fellow who had virtually haunted me for six hours, the fellow who had +masqueraded as Caesar, suddenly loomed up before me, still wearing his +sardonic smile. At his side were two more policemen. He had thrown +aside his toga and was in evening dress. His keen glance rested on me. +</P> + +<P> +"Here he is, Mr. Haggerty!" cried the policeman cheerfully, swinging me +around. +</P> + +<P> +A detective! And Heaven help me, he believed me to be the thief! Oh, +for Aladdin's lamp! +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0106"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +VI +</H3> + + +<P> +I stood with folded arms, awaiting his approach. Nonchalance is always +respected by the police. I must have presented a likely picture, +however—my face blackened with coal-dust, cobwebs stringing down over +my eyes, my Capuchin gown soiled and rent. The girl quietly took her +place beside me. +</P> + +<P> +"So you took a chance at the cellars, eh?" inquired the detective +urbanely. "Well, you look it. Will you go with us quietly, or shall +we have to use force?" +</P> + +<P> +"In the first place, what do you and your police want of <I>me</I>?" I +returned coolly. +</P> + +<P> +He exhibited his star of authority. +</P> + +<P> +"I am Haggerty of the Central Office. I want you for several things." +</P> + +<P> +Several things? I stared at him stupidly. Several things? Then it +came to me, with a jar like an earthquake. The story in the newspaper +returned to my vision. Oh, this was too much, altogether too much! He +took me to be the fashionable thief for whom half the New York police +force were hunting. My sight swam for a moment in a blur. +</P> + +<P> +"What is it you think I have done?" I demanded. +</P> + +<P> +"You have, or have had, several thousand dollars' worth of gems on your +person to-night." +</P> + +<P> +I shrugged. The accusation was so impossible that my confidence +returned. +</P> + +<P> +"Mr. Haggerty, you are making a stupid mistake. You are losing time, +besides. I am not the man for whom you are hunting. My name is +Richard Comstalk." +</P> + +<P> +"One name or another, it does not matter." +</P> + +<P> +"Plenty of gall," murmured one of the minions of the law, whom I +afterward learned was the chief of the village police. +</P> + +<P> +"The card by which you gained admittance here," demanded the great +Haggerty truculently. +</P> + +<P> +I surrendered it. A crowd had by this time collected curiously about +us. I could see the musicians on the stage peering over the plants. +</P> + +<P> +"The thief you are looking for has gone," said I. "He escaped by the +coal-window." By this statement, my feet sank deeper still. +</P> + +<P> +"What did I tell you?" cried Haggerty, turning to his men. "They had +an accomplice hidden in the cellars." +</P> + +<P> +"I beg to inform you that you are making a mistake that will presently +cost you dear,"—thinking of the political pull my uncle had in New +York. "I am the nephew of Daniel Witherspoon." +</P> + +<P> +"Worse and worse!" said the chief of police. +</P> + +<P> +"We shall discuss the mistake later and at length. Of course you can +easily explain how you came to impose upon these people,"—ironically. +"Bah! the game is up. When you dropped that card in Friard's and said +you were going to a masquerade, I knew your game in a minute, and laid +eyes upon you for the first time since I began the chase. I've been +after you for weeks. Your society dodge has worked out, and I'll land +you behind the bars for some time to come, my gay boy. Come,"—roughly. +</P> + +<P> +"I request Mr. Hamilton to be called. He will prove to you that you +are greatly mistaken." Everything looked pretty black, I can tell you. +</P> + +<P> +"You will see whom you please, but only after you are safely landed in +the lockup. Now, Madame,"—turning swiftly upon the Blue Domino, "what +is your part in this fine business?" +</P> + +<P> +"It certainly has no part in yours,"—icily. +</P> + +<P> +Haggerty smiled. "My skin is very thick. Do you know this fellow?" +</P> + +<P> +She shook her head. He stood undecided for a space. +</P> + +<P> +"Let me see your card." +</P> + +<P> +"I decline to produce it,"—haughtily. +</P> + +<P> +Haggerty seemed staggered for a moment. "I am sorry to annoy you, but +you must be identified at once." +</P> + +<P> +"And why?"—proudly. "Was it forbidden to go into the club cellars for +such harmless things as apples?" +</P> + +<P> +Apples! I looked at her admiringly. +</P> + +<P> +"Apples?" repeated Haggerty. "Couldn't you have sent a servant for +them?" +</P> + +<P> +She did not reply. +</P> + +<P> +"You were with this clever gentleman in the cellars. You may or may +not be acquainted with him. I do not wish to do anything hasty in +regard to yourself, but your position is rather equivocal. Produce +your card and be identified—if you really can." +</P> + +<P> +"I refuse!" +</P> + +<P> +"Then I shall ask you to accompany us to the room up stairs till the +police-patrol arrives." +</P> + +<P> +"I will go,"—quietly. +</P> + +<P> +"Nonsense!" I objected. "On my word of honor, I do not know this lady. +Our presence in the cellar was perfectly harmless. There is no valid +reason for detaining her. It is an outrage!" +</P> + +<P> +"I am not going to stand here arguing with you," said Haggerty. "Let +the lady produce her card; let her disclose her identity. That is +simple enough." +</P> + +<P> +"I have already given you my determination on that subject," replied +the girl. "I can very well explain my presence here, but I absolutely +decline to explain it to the police." +</P> + +<P> +I didn't understand her at all. She had said that she possessed an +alibi. Why didn't she produce it? +</P> + +<P> +So the two of us left the gorgeous ball-room. Every one moved aside +for us, and quickly, too, as if we had had the plague. I looked in +vain for Hamilton. He was a friend in need. We were taken into the +steward's office and the door was shut and locked. The band in the +ball-room went galloping through a two-step, and the gaiety was in full +swing again. The thief had been rounded up! How the deuce was it +going to end? +</P> + +<P> +"I can not tell you how sorry I am to have mixed you up in this," I +said to the girl. +</P> + +<P> +"You are in no manner to blame. Think of what <I>might</I> have happened +had you blown up the post-office!" +</P> + +<P> +She certainly was the least embarrassed of the two of us. I addressed +my next remarks to the great Haggerty. +</P> + +<P> +"Did you find a suitable pistol in Friard's?" +</P> + +<P> +"A man in my business," said Haggerty mildly, "is often found in such +places. There are various things to be recovered in pawnshops. The +gentlemen of this club sent <I>me</I> the original ten of hearts, my +presence being necessary at such big entertainments. And when I saw +that card of yours, I was so happy that I nearly put you on your guard. +Lord, how long I've been looking for you! I give you credit for being +a clever rascal. You have fooled us all nicely. Not a soul among us +knew your name, nor what you looked like. And but for that card, you +might still be at large. Until the lady submits to the simple process +of identification, I shall be compelled to look upon her and treat her +as an accomplice. She has refused the offer I have made her, and she +can not blame me if I am suspicious, when to be suspicious is a part of +my business." He was reasonable enough in regard to the girl. +</P> + +<P> +He turned to the chief of the village police, who was sitting at the +desk ordinarily used by the club's steward. +</P> + +<P> +"No reporters, mind you." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, sir. We'll see that no reporter gets wind of the capture." +</P> + +<P> +The telephone bell rang. One of the police answered it. +</P> + +<P> +"For you, Mr. Haggerty," he said. +</P> + +<P> +Haggerty sprang to the telephone and placed the receiver to his ear. +</P> + +<P> +"What?" we heard him exclaim. "You have got the other fellow? A horse +and carriage at once!" +</P> + +<P> +"Take mine," said the chief excitedly. "What is it?" +</P> + +<P> +"My subordinate at the railway station has just landed the fellow with +the jewels. Mighty quick work. I must hustle into town at once. +There'll be plenty of time to attend to these persons. Bring them to +town the moment the patrol arrives. The gems are the most important +things just now." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, sir. You can rely upon us, Mr. Haggerty. Billy, go down with +Mr. Haggerty and show him my rig." +</P> + +<P> +"Good!" said Haggerty. "It's been a fine night's work, my lads, a fine +night's work. I'll see that all get some credit. Permit no one to +approach the prisoners without proper authority." +</P> + +<P> +"Your orders shall be obeyed to the letter," said the chief +importantly. He already saw his name figuring in the New York papers +as having assisted in the capture of a great thief. +</P> + +<P> +I cursed under my breath. If it hadn't been for the girl, I am ashamed +to confess, I should have cursed out loud. She sat rigid and +motionless. It must have been a cruel ordeal for her. But what was +puzzling me was the fact that she made not the slightest effort to +spring her alibi. If <I>I</I> had had one! Where was Hamilton? I scarcely +inclined to the idea of sleeping in jail in a dress-suit. +</P> + +<P> +Haggerty departed. A silence settled gloomily down on us. Quarter of +an hour passed. The grim-visaged police watched us vigilantly. Half +an hour, three-quarters, an hour. Far away we heard the whistle of an +out-going train. Would I had been on it! From time to time we heard +faint music. At length there was a noise outside the door, and a +moment later Hamilton and two others came in. When he saw me, he +stopped, his eyes bulging and his mouth agape. +</P> + +<P> +"Dicky Comstalk?" he cried helplessly. "What the devil does this +mean?"—turning to the police. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you know this fellow, Mr. Hamilton?" asked the chief. +</P> + +<P> +"Know him? Of course I know him," answered Teddy; "and I'll stake my +last dollar on his honesty." +</P> + +<P> +(Thanks, Teddy!) I began to breathe. +</P> + +<P> +"But—" began the chief, seized with sudden misgivings. +</P> + +<P> +"It is impossible, I tell you," interrupted Hamilton. "I know this +gentleman is incapable of the theft. There is some frightful mistake. +How the dickens did you get here, Dicky?" +</P> + +<P> +And briefly I told him my story, my ass's ears growing inch by inch as +I went along. Hamilton didn't know whether to swear or to laugh; +finally he laughed. +</P> + +<P> +"If you wanted to come, why didn't you write me for an invitation?" +</P> + +<P> +"I shouldn't have come to your old ball, had I been invited. It was +just the idea of the lark." +</P> + +<P> +"We shall have to hold him, nevertheless," said the chief, "till +everything is cleared up. The girl—" +</P> + +<P> +Hamilton looked at the Blue Domino. +</P> + +<P> +"Madame, will you do me the honor to raise your mask?" +</P> + +<A NAME="img-098"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG SRC="images/img-098.jpg" ALT=""Madame, will you do me the honor to raise your mask?"" BORDER="2" WIDTH="357" HEIGHT="577"> +<H4> +[Illustration: "Madame, will you do me the honor to raise your mask?"] +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<P> +She did so; and I saw Hamilton draw in his breath. Her beauty was +certainly of an exquisite pattern. He frowned anxiously. +</P> + +<P> +"I never saw this young woman before," he admitted slowly. +</P> + +<P> +"Ha!" cried the chief, glad to find some one culpable. +</P> + +<P> +"Did you receive your invitation through the proper channels?" asked +Hamilton. +</P> + +<P> +"I came here to-night,"—coldly, "on the invitation of Mrs. +Hyphen-Bonds, who sailed for Europe Wednesday." +</P> + +<P> +Here was an alibi that was an alibi! I was all at sea. Hamilton +bowed; the chief coughed worriedly behind his hand. The girl had told +me she was an impostor like myself, that her ten of hearts was as +dark-stained as my own. I could not make head or tail to it. Mrs. +Hyphen-Bonds! She was a law in the land, especially in Blankshire, the +larger part of which she owned. What did it all mean? And what was +her idea in posing as an impostor? +</P> + +<P> +The door opened again. +</P> + +<P> +"The patrol has come," said the officer who entered. +</P> + +<P> +"Let it wait," growled the chief. "Haggerty has evidently got us all +balled up. I don't believe his fashionable thief has materialized at +all; just a common crook. Well, he's got him, at any rate, and the +gems." +</P> + +<P> +"You have, of course, the general invitation?" said Hamilton. +</P> + +<P> +"Here it is,"—and she passed the engraved card to him. +</P> + +<P> +"I beg a thousand pardons!" said Hamilton humbly. "Everything seems to +have gone wrong." +</P> + +<P> +"Will you guarantee this man?" asked the chief of Hamilton, nodding +toward me. +</P> + +<P> +"I have said so. Mr. Comstalk is very well known to me. He is a +retired army officer, and to my knowledge a man with an income +sufficient to put him far beyond want." +</P> + +<P> +"What is your name?" asked the chief of the girl, scowling. It was +quite evident he couldn't understand her actions any better than I. +</P> + +<P> +"Alice Hawthorne," with an oblique glance at me. +</P> + +<P> +I had been right! +</P> + +<P> +"What is your occupation? I am obliged to ask these questions, Miss." +</P> + +<P> +"I am a miniature painter,"—briefly, +</P> + +<P> +Hamilton came forward. "Alice Hawthorne? Pardon me, but are you the +artist who recently completed the miniatures of the Emperor of Germany, +the Princess of Hesse, and Mrs. Hyphen-Bonds?" +</P> + +<P> +"I am. I believe there is no further reason for detaining me." +</P> + +<P> +"Emperor of Germany?" echoed the now bewildered chief. "Why didn't you +tell all this to Mr. Haggerty?" +</P> + +<P> +"I had my reasons." +</P> + +<P> +Once again the door opened. A burly man in a dark business-suit +entered. His face ruddy and his little grey eyes sparkled with +suppressed ire. He reminded me of Vautrin, the only difference being +that Vautrin was French while this man was distinctly Irish. His +massive shoulders betrayed tremendous strength. He was vastly angry +about something. He went to the chief's desk and rested his hands upon +it. +</P> + +<P> +"You are a nice specimen for a chief of police, you are!" he began. +</P> + +<P> +"And who the devil are <I>you</I>?" bawled the chief, his choler rising. +</P> + +<P> +"I'll tell you who I am presently." +</P> + +<P> +We all eyed him in wonder. What was going to happen now? +</P> + +<P> +"Which of you gentlemen is Mr. Hamilton?" asked the new-comer gruffly. +</P> + +<P> +Hamilton signified that he was the gentleman by that name. +</P> + +<P> +"Some ladies at your ball have been robbed of their diamonds, I +understand?" +</P> + +<P> +"About ten thousand dollars' worth." +</P> + +<P> +"Look here, sir," cried the chief, standing up and balling his fist, "I +want you to explain yourself, and mighty quick. You can't come into my +presence in this manner." +</P> + +<P> +"Bah! You have just permitted the cleverest rascal in the state to +slip through your butterfingers. <I>I</I> am Haggerty." +</P> + +<P> +The chief of police sat down suddenly. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0107"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +VII +</H3> + + +<P> +The consummate daring of it! Why, the rascal ought to have been in +command of an army. On the Board of Strategy he would have been +incomparable! +</P> + +<P> +There followed a tableau that I shall not soon forget. We all stared +at the real Haggerty much after the fashion of Medusa's victims. +Presently the tension relaxed, and we all sighed. I sighed because the +thought of jail for the night in a dress-suit dwindled in perspective; +the girl sighed for the same reason and one or two other things; the +chief of the village police and his officers sighed because darkness +had suddenly swooped down on them; and Hamilton sighed because there +were no gems. Haggerty was the one among us who didn't sigh. He +scowled blackly. +</P> + +<P> +This big athlete looked like a detective, and the abrupt authority of +his tones convinced me that he was. Haggerty was celebrated in the +annals of police affairs; he had handled all sorts of criminals, from +titled impostors down to petty thieves. He was not a man to trifle +with, mentally or physically, and for this reason we were all shaking +in our boots. He owned to a keen but brutal wit; to him there was no +such thing as sex among criminals, and he had the tenacity of purpose +that has given the bulldog considerable note in the pit. But it was +quite plain that for once he had met his match. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't see how you can blame me," mumbled the chief. "None of us was +familiar with your looks, and he showed us his star of authority, and +went to work in a business-like way—By George! and he has run away +with my horse and carriage!"—starting from his chair. +</P> + +<P> +"Never mind the horse. You'll find it safe at the railway station," +snarled Haggerty. "Now, then, tell me everything that has happened, +from beginning to end." +</P> + +<P> +And the chief recounted the adventure briefly. Haggerty looked coldly +at me and shrugged his broad shoulders. As for the girl, he never gave +her so much as a single glance. He knew a gentlewoman without looking +at her twice. +</P> + +<P> +"Humph! Isn't he a clever one, though?" cried Haggerty, in a burst of +admiration. "Clever is no name for it. I'd give a year of my life to +come face to face with him. It would be an interesting encounter. +Hunted him for weeks, and to-day laid eyes on him for the first time. +Had my clumsy paws on him this very afternoon. He seemed so willing to +be locked up that I grew careless. Biff! and he and his accomplice, an +erstwhile valet, had me trussed like a chicken and bundled into the +clothes-press. Took my star, credentials, playing-card, and +invitation. It was near eleven o'clock when I roused the housekeeper. +I telegraphed two hours ago." +</P> + +<P> +"Telegraphed!" exclaimed the chief, rousing himself out of a melancholy +dream. (There would be no mention of him in the morrow's papers.) +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, telegraphed. The despatch lay unopened on your office-desk. +You're a good watch-dog—for a hen-coop!" growled Haggerty. "Ten +thousand in gems to-night, and by this time he is safe in New York. +You are all a pack of blockheads. +</P> + +<P> +"Used the telephone, did he? Told you to hold these innocent persons +till he went somewhere to land the accomplice, eh? The whistle of the +train meant nothing to you. Well, that whistle ought to have told you +that there might be a mistake. A good officer never quits his +prisoners. If there is an accomplice in toils elsewhere, he makes them +bring him in, he does not go <I>out</I> for him. And now I've got to start +all over again, and he in New York, a bigger catacomb than Rome ever +boasted of. He's not a common thief; nobody knows who he is or what +his haunts are. But I have seen his face; I'll never forget him." +</P> + +<P> +The chief tore his hair, while his subordinates shuffled their feet +uneasily. Then they all started in to explain their theories. But the +detective silenced them with a wave of his huge hand. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't want to hear any explanations. Let these persons go," he +commanded, with a jerk of his head in our direction. "You can all +return to town but one officer. I may need a single man," Haggerty +added thoughtfully. +</P> + +<P> +"What are you going to do?" asked the chief. +</P> + +<P> +"Never you mind. I have an idea; it may be a good one. If it is, I'll +telephone you all about it when the time comes." +</P> + +<P> +He stepped over to the telephone and called up central. He spoke so +low that none of us overheard what he said; but he hung up the +receiver, a satisfied smile on his face. +</P> + +<P> +The girl and I were free to go whither we listed, and we listed to +return at once to New York. Hamilton, however, begged us to remain, to +dance and eat, as a compensation for what we had gone through; but Miss +Hawthorne resolutely shook her head; and as there was nothing in the +world that would have induced me to stay without her, I shook my head, +too. It seemed to me I had known this girl all my life, so closely +does misfortune link one life to another. I had seen her for the first +time less than eight hours before; and yet I was confident that as many +years, under ordinary circumstances, would not have taught me her real +worth. +</P> + +<P> +"Mrs. Hyphen-Bonds will never forgive me," said Hamilton dismally, "if +she hears that I've been the cause, indirectly and innocently, of +turning you away." +</P> + +<P> +"Mrs. Hyphen-Bonds need never know," replied the girl, smiling +inscrutably. "In fact, it would be perfectly satisfactory and +agreeable to me if she never heard at all." +</P> + +<P> +"I will call a conveyance for you," said the defeated M. F. H. "I +shall never forgive you, Dicky." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, you will, Teddy. A loving-cup, the next time we meet at the +club, will mellow everything." +</P> + +<P> +Quarter of an hour later Miss Hawthorne and I, wrapped in +buffalo-robes, our feet snugly stowed away in straw, slid away, to the +jangle and quarrel of sleighbells, toward Moriarty's Hollywood Inn. +The moon shone; not a cloud darkened her serene and lovely countenance. +The pearly whiteness of the world would have aroused the poetry in the +most sordid soul; and far, far away to the east the black, tossing line +of the sea was visible. +</P> + +<P> +"What a beautiful night!" I volunteered. +</P> + +<P> +"The beginning of the end." +</P> + +<P> +"The beginning of the end? What does that mean?" +</P> + +<P> +"Why, when you first spoke to me, it was about the weather." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, but this isn't going to be the end; this is the true beginning of +all things." +</P> + +<P> +"I wish I could see it in that light; but we can not see beauty in +anything when hunger lies back of the eyes. I haven't had anything to +eat, save that single apple, for hours and hours. I was so excited at +Mouquin's that I ate almost nothing." +</P> + +<P> +"You are hungry? Well, we'll fix that when we get to Moriarty's. I'll +find a way of waking him up, in case he's asleep, which I doubt. There +will be cold chicken and ham and hot coffee." +</P> + +<P> +"Lovely!" +</P> + +<P> +"And we shall dine with the gods. And now it is all over and done, it +<I>was</I> funny, wasn't it?" +</P> + +<P> +"Terribly funny!"—with a shade of irony. "It would have been funnier +still if the real Haggerty hadn't turned up. The patrol had arrived." +</P> + +<P> +"But it didn't happen. I shall never forget this night,"—romantically. +</P> + +<P> +"I should be inordinately glad to forget it completely,"—decidedly. +</P> + +<P> +"Where's your romance?" I asked. +</P> + +<P> +"I'd rather have it served to me between book-covers. As I grow older +my love of repose increases." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you know," I began boldly, "it seems that I have known you all my +life." +</P> + +<P> +"Indeed!" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. Why, I might really have known you all my life, and still not +have known you as well as I do this very minute,—and less than a dozen +hours between this and our first meeting. You are as brave as a +paladin, wise as a serpent, cool, witty—and beautiful!" +</P> + +<P> +"Shall I ask the driver to let me out?" Then she laughed, a +rollicking, joyous laugh. +</P> + +<P> +"What is so funny?" +</P> + +<P> +"I was thinking of that coal-bin." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I didn't permit a lonely potato to frighten me," I retorted. +</P> + +<P> +"No, you were brave enough—among the potatoes." +</P> + +<P> +"You <I>are</I> beautiful!" +</P> + +<P> +"I am hungry." +</P> + +<P> +"You are the most beautiful girl—" +</P> + +<P> +"I want something to eat." +</P> + +<P> +"—I ever saw! Do you think it possible for a man to fall in love at +first sight?" +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, nothing is impossible on Tom Fool's night. Positive, fool; +comparative, fooler; superlative, foolest. You are marching on with +your degrees, Mr. Comstalk." +</P> + +<P> +"You might call me Dicky," I said in an aggrieved tone. +</P> + +<P> +"Dicky? Never! I should always be thinking of paper collars." +</P> + +<P> +"I wish <I>I</I> were witty like that!" +</P> + +<P> +She snuggled down beneath the robes. +</P> + +<P> +An artist's model, thought I. Never in this world. I now understood +the drift of her uncle's remark about her earning capacity. The Alice +Hawthorne miniatures brought fabulous prices. And here I was, sitting +so close to her that our shoulders touched: and she a girl who knew +intimately emperors and princesses and dukes, not to mention the +worldly-rich. I admit that for a moment I was touched with awe. And +it was beginning to get serious. This girl interested me marvelously. +I summoned up all my courage. +</P> + +<P> +"Are—are you married?" +</P> + +<P> +"No-o." +</P> + +<P> +"Nor engaged to be married?" +</P> + +<P> +"No-o. But you mustn't ask all these questions." +</P> + +<P> +"How would you like to ride around in a first-class motor-car the rest +of your days?" +</P> + +<P> +She laughed merrily. Possibly it <I>was</I> funny. +</P> + +<P> +"Are you always amusing like this?" +</P> + +<P> +"Supposing I were serious?" +</P> + +<P> +"In that case I should say you had not yet slipped off your fool's +motley." +</P> + +<P> +This directness was discouraging. +</P> + +<P> +"I wonder if the ten of hearts is lucky, after all," I mused. +</P> + +<P> +"We are not in jail. I consider that the best of good fortune." +</P> + +<P> +"Give me your card," said I. +</P> + +<P> +She gave me the card, and I put it with mine. +</P> + +<P> +"Why do you do that?" +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps I want to bring about an enchantment,"—soberly. +</P> + +<P> +"As Signor Fantoccini, or as Mr. Comstalk?" +</P> + +<P> +"I have long since resigned my position in the museum; it was too +exciting." +</P> + +<P> +She made no rejoinder; and for some time there was no sound but the +music of the bells. +</P> + +<P> +Finally we drew up under the colonial portè-cochere of Hollywood Inn +and were welcomed by the genial Moriarty himself, his Celtic +countenance a mirror of smiles. +</P> + +<P> +"Anything in the house to eat?" I cried, shaking the robes from me. +</P> + +<P> +"Anything ye like, if you like cowld things. I can hate ye a pot of +coffee on the gasolene-burner, and there's manny a vintage in the +cillars." +</P> + +<P> +"That will be plenty!"—joyfully, helping Miss Hawthorne to alight. +</P> + +<P> +"Sure, and ye are from the Hunt Club!"—noting our costumes. "Well, +well! They niver have anny too much grub. Now, I'll putt ye in a +little room all be yersilves, with a windy and a log-fire; cozy as ye +plaze. Ye'll have nearly two hours to wait for the car-r from the +village." +</P> + +<P> +We entered the general assembly-room. It was roomy and quaint, and +somewhere above us was the inevitable room in which George Washington +had slept. The great hooded fireplace was merry with crackling logs. +Casually I observed that we were not alone. Over yonder, in a shadowed +corner, sat two men, very well bundled up, and, to all appearances, +fast asleep. Moriarty lighted a four-branched candelabrum and showed +us the way to the little private dining-room, took our orders, and left +us. +</P> + +<P> +"This is romance," said I. "They used to do these things hundreds of +years ago, and everybody had a good time." +</P> + +<P> +"It is now all very wicked and improper," murmured the girl, laying +aside her domino for the first time; "but delightful! I now find I +haven't the least bit of remorse for what I have done." +</P> + +<P> +In that dark evening gown she was very beautiful. Her arms and +shoulders were tinted like Carrara marble; and I knew instantly that I +was never going to recover. I drew two chairs close to the grate. I +sat down in one and she in the other. With a contented sigh she rested +her blue-slippered feet on the brass fender. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-110"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG SRC="images/img-110.jpg" ALT="With a contented sigh she rested her blue-slippered feet on the brass fender.]" BORDER="2" WIDTH="388" HEIGHT="553"> +<H4> +[Illustration: With a contented sigh she rested her blue-slippered feet on the brass fender.] +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<P> +"My one regret is that I haven't any shoes. What an adventure!" +</P> + +<P> +"It's fine!" Two hours in the society of this enchanting creature! It +was almost too good to be true. Ah, if it might always be like +this—to return home from the day's work, to be greeted warmly by a +woman as beautiful as this one! I sighed loudly. +</P> + +<P> +Moriarty came with the chicken and ham and coffee. +</P> + +<P> +"If ye would like, it won't be a bit of trouble to show ye George +Washington's room; or"—with inimitable Irish drollery—"I can tell ye +that he dined in this very room." +</P> + +<P> +"That will serve," smiled the girl; and Moriarty bowed himself out. +</P> + +<P> +His departure was followed by the clatter of silver upon porcelain. Of +a truth, both of us were hungry. +</P> + +<P> +"I was simply ravenous," the girl confessed. +</P> + +<P> +"And as for me, I never dreamt I could be so unromantic. Now," said I, +pushing aside my plate, and dropping sugar into my coffee, and vainly +hunting in my pockets for a cigar, "there remains only one mystery to +be cleared up." +</P> + +<P> +"And what might this mystery be?" she asked. "The whereabouts of the +bogus Haggerty?" +</P> + +<P> +"The bogus Haggerty will never cross our paths again. He has skipped +by the light of the moon. No, that's not the mystery. Why did you +tell me you were an impostor; why did you go to the cellars with me, +when all the while you were at the ball on Mrs. Hyphen-Bonds' +invitation?" +</P> + +<P> +She leaned on her elbows and smiled at me humorously. +</P> + +<P> +"Would you really like to know, Signor? Well, I was an impostor." She +sat with her back to the fire, and a weird halo of light seemed to +surround her and frame her. "Mrs. Hyphen-Bonds accidentally dropped +that invitation in my studio, a few days before she sailed for Europe. +I simply could not resist the temptation. That is all the mystery +there is." +</P> + +<P> +"And they still think you were there rightfully!" +</P> + +<P> +"You are no longer mystified?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; there is yet another mystery to solve: myself." I knew it. +Without rhyme or reason, I was in love; and without rhyme or reason, I +was glad of it. +</P> + +<P> +"Shall you ever be able to solve such a mystery?"—quizzically. +</P> + +<P> +"It all depends upon you." +</P> + +<P> +"Mr. Comstalk, you will not mar the exquisite humor of our adventure by +causing me any annoyance. I am sure that some day we shall be very +good friends. But one does not talk of love on eight hours' +acquaintance. Besides, you would be taking advantage of my +helplessness; for I really depend upon you to see me safe back to New +York. It is only the romance, the adventure; and such moonlight nights +often superinduce sentimentality. What do you know of me? Nothing. +What do I know of you? Nothing, save that there is a kindred spirit +which is always likely to lead us into trouble. Down in your heart you +know you are only temporarily affected by moonshine. Come, make me a +toast!"—lifting her cup. +</P> + +<P> +"You are right," said I. "I am a gentleman. But it was only +consistent that, having been the fool, I should now play the ass. +Here's!"—and I held up my cup. +</P> + +<P> +But neither of us drank; there wasn't time. +</P> + +<P> +For the door opened quietly, and in walked the two men we had seen upon +entering the Inn. One of them gently closed the door and locked it. +One was in soiled every-day clothes, the other in immaculate evening +dress. The latter doffed his opera hat with the most engaging smile +imaginable. The girl and I looked up at him in blank bewilderment, and +set our cups down so mechanically that the warm amber liquid spattered +on the table-cloth. +</P> + +<P> +Galloping Dick and the affable inspector of the cellars stood before us! +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0108"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +VIII +</H3> + + +<P> +"The unexpected always happens," began the pseudo-detective, closing +his hat, drawing off his gloves and stuffing them into a pocket. "As a +friend of mine used to say, it is the unexpected that always surprises +us. We never expected to see these charming masqueraders again, did +we, William?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, sir," said William, grinning affably, "we didn't. The gentleman +was very nice and obliging to me, sir, when I was in the cellars." +</P> + +<P> +"So I understand. Now," continued the late Mr. Haggerty, with the +deadly affability of a Macaire, "I beg of you, Mr. Comstalk, I beg of +you not to move or to become unduly excited. Physicians tell us that +excitement wastes the red corpuscles, that is to say, the life of the +blood." +</P> + +<P> +"Your blood, sir, must be very thin," I returned coolly. But I cursed +him soundly in my mind. William's bulging side-pocket convinced me +that any undue excitement on my part would be exceedingly dangerous. +</P> + +<P> +"William, you can always tell a gentleman," said the chief rogue +admiringly. "A gentleman always recognizes his opportunities, and +never loses his sense of the balance of things." +</P> + +<P> +"And he is usually witty, too, sir," William assented. +</P> + +<P> +The girl sat pale and rigid in her chair. +</P> + +<P> +"What do you want?" I demanded savagely. +</P> + +<P> +"For one thing, I should like to question the propriety of a +gentleman's sitting down to dine with a lady without having washed his +face. The coal-dust does not add to your manly beauty. You haven't a +cake of soap about you, William, have you?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, sir." William's face expressed indescribable enjoyment of the +scene. +</P> + +<P> +The girl's mouth stiffened. She was struggling to repress the almost +irresistible smile that tickled her lips. +</P> + +<P> +"In times like these," said I, determined not to be outdone, "we are +often thoughtless in regard to our personal appearances. I apologize +to the lady." +</P> + +<P> +"Fine, fine! I sincerely admire you, Mr. Comstalk. You have the true +spirit of adventure. Hasn't he, William?" +</P> + +<P> +"He certainly has, sir." +</P> + +<P> +"Comes to a private ball without an invitation, and has a merry time of +it indeed. To have the perfect sense of humor—that is what makes the +world go round." +</P> + +<P> +"Aren't you taking extra risk in offering me these pleasantries?" I +asked. +</P> + +<P> +"Risks? In what manner?" +</P> + +<P> +"The man you so cleverly impersonated is at the club." I do not know +what prompted me to put him on his guard. +</P> + +<P> +The rogue laughed lightly. "I know Mr. Haggerty's habits. He is +hustling back to New York as fast as he can. He passed here ten +minutes ago in the patrol, lickety-clip! He wishes to warn all +pawnbrokers and jewelers to be on the lookout for me to-morrow. Ten +thousand in a night!"—jovially. +</P> + +<P> +"A <I>very</I> tidy sum, sir," said William. +</P> + +<P> +"A fourth of which goes to you, my good and faithful friend." +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you, sir," replied William. +</P> + +<P> +Two cooler rogues I never wish to meet! +</P> + +<P> +"But wouldn't it be well, sir, to hasten?" asked William. +</P> + +<P> +"We have plenty of time now, my son." +</P> + +<P> +"You have not entered this room," said the girl, her terror slipping +from her, "simply to offer these banalities. What do you wish?" +</P> + +<P> +"What perspicacity, William!" cried the rogue, taking out a cigarette +case. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know what that word means, sir, but as you do, it seems to fit +the occasion proper enough." +</P> + +<P> +"It means, William, that this charming young lady scents our visit from +afar." +</P> + +<P> +"I had a suspicion, sir, that it might mean that." William leaned +against the wall, his beady eyes twinkling merrily. +</P> + +<P> +The master rogue lighted a cigarette at one of the candles. +</P> + +<P> +"Pardon me," he said, "but will you join me?"—proffering the handsome +gold case. +</P> + +<P> +I took a cigarette and fired it. (I really wanted it.) I would show +up well before this girl if I died for it. I blew a cloud of smoke at +the candle-flame. There <I>was</I> a sparkle of admiration in the girl's +eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"Mr. Comstalk, my respect for you increases each moment." The rogue +sat down. +</P> + +<P> +"And to whom might this handsome case belong?" I asked, examining it +closely. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, that has always been mine. There was a time,"—blowing rings at +the candelabrum,—"when I was respected like yourself, rich, sought +after. A woman and a trusted friend: how these often tumble down our +beautiful edifices! Yes, I am a scamp, a thief, a rogue; but not +because I need the money. No,"—with retrospective eyes—"I need +excitement, tremendous and continuous,—excitement to keep my vigilance +and invention active day and night, excitement to obliterate memory. +</P> + +<P> +"But we can't do it, my friend, we can't do it. Memory is always with +us. She is an impartial Nemesis; she dogs the steps of the righteous +and the unrighteous. To obliterate memory, that is it! And where +might I find this obliteration, save in this life? Drugs? Pah! Oh, I +have given Haggerty a royal chase. It has been meat and drink to me to +fool the cleverest policeman in New York. Till yesterday my face, as a +criminal, was unknown to any man or woman, save William here, who was +my valet in the old days. I have gone to my clubs, dined, played +billiards; a fine comedy, a fine comedy! To-morrow William and I sail +for Europe. Miss Hawthorne, you wear one of the most exquisite rubies +I have ever seen. Permit me to examine it." +</P> + +<P> +The girl tore the ring from her finger and flung it on the table. I +made a move as though to push back my chair. +</P> + +<P> +"I wouldn't do it, sir," warned William quietly. +</P> + +<P> +My muscles relaxed. +</P> + +<P> +"Do not commit any rash action, Mr. Comstalk," said the girl, smiling +bravely into my eyes. "This gentleman would not appreciate it." +</P> + +<P> +The master rogue picked up the ring and rolled it lovingly about his +palms. +</P> + +<P> +"Beautiful, beautiful!" he murmured. "Finest pigeon-blood, too. It is +easily worth a thousand. Shall I give you my note of exchange for +it?"—humorously. The girl scorned to reply. He took out a little +chamois bag and emptied its contents on the table. How they sparkled, +scintillated, glowed; thousands in the whitest of stones! How he ever +had got his fingers on them is something I shall never learn. "Aren't +they just beautiful?" he asked naïvely. "Can you blame me for coveting +them?" He set the ruby on top of the glittering heap. It lay there +like a drop of blood. Presently he caught it up and—presented it to +the girl, who eyed him in astonishment. "I only wanted to look at it," +he said courteously. "I like your grit as much as I admire your +beauty. Keep the ring." +</P> + +<P> +She slipped it mechanically over her finger. +</P> + +<P> +"But you, my dear Mr. Comstalk!" he cried, turning his shining eyes +upon me, while his fingers deftly replaced the gems in the bag. +</P> + +<P> +"I have no jewelry," I replied, tossing aside the cigarette. +</P> + +<P> +"But you have something infinitely better. I am rather observant. In +Friard's curio-shop you carelessly exhibited a wallet that was simply +choking to death with long yellow-boys. You have it still. Will you +do me the honor?"—stretching out his slim white hand. +</P> + +<P> +I looked at William; he nodded. There wasn't the slightest chance for +me to argue. So I drew out my wallet. I extracted the gold-bills and +made a neat little packet of them. It hurt, hurt like the deuce, to +part with them. But—! +</P> + +<P> +"Game, William, isn't he? Most men would have flung the wallet at my +head." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, he is game, sir; never you doubt it, sir," said the amiable +William. +</P> + +<P> +"I have some silver in change," I suggested with some bitterness. +</P> + +<P> +"Far be it that I should touch silver," he said generously, did this +rogue. "Besides, you will need something to pay for this little supper +and the fare back to New York." My bills disappeared into his pocket. +"You will observe that I trust you implicitly. I haven't even counted +the money." +</P> + +<P> +William sniggered. +</P> + +<P> +"And is there anything further?" I inquired. The comedy was beginning +to weary me, it was so one-sided. +</P> + +<P> +"I am in no particular hurry," the rogue answered, his sardonic smile +returning. "It is so long since I have chatted with people of my kind." +</P> + +<P> +I scowled. +</P> + +<P> +"Pardon me, I meant from a social point of view only. I admit we would +not be equals in the eye of the Presbyter." +</P> + +<P> +And then followed a scene that reminds me to this day of some broken, +fantastic dream, a fragment from some bewildering nightmare. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0109"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +IX +</H3> + + +<P> +For suddenly I saw his eyes widen and flash with anger and +apprehension. Quick as a passing sunshadow, his hand swept the +candelabrum from the table. He made a swift backward spring toward the +door, but he was a little too late. The darkness he had created was +not intense enough, for there was still the ruddy glow from the logs; +and the bosom of his dress-shirt made a fine target. Besides, the eyes +that had peered into the window were accustomed to the night. +</P> + +<P> +Blang! The glass of the window shivered and jingled to the floor, and +a sharp report followed. The rogue cried out in fierce anguish, and +reeled against the wall. William whipped out his revolver, but, even +from his favorable angle, he was not quick enough. The hand that had +directed the first bullet was ready to direct the second. +</P> + +<P> +All this took place within the count of ten. The girl and I sat +stiffly in our chairs, as if petrified, it was all so swiftly +accomplished. +</P> + +<P> +"Drop it!" said a cold, authoritative voice, and I saw the vague +outlines of Haggerty's face beyond the broken window-pane. +</P> + +<P> +William knew better than to hesitate. His revolver struck the floor +dully, and a curse rolled from his lips. Immediately a heavy body +precipitated itself against the door, which crashed inward, and an +officer fearlessly entered, a revolver in each hand. This tableau, +which lasted fully a minute, was finally disturbed by the entrance of +Haggerty himself. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't be alarmed, Miss," he said heartily; "it's all over, I'm sorry +for the bullet, but it had to be done. The rascal has nothing more +serious than a splintered bone, I am a dead shot. A fine +night!"—triumphantly. "It's been a long chase, and I never was sure +of the finish. You're the cleverest rogue it has been my good fortune +to meet this many a day. I don't even know who you are yet. Well, +well! we'll round that up in time." +</P> + +<P> +Not till the candles again sputtered with light, and William was +securely handcuffed and disarmed, did I recollect that I possessed the +sense of motion. The smoke of powder drifted across the flickering +candles, and there was a salty taste on my tongue. +</P> + +<P> +"Horrible!" cried the girl, covering her eyes. +</P> + +<P> +The master rogue and his valet were led out into the assembly-room, and +we reluctantly followed. I saw it all now. When Haggerty called up +central at the club, he ascertained where the last call had been from, +and, learning that it came from Hollywood Inn, he took his chance. The +room was soon filled with servants and stable-hands, the pistol-shot +having lured them from their beds. The wounded man was very pale. He +sat with his uninjured hand tightly clasped above the ragged wound, and +a little pool of blood slowly formed at his side on the floor. But his +eyes shone brightly. +</P> + +<P> +"A basin of water and some linen!" cried the girl to Moriarty. "And +send all these people away." +</P> + +<P> +"To yer rooms, ivery one of ye!" snapped Moriarty, sweeping his hands. +"'Tis no place for ye, be off!" He hurried the servants out of the +room, and presently returned with a basin of water, some linen and balm. +</P> + +<P> +We watched the girl as she bathed and bandaged the wounded arm; and +once or twice the patient smiled. Haggerty looked on approvingly, and +in William's eyes there beamed the gentle light of reverence. It <I>was</I> +a picture to see this lovely creature playing the part of the good +Samaritan, moving here and there in her exquisite gown. Ah, the tender +mercy! I knew that, come what might, I had strangely found the right +woman, the one woman. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-124"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG SRC="images/img-124.jpg" ALT="We watched the girl as she bathed and bandaged the wounded arm.]" BORDER="2" WIDTH="429" HEIGHT="567"> +<H4> +[Illustration: We watched the girl as she bathed and bandaged the wounded arm.] +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<P> +"You're a good little woman," said the rogue, his face softening; "and +a good woman is the finest thing God ever placed upon earth. Had I +only found one!" He turned whimsically toward me. "Are you engaged to +marry this little woman?" +</P> + +<P> +"No." +</P> + +<P> +"Surely you love her!" +</P> + +<P> +"Surely I do!" I looked bravely at the girl as I spoke. +</P> + +<P> +But she never gave any sign that she heard. She pinned the ends of the +bandages carefully. +</P> + +<P> +"And what brought you to this?" asked Haggerty, looking down at his +prisoner. +</P> + +<P> +The prisoner shrugged. +</P> + +<P> +"You've the making of a fine man in you," went on Haggerty generously. +"What caused you to slip up?" +</P> + +<P> +"That subject is taboo," replied the thief. "But I want to beg your +pardon for underestimating your cunning." +</P> + +<P> +"It was all due to a chance shot at the telephone." +</P> + +<P> +"I kept you guessing." +</P> + +<P> +"Merrily, too. My admiration is wholly yours, sir," returned Haggerty, +picking up the telephone exchange-book. He rang and placed his lips to +the transmitter, calling a number. "Hello! Is this the chief of the +Blankshire police? Yes? Well, this is Haggerty. That idea I hinted +to you was a mighty good one. Prepare two strong cells and have a +doctor on hand. What? Oh, you will find your horse and carriage at +Moriarty's. Good-by!" +</P> + +<P> +My money was handed over to me. I returned it to my wallet, but +without any particular enthusiasm. +</P> + +<P> +"It's a bad business, William," said I. +</P> + +<P> +"It's all in the game, sir,"—with a look at Haggerty that expressed +infinite hatred. "In our business we can't afford to be careless." +</P> + +<P> +"Or to talk too much," supplemented his master, smiling. "Talk, my +friend, rounds me up with a bullet in the arm, and a long sojourn +behind stone walls. Never talk. Thank you, Miss Hawthorne, and you, +too, Mr. Comstalk, for the saving grace of humor. If it were possible, +I should like to give Miss Hawthorne the pick of the jewels. This is a +sordid world." +</P> + +<P> +"Ye'er car-r is coming!" shouted Moriarty, running to the window. +</P> + +<P> +So the girl and I passed out of Hollywood Inn, leaving Haggerty with +his mysterious prisoners. I can't reason it out, even to this day, but +I was genuinely sorry that Haggerty had arrived upon the scene. For +one thing, he had spoiled the glamour of the adventure by tingeing it +with blood. And on the way to the car I wondered what had been the +rogue's past, what had turned him into this hardy, perilous path. He +had spoken of a woman; perhaps that was it. They are always behind +good actions and bad. Heigh-ho! +</P> + +<P> +Once we were seated in the lonely car, the girl broke down and cried as +if her heart would break. It was only the general reaction, but the +sight of her tears unnerved me. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't cry, girl; don't!" I whispered, taking her hand in mine. She +made no effort to repulse me. "I am sorry. The rascal was a gallant +beggar, and I for one shouldn't have been sorry to see him get away. +There, there! You're the bravest, tenderest girl in all this world; +and when I told him I loved you, God knows I meant it! It is one of +those inexplicable things. You say I have known you only eight hours? +I have known you always, only I had not met you. What are eight hours? +What is convention, formality? We two have lived a lifetime in these +eight hours. Can't you see that we have?" +</P> + +<P> +"To shoot a human being!" she sobbed. Her head fell against my +shoulder. I do not believe she was conscious of the fact. And I did +not care a hang for the conductor. +</P> + +<P> +I patted her hand encouragingly. "It had to be done. He was in a +desperate predicament, and he would have shot Haggerty had the +detective been careless in has turn; and he wouldn't have aimed to +maim, either." +</P> + +<P> +"What a horrible night! It will haunt me as long as I live!" +</P> + +<P> +I said nothing; and we did not speak again till the first of the +Blankshire lights flashed by us. By this time her sobs had ceased. +</P> + +<P> +"I know I haven't done anything especially gallant to-night; no +fighting, no rescuing, and all that. They just moved <I>me</I> around like +a piece of stage scenery." +</P> + +<P> +A smile flashed and was gone. It was a hopeful sign. +</P> + +<P> +"But the results are the same. You have admitted to me that you are +neither engaged nor married. Won't you take me on—on approval?" +</P> + +<P> +"Mr. Comstalk, it all seems so like a horrid dream. You <I>are</I> a brave +man, and what is better, a sensible one, for you submitted to the +inevitable with the best possible grace. But you talk of love as +readily as a hero in a popular novel." +</P> + +<P> +"I never go back," said I. "It seems incredible, doesn't it, that I +should declare myself in this fashion? Listen. For my part, I believe +that all this was written,—my Tom-foolery in Mouquin's, my imposture +and yours, the two identical cards,—the adventure from beginning to +end." +</P> + +<P> +Silence. +</P> + +<P> +"Suppose I should say," the girl began, looking out of the window, +"that in the restaurant you aroused my curiosity, that in the cellars +my admiration was stirred, that the frank manner in which you expressed +your regard for me to—to the burglar—awakened—" +</P> + +<P> +"What?" I cried eagerly. +</P> + +<P> +"Nothing. It was merely a supposition." +</P> + +<P> +"Hang it; I <I>do</I> love you!" +</P> + +<P> +"Are you still the Capuchin, or simply Mr. Comstalk?" +</P> + +<P> +"I have laid aside all masks, even that which hides the heart." +</P> + +<P> +She turned and looked me steadily in the eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"Well?" said I. +</P> + +<P> +"If I took you on—on approval, what in the world should I do with you +in case you should not suit my needs?" +</P> + +<P> +"You could return me," said I laughing. +</P> + +<P> +But she didn't. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR><BR> + +<hr class="full" noshade> +<br> +<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HEARTS AND MASKS***</p> +<p>******* This file should be named 17390-h.txt or 17390-h.zip *******</p> +<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> +<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/7/3/9/17390">http://www.gutenberg.org/1/7/3/9/17390</a></p> +<p>Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed.</p> + +<p>Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: Hearts and Masks + +Author: Harold MacGrath + + + +Release Date: December 25, 2005 [eBook #17390] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HEARTS AND MASKS*** + + + +E-text prepared by Al Haines + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 17390-h.htm or 17390-h.zip: + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/7/3/9/17390/17390-h/17390-h.htm) + or + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/7/3/9/17390/17390-h.zip) + + + + + +HEARTS AND MASKS + +by + +HAROLD MACGRATH + +Author of The Puppet Crown, The Grey Cloak, The Man on the Box + +With Illustrations by Harrison Fisher + + + + + + + +[Frontispiece: Five people dressed for costume ball, four sitting, one +standing.] + + + + + +New York +Grosset & Dunlap +Publishers +Copyright 1905 +The Bobbs-Merrill Company + + + + + +TO MY WIFE + + + + +List of Illustrations + + +Five people dressed for costume ball, four sitting, one standing . . . + (Frontispiece) + +The handsomest girl I had set eyes upon in a month of moons. + +"This is what I want. How much?" I inquired. + +Turning, I beheld an exquisite Columbine. + +I led her over to a secluded nook. We sat down. + +And there we sat, calmly munching the apples. + +"Madame, will you do me the honor to raise your mask?" + +We watched the girl as she bathed and bandaged the wounded arm. + +With a contented sigh she rested her blue-slippered feet on the brass +fender. + + + + +HEARTS AND MASKS + + +I + +It all depends upon the manner of your entrance to the Castle of +Adventure. One does not have to scale its beetling parapets or assault +its scarps and frowning bastions; neither is one obliged to force with +clamor and blaring trumpets and glittering gorgets the drawbridge and +portcullis. Rather the pathway lies through one of those many little +doors, obscure, yet easily accessible, latchless and boltless, to which +the average person gives no particular attention, and yet which +invariably lead to the very heart of this Castle Delectable. The +whimsical chatelaine of this enchanted keep is a shy goddess. +Circumspection has no part in her affairs, nor caution, nor +practicality; nor does her eye linger upon the dullard and the +blunderer. Imagination solves the secret riddle, and wit is the guide +that leads the seeker through the winding, bewildering labyrinths. + +And there is something in being idle, too! + +If I had not gone idly into Mouquin's cellar for dinner that night, I +should have missed the most engaging adventure that ever fell to my +lot. It is second nature for me to be guided by impulse rather than by +reason; reason is always so square-toed and impulse is always so +alluring. You will find that nearly all the great captains were and +are creatures of impulse; nothing brilliant is ever achieved by +calculation. All this is not to say that I am a great captain; it is +offered only to inform you that I am often impulsive. + +A _Times_, four days old; and if I hadn't fallen upon it to pass the +twenty-odd minutes between my order and the service of it, I shouldn't +have made the acquaintance of the police in that pretty little suburb +over in New Jersey; nor should I have met the enchanting Blue Domino; +nor would fate have written Kismet. The clairvoyant never has any fun +in this cycle; he has no surprises. + +I had been away from New York for several weeks, and had returned only +that afternoon. Thus, the spirit of unrest acquired by travel was +still upon me. It was nearing holiday week, and those congenial +friends I might have called upon, to while away the evening, were +either busily occupied with shopping or were out of town; and I +determined not to go to the club and be bored by some indifferent +billiard player. I would dine quietly, listen to some light music, and +then go to the theater. I was searching the theatrical amusements, +when the society column indifferently attacked my eye. I do not know +why it is, but I have a wholesome contempt for the so-called society +columns of the daily newspaper in New York. Mayhap, it is because I do +not belong. + +I read this paragraph with a shrug, and that one with a smirk. I was +in no manner surprised at the announcement that Miss High-Culture was +going to wed the Duke of Impecune; I had always been certain this girl +would do some such fool thing. That Mrs. Hyphen-Bonds was giving a +farewell dinner at the Waldorf, prior to her departure to Europe, +interested my curiosity not in the least degree. It would be all the +same to me if she never came back. None of the wishy-washy +tittle-tattle interested me, in fact. There was only one little +six-line paragraph that really caught me. On Friday night (that is to +say, the night of my adventures in Blankshire), the Hunt Club was to +give a charity masquerade dance. This grasped my adventurous spirit by +the throat and refused to let go. + +The atmosphere surrounding the paragraph was spirituous with +enchantment. There was a genuine novelty about this dance. Two packs +of playing-cards had been sent out as tickets; one pack to the ladies +and one to the gentlemen. Charming idea, wasn't it? These cards were +to be shown at the door, together with ten dollars, but were to be +retained by the recipients till two o'clock (supper-time), at which +moment everybody was to unmask and take his partner, who held the +corresponding card, in to supper. Its newness strongly appealed to me. +I found myself reading the paragraph over and over. + +By Jove, what an inspiration! + +I knew the Blankshire Hunt Club, with its colonial architecture, its +great ball-room, its quaint fireplaces, its stables and sheds, and the +fame of its chef. It was one of those great country clubs that keep +open house the year round. It stood back from the sea about four miles +and was within five miles of the village. There was a fine course +inland, a cross-country going of not less than twenty miles, a +shooting-box, and excellent golf-links. In the winter it was cozy; in +the summer it was ideal. + +I was intimately acquainted with the club's M. F. H., Teddy Hamilton. +We had done the Paris-Berlin run in my racing-car the summer before. +If I hadn't known him so well, I might still have been in durance vile, +next door to jail, or securely inside. I had frequently dined with him +at the club during the summer, and he had offered to put me up; but as +I knew no one intimately but himself, I explained the futility of such +action. Besides, my horse wasn't a hunter; and I was riding him less +and less. It is no pleasure to go "parking" along the bridle-paths of +Central Park. For myself, I want a hill country and something like +forty miles, straight away; that's riding. + +The fact that I knew no one but Teddy added zest to the inspiration +which had seized me. For I determined to attend that dance, happen +what might. It would be vastly more entertaining than a possibly dull +theatrical performance. (It was!) + +I called for a messenger and despatched him to the nearest drug store +for a pack of playing-cards; and while I waited for his return I +casually glanced at the other diners. At my table--one of those long +marble-topped affairs by the wall--there was an old man reading a +paper, and the handsomest girl I had set eyes upon in a month of moons. +Sometimes the word handsome seems an inferior adjective. She was +beautiful, and her half-lidded eyes told me that she was anywhere but +at Mouquin's. What a head of hair! Fine as a spider's web, and the +dazzling yellow of a wheat-field in a sun-shower! The irregularity of +her features made them all the more interesting. I was an artist in an +amateur way, and I mentally painted in that head against a Rubens +background. The return of the messenger brought me back to earth; for +I confess that my imagination had already leaped far into the future, +and this girl across the way was nebulously connected with it. + +I took the pack of cards, ripped off the covering, tossed aside the +joker (though, really, I ought to have retained it!) and began +shuffling the shiny pasteboards. I dare say that those around me sat +up and took notice. It was by no means a common sight to see a man +gravely shuffling a pack of cards in a public restaurant. Nobody +interfered, doubtless because nobody knew exactly what to do in the +face of such an act, for which no adequate laws had been provided. A +waiter stood solemnly at the end of the table, scratching his chin +thoughtfully, wondering whether he should report this peculiarity of +constitution and susceptibility occasioning certain peculiarities of +effect from impress of extraneous influences (_vide_ Webster), +synonymous with idiocrasy and known as idiosyncrasy. It was quite +possible that I was the first man to establish such a precedent in +Monsieur Mouquin's restaurant. Thus, I aroused only passive curiosity. + +From the corner of my eye I observed the old gentleman opposite. He +was peering over the top of his paper, and I could see by the glitter +in his eye that he was a confirmed player of solitaire. The girl, +however, still appeared to be in a dreaming state. I have no doubt +every one who saw me thought that anarchy was abroad again, or that +Sherlock Holmes had entered into his third incarnation. + +Finally I squared the pack, took a long-breath, and cut. I turned up +the card. It was the ten-spot of hearts. I considered this most +propitious; hearts being my long suit in everything but love,--love +having not yet crossed my path. I put the card in my wallet, and was +about to toss the rest of the pack under the table, when, a woman's +voice stayed my hand. + +"Don't throw them away. Tell my fortune first." + +I looked up, not a little surprised. It was the beautiful young girl +who had spoken. She was leaning on her elbows, her chin propped in her +palms, and the light in her grey _chatoyant_ eyes was wholly innocent +and mischievous. In Monsieur Mouquin's cellar people are rather +Bohemian, not to say friendly; for it is the rendezvous of artists, +literary men and journalists,--a clan that holds formality in contempt. + +"Tell your fortune?" I repeated parrot-like. + +"Yes." + +"Your mirror can tell you that more accurately than I can," I replied +with a frank glance of admiration. + +She drew her shoulders together and dropped them. "I spoke to you, +sir, because I believed you wouldn't say anything so commonplace as +that. When one sees a man soberly shuffling a pack of cards in a place +like this, one naturally expects originality." + +"Well, perhaps you caught me off my guard,"--humbly. + +"I am original. Did you ever before witness this performance in a +public restaurant?"--making the cards purr. + +"I can not say I have,"--amused. + +"Well, no more have I!" + +"Why, then, do you do it?"--with renewed interest. + +"Shall I tell your fortune?" + +"Not now. I had much rather you would tell me the meaning of this +play." + +I leaned toward her and whispered mysteriously: "The truth is, I belong +to a secret society, and I was cutting the cards to see whether or not +I should blow up the post-office to-night or the police-station. You +mustn't tell anybody." + +"Oh!" She started back from the table. "You do not look it," she +added suddenly. + +"I know it; appearances are so deceptive," said I sadly. + +Then the old man laughed, and the girl laughed, and I laughed; and I +wasn't quite sure that the grave waiter did not crack the ghost of a +smile--in relief. + +[Illustration: The handsomest girl I had set eyes upon in a month of +moons.] + +"And what, may I ask, was the fatal card?" inquired the old man, +folding his paper. + +"The ace of spades; we always choose that gloomy card in secret +societies. There is something deadly and suggestive about it," I +answered morbidly. + +"Indeed." + +"Yes. Ah, if only you knew the terrible life we lead, we who conspire! +Every day brings forth some galling disappointment. We push a king off +into the dark, and another rises immediately in his place. Futility, +futility everywhere! If only there were some way of dynamiting habit +and custom! I am a Russian; all my family are perishing in Siberian +mines,"--dismally. + +"Fudge!" said the girl. + +"Tommy-rot!" said the amiable old gentleman. + +"Uncle, his hair is too short for an anarchist." + +"And his collar too immaculate." (So the old gentleman was this +charming creature's uncle!) + +"We are obliged to disguise ourselves at times," I explained. "The +police are always meddling. It is discouraging." + +"You have some purpose, humorous or serious," said the girl shrewdly. +"A man does not bring a pack of cards--" + +"I didn't bring them; I sent out for them." + +"--bring a pack of cards here simply to attract attention," she +continued tranquilly. + +"Perhaps I am a prestidigitator in a popular dime-museum," I suggested, +willing to help her out, "and am doing a little advertising." + +"Now, that has a plausible sound," she admitted, folding her hands +under her chin. "It must be an interesting life. _Presto--change_! +and all that." + +"Oh, I find it rather monotonous in the winter; but in the summer it is +fine. Then I wander about the summer resorts and give exhibitions." + +"You will pardon my niece," interpolated the old gentleman, coughing a +bit nervously. "If she annoys you--" + +"Uncle!"--reproachfully. + +"Heaven forfend!" I exclaimed eagerly. "There is a charm in doing +unconventional things; and most people do not realize it, and are +stupid." + +"Thank you, sir," said the girl, smiling. She was evidently enjoying +herself; so was I, for that matter. "Do a trick for me," she commanded +presently. + +I smiled weakly. I couldn't have done a trick with the cards,--not if +my life had depended upon it. But I rather neatly extricated myself +from the trap. + +"I never do any tricks out of business hours." + +"Uncle, give the gentleman ten cents; I want to see him do a +sleight-of-hand trick." + +Her uncle, readily entering into the spirit of the affair, dived into a +pocket and produced the piece of silver. It looked as if I were caught. + +"There! this may make it worth your while," the girl said, shoving the +coin in my direction. + +But again I managed to slide under; I was not to be caught. + +"It is my regret to say,"--frowning slightly, "that regularity in my +business is everything. It wants half an hour for my turn to come on. +If I tried a trick out of turn, I might foozle and lose prestige. And +besides, I depend so much upon the professor and his introductory +notes: 'Ladies and gents, permit me to introduce the world-renowned +Signor Fantoccini, whose marvelous tricks have long puzzled all the +crowned heads of Europe--'" + +"Fantoccini,"--musingly. "That's Italian for puppet show." + +"I know it, but the dime-museum visitors do not. It makes a fine +impression." + +She laughed and slid the dime back to her uncle. + +"I'm afraid you are an impostor," she said. + +"I'm afraid so, too," I confessed, laughing. + +Then the comedy came to an end by the appearance of our separate +orders. I threw aside the cards and proceeded to attack my dinner, for +I was hungry. From time to time I caught vague fragments of +conversation between the girl and her uncle. + +"It's a fool idea," mumbled the old gentleman; "you will get into some +trouble or other." + +"That doesn't matter. It will be like a vacation,--a flash of old +Rome, where I wish I were at this very moment. I am determined." + +"This is what comes of reading romantic novels,"--with a kind of +grumble. + +"I admit there never was a particle of romance on your side of the +family," the girl retorted. + +"Happily. There is peace in the house where I live." + +"Do not argue with me." + +"I am not arguing with you. I should only be wasting my time. I am +simply warning you that you are about to commit a folly." + +"I have made up my mind." + +"Ah! In that case I have hopes," he returned. "When a woman makes up +her mind to do one thing, she generally does another. Why can't you +put aside this fool idea and go to the opera with me?" + +"I have seen _Carmen_ in Paris, Rome, London and New York," she replied. + +(Evidently a traveled young person.) + +"_Carmen_ is your favorite opera, besides." + +"Not to-night,"--whimsically. + +"Go, then; but please recollect that if anything serious comes of your +folly, I did my best to prevent it. It's a scatter-brained idea, and +no good will come of it, mark me." + +"I can take care of myself,"--truculently. + +"So I have often been forced to observe,"--dryly. + +(I wondered what it was all about.) + +"But, uncle dear, I am becoming so dreadfully bored!" + +"That sounds final," sighed the old man, helping himself to the +_haricots verts_. (The girl ate positively nothing.) "But it seems +odd that you can't go about your affairs after my own reasonable +manner." + +"I am only twenty." + +The old man's shoulders rose and fell resignedly. + +"No man has an answer for that." + +"I promise to tell you everything that happens; by telegraph." + +"That's small comfort. Imagine receiving a telegram early in the +morning, when a man's brain is without invention or coherency of +thought! I would that you were back home with your father. I might +sleep o' nights, then." + +"I have so little amusement!" + +"You work three hours a day and earn more in a week than your father +and I do in a month. Yours is a very unhappy lot." + +"I hate the smell of paints; I hate the studio." + +"And I suppose you hate your fame?" acridly. + +"Bah! that is my card to a living. The people I meet bore me." + +"Not satisfied with common folks, eh? Must have kings and queens to +talk to?" + +"I only want to live abroad, and you and father will not let +me,"--petulantly. + +The music started up, and I heard no more. Occasionally the girl +glanced at me and smiled in a friendly fashion. She was evidently an +artist's model; and when they have hair and color like this girl's, the +pay is good. I found myself wondering why she was bored and why Carmen +had so suddenly lost its charms. + +It was seven o'clock when I pushed aside my plate and paid my check. I +calculated that by hustling I could reach Blankshire either at ten or +ten-thirty. That would be early enough for my needs. And now to route +out a costumer. All I needed was a grey mask. I had in my apartments +a Capuchin's robe and cowl. I rose, lighting a cigarette. + +The girl looked up from her coffee. + +"Back to the dime-museum?"--banteringly. + +"I have a few minutes to spare," said I. + +"By the way, I forgot to ask you what card you drew." + +"It was the ten of hearts." + +"The ten of hearts?" Her amazement was not understandable. + +"Yes, the ten of hearts; Cupid and all that." + +She recovered her composure quickly. + +"Then you will not blow up the post-office to-night?" + +"No," I replied, "not to-night." + +"You have really and truly aroused my curiosity. Tell me, what does +the ten of hearts mean to you?" + +I gazed thoughtfully down at her. Had I truly mystified her? There +was some doubt in my mind. + +"Frankly, I wish I might tell you. All I am at liberty to say is that +I am about to set forth upon a desperate adventure, and I shall be very +fortunate if I do not spend the night in the lock-up." + +"You do not look desperate." + +"Oh, I am not desperate; it is only the adventure that is desperate." + +"Some princess in durance vile? Some villain to smite? Citadels to +storm?" Her smile was enchantment itself. + +I hesitated a moment. "What would you say if I told you that this +adventure was merely to prove to myself what a consummate ass the +average man can be upon occasions?" + +"Why go to the trouble of proving it?"--drolly. + +"I am conceited enough to have some doubts as to the degree." + +"Consider it positive." + +I laughed. "I am in hopes that I am neither a positive ass nor a +superlative one, only comparative." + +"But the adventure; that is the thing that mainly interests me." + +"Oh, that is a secret which I should hesitate to tell even to the +Sphinx." + +"I see you are determined not to illuminate the darkness,"--and she +turned carelessly toward her uncle, who was serenely contemplating the +glowing end of a fat perfecto. + +I bowed and passed out in Sixth Avenue, rather regretting that I had +not the pleasure of the charming young person's acquaintance. + +The ten-spot of hearts seemed to have startled her for some reason. I +wondered why. + +The snow blew about me, whirled, and swirled, and stung. Oddly enough +I recalled the paragraph relative to Mrs. Hyphen-Bonds. By this time +she was being very well tossed about in mid-ocean. As the old order of +yarn-spinners used to say, little did I dream what was in store for me, +or the influence the magic name of Hyphen-Bonds was to have upon my +destiny. + +Bismillah! (Whatever that means!) + + + + +II + +After half an hour's wandering about I stumbled across a curio-shop, a +weird, dim and dusty, musty old curio-shop, with stuffed peacocks +hanging from the ceiling, and skulls, and bronzes and marbles, +paintings, tarnished jewelry and ancient armor, rare books in vellum, +small arms, tapestry, pastimes, plaster masks, and musical instruments. +I recalled to mind the shop of the dealer in antiquities in Balzac's +_La Peau de Chagrin_, and glanced about (not without a shiver) for the +fatal ass's skin. (I forgot that I was wearing it myself that night!) +I was something of a collector of antiquities, of the inanimate kind, +and for a time I became lost in speculation,--speculation rather +agreeable of its kind, I liked to conjure up in fancy the various +scenes through which these curiosities had drifted in their descent to +this demi-pawnshop; the brave men and beautiful women, the clangor of +tocsins, the haze of battles, the glitter of ball-rooms, epochs and +ages. What romance lay behind yon satin slipper? What _grande dame_ +had smiled behind that ivory fan? What meant that tarnished silver +mask? + +The old French proprietor was evidently all things from a pawnbroker to +an art collector; for most of the jewelry was in excellent order and +the pictures possessed value far beyond the intrinsic. He was waiting +upon a customer, and the dingy light that shone down on his bald bumpy +head made it look for all the world like an ill-used billiard-ball. He +was exhibiting revolvers. + +From the shining metal of the small arms, my glance traveled to the +face of the prospective buyer. It was an interesting face, clean-cut, +beardless, energetic, but the mouth impressed me as being rather hard. +Doubtless he felt the magnetism of my scrutiny, for he suddenly looked +around. The expression on his face was not one to induce me to throw +my arms around his neck and declare I should be glad to make his +acquaintance. It was a scowl. He was in evening dress, and I could +see that he knew very well how to wear it. All this was but momentary. +He took up a revolver and balanced it on his palm. + +By and by the proprietor came sidling along behind the cases, the +slip-slip fashion of his approach informing me that he wore slippers. + +"Do you keep costumes?" I asked. + +"Anything you like, sir, from a crusader to a modern gentleman,"--with +grim and appropriate irony. "What is it you are in search of--a +masquerade costume?'" + +"Only a grey mask," I answered. "I am going to a masked ball to-night +as a Grey Capuchin, and I want a mask that will match my robe." + +"Your wants are simple." + +From a shelf he brought down a box, took off the cover, and left me to +make my selection. Soon I found what I desired and laid it aside, +waiting for Monsieur Friard to return. Again I observed the other +customer. There is always a mystery to be solved and a story to be +told, when a man makes the purchase of a pistol in a pawnshop. A man +who buys a pistol for the sake of protection does so in the light of +day, and in the proper place, a gun-shop. He does not haunt the +pawnbroker in the dusk of evening. Well, it was none of my business; +doubtless he knew what he was doing. I coughed suggestively, and +Friard came slipping in my direction again. + +"This is what I want. How much?" I inquired. + +[Illustration: "This is what I want. How much?" I inquired.] + +"Fifty cents; it has never been worn." + +I drew out my wallet. I had arrived in town too late to go to the +bank, and I was carrying an uncomfortably large sum in gold-bills. As +I opened the wallet to extract a small bill, I saw the stranger eying +me quietly. Well, well, the dullest being brightens at the sight of +money and its representatives. I drew out a small bill and handed it +to the proprietor. He took it, together with the mask, and sidled over +to the cash-register. The bell gave forth a muffled sound, not unlike +that of a fire-bell in a snow-storm. As he was in the act of wrapping +up my purchase, I observed the silent customer's approach. When he +reached my side he stooped and picked up something from the floor. +With a bow he presented it to me. + +"I saw it drop from your pocket," he said; and then when he saw what it +was, his jaw fell, and he sent me a hot, penetrating glance. + +"The ten of hearts!" he exclaimed in amazement. + +I laughed easily. + +"The ten of hearts!" he repeated. + +"Yes; four hearts on one side and four on the other, and two in the +middle, which make ten in all,"--raillery in my tones. What the deuce +_was_ the matter with everybody to-night? "Marvelous card, isn't it?" + +"Very strange!" he murmured, pulling at his lips. + +"And in what way is it strange?" I asked, rather curious to learn the +cause of his agitation. + +"There are several reasons,"--briefly. + +"Ah!" + +"I have seen a man's hand pinned to that card; therefore it is +gruesome." + +"Some card-sharper?" + +He nodded. "Then again, I lost a small fortune because of that +card,"--diffidently. + +"Poker?" + +"Yes. Why will a man try to fill a royal flush? The man next to me +drew the ten of hearts, the very card I needed. The sight of it always +unnerves me. I beg your pardon." + +"Oh, that's all right," said I, wondering how many more lies he had up +his sleeve. + +"And there's still another reason. I saw a man put six bullets into +the two central spots, and an hour later the seventh bullet snuffed the +candle of a friend of mine. I am from the West." + +"I can sympathize with you," I returned. "After all that trouble, the +sight of the card must have given you a shock." + +Then I stowed away the fatal card and took up my bundle and change. I +have in my own time tried to fill royal flushes, and the disappointment +still lingers with a bitter taste. + +"The element of chance is the most fascinating thing there is," the +stranger from the West volunteered. + +"So it is," I replied, suddenly recalling that I was soon to put my +trust in the hands of that very fickle goddess. + +He nodded and returned to his revolvers, while I went out of the shop, +hailed a cab, and drove up-town to my apartments in Riverside. It was +eight o'clock by my watch. I leaned back against the cushions, +ruminating. There seemed to be something going on that night; the ten +of hearts was acquiring a mystifying, not to say sinister, aspect. +First it had alarmed the girl in Mouquin's, and now this stranger in +the curio-shop. I was confident that the latter had lied in regard to +his explanations. The card _had_ startled him, but his reasons were +altogether of transparent thinness. A man never likes to confess that +he is unlucky at cards; there is a certain pride in lying about the +enormous stakes you have won and the wonderful draws you have made. I +frowned. It was not possible for me to figure out what his interest in +the card was. If he was a Westerner, his buying a pistol in a pawnshop +was at once disrobed of its mystery; but the inconsistent elegance of +his evening clothes doubled my suspicions. Bah! What was the use of +troubling myself with this stranger's affairs? He would never cross my +path again. + +In reasonable time the cab drew up in front of my apartments. I +dressed, donned my Capuchin's robe and took a look at myself in the +pier-glass. Then I unwrapped the package and put on the mask. The +whole made a capital outfit, and I was vastly pleased with myself. +This was going to be such an adventure as one reads about in the +ancient numbers of _Blackwood's_. I slipped the robe and mask into my +suit-case and lighted my pipe. During great moments like this, a man +gathers courage and confidence from a pipeful of tobacco. I dropped +into a comfortable Morris, touched the gas-logs, and fell into a +pleasant dream. It was not necessary for me to start for the +Twenty-third Street ferry till nine; so I had something like +three-quarters of an hour to idle away. . . . What beautiful hair that +girl had! It was like sunshine, the silk of corn, the yield of the +harvest. And the marvelous abundance of it! It was true that she was +an artist's model; it was equally true that she had committed a mild +impropriety in addressing me as she had; but, for all I could see, she +was a girl of delicate breeding, doubtless one of the many whose family +fortunes, or misfortunes, force them to earn a living. And it is no +disgrace these days to pose as an artist's model. The classic oils, +nowadays, call only for exquisite creations in gowns and hats; +mythology was exhausted by the old masters. Rome, Paris, London; +possibly a bohemian existence in these cities accounted for her ease in +striking up a conversation, harmless enough, with a total stranger. In +Paris and Rome it was all very well; but it is a risky thing to do in +unromantic New York and London. However, her uncle had been with her; +a veritable fortress, had I over-stepped the bounds of politeness. + +The smoke wavered and rolled about me. I took out the ten of hearts +and studied it musingly. After all, should I go? Would it be wise? I +confess I saw goblins' heads peering from the spots, and old Poe +stories returned to me! Pshaw! It was only a frolic, no serious harm +could possibly come of it. I would certainly go, now I had gone thus +far. What fool idea the girl was bent on I hadn't the least idea; but +I easily recognized the folly upon which I was about to set sail. +Heigh-ho! What was a lonely young bachelor to do? At the most, they +could only ask me to vacate the premises, should I be so unfortunate as +to be discovered. In that event, Teddy Hamilton would come to my +assistance. . . . She was really beautiful! And then I awoke to the +alarming fact that the girl in Mouquin's was interesting me more than I +liked to confess. + +Presently, through the haze of smoke, I saw a patch of white paper on +the rug in front of the pier-glass. I rose and picked it up. + + + NAME: _Hawthorne_ + COSTUME: _Blue Domino_ + TIME: _5:30 P. M._ + RETURNED: + ADDRESS: _West 87th Street_ + + FRIARD'S + + +I stared at the bit of pasteboard, fascinated. How the deuce had this +got into my apartments? A Blue Domino? Ha! I had it! Old Friard had +accidentally done up the ticket with my mask. A Blue Domino; evidently +I wasn't the only person who was going to a masquerade. Without doubt +this fair demoiselle was about to join the festivities of some +shop-girls' masquerade, where money and pedigree are inconsequent +things, and where everybody is either a "loidy" or a "gent." Persons +who went to my kind of masquerade did not rent their costumes; they +laid out extravagant sums to the fashionable modiste and tailor, and +had them made to order. A Blue Domino: humph! + +It was too late to take the ticket back to Friard's; so I determined to +mail it to him in the morning. + +It was now high time for me to be off. I got into my coat and took +down my opera hat. Outside the storm was still active; but the snow +had a promising softness, and there were patches of stars to be seen +here and there in the sky. By midnight there would be a full moon. I +got to Jersey City without mishap; and when I took my seat in the +smoker, I found I had ten minutes to spare. I bought a newspaper and +settled down to read the day's news. It was fully half an hour between +Jersey City and Blankshire; in that time I could begin and finish the +paper. + +There never was a newspaper those days that hadn't a war-map in some +one of its columns; and when I had digested the latest phases of the +war in the far East, I quite naturally turned to the sporting-page to +learn what was going on among the other professional fighters. (Have I +mentioned to you the fact that I was all through the Spanish War, the +mix-up in China, and that I had resigned my commission to accept the +post of traveling salesman for a famous motor-car company? If I have +not, pardon me. You will now readily accept my recklessness of spirit +as a matter of course.) I turned over another page; from this I +learned that the fair sex was going back to puff-sleeves again. Many +an old sleeve was going to be turned upside down. + +Fudge! The train was rattling through the yards. Another page +crackled. Ha! Here was that unknown gentleman-thief again, up to his +old tricks. It is remarkable how difficult it is to catch a thief who +has good looks and shrewd brains. I had already written him down as a +quasi-swell. For months the police had been finding clues, but they +had never laid eyes on the rascal. The famous Haggerty of the New York +detective force,--a man whom not a dozen New York policemen knew by +sight and no criminals save those behind bars, earthly and +eternal,--was now giving his whole attention to the affair. Some +gaily-dressed lady at a ball would suddenly find she had lost some +valuable gems; and that would be the end of the affair, for none ever +recovered her gems. + +The gentleman-thief was still at large, and had gathered to his account +a comfortable fortune; that is, if he were not already rich and simply +a kleptomaniac. No doubt he owned one of my racing-cars, and was clear +of the delinquent lists at his clubs. I dismissed all thought of him, +threw aside the paper, and mentally figured out my commissions on sales +during the past month. It was a handsome figure, large enough for two. +This pastime, too, soon failed to interest me. I gazed out of the +window and watched the dark shapes as they sped past. + +I saw the girl's face from time to time. What a fool I had been not to +ask her name! She could easily have refused, and yet as easily have +granted the request. At any rate, I had permitted the chance to slip +out of my reach, which was exceedingly careless on my part. Perhaps +they--she and her uncle--frequently dined at Mouquin's; I determined to +haunt the place and learn. It would be easy enough to address her the +next time we met. Besides, she would be curious to know all about the +ten of hearts and the desperate adventure upon which I told her I was +about to embark. Many a fine friendship has grown out of smaller +things. + +Next, turning from the window, I fell to examining my fellow +passengers, in the hope of seeing some one I knew. Conversation on +trains makes short journeys. . . . I sat up stiffly in my seat. +Diagonally across the aisle sat the very chap I had met in the +curio-shop! He was quietly reading a popular magazine, and +occasionally a smile lightened his sardonic mouth. Funny that I should +run across him twice in the same evening! Men who are contemplating +suicide never smile in that fashion. He was smoking a small, +well-colored meerschaum pipe with evident relish. Somehow, when a man +clenches his teeth upon the mouth-piece of a respectable pipe, it seems +impossible to associate that man with crime. But the fact that I had +seen him selecting a pistol in a pawnshop rather neutralized the good +opinion I was willing to form. I have already expressed my views upon +the subject. The sight of him rather worried me, though I could not +reason why. Whither was he bound? Had he finally taken one of +Friard's pistols? For a moment I was on the point of speaking to him, +if only to hear him tell more lies about the ten of hearts, but I +wisely put aside the temptation. Besides, it might be possible that he +would not be glad to see me. I always avoid the chance acquaintance, +unless, of course, the said chance acquaintance is met under favorable +circumstances--like the girl in Mouquin's, for instance! After all, it +was only an incident; and, but for his picking up that card, I never +should have remembered him. + +Behind him sat a fellow with a countenance as red and round and +complacent as an English butler's,--red hair and small twinkling eyes. +Once he leaned over and spoke to my chance acquaintance, who, without +turning his head, thrust a match over his shoulder. The man with the +face of a butler lighted the most villainous pipe I ever beheld. I +wondered if they knew each other. But, closely as I watched, I saw no +sign from either. I turned my collar up and snuggled down. There was +no need of his seeing _me_. + +Then my thoughts reverted to the ten of hearts again. My ten of +hearts! The wrinkle of a chill ran up and down my spine! My ten of +hearts! + +Hastily I took out the card and examined the _back_ of it. It was an +uncommonly handsome back, representing Diana, the moon, and the +midnight sky. A horrible supposition came to me: supposing they looked +at the back as well as at the face of the card? And again, supposing I +was miles away from the requisite color and design? I was staggered. +Here was a pretty fix! I had never even dreamed of such a contingency. +Hang it! I now wished I had stuck to my original plan, and gone to the +theater. Decidedly I was in for it; there was no backing down at this +late hour, unless I took the return train for Jersey City; and I +possessed too much stubbornness to surrender to any such weakness. +Either I should pass the door-committee, or I shouldn't; of one thing I +was certain-- + +"Blankshire!" bawled the trainman; then the train slowed down and +finally came to a stop. + +No turning back for me now. I picked up my suit-case and got out. On +the platform I saw the curio-shop fellow again. Tramping on ahead, the +smell from his villainous pipe assailing my nostrils, was the man who +had asked for a match. The former stood undecided for a moment, and +during this space of time he caught sight of me. He became erect, gave +me a sudden sardonic laugh, and swiftly disappeared into the dark. All +this was uncommonly disquieting; in vain I stared into the blackness +that had swallowed him. What could he be doing here at Blankshire? I +didn't like his laugh at all; there was at once a menace and a +challenge in it. + +"Any baggage, sir?" asked one of the station hands. + +"No." But I asked him to direct me to a hotel. He did so. + +I made my way down the street. The wind had veered around and was +coming in from the sea, pure and cold. The storm-clouds were broken +and scudding like dark ships, and at times there were flashes of +radiant moonshine. + +The fashionable hotel was full. So I plodded through the drifts to the +unfashionable hotel. Here I found accommodation. I dressed, sometimes +laughing, sometimes whistling, sometimes standing motionless in doubt. +Bah! It was only a lark. . . . I thought of the girl in Mouquin's; +how much better it would have been to spend the evening with her, +exchanging badinage, and looking into each other's eyes! Pshaw! I +covered my face with the grey mask and descended to the street. + +The trolley ran within two miles of the Hunt Club. The car was crowded +with masqueraders, and for the first time since I started out I felt +comfortable. Everybody laughed and talked, though nobody knew who his +neighbor was. I sat in a corner, silent and motionless as a sphinx. +Once a pair of blue slippers attracted my eye, and again the flash of a +lovely arm. At the end of the trolley line was a carryall which was to +convey us to the club. We got into the conveyance, noisily and +good-humoredly. The exclamations of the women were amusing. + +"Good gracious!" + +"Isn't it fun!" + +"Lovely!" And all that. It must have been a novelty for some of these +to act naturally for once. Nothing lasts so long as the natural +instinct for play; and we always find ourselves coming back to it. + +Standing some hundred yards back from the road was the famous Hollywood +Inn, run by the genial Moriarty. Sometimes the members of the Hunt +Club put up there for the night when there was to be a run the +following morning. It was open all the year round. + +We made the club at exactly ten-thirty. Fortune went with me; +doubtless it was the crowd going in that saved me from close scrutiny. +My spirits rose as I espied Teddy Hamilton at the door. He was on the +committee, and was in plain evening clothes. It was good to see a +familiar face. I shouldered toward him and passed out my ten dollars. + +"Hello, Teddy, my son!" I cried out jovially. + +"Hello!"--grinning. Teddy thought it was some one he knew; well, so it +was. "What's your card?" he cried, as I pressed by him. + +"The ten of hearts." + +"The ten of hearts," repeated Teddy to a man who was keeping tally on a +big cardboard. + +This sight did not reassure me. If they were keeping tally of all the +cards presented at the door, they would soon find out that there were +too many tens of hearts, too many by one! Well, at any rate, I had for +the time being escaped detection; now for the fun. It would be +sport-royal while it lasted. What a tale to give out at the club of a +Sunday night! I chuckled on the way to the ball-room: I had dispensed +with going up to the dressing-room. My robe was a genuine one, heavy +and warm; so I had no overcoat to check. + +"Grave monk, your blessing!" + +Turning, I beheld an exquisite Columbine. + +[Illustration: Turning, I beheld an exquisite Columbine.] + +"_Pax vobiscum_!" I replied solemnly. + +"_Pax_ . . . What does that mean?" + +"It means, do not believe all you see in the newspapers." + +Columbine laughed gaily. "I did not know that you were a Latin +scholar; and besides, you gave me to understand you were coming as a +Jesuit, Billy." + +Billy? Here was one who thought she knew me. I hastened to +disillusion her. + +"My dear Columbine, you do not know me, not the least bit. My name is +not Billy, it is Dicky." + +"Oh, you can not fool me," she returned. "I heard you call out to +Teddy Hamilton that your card was the ten of hearts; and you wrote me, +saying that would be your card." + +Complications already, and I hadn't yet put a foot inside the ball-room! + +"I am sorry," I said, "but you have made a mistake. Your Jesuit +probably told you his card would be the nine, not the ten." + +"I will wager--" + +"Hush! This is a charity dance; no one makes wagers at such affairs." + +"But--Why, my goodness! there's my Jesuit now!" And to my intense +relief she dashed away. + +I carefully observed the Jesuit, and made up my mind to keep an eye +upon him. If he really possessed the ten of hearts, the man who kept +tally on the cardboard was doing some tall thinking about this time. I +glided away, into the gorgeous ball-room. + +What a vision greeted my eye! The decorations were in red and yellow, +and it seemed as though perpetual autumnal sunset lay over everything. +At the far end of the room was a small stage hidden behind palms and +giant ferns. The band was just striking up _A Summer Night in Munich_, +and a wonderful kaleidoscope revolved around me. I saw Cavaliers and +Roundheads, Puritans and Beelzebubs, Musketeers, fools, cowboys, +Indians, kings and princes; queens and empresses, fairies and Quaker +maids, white and black and red and green dominoes. Tom Fool's night, +indeed! + +Presently I saw the noble Doge of Venice coming my way. From his +portly carriage I reasoned that if he wasn't in the gold-book of Venice +he stood very well up in the gold-book of New York, He stopped at my +side and struck an attitude. + +"_Pax vobiscum_!" said I, bowing. + +"Be at the Inquisition Chamber, directly the clock strikes the midnight +hour," he said mysteriously. + +"I shall be there to deliver the supreme interrogation," I replied. + +"It is well." He drifted away like a stately ship. + +Delightful foolery! I saw the Jesuit, and moved toward him. + +"Disciple of Loyola, hast thou the ten of hearts?" + +"My hearts number nine, for I have lost one to the gay Columbine." + +"I breathe! Thou art not he whom I seek." + +We separated. I was mortally glad that Columbine had made a mistake. + +The women always seek the monk at a masquerade; they want absolution +for the follies they are about to commit. A demure Quakeress touched +my sleeve in passing. + +"Tell me, grave monk, why did you seek the monastery?" + +"My wife fell in love with me,"--gloomily. + +"Then you have a skeleton in the clothes-press?" + +"Do I look like a man who owned such a thing as a clothes-press, much +less so fashionable a thing as a family skeleton?" + +"Then what do you here?" + +"I am mingling with fools as a penance." + +A fool caught me by the sleeve and batted me gaily over the head with a +bladder. + +"Merry come up, why am I a fool?" + +"It is the fashion," was my answer. This was like to gain me the +reputation of being a wit. I must walk carefully, or these thoughtless +ones would begin to suspect there was an impostor among them. + +"Aha!" There was mine ancient friend Julius. "Hail Caesar!" + +He stopped. + +"Shall I beware the Ides of March?" I asked jovially. + +"Nay, my good Cassius; rather beware of the ten of hearts," said Caesar +in hollow tones, and he was gone. + +The ten of hearts again! Hang the card! And then with a sigh of +relief I recollected that in all probability he, like Columbine, had +heard me call out the card to Hamilton. Still, the popularity of the +card was very disquieting. I wished it had been seven or five; there's +luck in odd numbers. . . . A Blue Domino! My heart leaped, and I +thought of the little ticket in my waistcoat pocket. A Blue Domino! +If, by chance, there should be a connection between her and the ticket! + +She was sitting all alone in a corner near-by, partly screened by a pot +of orange-trees. I crossed over and sat down by her side. This might +prove an adventure worth while. + +"What a beautiful night it is!" I said. + +She turned, and I caught sight of a wisp of golden hair. + +"That is very original," said she. "Who in the world would have +thought of passing comments on the weather at a masque! Prior to this +moment the men have been calling me all sorts of sentimental names." + +"Oh, I am coming to that. I am even going to make love to you." + +She folded her hands,--rather resignedly, I thought,--and the +rollicking comedy began. + + + + +III + +When they give you a mask at a ball they also give you the key to all +manner of folly and impudence. Even stupid persons become witty, and +the witty become correspondingly daring. For all I knew, the Blue +Domino at my side might be Jones' wife, or Brown's, or Smith's, or even +Green's; but so long as I was not certain, it mattered not in what +direction my whimsical fancy took me. (It is true that ordinarily +Jones and Brown and Smith and Green do not receive invitations to +attend masquerades at fashionable hunt clubs; but somehow they seem to +worry along without these equivocal honors, and prosper. Still, there +are persons in the swim named Johnes and Smythe and Browne and Greene. +Pardon this parenthesis!) + +As I recollected the manner in which I had self-invited the pleasure of +my company to this carnival at the Blankshire Hunt Club, I smiled +behind my mask. Nerves! I ought to have been a professor of clinics +instead of an automobile agent. But the whole affair appealed to me so +strongly I could not resist it. I was drawn into the tangle by the +very fascination of the scheme. I was an interloper, but nobody knew +it. The ten of hearts in my pocket did not match the backs of those +cards regularly issued. But what of that? Every one was ignorant of +the fact. I was safe inside; and all that was romantic in my system +was aroused. There are always some guests who can not avail themselves +of their invitations; and upon this vague chance I had staked my play. +Besides, I was determined to disappear before the hour of unmasking. I +wasn't going to take any unnecessary risks. I was, then, fairly secure +under my Capuchin's robe. + +Out of my mind slipped the previous adventures of the evening. I +forgot, temporarily, the beautiful unknown at Mouquin's. I forgot the +sardonic-lipped stranger I had met in Friard's. I forgot everything +save the little ticket that had accidentally slipped into my package, +and which announced that some one had rented a blue domino. + +And here was a Blue Domino at my side. Just simply dying to have me +talk to her! + +"I am madly in love with you," I began. "I have followed you often; I +have seen you in your box at the opera; I have seen you whirl up Fifth +Avenue in your fine barouche; and here at last I meet you!" I clasped +my hands passionately. + +"My beautiful barouche! My box at the opera!" the girl mimicked. +"What a cheerful Ananias you are!" + +"Thou art the most enchanting creature in all the universe. Thou art +even as a turquoise, a patch of radiant summer sky, eyes of sapphire, +lips--" + +"Archaic, very archaic," she interrupted. + +"Disillusioned in ten seconds!" I cried dismally. "How could you?" + +She laughed. + +"Have you no romance? Can you not see the fitness of things? If you +have not a box at the opera, you ought at least to make believe you +have. History walks about us, and you call the old style archaic! +That hurts!" + +"Methinks, Sir Monk--" + +"There! That's more like it. By my halidom, that's the style!" + +"Odds bodkins, you don't tell me!" There was a second ripple of +laughter from behind the mask. It was rare music. + +"I _could_ fall in love with you!" + +"There once was a Frenchman who said that as nothing is impossible, let +us believe in the absurd. I might be old enough to be your +grandmother,"--lightly. + +"Perish the thought!" + +"Perish it, indeed!" + +"The mask is the thing!" I cried enthusiastically. "You can make love +to another man's wife--" + +"Or to your own, and nobody is the wiser,"--cynically. + +"We are getting on." + +"Yes, we are getting on, both in years and in folly. What are you +doing in a monk's robe? Where is your motley, gay fool?" + +"I have laid it aside for the night. On such occasions as this, fools +dress as wise men, and wise men as fools; everybody goes about in +disguise." + +"How would you go about to pick out the fools?"--curiously. + +"Beginning with myself--" + +"Thy name is also Candor!" + +"Look at yonder Cavalier. He wabbles like a ship in distress, in the +wild effort to keep his feet untangled from his rapier. I'll wager +he's a wealthy plumber on week-days. Observe Anne of Austria! What +arms! I'll lay odds that her great-grandmother took in washing. +There's Romeo, now, with a pair of legs like an old apple tree. The +freedom of criticism is mine to-night! Did you ever see such +ridiculous ideas of costume? For my part, the robe and the domino for +me. All lines are destroyed; nothing is recognizable. My, my! +There's Harlequin, too, walking on parentheses." + +The Blue Domino laughed again. + +"You talk as if you had no friends here,"--shrewdly. + +"But which is my friend and which is the man to whom I owe money?" + +"What! Is your tailor here then?" + +"Heaven forbid! Strange, isn't it, when a fellow starts in to pay up +his bills, that the tailor and the undertaker have to wait till the +last." + +"The subject is outside my understanding." + +"But you have dressmakers." + +"I seldom pay dressmakers." + +"Ah! Then you belong to the most exclusive set!" + +"Or perhaps I make my own dresses--" + +"Sh! Not so loud. Supposing some one should overhear you?" + +"It was a slip of the tongue. And yet, you should be lenient to all." + +"Kind heart! Ah, I wonder what all those interrogation points +mean--the black domino there?" + +"Possibly she represents Scandal." + +"Scandal, then, is symbolized by the interrogation point?" + +"Yes. Whoever heard of scandal coming to a full stop, that is to say, +a period." + +"I learn something every minute. A hundred years ago you would have +been a cousin to Mademoiselle de Necker." + +"Or Madame de Stael." + +"Oh, if you are married--" + +"I shall have ceased to interest you?" + +"On the contrary. Only, marriage would account for the bitterness of +your tone. What does the Blue Domino represent?" + +"The needle of the compass." She stretched a sleeve out toward me and +I observed for the first time the miniature compasses woven in the +cloth. Surely, one does not rent a costume like this. + +"I understand now why you attracted me. Whither will you guide +me?'"--sentimentally. + +"Through dark channels and stormy seas, over tropic waters, 'into the +haven under the hill.'" + +"Oh, if you go to quoting Tennyson, it's all up with me. _Are_ you +married?" + +"One can easily see that at any rate _you_ are not." + +"Explain." + +"Your voice lacks the proper and requisite anxiety. It is always the +married woman who enjoys the mask with thoroughness. She knows her +husband will be watching her; and jealousy is a good sign." + +"You are a philosopher. Certainly you must be married." + +"Well, one does become philosophical--after marriage." + +"But are you married?" + +"I do not say so." + +"Would you like to be?" + +"I have my share of feminine curiosity. But I wonder,"--ruminating, +"why they do not give masquerades oftener." + +"That is easily explained. Most of us live masquerades day by day, and +there might be too much of a good thing." + +"That is a bit of philosophy that goes well with your robe. Indeed, +what better mask is there than the human countenance?" + +"If we become serious, we shall put folly out of joint," said I, +rising. "And besides, we shall miss the best part of this dance." + +She did not hesitate an instant. I led her to the floor, and we joined +the dancers. She was as light as a feather, a leaf, the down of the +thistle; mysterious as the Cumaean Sibyl; and I wondered who she might +be. The hand that lay on my sleeve was as white as milk, and the +filbert-shaped horn of the finger-tips was the tint of rose leaves. +_Was_ she connected with the ticket in my pocket? I tried to look into +her eyes, but in vain; nothing could I see but that wisp of golden hair +which occasionally brushed my chin as with a surreptitious caress. If +only I dared remain till the unmasking! I pressed her hand. There was +an answering pressure, but its tenderness was destroyed by the low +laughter that accompanied it. + +"Don't be silly!" she whispered. + +"How can I help it?" + +"True; I forgot you were a fool in disguise." + +"What has Romance done to you that you should turn on her with the +stuffed-club, Practicality?" + +"She has never paid any particular attention to me; perhaps that is the +reason." + +As we neared a corner I saw the Honorable Julius again. He stretched +forth his death's-head mask. + +"Beware the ten of hearts!" he croaked. + +Hang his impudence! . . . The Blue Domino turned her head with a jerk; +and instantly I felt a shiver run through her body. For a moment she +lost step. I was filled with wonder. In what manner could the ten of +hearts disturb _her_? I made up my mind to seek out the noble Roman +and learn just how much he knew about that disquieting card. + +The music ceased. + +"Now, run away with your benedictions," said the Blue Domino +breathlessly. + +"Shall I see you again?"--eagerly. + +"If you seek diligently." She paused for a moment, like a bird about +to take flight. "Positive, fool; comparative, fooler; superlative, +foolest!" + +And I was left standing alone: What the deuce did she mean by that? + +After all, there might be any number of blue dominoes in the land; and +it seemed scarcely credible that a guest at the Hunt Club would go to a +costumer's for an outfit. (I had gone to a costumer's, but my case was +altogether different. I was an impostor.) I hunted up _Imperator +Rex_. It was not long ere we came face to face, or, to speak +correctly, mask to mask. + +"What do you know about the ten of hearts?" I began with directness. + +"I am a shade; all things are known to me." + +"You may be a lamp-shade, for all I care. What do you know about the +ten of hearts?" + +"Beware of it,"--hollowly. From under his toga he produced a ten of +hearts! + +My knees wabbled, and there was a sense of looseness about my collar. +The fellow _knew_ I was an impostor. Why didn't he denounce me? + +"Is the back of your card anything like this one?"--ironically. "I +dare say it isn't. But have your good time, grave monk; doubtless you +are willing that the fiddlers shall be paid." And wrapping his toga +about him majestically, he stalked away, leaving me staring +dumfoundedly after his receding form. + +Discovered! + +The deuce! Had I been attired like yon Romeo, I certainly should have +taken to my heels; but a fellow can not run in a Capuchin's gown, and +retain any dignity. I would much rather be arrested than laughed at. +I stood irresolute. What was to be done? How much did he know? Did +he know who I was? And what was his object in letting me run my +course? I was all at sea. . . . Hang the grisly old Roman! I shut my +teeth; I would see the comedy to its end, no matter what befell. If +worst came to worst, there was always Teddy Hamilton to fall back on. + +I made off toward the smoking-room, rumbling imprecations against the +gods for having given me the idea of attending this masquerade, when it +would have been cheaper and far more comfortable to go to the theater. + +But as soon as I entered the smoking-room, I laughed. It was a droll +scene. Here we were, all of us, trying savagely to smoke a cigar or +cigarette through the flabby aperture designated in a mask as the +mouth. It was a hopeless job; for myself, I gave it up in disgust. + +Nobody dared talk naturally for fear of being identified. When a man +did open his mouth it was only to commit some banal idiocy, for which, +during office hours, he would have been haled to the nearest insane +asylum and labeled incurable. Added to this was a heat matching +Sahara's and the oppressive odor of weltering paint. + +By Jove! Only one man knew that the back of my card was unlike the +others: the man who had picked it up in old Friard's curio-shop, the +man who had come to Blankshire with me! I knew now. He had been there +buying a costume like myself. He had seen me on the train, and had +guessed the secret. I elbowed my way out of the smoking-room. It +wouldn't do me a bit of harm to ask a few polite questions of Mr. +Caesar of the sardonic laugh. + +But I had lost the golden opportunity. Caesar had gone to join the +shades of other noble Romans; in vain I searched high and low for him. +Once I ran into Hamilton. His face was pale and disturbed and anxious. + +"What's the trouble, Hamilton?" I asked, with forced gaiety. + +He favored me with a penetrating glance. + +"The very devil is the trouble," he growled. "Several of the ladies +have begun to miss valuable jewels. Anne of Austria has lost her +necklace and Queen Elizabeth is without a priceless comb; altogether, +about ten thousand dollars." + +"Robbery?" I looked at him aghast. + +"That's the word. Curse the luck! There is always something of this +sort happening to spoil the fun. But whoever has the jewels will not +get away with them." + +"What are you going to do?" + +"I have already sent for the village police. Now I shall lock +all the doors and make every man and woman produce cards for +identification,"--abruptly leaving me. + +Thunderbolts out of heaven! My knees and collar bothered me again; the +first attack was trifling compared to this second seizure. How the +devil was I to get out? + +"Are you searching for me?" inquired a soft voice at my elbow. + +I turned instantly. The Blue Domino had come back to me. + +"I have been searching for you everywhere," I said gallantly. + +"Oh! but that is a black one. Never mind; the fib was well meant." + +I led her over to a secluded nook, within a few feet of the door which +gave entrance to the club cellars. This door I had been bearing in +mind for some time. It is well to know your topography. The door was +at the left of the band platform. There was a twin-door on the other +side. We sat down. + +[Illustration: I led her over to a secluded nook. We sat down.] + +"Have you heard the news?" I asked. + +"No. Has some one been discovered making love to his own wife by +mistake?" + +"It's serious. Anne of Austria and Queen Elizabeth have been robbed of +some jewels." + +"A thief among us?" + +"A regular Galloping Dick. I'm a thief myself, for that matter." + +"You?" she drew away from me a bit. + +"Yes. My name is Procrastination." + +"Ah, my grave Capuchin, we do not steal time; we merely waste it. But +is what you tell me true?" + +"I am very sorry to say it is. The jewels were worth something like +ten thousand dollars." + +"Merciful heavens!" + +"It is true, infernally true,"--looking around to see if by chance +Caesar had reappeared on the scene. (How was I to manage my escape? +It is true I might hie me to the cellars; but how to get out of the +cellars!) "Have you seen Julius Caesar?" I asked. + +"Caesar?" + +"Yes, Miss Hawthorne--" + +The Blue Domino swung about and leaned toward me, her hands tense upon +the sides of her chair. + +"What name did you say?"--a strained note in her voice. + +"Hawthorne," I answered, taking out the slip of pasteboard. "See! it +says that one blue domino was rented of Monsieur Friard at five-thirty +this afternoon." + +"How did you come by that ticket?" she demanded. + +"It was a miracle. I purchased a mask there, and this ticket was +wrapped up in my bundle by mistake." + +"It is a curious coincidence,"--her voice normal and unagitated. + +I was confused. "Then I am mistaken?"--my chagrin evident. (All this +while, mind you, I was wondering if that cellar-door was unlocked, and +how long it would take me to reach it before the denouement!) + +"One way or the other, it does not matter," said she. + +"Yet, if I could reach the cellars,"--absently. Then I bit my tongue. + +"Cellars? Who said anything about cellars? I meant that this is not +the hour for unmasking or disclosing one's identity,"--coldly. + +"And yet, when Caesar whispered 'Beware the ten of hearts' you turned +and shuddered. What have you to offer in defense?" + +"It was the horrid mask he wore." + +"Well, it wasn't handsome of him." + +"What did you mean by cellars?"--suddenly becoming the inquisitor in +her turn. + +"I? Oh, I was thinking what I should do in case of fire,"--nimbly. + +"That is not the truth." + +"Well, no, it isn't. Can you keep a secret?" I whispered. + +"If it isn't a terrible one." + +"Well, I have no earthly business here. I am an impostor." + +"An impostor!" + +"Yes. And for the past few minutes, since I heard of the robbery, I've +been thinking how I could get out of here upon the slightest notice." +While the reckless spirit was upon me, I produced the fatal card and +showed the back to her. "You will find that yours is of a different +color. But _I_ am not the Galloping Dick; it was only a hare-brained +lark on my part, and I had no idea it would turn out serious like this. +I was going to disappear before they unmasked. What would you advise +me to do?" + +She took the card, studied it, and finally returned it. There followed +an interval of silence. + +"I have known the imposition from the first," she said. + +"What!" + +She touched the signet-ring on my little finger. "I have seen that +once before to-night. No," she mused, "you will not blow up the +post-office to-night, nor the police-station." + +She lifted the corner of her mask, and I beheld the girl I had met in +Mouquin's! + +"You?" + +"Silence! So this is the meaning of your shuffling those cards? Oh, +it is certainly droll!" She laughed. + +"And are you Miss Hawthorne?" + +"I am still in the mask, sir; I shall answer none of your questions." + +"This is the finest romance in the world!" I cried. + +"You were talking about getting out," she said. "Shall I lend you my +domino? But that would be useless. Such a prestidigitator as Signor +Fantoccini has only to say--Presto! and disappear at once." + +"I assure you, it is no laughing matter." + +"I see it from a different angle." + +An artist's model, and yet a guest at this exclusive function? + +A commotion around the stage distracted us. Presently we saw Teddy +Hamilton mount the stage and hold up his hands. + +"Attention, ladies and gentlemen!" he called. + +Silence gradually fell upon the motley groups of masqueraders. + +"A thief is among us. I have had all the exits closed. Everybody will +be so kind as to present cards at the main entrance. Three ten-spots +of hearts have been tallied on the comparing lists. We have been +imposed upon. The police are on the way. Very sorry to cause you this +annoyance. The identity of the holders of the cards will be known only +to those of us on the committee." + +Silence and then a murmur which soon became a fuzzing like that of many +bees. + +The Blue Domino suddenly clutched my arm. + +"Please take me away, take me away at once! I'm an impostor, too!" + +Two of us! + +This was disaster. I give you my solemn word, there was nothing I +regretted so much as the fact that I hadn't gone to the theater. + +But I am a man of quick thought and resource. In the inelegant +phrasing of the day, me for the cellars! + +"Come," said I to the girl; "There's only one chance in a hundred, but +we'll take it together." + +"Together? Where?" + +"Why, to the cellars. I've a pocketful of matches. We can make a try. +For, if there's a thief around, and we are caught and proved +impostors--Well, I leave you to imagine!" + +"I will go with you," she replied resolutely. + +The gods were with us. The door leading to the cellars was not locked. +I opened it, passed the girl before me, and closed the door. + +"I am frightened!" she whispered. + +"So am I," I offered, to reassure her. "You are not afraid of rats, +are you?" + +"No-o!" + +"Bully!" I cried. Then I laughed. + +"How _can_ you laugh? It is horrible!" she protested. + +"You would come, though I heard your uncle warn you. Look at it the +way I do. It's a huge joke, and years from now you'll have great fun +telling it to your grandchildren." + +"I wish, at this moment, I could see so far ahead--What was +that?"--seizing my arm. + +Click! + +Somebody had locked the door behind us! + + + + +IV + +In other words, we had departed the scene of festivities none too soon. +I could readily understand why the door had been locked: it was not to +keep us in the cellars; rather it was to prevent any one from leaving +the ball-room by that route. Evidently our absence had not been +noticed, nor had any seen our precipitate flight. I sighed gratefully. + +For several minutes we stood silent and motionless on the landing. At +length I boldly struck a match. The first thing that greeted my +blinded gaze was the welcome vision of a little shelf lined with +steward's candles. One of these I lighted, and two others I stuffed +into the pocket of my Capuchin's gown. Then we tiptoed softly down the +stairs, the girl tugging fearfully at my sleeve. + +There was an earthy smell. It was damp and cold. Miles and miles away +(so it seemed) the pale moonshine filtered through a cobwebbed window, +It was ghostly; but so far as I was concerned, I was honestly enjoying +myself, strange as this statement may seem. Here was I, setting forth +upon an adventure with the handsomest, wittiest girl I had ever laid +eyes upon. If I extricated her neatly, she would always be in my debt; +and the thought of this was mighty pleasant to contemplate. + +"Do you know the way out?" + +I confessed that, so far as I knew, we were in one of the fabled +labyrinths of mythology. + +"Go ahead," she said bravely. + +"I ask only to die in your Highness' service,"--soberly. + +"But I do not want you to die; I want you to get me out of this cellar; +and quickly, too." + +"I'll live or die in the attempt!" + +"I see nothing funny in our predicament,"--icily. + +"A few moments ago you said that our angles of vision were not the +same; I begin to believe it. As for me, I think it's simply immense to +find myself in the same boat with you." + +"I wish you _had_ been an anarchist, or a performer in a dime-museum." + +"You might now be alone here. But, pardon me; surely you do not lack +the full allotment of the adventurous spirit! It was all amusing +enough to come here under false pretenses." + +"But I had not reckoned on any one's losing jewels." + +"No more had I." + +"Proceed. I have the courage to trust to your guidance." + +"I would that it might be always!"--with a burst of sentiment that was +not wholly feigned. + +"Let us be on,"--imperatively. "I shall not only catch my death of +cold, but I shall be horribly compromised." + +"My dear young lady, on the word of a gentleman, I will do the best I +can to get you out of this cellar. If I have jested a little, it was +only in the effort to give you courage; for I haven't the slightest +idea how we are going to get out of this dismal hole." + +We went on. We couldn't see half a dozen feet in front of us. The +gloom beyond the dozen feet was Stygian and menacing. And the great +grim shadows that crept behind us as we proceeded! Once the girl +stumbled and fell against me. + +"What's the matter?" I asked, startled. + +"I stepped on something that--that moved!"--plaintively. + +"Possibly it was a potato; there's a bin of them over there. Where the +deuce are we?" + +"If you swear, I shall certainly scream!" she warned. + +"But I can swear in the most elegant and approved fashion." + +"I am not inclined to have you demonstrate your talents." + +"Aha! Here is the coal-bin. Perhaps the window may be open. If so, +we are saved. Will you hold the candle for a moment?" + +Have you ever witnessed a cat footing it across the snow? If you have, +picture me imitating her. Cautiously I took one step, then another; +and then that mountain of coal turned into a roaring tread-mill. +Sssssh! Rrrrr! In a moment I was buried to the knees and nearly +suffocated. I became angry. I would reach that window-- + +"Hush! Hush! The noise, the noise!" whispered the girl, waving the +candle frantically. + +But I was determined. Again I tried. This time I slipped and fell on +my hands. As I strove to get up, the cord of my gown became tangled +about my feet. The girl choked; whether with coal-dust or with +laughter I could not say, as she still had on her cambric-mask. + +"Forgive me," she said. And then I knew it was not the coal-dust. + +"I'll forgive you, but I will not promise to forget." + +"Merciful heavens! you must not try that again. Think of the noise!" + +"Was I making any noise?"--rubbing the perspiration from my forehead. +(I had taken off my mask.) + +"Noise? The trump of Judgment Day will be feeble compared to it. +Surely some one has heard you. Why not lay that board on top of the +coal?" + +A good idea. I made use of it at once. The window was unlatched, but +there was a heavy wire-screen nailed to the sills outside. There was +no getting out that way. The gods were evidently busy elsewhere. + +"Nothing doing," I murmured, a bit discouraged. + +"And even if there was, you really could not expect me to risk my neck +and dignity by climbing through a window like that. Let us give up the +idea of windows and seek the cellar-doors, those that give to the +grounds. I declare I shall leave by no other exit." + +"It was very kind of you to let me make an ass of myself like that. +Why didn't you tell me beforehand?" + +"Perhaps it's the angle of vision again. I can see that we shall never +agree. Seriously, I thought that if you got out that way, you might +find the other exit for me. I am sorry if my laughter annoyed you." + +"Not at all, not at all. But wouldn't it be wise to save a little +laughter to make merry with when we get out?" + +I stepped out of the bin and relieved her of the candle; and we went on. + +"You did look funny," she said. + +"Please don't!" I begged. + +Soon we came to a bin of cabbages. I peered in philosophically. + +"I might find a better head in there than mine," I suggested. + +"Now you are trying to be sarcastic," said the girl. + +We went on. + +"Wait a moment!" she cried. "Here's a bin of nice apples." + +Apples! Well, my word, she was a cool one! I picked up one, polished +it on my sleeve, and gave it to her. + +"I'm hungry," she said apologetically. + +"And plucky, too," I supplemented admiringly. "Most women would be in +a weeping state by this time." + +"Perhaps I am waiting till it is all over." + +"You had better take off your mask." In fact I felt positive that the +sight of her exquisite face would act like a tonic upon my nerves. + +"I am doing very well with it on. I can at least keep my face clean." +She raised the curtain and took a liberal bite of the apple--so +nonchalantly that I was forced to smile. + +"Here's a box," said I; "let's sit down while we eat. We are safe +enough. If any one had heard the racket in the coal-bin, the cellar +would have been full of police by this time." + +And there we sat, calmly munching the apples, for all the world as if +the iron hand of the law wasn't within a thousand miles of us. It was +all very amusing. + +[Illustration: And there we sat, calmly munching the apples.] + +"Are--_are_ you the man they are hunting for?" she asked abruptly. + +"I never stole anything more terrible than green apples--and ripe +ones"--with a nod toward the apple-bin. + +"Pardon me! I feel very guilty in asking you such a question. You +haven't told me your name." + +"Haven't I? My name is Richard Comstalk. My friends call me Dickey." + +"Dickey," she murmured. "It's a nice name." + +"Won't you have another apple?" I asked impulsively. + +"My appetite is appeased, thank you." + +An idea came to me. "Hamilton said there were three tens of hearts. +That meant that only one was out of order. Where did you get your +card?" + +"That I shall tell you--later." + +"But are you really an impostor?" + +"I should not be in this cellar else." + +"You are very mystifying." + +"For the present I prefer to remain so." + +We tossed aside the apple-cores, rose, and went on. It was the longest +cellar _I_ ever saw. There seemed absolutely no end to it. The +wine-cellar was walled apart from the main cellar, and had the +semblance of a huge cistern with a door opening into it. As we passed +it, the vague perfume of the grape drifted out to us. + +"Let's have a bottle," I began. + +"Mr. Comstalk!" + +"By absent-treatment!" I hastened to add. + +"You will make a capital comrade--if we ever get out of this cellar." + +"Trust me for that!" I replied gaily. "Be careful; there's a pile of +empty bottles, yearning to be filled with tomato-catsup. Give me your +hand." + +But the moment the little digits closed over mine, a thrill seized me, +and I quickly bent my head and kissed the hand. It was wrong, but I +could not help it. She neither spoke nor withdrew her hand; and my +fear that she might really be offended vanished. + +"We are nearly out of it," I said exultantly. "I see the cellar-stairs +on ahead. If only those doors are open!" + +"Heaven is merciful to the fool, and we are a pair," she replied, +sighing gratefully. "It seems strange that nobody should be in the +cellar on a night like this. Hark! They are playing again up stairs +in the ball-room." + +"And wondering a whole lot where that third ten of hearts has gone." + +"But, listen. How are we to get back to the trolley? We certainly can +not walk the distance in these clothes." + +"Oh, that carryall will come to our rescue. We are weary and are +leaving early, don't you know? That part is simple; the complicated +thing is to shake the dust of this cellar." + +"What a big furnace!" she exclaimed, as we came into view of the huge +heating apparatus. "And there's more coal." + +A man stepped out from behind the furnace, and confronted us. A red +bandana covered the lower part of his face and his hat was pulled down +over his eyes. But I recognized him instantly. It was the fellow with +the villainous pipe! Something glittered ominously at the end of his +outstretched arm. + +"If you make any noise, sir, I'll have to plug you, sir," he said in +polite but muffled tones. + +The candle slipped from my fingers, and the three of us stood in +darkness! + + + + +V + +There was a clicking sound, and the glare of a dark-lantern struck my +blinking eyes. + +"Pick up the candle, sir," said the tranquil voice from behind the +light. + +I obeyed readily enough. Fate was downright cruel to us. Not a dozen +feet away was liberty; and now we were back at the beginning again, +with the end nowhere in sight. + +"Shall I light it, sir?" I asked, not to be outdone in the matter of +formal politeness. + +"Yes, sir, doubtless you will need it." + +I struck a match and touched the candle-wick. + +"Burglar?" said I. (For all my apparent coolness, my heart-beats were +away up in the eighties!) + +The girl snuggled close to my side. I could feel her heart beating +even faster than mine. + +"Burglar?" I repeated. + +"Indeed, no, sir,"--reproachfully. "Mine is a political job." + +"A political job?"--thunderstruck. + +"Yes, sir; I am an inspector of cellars,"--grimly. "I couldn't get +around to this here cellar earlier in the day, sir, and a fellow's work +_must_ be done." + +Here was a burglar with the sense of humor. + +"What can I do for you?" I asked blandly. + +"Firstly, as they say, you might tell me what you and this lady _are_ +doing in this lonesome cellar." + +"Say 'sir,' when you address me." + +"Yes, sir." + +"The lady and I were playing hide-and-seek." + +"Nice game, sir,"--grinning. "Were you trying to hide under the coal?" + +"Oh, no; I was merely exploring it." + +"Say 'sir,' when you address me." + +"Sir." + +"You're a cool hand, sir." + +"I am gratified to learn that our admiration is mutual. But what are +_you_ doing here?" + +"I was ascertaining if the law was properly observed, sir," shaking +with silent laughter. + +"But what puzzles me," I went on, "is the fact that you could gather +the gems in that garb." For I was positive that this was the Galloping +Dick every one was looking for. + +"I don't understand a word you say, sir. I'm an inspector of cellars, +sir, not a jeweler. So you and the lady was playing hide-and-seek? +Come, now, _what_ is your graft? Is _all_ the push here to-night?" + +"That depends,"--cursing under my breath that I wore a gown which +hampered my movements. For, truth to tell, I was watching him as a cat +watches a mouse. + +"Well, sir, we of the profession never interferes with gentlemanly +jobs, sir. All I want of you is to help me out of here." + +"I am not a burglar." + +"Oh, I understand, sir; I understand completely. A gentleman is always +a gentleman, sir. Now, you can return to that coal-bin. I was just +about to make for it when you lit that candle." + +"Why not leave by the cellar-doors?" + +"I have my reasons, sir; most satisfactory reasons, sir. _I_ prefer +the window. Get along!"--his tones suddenly hardening. + +I got along. + +"The lady may sit down, sir," he said courteously. + +"Thank you, I will," replied the girl, plumping down on an empty +winecase. (She afterward confessed that if she had not sat down on the +box, she would have sat down on the cellar-floor, as a sort of +paralysis had seized her knees.) + +I stepped into the coal-bin, and rested the candle on the little shelf +for that purpose. I was downright anxious to see the fellow safely +away. There wasn't room in that cellar for the three of us. His +presence doubly endangered us and multiplied the complications. I was +in no position to force the gems from him. A man who has ten thousand +dollars' worth of jewels on his person doesn't stop at shooting; and I +possessed a healthy regard for my skin. I opened the window and caught +it to the ceiling by a hook I found there. + +"There is a stout screen, my man." + +"Take this, sir, and cut it out,"--handing me a pair of wire-clippers, +holding his lantern under his arm meanwhile. The muzzle of the +revolver, during all this time, never wavered in its aim at my head. + +I went to work at the screen, and presently it fell inward. + +"Is that satisfactory?"--with impressive irony. + +"You are the most _perfect_ gentleman that _I_ ever see, sir!" + +The girl laughed hysterically. + +"Now what?" The fun was beginning to pall on me. + +"Step out of the bin and stand aside. Sit down by the lady. Maybe +she's a bit frightened." + +I obeyed him to the letter. + +"Thanks!" With the agility of a cat he leaped up and wriggled through +the window. He turned. "Good night, sir. Sometime maybe I'll do the +same for you, sir." + +"Go to the devil!" I snarled. + +"My, my! What a temper, sir! I wouldn't have thought it of you, and a +nice lady in speaking distance!" + +He disappeared. + +The girl laid a hand on my arm. + +"You have acted very sensibly, Mr. Comstalk. If you had not, it is +quite certain he would have shot you." + +"It would have been a good thing for me if he had. He has gone, and +the jewels have gone with him. I hadn't the least chance; the wretch! +He probably came disguised as a plumber, and nobody suspected him." + +"But if he possessed the ten of hearts, why should he have left this +way?" + +"Possibly my idea was only an imitation of his. There must have been +at least a dozen tens of hearts. My dear young lady, I would give a +good deal if you were well out of this. I believed my plan was for the +best, and instead I have simply blackened the case against us. I have +been too adventurous. The situation looks very serious just now. Of +course, in the long run, we shall clear ourselves; but it will take +some fine arguing to do it, and possibly half a dozen lawyers." + +"It is a terribly embarrassing predicament; but since we started out +together, we'll hang together." She held out her hand to me. "It will +be fun to extricate ourselves with full honors." + +"You're a brick!" And I pressed her hand tightly. + +"Now, I wonder why the burglar didn't try those cellar-doors?" she +murmured. + +"By Jove, I'll soon find out! Come on. There's hope yet." + +This time we reached the stone steps without interference. I gave the +candle to the girl, cautiously put a shoulder against one of the doors, +and gave a gentle heave. It was not locked. Through the thin crack I +looked out upon the bright world of moonshine and crystal. Instantly I +permitted the door to settle into its accustomed place. I readily +understood the burglar's reasons. Seated upon a box, less than a dozen +feet away, and blissfully smoking one of the club's cigars, sat a burly +policeman. So _they_ had arrived upon the scene! + +"What is it?" asked the girl, as I motioned her to retreat. + +"The worst has come: the police!" dramatically. + +"Gracious heavens, _this_ is frightful! We shall never get out now. +Oh dear! Why did I ever come? It will be in the papers, with horrid +pictures. We ought not to have left the ball-room. Our very actions +will tell heavily against us. Awful!" + +"Now, don't you worry. They will not take any notice of you, once they +set eyes upon me. _Homo sum_! They are looking for _me_. There's +only one superfluous ten of hearts. I have it." + +"But I shall be found with you, and the stupid police will swear I am +an accomplice." She wrung her hands. + +"But no jewels will be found upon us," I argued half-heartedly. + +"They will say we have already disposed of them." + +"But the real burglar--" + +"They will say that he came into the cellar at our bidding." + +This girl was terribly reasonable and direct. + +"Hang it! I know Teddy Hamilton, the M. F. H. He'll go my bail, and +yours, too, for that matter. Come, let's not give up. There _must_ be +some other way out." + +"I wish I might believe it. Why _did_ I come?"--a bit of a wail +stealing into the anger in her voice. + +"This is Tom Fool's Night, and no mistake," I assented ruefully. + +"But I am a bigger fool than you are; I had an alibi, and a good one." + +"An alibi? Why on earth, then, did you follow me? What is your alibi?" + +"Never mind now. We should still be in this miserable +cellar,"--briefly. "What a night! I am so ashamed! I shall be +horribly compromised." + +"I'll take the brunt of it all. I'm sorry; but, for the love of +Heaven, don't cry, or I shall lose what little nerve I have left." + +"I am not crying!" she denied emphatically. "My inclination is to +shriek with laughter. I'm hysterical. And who wouldn't be, with +police officers and cells staring one in the face? Let us be going. +That policeman outside will presently hear us whispering if we stand +here much longer." + +There was wisdom in this. So, once again I took the candle, and we +marched back. There wasn't a single jest left in my whole system, and +it didn't look as if there was ever going to be another supply. We +took the other side of the furnace, and at length came to a flight of +wooden stairs, leading somewhere into the club. It was our last +chance, or we should indeed be obliged to stay all night in some bin; +for it would not be long before they searched the cellars. If this +flight led into the kitchen, we were saved, for I could bluff the +servants. We paused. Presently we ascended, side by side, with light +but firm step. We reached the landing in front of the door without +mishap. From somewhere came a puff of air which blew out the candle. +I struck a match viciously against the wall---and blundered into a +string of cooking-pans! It was all over, the agony of suspense! + +Blang! Rumpity-bumpity-blang-blang! + +I have heard many stage thunders in my time, but that racket beat +anything and everything this side of siege-guns. + +Instantly the door opened and a policeman poked his head in. Before I +had time to move, he grabbed me by the arm and yanked me--into the +ballroom! The girl and I had made a complete circuit of the cellars, +and had stumbled into the ball-room again by the flight opposite to +that by which we left it. Cheerful prospect, wasn't it? The adventure +had ceased to have any droll side to it. + +"Aha!" cried the base minion of the law. "_Here_ you are, then! +Hello, everybody! Hello!" he bawled. + +Caught! Here we were, the Blue Domino and myself, the Grey Capuchin, +both of us in a fine fix. Discovery and ejection I could have stood +with fortitude and equanimity; but there was bad business afoot. There +wasn't any doubt in my mind what was going to happen. As the girl +said, there would be flaring head-lines and horrid pictures. We were +like to be the newspaper sensation of the day. Arrested and lodged in +jail! What would my rich, doting old uncle say to that, who had +threatened to disinherit me for lesser things! I felt terribly sorry +for the girl, but it was now utterly impossible to help her, for I +couldn't help myself. + +And behold! The mysterious stranger I had met in the curio-shop, the +fellow who had virtually haunted me for six hours, the fellow who had +masqueraded as Caesar, suddenly loomed up before me, still wearing his +sardonic smile. At his side were two more policemen. He had thrown +aside his toga and was in evening dress. His keen glance rested on me. + +"Here he is, Mr. Haggerty!" cried the policeman cheerfully, swinging me +around. + +A detective! And Heaven help me, he believed me to be the thief! Oh, +for Aladdin's lamp! + + + + +VI + +I stood with folded arms, awaiting his approach. Nonchalance is always +respected by the police. I must have presented a likely picture, +however--my face blackened with coal-dust, cobwebs stringing down over +my eyes, my Capuchin gown soiled and rent. The girl quietly took her +place beside me. + +"So you took a chance at the cellars, eh?" inquired the detective +urbanely. "Well, you look it. Will you go with us quietly, or shall +we have to use force?" + +"In the first place, what do you and your police want of _me_?" I +returned coolly. + +He exhibited his star of authority. + +"I am Haggerty of the Central Office. I want you for several things." + +Several things? I stared at him stupidly. Several things? Then it +came to me, with a jar like an earthquake. The story in the newspaper +returned to my vision. Oh, this was too much, altogether too much! He +took me to be the fashionable thief for whom half the New York police +force were hunting. My sight swam for a moment in a blur. + +"What is it you think I have done?" I demanded. + +"You have, or have had, several thousand dollars' worth of gems on your +person to-night." + +I shrugged. The accusation was so impossible that my confidence +returned. + +"Mr. Haggerty, you are making a stupid mistake. You are losing time, +besides. I am not the man for whom you are hunting. My name is +Richard Comstalk." + +"One name or another, it does not matter." + +"Plenty of gall," murmured one of the minions of the law, whom I +afterward learned was the chief of the village police. + +"The card by which you gained admittance here," demanded the great +Haggerty truculently. + +I surrendered it. A crowd had by this time collected curiously about +us. I could see the musicians on the stage peering over the plants. + +"The thief you are looking for has gone," said I. "He escaped by the +coal-window." By this statement, my feet sank deeper still. + +"What did I tell you?" cried Haggerty, turning to his men. "They had +an accomplice hidden in the cellars." + +"I beg to inform you that you are making a mistake that will presently +cost you dear,"--thinking of the political pull my uncle had in New +York. "I am the nephew of Daniel Witherspoon." + +"Worse and worse!" said the chief of police. + +"We shall discuss the mistake later and at length. Of course you can +easily explain how you came to impose upon these people,"--ironically. +"Bah! the game is up. When you dropped that card in Friard's and said +you were going to a masquerade, I knew your game in a minute, and laid +eyes upon you for the first time since I began the chase. I've been +after you for weeks. Your society dodge has worked out, and I'll land +you behind the bars for some time to come, my gay boy. Come,"--roughly. + +"I request Mr. Hamilton to be called. He will prove to you that you +are greatly mistaken." Everything looked pretty black, I can tell you. + +"You will see whom you please, but only after you are safely landed in +the lockup. Now, Madame,"--turning swiftly upon the Blue Domino, "what +is your part in this fine business?" + +"It certainly has no part in yours,"--icily. + +Haggerty smiled. "My skin is very thick. Do you know this fellow?" + +She shook her head. He stood undecided for a space. + +"Let me see your card." + +"I decline to produce it,"--haughtily. + +Haggerty seemed staggered for a moment. "I am sorry to annoy you, but +you must be identified at once." + +"And why?"--proudly. "Was it forbidden to go into the club cellars for +such harmless things as apples?" + +Apples! I looked at her admiringly. + +"Apples?" repeated Haggerty. "Couldn't you have sent a servant for +them?" + +She did not reply. + +"You were with this clever gentleman in the cellars. You may or may +not be acquainted with him. I do not wish to do anything hasty in +regard to yourself, but your position is rather equivocal. Produce +your card and be identified--if you really can." + +"I refuse!" + +"Then I shall ask you to accompany us to the room up stairs till the +police-patrol arrives." + +"I will go,"--quietly. + +"Nonsense!" I objected. "On my word of honor, I do not know this lady. +Our presence in the cellar was perfectly harmless. There is no valid +reason for detaining her. It is an outrage!" + +"I am not going to stand here arguing with you," said Haggerty. "Let +the lady produce her card; let her disclose her identity. That is +simple enough." + +"I have already given you my determination on that subject," replied +the girl. "I can very well explain my presence here, but I absolutely +decline to explain it to the police." + +I didn't understand her at all. She had said that she possessed an +alibi. Why didn't she produce it? + +So the two of us left the gorgeous ball-room. Every one moved aside +for us, and quickly, too, as if we had had the plague. I looked in +vain for Hamilton. He was a friend in need. We were taken into the +steward's office and the door was shut and locked. The band in the +ball-room went galloping through a two-step, and the gaiety was in full +swing again. The thief had been rounded up! How the deuce was it +going to end? + +"I can not tell you how sorry I am to have mixed you up in this," I +said to the girl. + +"You are in no manner to blame. Think of what _might_ have happened +had you blown up the post-office!" + +She certainly was the least embarrassed of the two of us. I addressed +my next remarks to the great Haggerty. + +"Did you find a suitable pistol in Friard's?" + +"A man in my business," said Haggerty mildly, "is often found in such +places. There are various things to be recovered in pawnshops. The +gentlemen of this club sent _me_ the original ten of hearts, my +presence being necessary at such big entertainments. And when I saw +that card of yours, I was so happy that I nearly put you on your guard. +Lord, how long I've been looking for you! I give you credit for being +a clever rascal. You have fooled us all nicely. Not a soul among us +knew your name, nor what you looked like. And but for that card, you +might still be at large. Until the lady submits to the simple process +of identification, I shall be compelled to look upon her and treat her +as an accomplice. She has refused the offer I have made her, and she +can not blame me if I am suspicious, when to be suspicious is a part of +my business." He was reasonable enough in regard to the girl. + +He turned to the chief of the village police, who was sitting at the +desk ordinarily used by the club's steward. + +"No reporters, mind you." + +"Yes, sir. We'll see that no reporter gets wind of the capture." + +The telephone bell rang. One of the police answered it. + +"For you, Mr. Haggerty," he said. + +Haggerty sprang to the telephone and placed the receiver to his ear. + +"What?" we heard him exclaim. "You have got the other fellow? A horse +and carriage at once!" + +"Take mine," said the chief excitedly. "What is it?" + +"My subordinate at the railway station has just landed the fellow with +the jewels. Mighty quick work. I must hustle into town at once. +There'll be plenty of time to attend to these persons. Bring them to +town the moment the patrol arrives. The gems are the most important +things just now." + +"Yes, sir. You can rely upon us, Mr. Haggerty. Billy, go down with +Mr. Haggerty and show him my rig." + +"Good!" said Haggerty. "It's been a fine night's work, my lads, a fine +night's work. I'll see that all get some credit. Permit no one to +approach the prisoners without proper authority." + +"Your orders shall be obeyed to the letter," said the chief +importantly. He already saw his name figuring in the New York papers +as having assisted in the capture of a great thief. + +I cursed under my breath. If it hadn't been for the girl, I am ashamed +to confess, I should have cursed out loud. She sat rigid and +motionless. It must have been a cruel ordeal for her. But what was +puzzling me was the fact that she made not the slightest effort to +spring her alibi. If _I_ had had one! Where was Hamilton? I scarcely +inclined to the idea of sleeping in jail in a dress-suit. + +Haggerty departed. A silence settled gloomily down on us. Quarter of +an hour passed. The grim-visaged police watched us vigilantly. Half +an hour, three-quarters, an hour. Far away we heard the whistle of an +out-going train. Would I had been on it! From time to time we heard +faint music. At length there was a noise outside the door, and a +moment later Hamilton and two others came in. When he saw me, he +stopped, his eyes bulging and his mouth agape. + +"Dicky Comstalk?" he cried helplessly. "What the devil does this +mean?"--turning to the police. + +"Do you know this fellow, Mr. Hamilton?" asked the chief. + +"Know him? Of course I know him," answered Teddy; "and I'll stake my +last dollar on his honesty." + +(Thanks, Teddy!) I began to breathe. + +"But--" began the chief, seized with sudden misgivings. + +"It is impossible, I tell you," interrupted Hamilton. "I know this +gentleman is incapable of the theft. There is some frightful mistake. +How the dickens did you get here, Dicky?" + +And briefly I told him my story, my ass's ears growing inch by inch as +I went along. Hamilton didn't know whether to swear or to laugh; +finally he laughed. + +"If you wanted to come, why didn't you write me for an invitation?" + +"I shouldn't have come to your old ball, had I been invited. It was +just the idea of the lark." + +"We shall have to hold him, nevertheless," said the chief, "till +everything is cleared up. The girl--" + +Hamilton looked at the Blue Domino. + +"Madame, will you do me the honor to raise your mask?" + +[Illustration: "Madame, will you do me the honor to raise your mask?"] + +She did so; and I saw Hamilton draw in his breath. Her beauty was +certainly of an exquisite pattern. He frowned anxiously. + +"I never saw this young woman before," he admitted slowly. + +"Ha!" cried the chief, glad to find some one culpable. + +"Did you receive your invitation through the proper channels?" asked +Hamilton. + +"I came here to-night,"--coldly, "on the invitation of Mrs. +Hyphen-Bonds, who sailed for Europe Wednesday." + +Here was an alibi that was an alibi! I was all at sea. Hamilton +bowed; the chief coughed worriedly behind his hand. The girl had told +me she was an impostor like myself, that her ten of hearts was as +dark-stained as my own. I could not make head or tail to it. Mrs. +Hyphen-Bonds! She was a law in the land, especially in Blankshire, the +larger part of which she owned. What did it all mean? And what was +her idea in posing as an impostor? + +The door opened again. + +"The patrol has come," said the officer who entered. + +"Let it wait," growled the chief. "Haggerty has evidently got us all +balled up. I don't believe his fashionable thief has materialized at +all; just a common crook. Well, he's got him, at any rate, and the +gems." + +"You have, of course, the general invitation?" said Hamilton. + +"Here it is,"--and she passed the engraved card to him. + +"I beg a thousand pardons!" said Hamilton humbly. "Everything seems to +have gone wrong." + +"Will you guarantee this man?" asked the chief of Hamilton, nodding +toward me. + +"I have said so. Mr. Comstalk is very well known to me. He is a +retired army officer, and to my knowledge a man with an income +sufficient to put him far beyond want." + +"What is your name?" asked the chief of the girl, scowling. It was +quite evident he couldn't understand her actions any better than I. + +"Alice Hawthorne," with an oblique glance at me. + +I had been right! + +"What is your occupation? I am obliged to ask these questions, Miss." + +"I am a miniature painter,"--briefly, + +Hamilton came forward. "Alice Hawthorne? Pardon me, but are you the +artist who recently completed the miniatures of the Emperor of Germany, +the Princess of Hesse, and Mrs. Hyphen-Bonds?" + +"I am. I believe there is no further reason for detaining me." + +"Emperor of Germany?" echoed the now bewildered chief. "Why didn't you +tell all this to Mr. Haggerty?" + +"I had my reasons." + +Once again the door opened. A burly man in a dark business-suit +entered. His face ruddy and his little grey eyes sparkled with +suppressed ire. He reminded me of Vautrin, the only difference being +that Vautrin was French while this man was distinctly Irish. His +massive shoulders betrayed tremendous strength. He was vastly angry +about something. He went to the chief's desk and rested his hands upon +it. + +"You are a nice specimen for a chief of police, you are!" he began. + +"And who the devil are _you_?" bawled the chief, his choler rising. + +"I'll tell you who I am presently." + +We all eyed him in wonder. What was going to happen now? + +"Which of you gentlemen is Mr. Hamilton?" asked the new-comer gruffly. + +Hamilton signified that he was the gentleman by that name. + +"Some ladies at your ball have been robbed of their diamonds, I +understand?" + +"About ten thousand dollars' worth." + +"Look here, sir," cried the chief, standing up and balling his fist, "I +want you to explain yourself, and mighty quick. You can't come into my +presence in this manner." + +"Bah! You have just permitted the cleverest rascal in the state to +slip through your butterfingers. _I_ am Haggerty." + +The chief of police sat down suddenly. + + + + +VII + +The consummate daring of it! Why, the rascal ought to have been in +command of an army. On the Board of Strategy he would have been +incomparable! + +There followed a tableau that I shall not soon forget. We all stared +at the real Haggerty much after the fashion of Medusa's victims. +Presently the tension relaxed, and we all sighed. I sighed because the +thought of jail for the night in a dress-suit dwindled in perspective; +the girl sighed for the same reason and one or two other things; the +chief of the village police and his officers sighed because darkness +had suddenly swooped down on them; and Hamilton sighed because there +were no gems. Haggerty was the one among us who didn't sigh. He +scowled blackly. + +This big athlete looked like a detective, and the abrupt authority of +his tones convinced me that he was. Haggerty was celebrated in the +annals of police affairs; he had handled all sorts of criminals, from +titled impostors down to petty thieves. He was not a man to trifle +with, mentally or physically, and for this reason we were all shaking +in our boots. He owned to a keen but brutal wit; to him there was no +such thing as sex among criminals, and he had the tenacity of purpose +that has given the bulldog considerable note in the pit. But it was +quite plain that for once he had met his match. + +"I don't see how you can blame me," mumbled the chief. "None of us was +familiar with your looks, and he showed us his star of authority, and +went to work in a business-like way--By George! and he has run away +with my horse and carriage!"--starting from his chair. + +"Never mind the horse. You'll find it safe at the railway station," +snarled Haggerty. "Now, then, tell me everything that has happened, +from beginning to end." + +And the chief recounted the adventure briefly. Haggerty looked coldly +at me and shrugged his broad shoulders. As for the girl, he never gave +her so much as a single glance. He knew a gentlewoman without looking +at her twice. + +"Humph! Isn't he a clever one, though?" cried Haggerty, in a burst of +admiration. "Clever is no name for it. I'd give a year of my life to +come face to face with him. It would be an interesting encounter. +Hunted him for weeks, and to-day laid eyes on him for the first time. +Had my clumsy paws on him this very afternoon. He seemed so willing to +be locked up that I grew careless. Biff! and he and his accomplice, an +erstwhile valet, had me trussed like a chicken and bundled into the +clothes-press. Took my star, credentials, playing-card, and +invitation. It was near eleven o'clock when I roused the housekeeper. +I telegraphed two hours ago." + +"Telegraphed!" exclaimed the chief, rousing himself out of a melancholy +dream. (There would be no mention of him in the morrow's papers.) + +"Yes, telegraphed. The despatch lay unopened on your office-desk. +You're a good watch-dog--for a hen-coop!" growled Haggerty. "Ten +thousand in gems to-night, and by this time he is safe in New York. +You are all a pack of blockheads. + +"Used the telephone, did he? Told you to hold these innocent persons +till he went somewhere to land the accomplice, eh? The whistle of the +train meant nothing to you. Well, that whistle ought to have told you +that there might be a mistake. A good officer never quits his +prisoners. If there is an accomplice in toils elsewhere, he makes them +bring him in, he does not go _out_ for him. And now I've got to start +all over again, and he in New York, a bigger catacomb than Rome ever +boasted of. He's not a common thief; nobody knows who he is or what +his haunts are. But I have seen his face; I'll never forget him." + +The chief tore his hair, while his subordinates shuffled their feet +uneasily. Then they all started in to explain their theories. But the +detective silenced them with a wave of his huge hand. + +"I don't want to hear any explanations. Let these persons go," he +commanded, with a jerk of his head in our direction. "You can all +return to town but one officer. I may need a single man," Haggerty +added thoughtfully. + +"What are you going to do?" asked the chief. + +"Never you mind. I have an idea; it may be a good one. If it is, I'll +telephone you all about it when the time comes." + +He stepped over to the telephone and called up central. He spoke so +low that none of us overheard what he said; but he hung up the +receiver, a satisfied smile on his face. + +The girl and I were free to go whither we listed, and we listed to +return at once to New York. Hamilton, however, begged us to remain, to +dance and eat, as a compensation for what we had gone through; but Miss +Hawthorne resolutely shook her head; and as there was nothing in the +world that would have induced me to stay without her, I shook my head, +too. It seemed to me I had known this girl all my life, so closely +does misfortune link one life to another. I had seen her for the first +time less than eight hours before; and yet I was confident that as many +years, under ordinary circumstances, would not have taught me her real +worth. + +"Mrs. Hyphen-Bonds will never forgive me," said Hamilton dismally, "if +she hears that I've been the cause, indirectly and innocently, of +turning you away." + +"Mrs. Hyphen-Bonds need never know," replied the girl, smiling +inscrutably. "In fact, it would be perfectly satisfactory and +agreeable to me if she never heard at all." + +"I will call a conveyance for you," said the defeated M. F. H. "I +shall never forgive you, Dicky." + +"Yes, you will, Teddy. A loving-cup, the next time we meet at the +club, will mellow everything." + +Quarter of an hour later Miss Hawthorne and I, wrapped in +buffalo-robes, our feet snugly stowed away in straw, slid away, to the +jangle and quarrel of sleighbells, toward Moriarty's Hollywood Inn. +The moon shone; not a cloud darkened her serene and lovely countenance. +The pearly whiteness of the world would have aroused the poetry in the +most sordid soul; and far, far away to the east the black, tossing line +of the sea was visible. + +"What a beautiful night!" I volunteered. + +"The beginning of the end." + +"The beginning of the end? What does that mean?" + +"Why, when you first spoke to me, it was about the weather." + +"Oh, but this isn't going to be the end; this is the true beginning of +all things." + +"I wish I could see it in that light; but we can not see beauty in +anything when hunger lies back of the eyes. I haven't had anything to +eat, save that single apple, for hours and hours. I was so excited at +Mouquin's that I ate almost nothing." + +"You are hungry? Well, we'll fix that when we get to Moriarty's. I'll +find a way of waking him up, in case he's asleep, which I doubt. There +will be cold chicken and ham and hot coffee." + +"Lovely!" + +"And we shall dine with the gods. And now it is all over and done, it +_was_ funny, wasn't it?" + +"Terribly funny!"--with a shade of irony. "It would have been funnier +still if the real Haggerty hadn't turned up. The patrol had arrived." + +"But it didn't happen. I shall never forget this night,"--romantically. + +"I should be inordinately glad to forget it completely,"--decidedly. + +"Where's your romance?" I asked. + +"I'd rather have it served to me between book-covers. As I grow older +my love of repose increases." + +"Do you know," I began boldly, "it seems that I have known you all my +life." + +"Indeed!" + +"Yes. Why, I might really have known you all my life, and still not +have known you as well as I do this very minute,--and less than a dozen +hours between this and our first meeting. You are as brave as a +paladin, wise as a serpent, cool, witty--and beautiful!" + +"Shall I ask the driver to let me out?" Then she laughed, a +rollicking, joyous laugh. + +"What is so funny?" + +"I was thinking of that coal-bin." + +"Well, I didn't permit a lonely potato to frighten me," I retorted. + +"No, you were brave enough--among the potatoes." + +"You _are_ beautiful!" + +"I am hungry." + +"You are the most beautiful girl--" + +"I want something to eat." + +"--I ever saw! Do you think it possible for a man to fall in love at +first sight?" + +"Oh, nothing is impossible on Tom Fool's night. Positive, fool; +comparative, fooler; superlative, foolest. You are marching on with +your degrees, Mr. Comstalk." + +"You might call me Dicky," I said in an aggrieved tone. + +"Dicky? Never! I should always be thinking of paper collars." + +"I wish _I_ were witty like that!" + +She snuggled down beneath the robes. + +An artist's model, thought I. Never in this world. I now understood +the drift of her uncle's remark about her earning capacity. The Alice +Hawthorne miniatures brought fabulous prices. And here I was, sitting +so close to her that our shoulders touched: and she a girl who knew +intimately emperors and princesses and dukes, not to mention the +worldly-rich. I admit that for a moment I was touched with awe. And +it was beginning to get serious. This girl interested me marvelously. +I summoned up all my courage. + +"Are--are you married?" + +"No-o." + +"Nor engaged to be married?" + +"No-o. But you mustn't ask all these questions." + +"How would you like to ride around in a first-class motor-car the rest +of your days?" + +She laughed merrily. Possibly it _was_ funny. + +"Are you always amusing like this?" + +"Supposing I were serious?" + +"In that case I should say you had not yet slipped off your fool's +motley." + +This directness was discouraging. + +"I wonder if the ten of hearts is lucky, after all," I mused. + +"We are not in jail. I consider that the best of good fortune." + +"Give me your card," said I. + +She gave me the card, and I put it with mine. + +"Why do you do that?" + +"Perhaps I want to bring about an enchantment,"--soberly. + +"As Signor Fantoccini, or as Mr. Comstalk?" + +"I have long since resigned my position in the museum; it was too +exciting." + +She made no rejoinder; and for some time there was no sound but the +music of the bells. + +Finally we drew up under the colonial porte-cochere of Hollywood Inn +and were welcomed by the genial Moriarty himself, his Celtic +countenance a mirror of smiles. + +"Anything in the house to eat?" I cried, shaking the robes from me. + +"Anything ye like, if you like cowld things. I can hate ye a pot of +coffee on the gasolene-burner, and there's manny a vintage in the +cillars." + +"That will be plenty!"--joyfully, helping Miss Hawthorne to alight. + +"Sure, and ye are from the Hunt Club!"--noting our costumes. "Well, +well! They niver have anny too much grub. Now, I'll putt ye in a +little room all be yersilves, with a windy and a log-fire; cozy as ye +plaze. Ye'll have nearly two hours to wait for the car-r from the +village." + +We entered the general assembly-room. It was roomy and quaint, and +somewhere above us was the inevitable room in which George Washington +had slept. The great hooded fireplace was merry with crackling logs. +Casually I observed that we were not alone. Over yonder, in a shadowed +corner, sat two men, very well bundled up, and, to all appearances, +fast asleep. Moriarty lighted a four-branched candelabrum and showed +us the way to the little private dining-room, took our orders, and left +us. + +"This is romance," said I. "They used to do these things hundreds of +years ago, and everybody had a good time." + +"It is now all very wicked and improper," murmured the girl, laying +aside her domino for the first time; "but delightful! I now find I +haven't the least bit of remorse for what I have done." + +In that dark evening gown she was very beautiful. Her arms and +shoulders were tinted like Carrara marble; and I knew instantly that I +was never going to recover. I drew two chairs close to the grate. I +sat down in one and she in the other. With a contented sigh she rested +her blue-slippered feet on the brass fender. + +[Illustration: With a contented sigh she rested her blue-slippered feet +on the brass fender.] + +"My one regret is that I haven't any shoes. What an adventure!" + +"It's fine!" Two hours in the society of this enchanting creature! It +was almost too good to be true. Ah, if it might always be like +this--to return home from the day's work, to be greeted warmly by a +woman as beautiful as this one! I sighed loudly. + +Moriarty came with the chicken and ham and coffee. + +"If ye would like, it won't be a bit of trouble to show ye George +Washington's room; or"--with inimitable Irish drollery--"I can tell ye +that he dined in this very room." + +"That will serve," smiled the girl; and Moriarty bowed himself out. + +His departure was followed by the clatter of silver upon porcelain. Of +a truth, both of us were hungry. + +"I was simply ravenous," the girl confessed. + +"And as for me, I never dreamt I could be so unromantic. Now," said I, +pushing aside my plate, and dropping sugar into my coffee, and vainly +hunting in my pockets for a cigar, "there remains only one mystery to +be cleared up." + +"And what might this mystery be?" she asked. "The whereabouts of the +bogus Haggerty?" + +"The bogus Haggerty will never cross our paths again. He has skipped +by the light of the moon. No, that's not the mystery. Why did you +tell me you were an impostor; why did you go to the cellars with me, +when all the while you were at the ball on Mrs. Hyphen-Bonds' +invitation?" + +She leaned on her elbows and smiled at me humorously. + +"Would you really like to know, Signor? Well, I was an impostor." She +sat with her back to the fire, and a weird halo of light seemed to +surround her and frame her. "Mrs. Hyphen-Bonds accidentally dropped +that invitation in my studio, a few days before she sailed for Europe. +I simply could not resist the temptation. That is all the mystery +there is." + +"And they still think you were there rightfully!" + +"You are no longer mystified?" + +"Yes; there is yet another mystery to solve: myself." I knew it. +Without rhyme or reason, I was in love; and without rhyme or reason, I +was glad of it. + +"Shall you ever be able to solve such a mystery?"--quizzically. + +"It all depends upon you." + +"Mr. Comstalk, you will not mar the exquisite humor of our adventure by +causing me any annoyance. I am sure that some day we shall be very +good friends. But one does not talk of love on eight hours' +acquaintance. Besides, you would be taking advantage of my +helplessness; for I really depend upon you to see me safe back to New +York. It is only the romance, the adventure; and such moonlight nights +often superinduce sentimentality. What do you know of me? Nothing. +What do I know of you? Nothing, save that there is a kindred spirit +which is always likely to lead us into trouble. Down in your heart you +know you are only temporarily affected by moonshine. Come, make me a +toast!"--lifting her cup. + +"You are right," said I. "I am a gentleman. But it was only +consistent that, having been the fool, I should now play the ass. +Here's!"--and I held up my cup. + +But neither of us drank; there wasn't time. + +For the door opened quietly, and in walked the two men we had seen upon +entering the Inn. One of them gently closed the door and locked it. +One was in soiled every-day clothes, the other in immaculate evening +dress. The latter doffed his opera hat with the most engaging smile +imaginable. The girl and I looked up at him in blank bewilderment, and +set our cups down so mechanically that the warm amber liquid spattered +on the table-cloth. + +Galloping Dick and the affable inspector of the cellars stood before us! + + + + +VIII + +"The unexpected always happens," began the pseudo-detective, closing +his hat, drawing off his gloves and stuffing them into a pocket. "As a +friend of mine used to say, it is the unexpected that always surprises +us. We never expected to see these charming masqueraders again, did +we, William?" + +"No, sir," said William, grinning affably, "we didn't. The gentleman +was very nice and obliging to me, sir, when I was in the cellars." + +"So I understand. Now," continued the late Mr. Haggerty, with the +deadly affability of a Macaire, "I beg of you, Mr. Comstalk, I beg of +you not to move or to become unduly excited. Physicians tell us that +excitement wastes the red corpuscles, that is to say, the life of the +blood." + +"Your blood, sir, must be very thin," I returned coolly. But I cursed +him soundly in my mind. William's bulging side-pocket convinced me +that any undue excitement on my part would be exceedingly dangerous. + +"William, you can always tell a gentleman," said the chief rogue +admiringly. "A gentleman always recognizes his opportunities, and +never loses his sense of the balance of things." + +"And he is usually witty, too, sir," William assented. + +The girl sat pale and rigid in her chair. + +"What do you want?" I demanded savagely. + +"For one thing, I should like to question the propriety of a +gentleman's sitting down to dine with a lady without having washed his +face. The coal-dust does not add to your manly beauty. You haven't a +cake of soap about you, William, have you?" + +"No, sir." William's face expressed indescribable enjoyment of the +scene. + +The girl's mouth stiffened. She was struggling to repress the almost +irresistible smile that tickled her lips. + +"In times like these," said I, determined not to be outdone, "we are +often thoughtless in regard to our personal appearances. I apologize +to the lady." + +"Fine, fine! I sincerely admire you, Mr. Comstalk. You have the true +spirit of adventure. Hasn't he, William?" + +"He certainly has, sir." + +"Comes to a private ball without an invitation, and has a merry time of +it indeed. To have the perfect sense of humor--that is what makes the +world go round." + +"Aren't you taking extra risk in offering me these pleasantries?" I +asked. + +"Risks? In what manner?" + +"The man you so cleverly impersonated is at the club." I do not know +what prompted me to put him on his guard. + +The rogue laughed lightly. "I know Mr. Haggerty's habits. He is +hustling back to New York as fast as he can. He passed here ten +minutes ago in the patrol, lickety-clip! He wishes to warn all +pawnbrokers and jewelers to be on the lookout for me to-morrow. Ten +thousand in a night!"--jovially. + +"A _very_ tidy sum, sir," said William. + +"A fourth of which goes to you, my good and faithful friend." + +"Thank you, sir," replied William. + +Two cooler rogues I never wish to meet! + +"But wouldn't it be well, sir, to hasten?" asked William. + +"We have plenty of time now, my son." + +"You have not entered this room," said the girl, her terror slipping +from her, "simply to offer these banalities. What do you wish?" + +"What perspicacity, William!" cried the rogue, taking out a cigarette +case. + +"I don't know what that word means, sir, but as you do, it seems to fit +the occasion proper enough." + +"It means, William, that this charming young lady scents our visit from +afar." + +"I had a suspicion, sir, that it might mean that." William leaned +against the wall, his beady eyes twinkling merrily. + +The master rogue lighted a cigarette at one of the candles. + +"Pardon me," he said, "but will you join me?"--proffering the handsome +gold case. + +I took a cigarette and fired it. (I really wanted it.) I would show +up well before this girl if I died for it. I blew a cloud of smoke at +the candle-flame. There _was_ a sparkle of admiration in the girl's +eyes. + +"Mr. Comstalk, my respect for you increases each moment." The rogue +sat down. + +"And to whom might this handsome case belong?" I asked, examining it +closely. + +"Oh, that has always been mine. There was a time,"--blowing rings at +the candelabrum,--"when I was respected like yourself, rich, sought +after. A woman and a trusted friend: how these often tumble down our +beautiful edifices! Yes, I am a scamp, a thief, a rogue; but not +because I need the money. No,"--with retrospective eyes--"I need +excitement, tremendous and continuous,--excitement to keep my vigilance +and invention active day and night, excitement to obliterate memory. + +"But we can't do it, my friend, we can't do it. Memory is always with +us. She is an impartial Nemesis; she dogs the steps of the righteous +and the unrighteous. To obliterate memory, that is it! And where +might I find this obliteration, save in this life? Drugs? Pah! Oh, I +have given Haggerty a royal chase. It has been meat and drink to me to +fool the cleverest policeman in New York. Till yesterday my face, as a +criminal, was unknown to any man or woman, save William here, who was +my valet in the old days. I have gone to my clubs, dined, played +billiards; a fine comedy, a fine comedy! To-morrow William and I sail +for Europe. Miss Hawthorne, you wear one of the most exquisite rubies +I have ever seen. Permit me to examine it." + +The girl tore the ring from her finger and flung it on the table. I +made a move as though to push back my chair. + +"I wouldn't do it, sir," warned William quietly. + +My muscles relaxed. + +"Do not commit any rash action, Mr. Comstalk," said the girl, smiling +bravely into my eyes. "This gentleman would not appreciate it." + +The master rogue picked up the ring and rolled it lovingly about his +palms. + +"Beautiful, beautiful!" he murmured. "Finest pigeon-blood, too. It is +easily worth a thousand. Shall I give you my note of exchange for +it?"--humorously. The girl scorned to reply. He took out a little +chamois bag and emptied its contents on the table. How they sparkled, +scintillated, glowed; thousands in the whitest of stones! How he ever +had got his fingers on them is something I shall never learn. "Aren't +they just beautiful?" he asked naively. "Can you blame me for coveting +them?" He set the ruby on top of the glittering heap. It lay there +like a drop of blood. Presently he caught it up and--presented it to +the girl, who eyed him in astonishment. "I only wanted to look at it," +he said courteously. "I like your grit as much as I admire your +beauty. Keep the ring." + +She slipped it mechanically over her finger. + +"But you, my dear Mr. Comstalk!" he cried, turning his shining eyes +upon me, while his fingers deftly replaced the gems in the bag. + +"I have no jewelry," I replied, tossing aside the cigarette. + +"But you have something infinitely better. I am rather observant. In +Friard's curio-shop you carelessly exhibited a wallet that was simply +choking to death with long yellow-boys. You have it still. Will you +do me the honor?"--stretching out his slim white hand. + +I looked at William; he nodded. There wasn't the slightest chance for +me to argue. So I drew out my wallet. I extracted the gold-bills and +made a neat little packet of them. It hurt, hurt like the deuce, to +part with them. But--! + +"Game, William, isn't he? Most men would have flung the wallet at my +head." + +"Oh, he is game, sir; never you doubt it, sir," said the amiable +William. + +"I have some silver in change," I suggested with some bitterness. + +"Far be it that I should touch silver," he said generously, did this +rogue. "Besides, you will need something to pay for this little supper +and the fare back to New York." My bills disappeared into his pocket. +"You will observe that I trust you implicitly. I haven't even counted +the money." + +William sniggered. + +"And is there anything further?" I inquired. The comedy was beginning +to weary me, it was so one-sided. + +"I am in no particular hurry," the rogue answered, his sardonic smile +returning. "It is so long since I have chatted with people of my kind." + +I scowled. + +"Pardon me, I meant from a social point of view only. I admit we would +not be equals in the eye of the Presbyter." + +And then followed a scene that reminds me to this day of some broken, +fantastic dream, a fragment from some bewildering nightmare. + + + + +IX + +For suddenly I saw his eyes widen and flash with anger and +apprehension. Quick as a passing sunshadow, his hand swept the +candelabrum from the table. He made a swift backward spring toward the +door, but he was a little too late. The darkness he had created was +not intense enough, for there was still the ruddy glow from the logs; +and the bosom of his dress-shirt made a fine target. Besides, the eyes +that had peered into the window were accustomed to the night. + +Blang! The glass of the window shivered and jingled to the floor, and +a sharp report followed. The rogue cried out in fierce anguish, and +reeled against the wall. William whipped out his revolver, but, even +from his favorable angle, he was not quick enough. The hand that had +directed the first bullet was ready to direct the second. + +All this took place within the count of ten. The girl and I sat +stiffly in our chairs, as if petrified, it was all so swiftly +accomplished. + +"Drop it!" said a cold, authoritative voice, and I saw the vague +outlines of Haggerty's face beyond the broken window-pane. + +William knew better than to hesitate. His revolver struck the floor +dully, and a curse rolled from his lips. Immediately a heavy body +precipitated itself against the door, which crashed inward, and an +officer fearlessly entered, a revolver in each hand. This tableau, +which lasted fully a minute, was finally disturbed by the entrance of +Haggerty himself. + +"Don't be alarmed, Miss," he said heartily; "it's all over, I'm sorry +for the bullet, but it had to be done. The rascal has nothing more +serious than a splintered bone, I am a dead shot. A fine +night!"--triumphantly. "It's been a long chase, and I never was sure +of the finish. You're the cleverest rogue it has been my good fortune +to meet this many a day. I don't even know who you are yet. Well, +well! we'll round that up in time." + +Not till the candles again sputtered with light, and William was +securely handcuffed and disarmed, did I recollect that I possessed the +sense of motion. The smoke of powder drifted across the flickering +candles, and there was a salty taste on my tongue. + +"Horrible!" cried the girl, covering her eyes. + +The master rogue and his valet were led out into the assembly-room, and +we reluctantly followed. I saw it all now. When Haggerty called up +central at the club, he ascertained where the last call had been from, +and, learning that it came from Hollywood Inn, he took his chance. The +room was soon filled with servants and stable-hands, the pistol-shot +having lured them from their beds. The wounded man was very pale. He +sat with his uninjured hand tightly clasped above the ragged wound, and +a little pool of blood slowly formed at his side on the floor. But his +eyes shone brightly. + +"A basin of water and some linen!" cried the girl to Moriarty. "And +send all these people away." + +"To yer rooms, ivery one of ye!" snapped Moriarty, sweeping his hands. +"'Tis no place for ye, be off!" He hurried the servants out of the +room, and presently returned with a basin of water, some linen and balm. + +We watched the girl as she bathed and bandaged the wounded arm; and +once or twice the patient smiled. Haggerty looked on approvingly, and +in William's eyes there beamed the gentle light of reverence. It _was_ +a picture to see this lovely creature playing the part of the good +Samaritan, moving here and there in her exquisite gown. Ah, the tender +mercy! I knew that, come what might, I had strangely found the right +woman, the one woman. + +[Illustration: We watched the girl as she bathed and bandaged the +wounded arm.] + +"You're a good little woman," said the rogue, his face softening; "and +a good woman is the finest thing God ever placed upon earth. Had I +only found one!" He turned whimsically toward me. "Are you engaged to +marry this little woman?" + +"No." + +"Surely you love her!" + +"Surely I do!" I looked bravely at the girl as I spoke. + +But she never gave any sign that she heard. She pinned the ends of the +bandages carefully. + +"And what brought you to this?" asked Haggerty, looking down at his +prisoner. + +The prisoner shrugged. + +"You've the making of a fine man in you," went on Haggerty generously. +"What caused you to slip up?" + +"That subject is taboo," replied the thief. "But I want to beg your +pardon for underestimating your cunning." + +"It was all due to a chance shot at the telephone." + +"I kept you guessing." + +"Merrily, too. My admiration is wholly yours, sir," returned Haggerty, +picking up the telephone exchange-book. He rang and placed his lips to +the transmitter, calling a number. "Hello! Is this the chief of the +Blankshire police? Yes? Well, this is Haggerty. That idea I hinted +to you was a mighty good one. Prepare two strong cells and have a +doctor on hand. What? Oh, you will find your horse and carriage at +Moriarty's. Good-by!" + +My money was handed over to me. I returned it to my wallet, but +without any particular enthusiasm. + +"It's a bad business, William," said I. + +"It's all in the game, sir,"--with a look at Haggerty that expressed +infinite hatred. "In our business we can't afford to be careless." + +"Or to talk too much," supplemented his master, smiling. "Talk, my +friend, rounds me up with a bullet in the arm, and a long sojourn +behind stone walls. Never talk. Thank you, Miss Hawthorne, and you, +too, Mr. Comstalk, for the saving grace of humor. If it were possible, +I should like to give Miss Hawthorne the pick of the jewels. This is a +sordid world." + +"Ye'er car-r is coming!" shouted Moriarty, running to the window. + +So the girl and I passed out of Hollywood Inn, leaving Haggerty with +his mysterious prisoners. I can't reason it out, even to this day, but +I was genuinely sorry that Haggerty had arrived upon the scene. For +one thing, he had spoiled the glamour of the adventure by tingeing it +with blood. And on the way to the car I wondered what had been the +rogue's past, what had turned him into this hardy, perilous path. He +had spoken of a woman; perhaps that was it. They are always behind +good actions and bad. Heigh-ho! + +Once we were seated in the lonely car, the girl broke down and cried as +if her heart would break. It was only the general reaction, but the +sight of her tears unnerved me. + +"Don't cry, girl; don't!" I whispered, taking her hand in mine. She +made no effort to repulse me. "I am sorry. The rascal was a gallant +beggar, and I for one shouldn't have been sorry to see him get away. +There, there! You're the bravest, tenderest girl in all this world; +and when I told him I loved you, God knows I meant it! It is one of +those inexplicable things. You say I have known you only eight hours? +I have known you always, only I had not met you. What are eight hours? +What is convention, formality? We two have lived a lifetime in these +eight hours. Can't you see that we have?" + +"To shoot a human being!" she sobbed. Her head fell against my +shoulder. I do not believe she was conscious of the fact. And I did +not care a hang for the conductor. + +I patted her hand encouragingly. "It had to be done. He was in a +desperate predicament, and he would have shot Haggerty had the +detective been careless in has turn; and he wouldn't have aimed to +maim, either." + +"What a horrible night! It will haunt me as long as I live!" + +I said nothing; and we did not speak again till the first of the +Blankshire lights flashed by us. By this time her sobs had ceased. + +"I know I haven't done anything especially gallant to-night; no +fighting, no rescuing, and all that. They just moved _me_ around like +a piece of stage scenery." + +A smile flashed and was gone. It was a hopeful sign. + +"But the results are the same. You have admitted to me that you are +neither engaged nor married. Won't you take me on--on approval?" + +"Mr. Comstalk, it all seems so like a horrid dream. You _are_ a brave +man, and what is better, a sensible one, for you submitted to the +inevitable with the best possible grace. But you talk of love as +readily as a hero in a popular novel." + +"I never go back," said I. "It seems incredible, doesn't it, that I +should declare myself in this fashion? Listen. For my part, I believe +that all this was written,--my Tom-foolery in Mouquin's, my imposture +and yours, the two identical cards,--the adventure from beginning to +end." + +Silence. + +"Suppose I should say," the girl began, looking out of the window, +"that in the restaurant you aroused my curiosity, that in the cellars +my admiration was stirred, that the frank manner in which you expressed +your regard for me to--to the burglar--awakened--" + +"What?" I cried eagerly. + +"Nothing. It was merely a supposition." + +"Hang it; I _do_ love you!" + +"Are you still the Capuchin, or simply Mr. Comstalk?" + +"I have laid aside all masks, even that which hides the heart." + +She turned and looked me steadily in the eyes. + +"Well?" said I. + +"If I took you on--on approval, what in the world should I do with you +in case you should not suit my needs?" + +"You could return me," said I laughing. + +But she didn't. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HEARTS AND MASKS*** + + +******* This file should be named 17390.txt or 17390.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/7/3/9/17390 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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