F HEARTS]
AND
MASKS
By
HAROLD MacGRATH
Authorof "The Man on the Box," etc.
With Drawings by Harrison Fisher
q. —— - ~, m
(Copyright. llKft. by liobbs-MerriU Co. I
CHAPTER ll.—Continued.
The ten of hearts again! Hang
the card! And then with a sigh of
relief I recollected that in all prob
ability 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 live; there's luck in
• odd numbers. ... A Blue Domino!
My heart leaped, and 1 thought of
the little ticket in my waistcoat
pocket. A Blue Domino! If. by
chance, there should be a connection
between her and tin; ticket!
She was sitting all alone in a cor
ner 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!" 1
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 atn
••even going to make love to you."
She folded her hands —rather re
signedly, I thought— and the rollick
ing comedy began.
CHAPTER 111.
When they give you a mask at a
'bail they also give you the key to all
manner of folly and impudence, liven
■®tupid people become witty, and the
witty become correspondingly daring.
For all I knew, the Blue Domino at
ray 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. lit is true
'that, ordinarily .lones and Brown and
Smith and Green do not receive in
vitations to attend masquerades at
fashionable hunt clubs; but some
how they seem to worry along with
out these equivocal honors, and pros
per. 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 1 had self-invited the pleasure
of my company to this carnival at
the Blanksliire Hunt club, I smiled
behind my mask. Xerves! I ought to
have been a professor of clinics in
stead of an automobile agent. Hut
the whole affair appealed to ine so
strongly I could not resist it. I was
drawn into the tangle by the very fas
cination 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 regu
larly issued. But what of that? Every
one was ignorant of the fact. I was
eatc inside; and all that was roman
tic in my system was aroused. There
are always some guests who cannot
■avail themselves ol their invitations;
and upon this vague chance I had
slaked my play. Besides, I was .de
termined to disappear before the
.'hour of unmasking. 1 wasn't going
tto take any unnecessary risks. I
•was, then, fairly secure under my Ca
puchin's robe.
tint of my mind slipped the previous
adventures of the evening. 1 forgot,
.temporarily, the beautiful unknown at
Mouqnin's. I forgot the sardonic-lipped
stranger Iliad met in Friard's. I for
got everything save the little ticket
'that uad 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
,*a!k to her!
"I am madly in love with you," I
began. "I have followed you often; 1
liave seen you in your box at theop
.era; I have seen you whirl up Fiftli
.avenue in your fine barouche; and
here at last I meet you!" I clasped
my hands passionately.
"My beautiful barouche! M.v 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 a turquoise, a patch of radiant
summer sky, eyes of sapphire, lips—"
"Archaic, very archaic," she inter
rupted.
"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 Mo «k—"
"There! That's more like it. By
my haldioru, that's the style!"
"Odds bodkin, TOU don't tell me!"
Tliere was a seo«?i<! ripple of laughter
from behind the mask. It was rare
music.
"I could fall in love with you!"
"There once waa a Frenchman who
said that as nothing is impossible, let
us believe in the absurd. 1 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 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 do
ing in a monk's robe? Whore 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."
"llow would you go about to pick
out the fools?" —curiously.
"Beginning with myself—"
"Thy name is also Candor!"
"Look at yonder Cavalier. lie wab
bles like a ship in distress, in the wild
effort to keep his feet untangled from
liis rapier. I'll wager he's a wealthy
plumber on week-days. Observe Anne
ol Austria! What arms! I'll lay odds
that her great-grand mother took in
washing. There's Romeo, now, with
a pair ol legs like an old apple tree.
The freedom of criticism is mine to
night! Did you ever see such ridicu
lous ideas ol costume? For my part,
the robe and the domino for me. All
lines are destroyed; nothing is recog
■ ■■ ■ i ■ —■■ ■ ■ ■ ■■■! ■■■■ i tmrnm ,mm,
! -4! * t
i|i
sp
"Look at Yon Cavalier, He Wabblps Like a Ship in Distress."
nizable. My, my! Thorn's Harlequin,
too. walking on parentheses."
The Hlue Domino laughed again.
"You talk as it you hail no friends
here," —shrewdly.
"Hat which is my friend and which
is the man to whom 1 owe money?"
"What! Is your tailor here, then?"
"Ileavon forbid! Strange, isn't it,
when a fellow starts into pay up his
bills, that the tailor and the under
taker have to wait till the last."
"The subject is outside my under
standing."
"Hut you have dressmakers."
"I seldom pay dressmakers."
"All! Then you belong to the most
exclusive set!"
"Or perhaps I make my own
dresses —"
"Sli!" Not so loud. Suppose some
one should overhear you?"
"It was a slip of the tongue. And
yet, you should be lenient to all."
"Kind heart! Ah, 1 wonder what
all those interrogation points mean—
the black domino there?"
"Possibly she represents Scandal."
"Scandal, then, is symbolilzed 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 Mils, de Necker."
"Or Mme. de Stael."
"Oh. if you are married —"
"1 shall have ceased to interest
you?"
"On the contrary. Only marriage
would account, for the bitterness of
your tone. What does the Hlue Dom
ino represent?"
"The needle of the compass." She
stretched a sleeve out toward me and
I observed for the first time the min
iature compasses woven in the cloth.
Sureiy, one does not rent a costume
like this.
"I understand now why you at
tracted 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 Tenny
son, it's all up with me. Are you
married?"
"One can easily see that at amy
rate you are not."
"ExjUMn."
CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1907.
'Your voice lacks the projier ar.d
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 pliilosopb
Seal —after marriage."
"But are married?"
"I do not say so?"
"Would you like to be?"
"I have my share of feminine curi
osity. But I wonder," —ruminatingly,
"why they do not give masquerades
oftener?"
"That is easily explained. Most of
us live masquerading 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 wo become serious, we shall put
folly out of joint," said 1, rising. "And
besides, we shall miss the best part of
this dance."
She did not hesitate an instant. I
led her to the lloor, and we joined the
dancers. She was as light as a feath
er, 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 while as milk, and the filbert
shaped horn of the finger-tips was
the tint, of rose leaves. Was sho
connected with the ticket in iny pock
et? I tried to look into her eyes, but
in vain; nothing could i see but that
wisp of golden hair which occasion
ally brushed my chin as wilh asur-
| reptitious caress. If only I dared 10-
j main till the unmasking! I pressed
j her hand. There was an answering
pressure, but its tenderness was de
j stroyed by the low laughter that ac
companied it.
"Don't bo silly," she whispered.
"How can 1 help it?"
"True; I forgot you were a fool
| in disguise."
"What has Romance done to you
I that you should turn on her with the
I stuffed-club, Practicality?"
i "She has never paid any particular
i attention to me; perhaps that is the
| reason."
As we neared the corner I saw the
Honorable Julius again. He stretched
i forth his death's-head mask.
"Beware the ten of hearts!" he
' croaked.
Hang his impudence! . . . The
| Blue Doinino turned her head with a
| jerk; and instantly I felt a shiver
j run through her body. For a moment
she lost step. I was filled with won
j der. In what manner could the ten
of hearts disturb her? 1 made up my
ir.iiul to seek out the noble Roman
1 and learn just how much lie knew
j about that disquieting card,
j The music ceased.
"Now, run away with your benedic
I tions," said the Blue Domino breath
j lessly.
i "Shall I see you again?" eagerly.
"If you seek diligently." She paused
for a moment, like a bird about to
take flight. "Positive, fool; compara
tive, fooler; superlative, foolest!"
And I was left standing alone:
What the deuce did she mean by that?
After all, there might be any num
ber of blue dominoes in the land; and
it seemed scarcely credible that a
guest at the Hunt Club would goto a
costumer's for an outfit. (I had gone
to a costumer's. but my case was alto
gether different. I was an impostor.)
I hunted up Imperial Rex. It was not
long ere we came face to face, or, to
j speak correctly, mask to mask.
To be Continued.
Captured a Prize.
Gunner —The gridiron hero is alt
smiles.
Guyer—Yes; he has captured a grid
iron heroine.
Gunner —A gridiron heroine?
Guyer—Yes; a college girl who real-
I ly knows how to broil a beefsteak.—
I Chicago Daily News.
RESCUED 11
People from Wrecked
Steamer Berlin.
THREE ARE WOMEN
The husband of the Queen of Hol
land was Very Active in the
Work of Saving Lives.
London, Eng.—The worst disaster
1 for many years in the history of
the busy cross-channel traffic between
England and the continent occurred
I during a violent gale Thursday morn
ing, when the Rotterdam mail steam
er Berlin, from Harwich to Hook ot
Holland, having safely weathered the
hurricane, was wrecked as she was
entering port. Only one man out of
the 143 persons 011 board succeeded
In reaching shore Thursday.
Hook of Holland.—Largely as a
result of the courage of Prince
Henry of The Netherlands, the prince
consort, that which appeared to be an
impossible task has been achieved,
and the heroic efforts of the Dutch
(lifeboat men have succeeded in rescu
j ing alive 11 more of the survivors of
the ill-fated steamer Berlin.
The gallant Dutch lifeboat men
j were rewarded after more than 30
hours of hard and dangerous work.
Buffetted and driven back time after
j time, the sturdy Dutchmen refused to
j relax their attempts to rescue the
handful of shipwrecked people, and
Anally at 3:30 o'clock Friday after
noon, the receding tide and some im
provement in the weather having
; made the conditions easier, their long
< tight was crowned with success,
j Although several of the persons
j rescued were in the last stages of ex
! haustion, they now are on the road to
j recovery and some of them have been
I able to tell the story of their awful
experiences. Two women and a child
1 are still on board the wreck, but it is
! feared that they are dying.
The names of the passengers saved
J follow:
Mr. Young. Mr. Brodersen, Fraulein
j Buttel, Fraulein Gabler, Frau Schra
i der, all three of these women belong
' to the opera company; a man whose
1 name is not known, and live members
of the crew. Only two women and a
j child are now left on the wreck. Of
] these the two women are known to be
Fraulein Thiele and Frau Wernberg.
J The husband of the last mentioned
woman lies dead in the mortuary
| here.
A DECLARATION Of WAR.
It Is Made by Honduras Against
Nicaragua.
City of Mexico. —Word reached
1 this city Friday night that Hon
j duras has formally declared war
j against Nicaragua. President Bonilia
J is at the head of the Honduran troops
and is marching on the frontier of
j Nicaragua.
Managua, Nicaragua.—The Nicara-
I guan forces on February 20 cap
tured without opposition the town
of El Truinfo, in Honduras, and
Thursday, after six hours' hard fight
ing the Nicaraguan army occupied
San Bernardino, an excellent position
j owing to the fact that it is in com
j munication by land and water with
the Nicaraguan base of operations.
Many Hondurans were killed or
wounded and the retreating army left
quantities of ammunition and many
rifles 011 the field. The casualties on
| the Nicaraguan aide were a few men
| wounded.
POUR PEOPLE DROWNED.
They Broke Through the Ice in a
Park at Buffalo, N. Y.
Buffalo, N. Y. —Four people were
drowned in Scajaquada creek, at
the Elm wood avenue entrance to Dela
ware park, last night.
Mrs. Drummer, with several chil
dren, was walking on the ice toward
Delaware park. At the Elmwood ave
j nue viaduct over the creek, the ice
| suddenly gave way under Ruth and
the two Beiter boys, throwing them
| into the water. Mrs. Drummer was
j about 20 feet away with her 4-year-old
j son Walter. Mrs. Drummer ran to
the rescue of the three children. In
her efforts to save them she broke
through the ice and little Walter, who
had toddled after his mother, fell in
after her. Walter clung to the edge
of the ice and was rescued. Mrs.
Drummer was unconscious when
taken from the water and died shortly
afterwards. The bodies of the others
were recovered.
Congress.
Washington.—On the 22d the house
devoted its session to consideration of
the sundry civil bill and passed 3GO
private pension bills. The senate
passed the military academy appropri
ation bill, but spent most of the day
in debate of the agricultural appropri
ation bill.
Will Make Up the Shortage.
Hartford, Conn. —Most of the $55,-
000 taken from the trust funds
of the Connecticut Baptist convention
by the treasurer, W. F. Walker, the
defaulting official of the Savings
Bank of New Britain, will be made up
by friends of the denomination.
Explosion Injured Nine Miners.
Collinsville, 111. —Nine coal miners
were injured, two seriously, by
the explosion of a compressed air
tank 200 feet below the surface in
Lumaghi mine No. 2, near here, Fri
day.
Balcom & Lloyd, j
WE have the best stocked
general store in the county j|
and if yon are looking for re- |
liable goods at reasonable Jjj
prices, we are ready to serve
r yon with the best to be found. |j|
p Our reputation for trust- jji
| worthy goods and fair dealing S
is too well known to sell any jj|
| but high grade goods. =]
■ I
I Our stock of Queensware and |K
Chinaware is selected with ffl
great care and we have soma
of the most handsome dishes H
ever shown in this section,
both in imported and domestic ffl
makes. We invite you to visit
us and look our goods over. IS
II ffl
1 l
1 G
I ®
pj zz=zzzzzz=zzzrzzzzzzzzizzzzzi 1®
| Balcom & Lloyd, j
II |]
|| LOOK ELSEWHERE BUT DON'T FORGET
14 THESE PRICES AND FACTS AT
S iLaBARW I
M JJ N
N M
14 We carry in stock .
the largest line of Car- ~ ' **
pets, Linoleums and Sjr'iMilfWiffffM
IJ Mattings of all kinds 7Y "H
II f ver brought to this ; M
J* town. Also a big line • *** frssssssfl * *
«of samples. ilMilllffll II
A very large line ot FOR THE pESf JJ
Lace Curtains that can- - - M
I* Xre e forthe h P rice auy - COMFORTABLE LODGING it
M fti
Art Squares and of fine books in a choice library
Ej Rugs of all sizes and select the Ideal pattern of Globe- M
H kind, from the cheap- Wernicke "Elastic" Bookcase.
est to the best. Furnished with bevel French j|J|
Plate or leaded glass doors.
N Dining Chairs, I »on sale or 1 ||
|| Rockers and GEO. J. LaBAR,
H High Cliail'S. Sole Agent for Cameron County.
A large and elegant L——
line of Tufted and ;
M Drop-head Couches. Beauties and at bargain prices.
M li
fed S3O Bedroom Suits, OC S4O Sideboard, quar- COfl £2
Bolid oak at 4>ZO tered cak 4)oU P*
P? |2B Bedroom Suits, COI $32 Sideboard, qnar- COC
PS solid oak at 4JZI tered oak **
jf* $26 Bed room Suits, CIH $22 Sideboard, quar- CIC IM|
solid oak at «pZU tered oak, 4J y 0 ||
M A large line of Dressers from I Chiffoniers of all kinds and £4
M $3 up. I a 1 prices. |#
£3 —7 M
The finest line of Sewing Machines on the market, fc*
II the "DOMESTIC" and "ELDRJLGE.' All drop- £2
heads and warranted.
A fine line of Dishes, common grade and China, in £2
sets and by the piece. M
As I keep a full line of everything that goes to M
M make up a good Furniture store, it is useless to enum- h
M erate them all. |1
H Please call and see for yourself that lam telling |g
|| you the truth, and if you don't buy, there is no harm **
|| done, as it is 110 trouble to show goods.
« GEO. J .LaBAR. ||
TJINrr)E3R.TABLIKrG. M
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