Henry C. Rowland

“ No man with any real stuff in him who was care-free, in robust health, with a fine position, and, most of all—and here something blazed up inside me—such a woman as Edith for his wife, would be sitting, as no doubt he was that moment, guzzling whisky in his smoking-room, to go reeling up a little later to snore drunkenly at his wife's side for the rest of the night. ”

“ So up we got and went out. As we left the box Kharkoff and Léontine passed, dressed for the street. I was talking to Miss Dalghren and Léontine's eyes avoided mine but rested for a moment intently on the girl. Miss Dalghren gave a little shiver.
“She's rather terrible, I think,” said she. “Did you see the look she gave me? It was not agreeable. I wonder why?”
“Jealousy, perhaps,” said John.
“Of what?” asked Miss Dalghren, quickly.
“I fancy,” said John, “that for all of her dark beauty the Night is always a bit jealous of the Morning; also, your pearls are finer than hers.” ”

“ My friend, a man can't stand being fondled by as lovely a woman as Léontine and never lift a hand. This man couldn't, at that time, so I made up in muscle for what I lacked in feeling, and caught her in my arms and gave her a squeeze that made her gasp, big strong woman that she was. ”

“ I took up Léontine's letter again. “As far as your half-brother is concerned,” she went on, “it does not so much matter. After all, there is a blood tie between you, and blood is thicker than water. Besides, Frank, I have learned a good deal about him from Kharkoff and another man. He is not a very wonderful person. But, for his wife's sake, do you yourself think that you ought to remain one of the household? ”

“ She felt my eyes on her and flashed me a quick look, which passed to Edith, then Miss Dalghren. I was watching her closely and saw her gaze fasten on both sets of pearls and there was an unholy gleam in her tawny eyes. She took a deep breath, then turned to the Prince and whispered a few words.
John leaned over and said, with his lips so close to my ear that I caught the strong reek of liquor:
“Ain't she a wonder! All Paris is mad to find out who she really is—and what. Somebody asked Kharkoff about her at the Automobile Club the other night, just before they started to play. ”

“ Léontine gave me a curious smile. “We'll see, Frank,” said she, softly. “Once a thief, always a thief. It's in the blood.”
Suddenly she turned and walked down the path and disappeared behind the heavy foliage.
That afternoon John took me up to see the new car that he was promoting. The company planned to make only big fellows. One of their six-cylinders was in the garage and we took her out for a spin over the road. We made the run to Chartres in about fifty minutes, John driving. ”

“ We talked for a few minutes, then said John:
“Frank, do you know anything about motors?”
“Yes,” I answered “I've fooled around cars a good deal.” I didn't add that I had once made a tour of New England in a motor-car, working the different places we struck en route.
“Good,” says he, then went on to tell me how for some time past he had been considering a new motor-car proposition. A few days before he came to see me in the Santé he had decided to take it up, backing it with quite a lot of capital. ”

“ It was arranged that I should take charge of the Paris office, my principal duty being to show the car to clients. After the others had gone John and I remained to talk, and I noticed that in the course of our conversation he took several drinks of whisky and soda. He was in that state of buoyancy about the new venture that you find so often in the rich amateur whose only knowledge of business comes from buying things instead of trying to sell them. ”

“ He told me that he had always been very sore at his dependence on his wife for every cent he spent and that he soon hoped to be a rich man on his own account. He hinted to me that he had several things in hand from which he expected big results, and that if all went as it should he would be able to back his automobile venture with a couple of million francs. ”

“ I answered, “there's nothing to fear. Thieves often do just what I'm doing; get out of it in time. Fact is, most thieves chuck the game soon after middle age, if they're out of jail. I'll hand it out cold that I've quit, and make it plain that so far as the old gang is concerned I never knew it.”
This may sound queer, but as a matter of fact it's nearly as frequent for a crook to turn honest as it is for an honest person to turn crook, and that's been known to happen.
So out I went and hailed a motor-taxi and spun through the Bois to Bagatelle. ”