, '_» ~ “n l. if' ll I . w ° P" iii at Christmas an »¢»o+o+¥ Prom Piile 6) ` from you-YOU* His voice relentlessly knees. Like and kicked. pressure drove she huddled on there. sfarmc usher' "Now listen. For what has happened to-nisht YOU alone are,to blame. For twelve long years I MVC loved you. withpevor a thought of making y0\l mine 1';-,¢ wiggh, spoilt you that the world knows would have laughed in .my fuse had I asked you to marry me. But therels another you that only I have ais- covcred and that I l°v°-" . _ She uneored. _‘_‘You talk- like a missionary. ' "Db I?" "l'l1ere was infinite tenderness. n0w. lv his voice; "You can get up. I am sorry if I hu" Y0“°" ' "Paul, please let me go." The flickering flrellght lllununed the red stain on his wrist where her teeth had been. BHG She fe" l* `~ wild gladness at the sight. < _ __ "No, you are staying here, w-night; Thats final. ~ The words were like the flick ora whip in her “N1” and. before the masterful blazeox his eyes sho low- ` cred her own in panic-stricken terror. Followed al hiatus while she gazed in dumb misery at her tor- . f mentor. But hc made no sign. She tried appealing to his chivalry, assumed an air of gentleness, or weak- ness. but of no avail. ~ ‘ The situation seemed to afford him a strange Sal- isfaction. He kissed her. cxulting in her distaste at " his carcsscs, and at length, taking hor unresponsive .. ,~`-' arm in his, hc led her up the narrow stairs to a low. 1;, sweet-scented room _’= "You will find everytlllrlg. hcrc you need. HI: ~,,' pointed to o collection of dainty feminine things that ,_' w;_-Q ggsemhlcd on the bed. "And, by the way. you ,',“ can't'es':apc. The window is securely shattered on = "i ' the outside." _ .`,‘ Hor head bowed in weary acquiescence, ~.. “W,lll.you come down again, or are your tired?" _ - “I will stay here." A sob choked in he.r dry throat. ',__ "Very well." .With set face he walked out and -Y lotlred thc`dcor behind him. . - - . ' “_ Outside the snow still fell. Paul took thc' car and »'.‘ _ put it safely away inside the cart-sheds *1 u o u .1 o .'-J: ag#-'n By morning the snow hgd piled itself into giant mounds _around the old cottage. Gloria noted the . fact dully as she looked out of the window. The door _ was unlocked, now, but she made no movement to go downstairs. - ~ » __ . She spun round and faced Pa-.il as _he entered the _ .i room. . -~, ' "Gnoe I' am free I will punish you for this. I'll 1.' make'_you sorry!" _ .J "You can never do that. Nothing can ever take A »_,' from me the Joy of having once owned you. Now I _jf have prepared breakfast. Let us go down." \- “l shall not eat." , ‘ 4- Butthc very matter-of-factness of his tone frigh- ‘ \_-' toiled her and sho followed him without further re- . slsthnce. ~ _ ‘F _ The day passed slowly. Paul cooked the dinner -' crlr! tidled up with a -characteristic thoroughness, ' wllilehla .wife sat staring with lack-lustre eyes at the "~`r_g .na flames. and from there to the dormer window _ _ through which the sun shone, slowly melting the .;‘ ellow with its weak, wintry glow.~ At length darkness - fell. The lamp was lighted and 'thc curtains drown. Paul Jolnep ner beside the ni-e.ena,emoke_,‘ wonderful cars I knew that my love was hopeless. You » .,' Maid u‘a_ver‘lt°ol> I-i°w\\ '-0 mvrlevel. -Yerwhcn 1 went yu away something urged me.to,ma.\m my way in the v world, to prove myself the equal--_eolnbstlvely -- of ' __, ilffiifi U5Zi¢‘~‘l i~'¢a'z.erll=ir_clcrl you.. 'Journalism appealed _Q to me and I drove myself at it like o. nigger and forg- ed ahdad. To~fiay I have a position that I am not " ashamed to ask .any gli-l.toshare with mo." _ "Then-did ycu iniherlvj eo, ask mc," ' _ -‘ No. It was not ,money that could ‘make me your '* vqual, Olorls. You are still as farubovo mc as the -.~_' .it1.r:', and-I-I have been a beast to you.” Suddenly , he Izuriod his head in his hands. __i;’ rrrr---z -',_, _ ,A strange pily stirred in Gloria. a vaguo some- : in ng which she tried fiercely' to crush. He rose to his - ce:. , . _ »; "To-mci_‘rr".v. I shall let you go. It was madness ¢ ¢,."i~» - "_ I i-i‘~2i‘ine¢l¢ im held you asninstyour will. 'ro-night ` .} it is is7e,.i:u_t to-morrow you shall be tree." ' - "And, you will divorce me. paul?" At_tl‘_lat he stiffened. "I suppose I thought of u me divorce. xt's lie. Bull. ru do lt. for tl~e_sweet .sllufllfxi ' of ‘ the her I hate but an my at- yeata that lny had orokcn still, it was al live dovffi and with wars, Paul. I feel so of.. if- .- dcn‘t .ivorry about solved his lul.nd.1. and since you 1 hlnlry morn- moods after a rdy PY. F HUW. vffw own, partiouliu-.way, and dressed atisome considerable expense by one of the best _tellers in London stood liesilsrlhg on the footwalk,in_ 0xf°l°d 'S_i\‘°°i- The mason for the hesitation wdrobvlous to no one, not cycn to in-eddy himself. Itwjw .lust 0112 0! ih9l¢.iD' oxpllcable moments that ooourpat some time or another in the lives of all of us whenrfor' no apparent reason, we stand staring gt theuagis. _ About _ten min tes before_'t_his_momell_i.ary_ lull, in Fl'eddy's usually lively comoiouanese. hehad been pondering upon' the important; question _as to what he ought to do about Christmas which was due for celebration two days hence.-_ Unfortunately the' oogl- tatlon had not been productive of anything tangible. - He was about to cross tho road when. with a thoughtlesslress for which they are frequently famous. an omnibus grunted to a standstill j_ust opposite him. cutting short the intended. movement abruptly. .__ As it happened. however. that omnibus hed. been specially' chartered by Providence. and Betty Verne, o charming vision of_ fresllédompleidoned lovellness, allghted as it were. on Freddy’a doorstep. ' ' ~ "Hello, Freddy. old thing," she smiled joyously, “you've saved me th‘reehalfpence." Freddy grinned as though he understood. _ _ ."I'was going lo write you `wnighl:." she pursued, llui~.‘ledly,' “about spending Christmas at Renstone N§anol~ycu know. my Aunt Elspeth's place. Now don't say you are booked up! You will come, won’t you?" - _ Bettyverile talked at about much the same speed as she usually drove her little tvro-seater and Freddy found both a tride breathless.. -, _ "But I thought your aunt . . . " ‘ "Please, Freddy.” she implored. 'vglve your think- ing mechanism a holiday for once. Aunt Elspeth is old _enough tobelieve in the_splrit of Christmas and all that sort of thing. I’ll -_expect you on 'Christmas Evei .. . . dlnneris at seven." and with it “so long. old thing," Betty Verne ded towards the already bril- liantly lighted windows of the shops. leaving Freddy fooling os if someone had just collided with the middle button of his waistcoat. ' ` ~ - I Once the shook had wom off. Freddy Bartlsln fulfilled his original intention and crossed the road. It was only n great effort of self-control 'that pre- vents: him Singing lustily as o taxi bore him club- :ar . , _ T0 Freddy Bartlazn, Betty was thc only-girl-im the-world. He had known her long enough to know that he would vary much like to mg;-ry her, bu; sc for the conquest had becnbesct with difficulties, and the greatest of these was-Bctty's Aunt Elspeth; whol from what Betty had told him, regarded him in a not too_favox-_able light. ‘ I'.‘l_~eddy had long railkled under the lady's judg- ment of him. He considered it grossly unfair because she had never even seen him: but now all that was to be altered. I-le was to be given his chance' and he must make quite sure that the impression was of a very favorable nature. He was aware, of course, that. like the proverbial pebbles on thc Seashore. hc was by no means alone lil 'his aspiration, but Freddy was equally aware that the connoisseur of Seashore pebbles would undoubtedly select the one that appeared just a little different fi-om its fellows, and Freddy Bai-tlam, being a young iiilln who did not hold with self-depreciation, decided tiiltt he was worth _n second glance. _ ' U, ` ~ ' Renstone Mlaloi-. ...Victoria Station on Christmas-Eve e ~.l a penile- mculum of josting humanity, all perfectly happy hilt nevertheless eager and all hopeleuly at sea in ilndlng their right plsifol-ms. needy esruum. having some thing more than n nodding acquaintance with Rugger, rather cnioyed the scruin na, armed with suit cart, hcbilrrowcd his way toward .tile booking cmce. ~ At the window, where s philosophical looking yqggg man was issuing tickets. to almost anywhere. Fl. dy lowered his suit case and fumbled for the nlorlcy. - . "'You‘vc only a minute for your traln.",sa.id the young man lacorlically, glancing ut tlie clock behind him. “'I‘ime's been altered. Platform seven." __ `With a' suffocated exclamation. Freddy reached clown, grabbed his bag and dashed through the crowd v-wr ,,,, W” ‘.4 ¢+ ` ‘ »¢+»-eo' 4 +»o»+o++ro4o-o *M ++e+o~»~ '+ve-¢-foo e¢+++e+» r¢vN+¢ +»»o» Q ' _-_ __ _ _ _ _ :. _ . _ ‘_ _ ‘ _ _ ,' , - 1" ' ruddy mrusm..youns."a\1lw mar'-I°°l=l°¥ in me . Button 'fawnéyl where he ailshted. was a albany little place, whose station had, not nrasrwdi beyond the oil age-‘i'ol~'luumlmtlun, and, having owed !1'°\\\ the feeble glimmerkgf the platform. Freddy found him- self ill u world of darkness. ~ `~ The _porter given ‘him such lucid instruc- giom gg ggi)-ww ¢`°.get`to Renstone Manor that Freddy* told himself that'£i;\hs.found it he’d.'b¢‘Q\illUi0d 101? cxploration'work" _ youd the Amazon. Lady Doi-lger's' place. he1remem_bered..had achlev-_ ed, from time to time, a certain notoriety by _reason of the fact that 6ert§_l_.l1_,_lrlembers of Ml-_ Wi1ll%ieia»3¥\i€'S scattered family had".-unsuccessfully. endeavo_ 'to re- move from within the famous Dorker Diamond, which had' been ln the family so'long that it had now be- 1:ome their owrvproperty. _ i It was"stranm'e`_that in all his cogltations concern- ing Betty’s Adnt'_Els'p`eth he-had never really associat- ed her in his mind with Lady Dcrker and her famoue diamond. Perhaps one reason why the old lady had not been delgned to regard his frlendshlP With her niece favorably, was because she half suspected that. Freddy was ,after the diamond. ` - The thought caused him some considerable mer- rllnent, and it was in that attitude of_ mind that he eventually »an°ived at the massive oak doo: of Ren- :tone -Manor. . L.; _ The tall. Q0n`1mnnding figure of‘ the butler eyed Freddy suspiciously, he thought, as he explained his presence b the merest mcntlon'of Betty's name. _ The_.inic_rlor‘bf the Manor presented a festive ap- pearance., Mistletoe hung lil generous bunches from-_ the 'antique fittings of the electric lamps. Holly and laurel garlanded 'the great newel-post at the foot of the broadstaircase. ' , ‘ . Freddy felt quite 'light-hearted as the butler op- ened the door of his room on the first landing and intimated that dinner would be served promptly ae seven at the fancy dress dance which Lady Darker had arranged was flue at nine-thirty and would pro- bablyscontinuc until well past thc midnight hour. "Fancy dress!" gasped Freddy, staring at the grey lfalrcd yet quite muscular figure of the butler. "I didn‘t know it was to be a fancy dress. ‘Betty--cr_-_ Miss Verne,"~nover mentioned that. what am I to aol" - 1 , "I understand that her Lady-ship has said that fancy dress will be optional. sir." Freddy did not look quite convinced. and the but- lcr fearing that_,he might ask' for one of his outfits. took his leave with the words: ~“Should you be wanting anyihlng, slr, would you be good enough to ring?" When hefxhad gone. Freddy slumped down upon the edge of the bed. to think. Now, why ‘hadn’t. Betty mentioned that important detail? Stupid. Yes, it was very' stupid of her. i Frcddy`s cyes wandered to the bed. “I might go as at shiek," he mused, "those sheets rrouldilo if I had some pins." 1 Down below a clock chimed. ‘ “Good lord! lt’s half-past six!" he exclaimed. Jumplnk “Dm .the bed and tugging at_the suitcase. It wasfthen that something odd about that suit- case occurred .to him. Something very odd. 'It wa§n'r his suitcase at all. Rather like his ln a wav, of course. L-'ame shape. same cal-ur, -.ucl1 thc some type of lock, but no initials. It was then that sqmetfilnfz odd about that suli~- vave cfcurred to him. Something _very odd. Iirwasnit nls.f§l.iittnso at nil. Rather like his in n. way. of course. Callie Shape. same colour, much the-same type of lock. lnlt_ilo~initials. _ t -_ . 1i‘iaatlc,ally_I=1reddy tugged at the locks nnd duno laclgtlzc lid. ,Afgroan escaped him. Hehnd s:nr_ccly,~ rxpected to_»i`ind=,a.drcs<; suit inside and he did_n't. What' hoqdld dind was a 'pecllllarwloft ls.ather“s`ulL cc-ns|sii1!iB’» 9! _Jacket and trousers all 'in‘oi1e, overdll fashlon,._.the -_trousers narrowing dcwn towards the ankles. Besides this them were a pair of rubber glov-- es. a ,black .silk-maskmnd evcomplete -kit of burglarii fosfliw-ccrcvldrivers. kmlny, Skelton -keys and otlle' strange impilmcnts. the like of which honc.it-to¢good- ness Freddyllad never' seen before. -~ What -on earth was he :o do now. He cculdivt go down to dlniier in a. lounge suit. That _wouldbc al- together too .much for Lady Dorker. And ,iw had rlanned to make such an impression. loo. Freddy sank ohm the floor with sr groan- Pérhhlw-the 1>\1i»l=r'=v\11~l_t.[y over the pg,-,355 ,und M lengthdrew-out a. small chamols-leather' bag contain- ills Lady Dorker's famous diamond which hadhlther- to resisted all Dersuaslons to make lt leave home. _ 5508594, Freddy locked the door behind him and . trolled along the corridor. Before going down ig find *Mir he decided to take a' glance into may nsrlu-\»'s “P‘""“°Ft.- Thi' SQN that Stood in one corner was open. _ ‘ ~ But _iust`as he was emerging, Freddy tumbled -;»_li_'=1ight into the arms of the butler. who grasped him J both arms with a savage exultqtion. Wm; You d__bctter _wma liuiet."_.l_io said almost in ii ‘ 12°” U WWW <10 her ladyshlp__ any good li tliorcs a fuss. And on Christina Eve too " playng in an, international match, it was a breath- ' ' T`URK£Y,7‘|"i-lEPL\_\P\ PUDD CHR-`l7\\ NND f\l.L,)U$`| Freddy- 'rd M M” ,¥0u'd .distinguish our-self be. The solemn glalllfatllers clo'~k in the comm ' \\_i\§‘;/Z J 6? ,t . \. ____ /$‘ H8 e E Z2 R and. .putting _har :\rins_arolind .his neck. kissed him. ' _. , . _ ‘ _ “ * __ ' ""°W"°§i "Ybor firlendslhe police Good-night. _dcarl And. without looking ilp.hc answered. "Good-bye. 'my wife. . -ANP IEEGRET. _ The sports onr ,was .a.; tho floor awaiting ,llnr when she came down next morning. Breakfast was a silent meal, although Gloria did her best to keep up a fire of lightshooried chatter. He helped hor into thc car. _a froren .smile on his lips. "I will let .you lznow when.I'v:.- -med the divorce, Gloria. and-try toforgive me." . ' “I've douo that." There was a great carnostness I/,. .~. _ mosey .._;-"_, ,-_,-1 fl " ~ f Dusrrlau . PoSTm£N in hor bono. Abruptly sho ended. "Oh, well, good- - Bays car. sped the lanu and on to the lllgb and now. from the fast tblwihil look back. or 'think' back. s`h,~. cmcclltrnled czi the tnlc she musl, road. told tall everyone regiriiod the marriage rl n Joao in her part. Athongs‘, that atkeinbly " ` iii ‘T\o"lrl'l;n 0113*.” iirlpatleni with jarreii on her. _'Why should sh: f' iii” looked ei. ,hir in lioerscly ‘ls iiirselly ow? simple. l€uo\\‘ln§ Glvrllrs I GKOCE-R Ll. SGRTS or E,0YS r---1' ,B /\ 'llillh C°f‘lE ON DHD ,WE G WKNT ` ' ,__ YOU l 1 9 0 ' §, as though he l_uui_l»een cu the new at Twickenham if - a gags YESQ I BUTWNO PRYSYFORTHE i {i\NDT\iE~iNt0f'\E'Tl\>» "D°“`_° "° ° bliihefillf-.. idi.°t." almost shouted .. . _ y less woe buff Freddy won and tumblsd i to the fl t '- » ALLVERY Nm; ' ` COHIN )N‘ ` mm tho iq,” W" °~m“"l'J""' W" mn ‘WW *nd 9°" comllartlnent' fic Saw. ' n rs Z ' FOR NDS! \ ` ` ' cl ` ,fig )`u”.,X§;n?él;f;‘uy|§’ul%;£V§6la\L0rdoigth hor- -alone." i ~ , . . . _ -. ‘ a. V 5- ` »‘~§_i, " I - ., nr. with the dia- “l'Jal1oei" sho e::e!a.n~f:d. r/.ilziliig l-p the wheezy ‘~ ‘ AND ,P mend? N-°t lam-Yi. F'llF,l|l`¢ld¥ i10i¢Phl1Ii0d f0l° the qu ins|;rumune,_ _ /'\ /. WlNE_ i xml _ffbayii-be here my minute. now.” Dont f 'Hel-sid theres neu-.lug very up-to-date. Gloria m f ’ \ l sue I-°' °»‘ Fi`°““"»".°&';‘.°°. lauirm. "I’ve noi you Hullo, __liero‘s _n waltz." I-In-put it on, and they danced ' _ `¢ ‘,¢ ' , 6 I did ?\1n:ll°lt‘ls°tl§m€:r"` Ttl nm out in mam' up an down the narrow parlour.. ' f* , \ " ,_~ _-, , _Y. .U15 U _ re."- _' ‘ _ - .» , _ - . Q f ‘_ Thataall debt."-purlcd Freddy, '-lump on mp. itrucl; midnight. Paul's arms dropped tn his side. ,_ A ° Q f ° ° U _ I liK°'_i.v-. Bi1i1!$9ll’t.do it too much. I'm tlcltl. “ t is-‘o-lunrrow. Gloria. You are free." ’ I ` U 1 ' - - . He looked at her and a little sob rose in her =\‘\ /` \_ '|\~ . ‘ . . __ M _But l-no b.utler‘s ia _ c a' mask. He had most. . Q ~ I - I ~ - - '_{li°~¢°hw.s»_f humor l_ Slam by -way or exchange. "Paul-I 'wish I could-care" She came to him /mf _ | A T Uilllk‘Wd’d ‘bllt be Cat!-ing long downstairs." , & - , / fl ’ 1 / I , _ ` g U ot/ __ \r -'-1 -*IO *ilu* will have srl ua . than Mm ;oc_&11:°g:_gat to be tum to me, Bo oil’ pet-like 'A |1'i¢1'¢-Mil.. the butler still clinging llm_- ‘from the the butler here." gone 1 of _the hystorlcs uem_i_i .llncoiumonly GDQUINQ. lfill get it. The *‘.!i'.'~ #venue-"_ of ,the police- put out 0112 eiiioy- musk her tlif- its l i