Brut |
Bellefonte, Pa., April 3, 1914.
The Ne’er-Do-Well.
[Continued from page 6, Col. 4.]
saw. 1 never counted upon such grati-
tude. It is too much, and yet a man
cannot refuse the gift of his friend
and not seem ungracious, can he?
Somewhere in the orient they have a
custom of exchanging gifts. No man
may accept a thing of value without
making adequate return, and it has al-
ways struck me as a wise practice.”
He turned full upon Kirk for the first
time since he had begun speaking, and
his voice rose a tone as he said, “I
can’t let the obligation rest entirely
upon me. We have been friends, An-
thony, and I am going to give you
something in return which I have
prized highly. It would be counted of
great value by some.” Once more he
paused and drew his lips back in that
grimace of mockery. It could no long-
er be termed a smile. “It is this—I am
going to give you—my wife. You have
had her from the first, and now she is
yours.”
For one frightful moment there was
no sound: even the men’s breathing
was hushed, and they sat slack jawed.
stunned, half minded to believe this
some hideous, incredible jest. Cort-
landt turned away gloatingly.
Kirk was the last to recover his pow-
ers, but when they did revive they
came with a prodigious rush. He
plunged upward out of his chair with
a cry like a wounded animal. and the
others rose with him. The table rock-
ed, something smashed, a chair was
hurled backward. The room broke into |
fostant turmoil. Kirk felt hands upon
him, and then went blind with fury,
struggling in a passion too strong for
coherent speech. He was engulfed in
chaos. He felt things break beneath
his touch, felt bodies give way before
him,
How or when Kirk left the room he
never knew. Eventually he found him-
self pinned in his chair, with Runnels’
white face close against his own and
other hands upon his arms. His first
frenzy quickly gave way to a sickening
horror.
“It’s a lie! The man’s crazy!” he
cried hoarsely; then, as his compan-
ions drew away from him, he rose to
his feet. ‘‘Why are you looking at me
like that? I tell you it's a d—d lie!
I never’—
Runnels turned to the table and
with shaking hand put a glass to his
lips and gulped its contents. Wade
and Kimble exchanged glances, then,
avoiding each other’s eyes, took their
hats from the hooks behind them.
“Wait! Bring him back!” Kirk
mumbled. *I’ll get him and make him
say it's a lie.”
But still no one an-
swered, no one looked at him. “God!
You don’t believe it?”
“Im going home, fellows. I'm kind
of sick,” Kimble said. One of the
others murmured unintelligibly, and,
wetting a napkin, bound up his hand,
which was bleeding. They continued
to watch Kirk as if fearful of some in-
sane action, yet they refused to meet
his eyes squarely. There was no sym-
pathy in their faces.
The knowledge of what these actions
meant came to him slowly. Was it
possible that his friends believed this
incredible accusation? As he began to
collect himself he saw his plight more
clearly. His first thought had been
that Cortlandt was insane, but the
man’s actions were not those of a
maniac. No! He actually believed—
and these fellows also. He wanted to
shout his innocence at them, to beat
it into their heads.
One by one they took their hats and
went out, mumbling goodnight to one
another, as if intending to go home
singly in order to avoid all discussion
of this thing that had fallen among
them. Runnels aloné remained.
“You don’t believe I did—that?” An-
thony asked in a strained voice.
“I—I think I do.” There was a mis-
erable silence, and then: “It isn’t the
thing itself, you know, so much as the
rotten—underhanded advantage you
took. If he’d been a stranger, now—
Honestly, isn’t it true?”
Kirk shook his head listlessly.
wouldn’t lie to you.”
Runnels drew a deep breath. “Oh,
come, now, the man must have known
what he was saying. Men don’t do
. things like that on suspicion.”
“He misunderstood our friendship,”
said Kirk heavily, then roused himself
for a last plea. “Look here!” he cried.
“You know Cortlandt, and you know
me. The man was insanely jealous.
I know it sounds weak, but it’s the
truth, and it's all T can say. I'll go
mad if you doubt me. And tonight of
"all’— He broke off sharply. “My
God! I'd forgotten that I'm married.
Suppose Gertrudis hears of this!” An-
thony seized his temples in despair.
Runnels. took a sudden illogical deci-
sion. He never knew exaftly what
had influenced him, but his whole past
knowledge surged up in him with a
force that he could not resist. He laid
his hand on Kirk’s shoulder. “Take
it easy, old man,” he said. “I believe
you. I've always known that they
didn’t get along together, although—
well, I won't try to understand it. He
may not do amything further, and
these fellows won’t mention what hap-
pened here. They can’t.”
“Women are apt to be jealous, aren’t
they, Runnels? What do you suppose
she’d do?”
“Don’t worry about that. I'm think-
ing about Cortlandt. If he finds out
he’s mistaken what will he do?”
“He'll have to find out. I'm going to
tell.him. His wife will tell him. Good
God! Do you see what an awfe! light
“1
it puts me in? You don’t doubt me,
* do you really, old man?’
“No. but what a night this has been!
It seems a year old. Come along. now.
You must get out of here. You must
turn in. The waiters are wondering
what this row is about. I think we'd
better take a walk.”
In passing through the deserted lob-
by of the hotel they saw Clifford idling
about. But they were too much ab-
sorbed to wonder what had kept him
up so late. By the clock across the
plaza they saw it was two hours after
midnight as they stepped into the
street. Then, finding no coaches in
sight, they set out to walk toward An-
con, both badly in need of the open
air.
A moment later Clifford followed
them, taking pains to keep at a dis-
tance.
Now that the full import of Cort-
landt’s accusation had sunk into his
mind. Kirk lapsed into a mood of sul-
len bitterness. He said little, but his
set face worried his companion, who
was loath to bid him good night even
when they were close to the Tivoli.
After they had parted Runnels was
upon the point of going back and offer-
ing to spend the night with him. but
thought better of it.
Instead of passing through the office
Kirk mounted to the porch of the Ti-
voli and entered his room from the
outside, as he and Chiquita had done
earlier that evening. He found Allan
wating and bursting with a desire to
gossip, but cut him short.
“Get my street clothes. I'm going
out.” He tore the white tie from his
throat as if it were choking him. “I’ve
been hurt, Allan. TI can’t explain. for
you wouldn't understand. but I’ve been
hurt. Come along."
The negro’s lips drew apart in an ex-
pression of apelike ferocity, and he be-
gan to chatter threats of vengeance, to
which Kirk paid little heed. A few mo-
ments later they went out quietly, and
together they took the rock road down
toward the city, the one silent and
desperate, the other whining like a
hound nearing a scent.
* * * %* * * @
Edith Cortlandt did not retire im-
mediately upon her return from the
ball. Her anger at Anthony’s behavior
kept her wakeful, and the night had
turned off so dead and humid that
sleep was in any case a doubtful pos-
sibility.
She was still sitting in her room at
a late hour when she heard the outside
door close and Cortlandt’s footsteps
mounting the stairs. She was glad he
had his own room and never entered
hers at such an hour, for even to talk
with him in her present state of mind
and body would have been more than
she could bear.
She was unreasonably, annoyed there-
fore, when he came boldly into her
chamber without even knocking.
“Rather late for good night,” she said
coldly. i
“I've just come from Anthony's sup-
per party.”
His voice made her look round sharp-
ly. She saw that his linen, ordinarily
“He’s yours now. You can have him.”
stiff and immacuiate, was sodden and
crumpled, his collar limp, his forehead
glistening with drops of moisture.
“What ails you, Stephen?’ she cried.
“Have you been drinking?”
you something.”
He took the loving cup from its
flannel bag and set it upon the table.
“They gave me this.
“And this too.” He tossed the watch
with its enameled monogram into her
lap. :
“Ah! That's very handsome.”
“Yes. I thought you'd like it. It's
from Anthony.” He laughed, then
‘ shuddered.
souvenirs. You surely expected”—
while she was speaking:
“Anthony made a speech when he
gave it to me—a very nice speech, full
of friendship and love and gratitude.”
He repeated Kirk’s words as he re-
membered them. “What do you think
of that?”
Mrs. Cortlandt’s eyes widened. This
was not the man she knew. At this
moment he was actually insistent, al-
most overbearing, and he was regard-
ing her with that same ironical sneer
‘that had roused her anger earlier in the
evening.
He began to chuckle, apparently
without reason. His shoulders shook
feebly at first, then more violently.
“No. I didn’t drink much. I brought |
“Why, you seem excited over these
He broke in—a thing he rarely did
His fiat chest heaved. and he hiccough-
ed as if from physical weakness. It
was alarming, and she rose, staring at
him affrightedly. He continued to
shudder and shake in uncontrollable
hysteria, but his eyes were bright and
watchful.
“Oh, I—I—took it all in—I let him
p-put the noose around his own neck
and tie the knot. Then 1 hung him.”
His convulsive giggling was terrible,
forecasting, as it did, his immediate
breakdown.
“Stephen!” she exclaimed. in a
shocked tone, convinced that his mind
was going. “You are ili. You need a
doctor. I will call Joceel.” She laid
her hand on his arm. “Won't you go
to your room and let me call a doctor?”
“Not yet. Wait! He told them what
1 had done for him. I acknowledged it
all and made them hear it from my
lips too. Then”— He paused, and she
steeled herself to witness another spec-
tacle of his pitiable loss of self control.
But instead he grew icy and corpse-
like, with lips drawn back in a grin.
“I played with him the way you have
played with me. Think!”
* Her face went suddenly ashen.
“Well, I told him before them all
that I intended to give him something
in return, and I did. I[—gave—him--
you.”
“God! You didn’t tell him that?
You didn’t say that—before those men!
Oh-h!* She shrank back, drawing the
gauzy silk robe closer about her breast.
Then she roused to sudden action. Seiz-
ing him by the shoulders she shook
him roughly with far more than her
natural strength, voicing furious words
which neither of them understood.
“Oh, I did it,” he declared. ‘He's
yours now. You can have him He's
been your lover’—
She flung him away from her so vio-
lently that he nearly fell.
“It’s a lie! You know it’s a lie!”
“It’s true. I'm no fool.”
She beat her hands together distracted-
ly. “What have you done?) What will
those men think? Listen! You must
stop them quickly. Tell them it’s not
so.”
[Continued next week.]
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