* _^. V W id *4 
 
 Arfnur Hornblou'
 
 2440
 
 A SMALL JEWELLED HAND STRUCK HIM FULL ON" THE MOUTH. 
 
 Frontispiece, p. 116
 
 THE MASK 
 
 A Story of Love and Adventure 
 
 BY 
 
 ARTHUR HORNBLOW 
 
 AUTHOR OF THE NOVELS "THE LION AND THE MOUSE," "THE 
 
 GAMBLERS," "BOUGHT AND PAID FOR," "BY RIGHT OF 
 
 CONQUEST," "THE END OF THE GAME," ETC. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS BY 
 
 PAUL STAHR 
 
 G. W. DILLINGHAM COMPANY 
 
 PUBLISHERS NEW YORK
 
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1913. BY 
 G. W. DILLINGHAM COMPANY 
 
 fhe MaiJk
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 PACK 
 
 A small jewelled band struck him full on the mouth. 
 
 Frontispiece. 116 
 
 " Yes, you are my brother. We are twins." 153 
 
 "I adore you I adore you," he murmured, as he kissed her 
 
 again 280 
 
 2136292
 
 THE MASK 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THERE! What did I tell you? The news 
 is out!" 
 
 With a muttered exclamation of an- 
 noyance, Kenneth Traynor put down his coffee cup 
 with a crash and, leaning over the table, pointed out 
 to his wife a despatch from London, given promi- 
 nence in the morning paper, which ran as follows: 
 
 Advices from Cape Town report the finding 
 on a farm near Fontein, a hundred miles north 
 of here, of a diamond which in size is only sec- 
 ond to the famous Koh-i-noor. The stone, which 
 is in the shape of an egg with the top cut off, 
 weighs 1,649 carats, and was discovered after 
 blasting at the foot of some rocks on land ad- 
 jacent to the tract owned by the Americo-African 
 Mining Company of New York. It is understood 
 that the American Company is negotiating for 
 the property; some say the transfer has already 
 been made. If this is true, the finding of this 
 colossal stone means a windfall for the Yankee 
 stockholders.
 
 THE MASK 
 
 The Traynor home, No. Gramercy Park, 
 
 was one of those dignified, old-fashioned residences 
 that still remain in New York to remind our vulgar, 
 ostentatious nouveaux riches of the days when cul- 
 ture and refinement counted for something more 
 than mere wealth. Overlooking the railed-in square 
 with its green lawns, pretty winding paths and well- 
 dressed children romping at play, it had a high 
 stoop which opened into a wide hall, decorated with 
 obsolete weapons and trophies of the hunt. On the 
 right were rich tapestries, masking the folding doors 
 of a spacious drawing-room, richly decorated and 
 furnished in Louis XIV. period. Beyond this, to 
 the rear of the house which had been built out to 
 the extreme end of the lot, was the splendidly ap- 
 pointed dining-room with its magnificent fireplace 
 of sculptured white marble, surmounted by a strik- 
 ing portrait in oils by Carolus Duran of Mrs. Tray- 
 nor a painting which had been one of the most 
 successful pictures of the previous year's salon. 
 
 In a clinging, white silk negligee gown, the gos- 
 samer folds of which only partially veiled the out- 
 lines of a slender, graceful figure, Helen sat at the 
 
 8
 
 THE MASK 
 
 breakfast table opposite her husband, toying lan- 
 guidly with her knife and fork. It was nearly noon, 
 long past the usual breakfast time, and by every 
 known gastronomical law her appetite should have 
 been on keen edge. But this morning she left every- 
 thing untasted. Even the delicious wheat cakes, 
 which none better than Mammy, their Southern 
 cook, knew how to do to a point, did not tempt her. 
 They had been out to dinner the night before. Her 
 head ached; she was nervous and feverish. Al- 
 ways full of good spirits and laughter, ever the soul 
 and life of the house, it was unusual to find her in 
 this mood, and if her husband, now voraciously de- 
 vouring the tempting array of ham and eggs spread 
 before him, had not been so absorbed in the news 
 of the day, he would have quickly noticed it, and 
 guessed there was something amiss. 
 
 Certainly the appearance of the dining-room was 
 enough to upset the nerves of anyone, especially a 
 sensitive young woman who prided herself on her 
 housekeeping. All around was chaos and confu- 
 sion. The usually sedate, orderly dining-room was 
 littered with trunks, grips, umbrellas and canes en- 
 
 9
 
 THE MASK 
 
 veloped in rugs all the confusion incidental to a 
 hurried departure. 
 
 She took the newspaper, read the despatch and 
 handed it back in silence. 
 
 "Isn't that the very deuce !" he went on peevishly. 
 "We've been trying our utmost to keep it secret. 
 Unless we're quick, there'll be a rush of adventurers 
 from all parts of the world before we can secure the 
 options. Happily the despatch is vague. They 
 don't know all the facts. If they did " Lower- 
 ing his voice and looking around cautiously to make 
 sure that the butler had left the room and no one 
 ;was listening, he continued: "Besides you know 
 ;what I am to bring back. It couldn't be entrusted 
 to anyone else. Just think a stone worth nearly a 
 million dollars ! I hope no one will guess I have it 
 in my possession. It must be brought safe to New 
 [York. That's why it's so important that I go at 
 once. Even by catching the Mauretania to-morrow, 
 I can't reach Cape Town for a month, and every 
 moment counts now." 
 
 As Helen was still silent he glanced across the 
 table at her for the first time. Her pallor and the 
 
 10
 
 THE MASK 
 
 drooping lines about her mouth told him something 
 was wrong. Instantly concerned, he asked: 
 
 "What's the matter, dear?" 
 
 "I'm horribly nervous." 
 
 "What about?" 
 
 "This trip of yours, of course." 
 
 "You ought to be used to them by this time. 
 This isn't the first time I've had to leave you since 
 our marriage." 
 
 "I didn't mind the other trips so much. When 
 you went to Mexico and Alaska, it didn't seem so 
 far away. But this journey to South Africa is dif- 
 ferent. You are running a terrible risk carrying 
 that diamond. I can't shake off a horrible feeling 
 that something dreadful will happen." 
 
 Surprised less at what she said than at her seri- 
 ous manner, he laid down the newspaper, and, 
 jumping up, went over to her. His wife sat mo- 
 tionless, her lips trembling, her large eyes filled with 
 tears. In spite of a palpable effort at self-control, 
 it was evident that she was laboring under great 
 nervous tension. Bending caressingly over her, he 
 said anxiously: 
 
 ii
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "Why Helen, old girl! What's the matter?" 
 
 She made no answer. Her head fell on his 
 breast. For a moment she could not speak. Her 
 emotion seemed to choke her utterance, paralyze 
 her speech. He insisted : 
 
 "What is it, dearie?" he demanded. 
 
 "I'm so nervous about your going, I'm so afraid 
 about your having the diamond," she sobbed. Sud- 
 denly, as if unable longer to control herself, she 
 rose from the table and threw her arms around his 
 neck. Passionately she cried : "Oh, Kenneth, don't 
 go! Don't go! I feel that something will happen." 
 
 He laughed carelessly as he fondled her. More 
 seriously he replied : 
 
 "I hope something does happen. That's what 
 I'm going out there for. Why, Helen dear, I don't 
 think you quite realize what this trip means to us. 
 If the deal goes through, and we get full control of 
 all that property, we'll all be as rich as Croesus. 
 Just think, dear, 300,000 square miles of the most 
 wonderful diamond producing country. In ten 
 days they found 400 beautifully clear stones, some 
 of them weighing over a hundred carats. If the 
 
 12
 
 THE MASK 
 
 reports are true, we shall have a group of mines as 
 valuable as the famous De Beers group. Do you 
 know what they have produced to date in actual 
 money ?" 
 
 The young woman shook her head. Usually she 
 was glad enough to listen to her husband's business 
 plans, but to-day they wearied her. Her mind was 
 too much preoccupied with something that con- 
 cerned her far more. The idea of this coming sep- 
 aration, the knowledge that he was running a risk, 
 had left her singularly depressed. She had tried to 
 remain calm and control her emotion, but the effort 
 was beyond her. The prospect of this separation, 
 with its vague, undefined forebodings of disaster, 
 was simply intolerable. The tears she was unable 
 to restrain rolled silently down her cheeks. 
 
 He looked at her in surprise. Never had he seen 
 her in this mood. Approaching her more closely, 
 he said kindly: 
 
 "That can't be the only reason, dear, what's the 
 matter?" 
 
 She hesitated a moment before she answered : 
 
 "I'm very nervous to-day. I was dreadfully irri- 
 
 13
 
 THE MASK 
 
 tated last night at the dinner. I wish I hadn't 
 gone " 
 
 "Who irritated you?" 
 
 "That man Signer Keralio. I simply can't tol- 
 erate the man. How I hate him!" 
 
 "Why what did he do?" 
 
 "He did nothing. He wouldn't dare there. 
 But I wouldn't care to be alone with him. His eyes 
 were enough. He imagines he is irresistible, and 
 that every woman is immoral. That is the kind of 
 man he is. He annoyed me all evening. There 
 was no getting away from him." 
 
 Kenneth laughed and went back to finish his 
 breakfast, quite indifferent to what he had just 
 heard. He knew his wife too well to be afraid of 
 any number of Signor Keralios. Humming a tune, 
 he said carelessly: 
 
 "Why didn't you call me?" 
 
 "What? Create a scandal? That would only 
 make me ridiculous. He wouldn't care. I can't 
 bear the sight of the man, yet I have to be polite 
 to him." 
 
 Kenneth nodded. 
 
 14
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "Yes I have reasons for not caring to quarrel 
 with Keralio just now." 
 
 She looked up quickly. 
 
 "Why? What is that man to you? He's your 
 fencing master, I know, but that's no reason for 
 making a friend of him. I never understood why 
 you associated with him. He is so different to 
 you." 
 
 Her husband smiled. He adored his wife and 
 admired the sex in general, but, like most men, he 
 had never had much respect for women's judg- 
 ment. Women were made to be loved; not to dis- 
 cuss business with. Indulgently he said: 
 
 "My dear, you don't understand. I have im- 
 portant financial relations with Keralio. I don't 
 care for him myself, but one can't choose one's 
 business associates. He and I are interested in 
 a silver mine in Mexico. Thanks to him, I got in 
 on the ground floor. One of these days the in- 
 vestment will bring me a big return." 
 
 His wife shrugged her shoulders. Incredulously 
 she retorted : 
 
 "Not if Keralio has anything to do with it. I 
 
 15
 
 THE MASK 
 
 don't trust him. He has deceit and evil written 
 all over his face." 
 
 Amused at her petulance, Kenneth jumped up 
 impulsively and took his wife in his arms. 
 
 Abandoning herself willingly to his embrace, for 
 a moment her head fell back on his broad shoulder, 
 and she smiled up at him. From her soft, yielding 
 form arose that subtle, familiar perfume, the in- 
 toxicating, vague, indefinable aroma of the well 
 groomed woman that never fails to set a man's 
 blood on fire. Bending low until his mouth touched 
 hers, he kissed her until her face glowed under the 
 ardor of his amative caress. But to-day she was 
 not in the mood to respond. 
 
 "Don't don't!" she panted, striving to free 
 herself. 
 
 "Admit that you're foolish or I'll do it again/' he 
 laughed. 
 
 "Perhaps I am. It's selfish of me to make it 
 harder for you to go away." 
 
 The butler reentered the room with the finger 
 bowls, and she quickly disengaged herself. To hide 
 her confusion, she turned to the servant : 
 
 16
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "Did my sister go out, Robert?" 
 
 "Yes, m'm," replied the man respectfully. "Miss 
 Ray told me to tell you in case you asked that 
 she had gone shopping and would be back soon." 
 
 "Where's Miss Dorothy?" 
 
 "The fraulein took her to the park, m'm." 
 
 "When fraulein comes in, tell her to bring Doro- 
 thy upstairs." 
 
 "Very well, m'm." 
 
 The butler went out and Helen turned to her 
 husband. Anxiously she said : 
 
 "I've been a little worried about Dorothy lately. 
 She's not looking well. I think she needs the 
 country." 
 
 Kenneth looked up quickly. Next to his wife 
 he loved his flaxen haired little girl better than 
 anything in the world. There was a worried look 
 on his face as he asked : 
 
 "What does the doctor say?" 
 
 "Oh, it's nothing to be alarmed at. Only she's 
 growing fast, and needs all the air possible. I'm 
 thinking of sending her to Aunt Carrie for a 
 while. You know she has a beautiful place in the 
 
 17
 
 THE MASK 
 
 suburbs of Philadelphia. She would be out in the 
 air all the time." 
 
 "Yes that's a good idea. Send her there by 
 all means. Write your aunt to-night." 
 
 Helen glanced at the clock. There wasn't any 
 time to lose. Turning to her husband she said 
 quickly : 
 
 "You had better come upstairs and finish your 
 packing, dear. Your trunks aren't nearly ready 
 and the expressman was ordered for three." 
 
 Recalled thus abruptly to the day's duties, he 
 turned docily and followed her upstairs. 
 
 Beautiful as was the Traynor home below, it was 
 in the library in the second floor that Helen always 
 felt happiest and most at ease. Up the broad, 
 thickly carpeted stairs and turning to the right as 
 the landing was reached, they entered the library, 
 a room of truly noble proportions extending the 
 entire width of the house and with deep recessed 
 windows and low seats, overlooking the park. The 
 furnishings, though simple, were rich and luxur- 
 ious. The woodwork was of black Flemish oak, the 
 ceiling beamed with a dull red background. The 
 
 18
 
 THE MASK 
 
 upholstery was a rich red plush throughout, with 
 deep seated armchairs, and sofas built close to 
 the wall wherever space permitted. In the cor- 
 ners, numerous electric reading lamps could be 
 turned on or off at pleasure, constituting ideal 
 nooks for reading. The furniture, apart from the 
 red plush armchairs, was of black Flemish oak to 
 match the woodwork, with an immense richly 
 carved black oak dark table in the center of the 
 room, lighted by an electrolier of similar size and 
 design to the one in the dining-room. 
 
 It was in this room with its atmosphere of books 
 so conducive to peace and introspection that Helen 
 loved to spend her spare time. The walls were 
 literally lined with tomes, dealing with every branch 
 of human knowledge religion, science, philosophy, 
 literature. Here when alone she enjoyed many an 
 intellectual treat, browsing among the world's treas- 
 ures of the mind. Even when her sister had a 
 few intimates to tea, or when friends dropped in 
 in the evening, they always preferred being in the 
 library to anywhere else. 
 
 Only second to the library in the affection of its 
 
 19
 
 THE MASK 
 
 young mistress was her bed chamber with which 
 it was connected by a small boudoir. Furnished in 
 Louis XVI. style, it was a beautiful room, decor- 
 ated in the most dainty and delicate of tones. The 
 bed, copied after Marie Antoinette's couch in the 
 Little Trianon was in sculptured Circassian walnut, 
 upholstered in dull pink brocade, the broad canopy 
 overhead being upheld by two flying cupids. The 
 handsome dressing table with three mirrors and 
 chairs were of the same wood and period. On the 
 floor was a thick carpet especially woven to match 
 the other furnishings. 
 
 To-day, littered as it was with trunks and 
 clothes, the room lacked its usual sedateness and 
 dignity, but Helen did not mind. She would have 
 preferred it to look far worse if only her loved 
 one were not going away. His clothes lay scat- 
 tered all over the floor. There was still much to 
 be done. 
 
 Kenneth himself realized it as he ruefully sur- 
 veyed the scene. Hurry he must. A director's 
 meeting to-night, the steamer sailing to-morrow 
 and here he was not nearly ready. Helen could 
 
 20
 
 THE MASK 
 
 see no reason why Francois should not do the 
 packing, but he insisted on doing it himself, and 
 was soon deep in the work of filling the trunks 
 that stood around. 
 
 While he worked, almost unconscious of her 
 presence, she sat disconsolately on a trunk and 
 watched him, and from time to time, as if ashamed 
 to let him see her weakness, she turned her head 
 aside to furtively wipe away a tear. No doubt her 
 misgivings were foolish. Husbands left their 
 wives on business trips every day. Sensible women 
 were not so silly as to cry over it. It was to be 
 only temporary, she knew that, yet her heart mis- 
 gave her. She had tried to be resigned to this 
 South African journey, to accept it without pro- 
 test, but her feelings were too much for her. When 
 she married Kenneth Traynor, the energetic, pros- 
 perous Wall Street promoter, everybody knew that 
 it was a love match. Standing six feet two in his 
 stockings, muscular, sinewy, without an ounce of 
 superfluous fat, Kenneth Traynor looked as though 
 he could give a good account of himself no matter 
 in what tight place he found himself. His clean 
 
 21
 
 THE MASK 
 
 cut features and strong chin denoted strength of 
 character, his deep set blue eyes, a blue of a shade 
 so light rarely seen except in the peasants of Nor- 
 mandy, beamed with frankness and honesty, a 
 kindly smile hovered about his smooth, firm mouth. 
 What at once attracted attention was his hair 
 which was dark and unusually thick and bushy and 
 a peculiar characteristic was a solitary white lock 
 in the center of his forehead. Such a phenomenon 
 of the capillary glands was not uncommon, but as 
 a rule, the white hair is on the side of or at the 
 back of the head. In Kenneth's case, it was the 
 very center of the forehead and imparted to his 
 face an individuality quite its own. 
 
 When on leaving college, he had been forced, like 
 other young men, to choose a career, he was un- 
 able to decide what he wanted to do. Doctor, law- 
 yer, architect, author none of these suited his 
 nervous, restless temperament. He craved a more 
 exciting life, and at one time thought seriously of 
 entering the army with the hope of seeing active 
 service in the Philippines. But Aguinaldo's sur- 
 render put a quietus on this project, and he en- 
 
 22
 
 THE MASK 
 
 tered a broker's office in Wall Street. Here, in the 
 maelstrom of frenzied finance, his pent up ener- 
 gies found an outlet. He went into the stock 
 gambling game with the feverish energy of a born 
 gambler. Months of excitement followed, luck be- 
 ing usually with him. He was successful. He 
 doubled and tripled his capital, after which he had 
 good sense enough to stop, withdrawing from the 
 fray before the tide turned. But he could not give 
 up the life entirely. The business of stock promo- 
 tion was the next best substitute. It was about 
 that time he met the woman he married. 
 
 It had been an ideal union in every way, but 
 even Helen herself could not have guessed that 
 day now three years ago when she left the church 
 a bride, how completely, how entirely this man 
 whose sterling qualities, good nature and charm of 
 manner had won her heart, would take complete 
 possession of her, body and soul. Instead of the 
 romance flickering out after the first sudden blaze 
 of fierce passion, as it usually does after the first 
 few months of married life, on her side, at least, 
 the flame had gathered in strength until now it 
 
 23
 
 THE MASK 
 
 was the one compelling, all absorbing interest in 
 her life. 
 
 She recalled how they had first met. It was in 
 the Winter time. She was skating in Central Park. 
 A thaw had set in and the ice was dangerous. Sud- 
 denly there was an ominous crack, and the crowd 
 scurried out of harm's way, all but one child, a little 
 nine year old girl who, in her eagerness to escape, 
 stumbled and fell. The next instant she was in 
 the water, disappearing under the ice. Just at that 
 moment, a tall athletic figure dashed swiftly to the 
 hole and, stooping quickly, caught the child by the 
 dress. Then, by a feat of almost superhuman 
 strength which awed the crowd into silence, he 
 drew the little victim out to safety, not much the 
 worse for her experience. 
 
 Spellbound, hardly able to breathe from sheer 
 excitement, Helen had watched the work of rescue. 
 When the stranger, tall, muscular, handsome, 
 passed her, carrying tenderly his burden, a human 
 life saved from a watery grave, she could not help 
 murmuring : 
 
 "Oh, how brave of you!" 
 24
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "Nonsense," he retorted abruptly. "It's nothing 
 to make a fuss about." 
 
 She did not see him again for six months, and 
 had almost forgotten the incident when one night 
 at the opera during a performance of "Tann- 
 hauser," a man, tall, square shouldered, entered the 
 box where she was and was presented to her. 
 
 "Helen Mr. Traynor." 
 
 It was her hero. 
 
 He had remained her hero ever since. 
 
 She remembered the afternoon when he had 
 asked her to be his wife. They were alone in the 
 library which overlooked the Park with its beauti- 
 ful vista of green foliage, its glimpse of rolling 
 lawns, and shimmering lakes. They were standing 
 side by side, gazing idly out of the window, con- 
 versing quietly on all kinds of topics interesting 
 to them both. She was enjoying his vigorous, mas- 
 culine point of view and feeling strangely happy 
 in his company. 
 
 "When should a man marry?" he asked all at 
 once. 
 
 Startled for a moment at the abruptness of the 
 
 25
 
 THE MASK 
 
 question which nothing in their previous conversa- 
 tion had led up to, she answered gravely: 
 
 "When he's tired of being alone and when he 
 feels he has met the woman with whom he can 
 be happy, the kind of woman who will be a real 
 helpmate and aid him to achieve his ambitions." 
 
 "How can he know that the woman to whom he 
 is attracted will have this influence in his life? 
 How can he distinguish real gold from the imita- 
 tion which merely glitters?" 
 
 "Only by his instinct. That never errs." 
 
 "And when in your opinion, should a woman 
 marry?" 
 
 "When she meets the man to whom she feels 
 she can give herself without forfeiting her self- 
 respect." 
 
 He nodded approvingly, and looked at her for 
 a few moments without speaking. Outside it was 
 growing dark, for which she was glad, for her 
 face burned under the earnestness of his gaze. 
 Finally he said: 
 
 "You are right. But yours is a point of view 
 the modem girl seldom takes. First she discusses 
 
 26
 
 THE MASK 
 
 ways and means. Love, self respect these she 
 considers quite negligible." 
 
 She protested. 
 
 "Not all girls only some girls. They are fool- 
 ish virgins who leave their lamps untrimmed. 
 They sow folly to-day only to reap unhappiness 
 to-morrow." 
 
 He said nothing and for a few moments they 
 both stood there in the increasing darkness. Sud- 
 denly, without a moment's warning, his voice 
 broken by emotion, he turned to her and said: 
 
 "I am tired of being alone. I have met the 
 woman with whom I could be happy, the woman 
 who can help me to do big things. Helen, I want 
 you to be my wife." 
 
 She made no answer. She felt herself growing 
 pale. A strange tremor passed through her entire 
 body. 
 
 He came closer and took her unresisting hand. 
 
 "Helen," he whispered, "I want you for my 
 wife." 
 
 Still no reply, but her small delicate hand re- 
 mained clasped in his big, strong one, and grad- 
 
 27
 
 THE MASK 
 
 ually he drew her toward him until she was so 
 close in his embrace that he could feel her panting 
 breath on his cheek. 
 
 A strange thrill passed through him as he came 
 in contact with her soft, yielding body. She never 
 wore corsets, preferring the clinging Grecian style 
 of gowns that showed graceful lines and left the 
 figure free, and her form, slender yet firm and 
 delicately chiseled like that of some sculptured 
 goddess, had none of that voluptuous grossness 
 which mars the symmetry of many women, other- 
 wise beautiful. 
 
 As she nestled there, pale and trembling in his 
 strong arms, he did not dare move, for fear that 
 he might unwittingly injure a being so frail and 
 delicate. All his life Kenneth had lived a clean 
 life. He had not led the riotous, licentious kind of 
 existence which some men of his means and op- 
 portunities think necessary to their comfort. He 
 had never been a libertine. He had respected 
 women; indeed, had rather avoided them. 
 
 But if a man, busily engaged in the battle of life, 
 his mind always engrossed in serious affairs, suc- 
 
 28
 
 THE MASK 
 
 ceeds in keeping natural instincts under control 
 there comes a day when nature asserts herself, 
 when his manhood demands the satisfaction of legi- 
 timate cravings. This bachelor who had lived 
 a secluded, hermit-like kind of existence till he 
 was thirty was suddenly and violently awakened 
 to the fact that he was made of flesh and blood 
 as are other men. This slim girl with her sweet 
 ways, her pretty face, her ready wit, had com- 
 pletely vanquished him, and not alone did she sat- 
 isfy him mentally, she also attracted him physically. 
 He realized it now as he held her tight against 
 his breast. Her head had fallen on his shoulder. 
 Her face with its pale, delicate profile was turned 
 toward him, the eyes half closed. The mouth, 
 arched like Cupid's bow and partly open, disclosing 
 the white, moistened teeth, and red and luscious like 
 some rare exotic fruit, was tempting enough to 
 madden a saint. Kenneth was only human. Un- 
 able to resist, he lowered his head until his mouth 
 grazed hers and then with a wild, almost savage 
 exclamation of joy, the exultant cry of lust awak- 
 ened and gratified, his lips met hers and lingered. 
 
 29
 
 THE MASK 
 
 To Helen it seemed as though she was in a dream 
 of untold ecstasy. Always a shrinking, modest girl, 
 especially in the company of the opposite sex, in 
 any calmer moment she would have been shocked 
 beyond expression at this momentary abandonment 
 she permitted herself. As she lay in this man's 
 arms and felt his warm kisses on her lips, there 
 came over her a strange sensation she had never 
 known before. She grew dizzy and for a moment 
 thought she would faint. All at once he released 
 her. Almost apologetically, he murmured: 
 
 "Forgive me I lost control over myself I want 
 you Helen I want you for my wife. Will you 
 marry me?" 
 
 She drew away and turned away her head, so 
 he might not see her burning cheeks. 
 
 He persisted. 
 
 "Will you marry me?" 
 
 She hesitated a moment before replying. Then, 
 very simply, she answered : 
 
 "Yes, Kenneth." 
 
 That was three years ago.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 IN a certain set Helen Traynor was not popular. 
 Some people thought her old fashioned, strait- 
 laced, prudish. They resented her having no 
 taste for their frivolous, decadent amusements. 
 They called her proud and condescending whereas, 
 as a matter of fact, she merely asked to be let alone. 
 Of course, it was only people whose opinions were 
 worthless that criticized her. All who were ad- 
 mitted to her intimacy knew that there was no 
 friend more loyal, no woman more womanly and 
 charming. 
 
 In one respect she might be called old fashioned. 
 Her views on life had certainly little in common 
 with those held by most present-day women. She 
 had no taste for bridge, she refused to adopt freak 
 fashions in dress, she discouraged the looseness of 
 tone in speech and manner so much affected by 
 other women of her acquaintance in a word she 
 was in society but not of it. Naturally, she had 
 
 31
 
 THE MASK 
 
 more acquaintances than friends, yet she was not 
 unpopular among her intimates. While secretly 
 they laughed at what they termed her puritanical 
 notions, they were shrewd enough to realize that 
 they could hardly afford to snub a woman whose 
 husband occupied so prominent a position in the 
 world of affairs. Besides, was it not to their inter- 
 est to cultivate her? Who gave more delightful 
 dinners, who could on occasion be a more charming 
 hostess? An accomplished musician, a clever 
 talker, she easily dominated in whatever salon she 
 happened to be, and the men were always found 
 crowding eagerly around her. 
 
 Like most women of her temperament, sure of 
 themselves and in whose mind never enters even 
 a thought of disloyalty to her marriage vows, she 
 made no concealment of her preference for the 
 masculine sex. With those men who were at- 
 tracted by her unusual mentality, she was gra- 
 cious, and affable, discussing with politicians, jur- 
 ists, financiers, economic and sociological questions 
 with a brilliancy and insight that fairly astonished 
 them. With literary men and musicians, she chat- 
 
 32
 
 run MASK 
 
 ted intelligently of the latest novels and pictures and 
 operas with the facility and expertness of a connois- 
 seur. Other men, drawn by her exceptional beauty, 
 fascinated by the spell of her soulful eyes, her tall 
 graceful figure, and delicate classic face, framed in 
 Grecian head dress, made violent love to her, their 
 heated imaginations and jaded senses conceiving a 
 conquest compared with which the criminal passion 
 of Paolo for Francesca should pale. These would- 
 be Lotharios might as well have tried to set an 
 iceberg on fire. Quietly, but firmly and in un- 
 mistakable terms, she let them understand that they 
 were wasting their time and their ardor thus 
 quenched, one by one they dropped away and left 
 her in peace. Only Signer Keralio had persisted. 
 She had snubbed him, insulted him, time after 
 time, yet wherever she turned she found him at 
 her elbow. Society soon resigned itself to con- 
 sidering her as one apart a beautiful, chaste Juno 
 whose ideals all must respect. Indeed, the only 
 thing with which she could be reproached was that 
 she was in love with her husband the unpardon- 
 able sin in society's eyes but seeing who it was 
 
 33
 
 THE MASK 
 
 and despairing of ever changing her point of view, 
 society forgave her. 
 
 It never occurred to Helen that she was differ- 
 ent in any way from other women. She did not 
 see how it was possible for a woman to be untrue 
 to the man whose name she bore and still retain 
 her self-respect. The day she ceased to love her 
 husband she would leave him forever. To her way 
 of thinking, it was shocking to go on living with 
 a man merely because it suited one's convenience 
 and comfort. She knew married women who did 
 not care for their husbands, some actually detested 
 the men they had married, and had always held in 
 horror the intimate relation which marriage sanc- 
 tioned. She felt sorry for such women, but se- 
 cretly she despised them. They alone were to 
 blame. Had they not married knowing well that 
 there was no real affection in their hearts for the 
 men to whom they gave themselves ? The cynicism 
 and effrontery of young girls regarding marriage 
 particularly revolted her. Eager for wealth and 
 social position, they offered themselves with brazen 
 effrontery in the matrimonial market, immodestly 
 
 34
 
 THE MASK 
 
 displaying their charms to the lecherous, covetous 
 eyes of blase, degenerate men. Any question of 
 attachment, love, affection was never for a moment 
 considered. The idea that a man could be even 
 considered unless he were able to provide a fine 
 establishment was laughed to scorn. The girls 
 were all men hunters but they hunted only rich 
 men. They called the feeling they experienced 
 for the man they caught in their toils "love." They 
 meant something quite different. To a girl of 
 Helen's ideas, such manoeuvers were shocking. To 
 her the marriage tie was something sacred, a rela- 
 tion not to be entered into lightly. Kenneth was 
 rich, it was true, but she would have loved him 
 none the less had he been one of his own fifteen 
 dollar a week clerks. When they were married 
 and the romance was over, he stopped playing the 
 lover to devote himself to the more serious business 
 of making money, but with her, time, instead of 
 dimming the flame, only caused it to burn the 
 brighter. This man whom she had married was 
 her only thought. In him centered every interest 
 of her life. 
 
 35
 
 THE MASK 
 
 A muffled outburst of profanity from Kenneth 
 aroused her from her reveries. 
 
 "That's always the way when one's in a hurry," 
 he exclaimed petulantly. "Ring for Francois. 
 Why the devil isn't he here?" 
 
 Quickly, Helen sprang up from the trunk and 
 touched an electric button. 
 
 "What's the matter, dear?" she asked. 
 
 She approached her husband who, at the far 
 end of the room, was red in the face from the 
 unusual exertion of trying to coax the buckle of 
 a strap into a hole obviously out of reach. He 
 pulled and strained till the muscles stood out on 
 his neck and brawny arms like whipcord, and 
 still the obstinate buckle declined to be coerced. 
 The more it resisted, the more determined he was 
 to make it obey. Go in it must, if sheer strength 
 would do it. The vice-president of the Americo- 
 African Mining Company was no weakling. A six- 
 foot athlete and captain of the Varsity football 
 team in his college days, his muscles had been 
 toughened in a thousand lively scrimmages and in 
 later life plenty of golf, rowing and other out-of- 
 
 36
 
 THE MASK 
 
 door sports had kept him in condition. When he 
 pulled hard something had to give way. It did 
 in this instance. There was a tearing, rending 
 sound and the strap broke off short. With a ges- 
 ture of despair he turned to his wife as men are 
 wont to do when in trouble. 
 
 "Wouldn't that jar you?" he cried, as he threw 
 the broken strap away. "What the deuce am I 
 going to do now?" 
 
 "Why don't you let Francois attend to such 
 things?" answered his wife calmly. "He under- 
 stands packing so much better than you. You're 
 so strong, you break everything." 
 
 She looked fondly at her husband's tall, athletic 
 figure. He turned to her with a smile. 
 
 "I guess you're right," he said. "But where the 
 devil is Francois?" 
 
 "I don't know. I sent him downstairs to tell 
 the cook to have some nice sandwiches ready when 
 you come home after the director's meeting to- 
 night, but that's an hour ago " 
 
 His ill humor gone, Kenneth looked up and 
 37
 
 THE MASK 
 
 smiled at her. Putting his arm about her, fondly 
 he said: 
 
 "Dear little wife. You're always thinking of 
 the comfort of others. You're the most unselfish, 
 the most adorable, the most " 
 
 "Stop, Kenneth, don't be foolish or I shall be- 
 lieve you " 
 
 His face red from his recent exertions, he sat 
 down on the arm of a chair to rest a little. Full 
 of the coming journey, he had already forgotten 
 his wife's anxiety. The great business schemes he 
 had in mind dwarfed for the time being every other 
 consideration. He could think and talk of nothing 
 but diamonds. Huge crystals, worth untold mil- 
 lions as big as a fist, flashed at him from every 
 corner of ^the room. Fabulous fortunes had been 
 made in the diamond mines of South Africa. Why 
 should he not be as successful as others? The 
 romance of the Cullinan might be repeated, even 
 surpassed. Well he recalled how he had been 
 thrilled by the sensational story of the discovery 
 of that colossal gem, more than three times the 
 size of the Excelsior, the wonder of the modern 
 
 38
 
 THH MASK 
 
 world. In imagination, he saw it now. An old- 
 fashioned Boer farm, transformed into a modern 
 mining camp. A moonlight night. A man strolling 
 idly along the rugged, desolate veldt, chances to 
 look down. His eye suddenly catches a gleam 
 in the rough face of the jagged slope. He stoops 
 and picks up what looks like a piece of ice. Quickly 
 he returns to his office and hands it to his chief. 
 The men look at each other in silence. To all 
 parts of the world goes the message that a dia- 
 mond has been found four times bigger than the 
 largest gem in the world. A stone weighing over 
 3,000 carats and worth four million dollars. He 
 could already imagine himself far from civiliza- 
 tion among the barren mountains of South Africa, 
 prospecting in wide stretches of stone and gravel, 
 picking up the brilliant dazzling stones by the 
 handful. 
 
 "Have you any idea," he said, "what the mines 
 have produced?" 
 
 She shook her head indifferently. 
 
 "No, and I don't want to know. I don't want 
 you to go that's all." 
 
 39
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "Their output in the last ten years is estimated 
 at no less than $400,000,000. Just think of it. 
 Four hundred millions! Well, dear, I and a few 
 others want some of it, and we're going to get it." 
 
 "But aren't we rich enough already?" She de- 
 manded petulantly. "Why this fever to get richer 
 and richer? We are happy with what we have. 
 Why run the risks to gain what after all will only 
 be a surplus? We can't possibly spend it." 
 
 Her husband's eyes flashed. The lines about his 
 mouth tightened as he retorted: 
 
 "One never has enough ! You women don't un- 
 derstand. As long as you have all the amusement 
 you crave, all the frocks you want, all the jewelry 
 you covet, you think that is all there is to life." 
 
 She looked up at him reproachfully and seemed 
 about to protest when he added hurriedly: 
 
 "Oh, I don't mean you. I know you are not that 
 kind of woman. You are more serious, more sensi- 
 ble. I mean the average society woman whose only 
 concern in life is dress and show. We men have 
 different aims, higher ambitions. I'm well to do, as 
 the term goes. I have an income of over $100,000 
 
 40
 
 THH MASK 
 
 a year, a splendidly appointed town house, a show 
 place in the country. Above all I have the most 
 adorable wife in all the world. Most men would 
 be satisfied. I am not. I want still more. I have 
 the money craze, an uncontrollable lust to pile up 
 millions. My ambition is to wield the power that 
 only the possession of vast wealth confers. The 
 resources of this vast country are practically in the 
 hands of half a dozen men. Merely by holding up 
 a finger, these men could, to suit their own selfish 
 ends, start a universal panic which might bring 
 about a financial cataclysm, involving the whole 
 world in disaster. I do not say they would use 
 this power for evil, but they are in position to do 
 so if it served their purpose. I want to have such 
 power, only if I had it I would not use it for evil. 
 I would use it for good. Conditions in the industrial 
 world are very critical. We are rapidly approaching 
 a crisis. In all countries the forces of labor and the 
 forces of capital are lined up in silent, grim bat- 
 talions. The poor are getting poorer; the rich are 
 getting richer. The cost of living is going up be- 
 yond all reason. Why? Because the men who
 
 THE MASK 
 
 control the wealth of the world will it so. The 
 system which is responsible for this must one day, 
 sooner or later, give way to another and more 
 humane system, still to be devised, which will en- 
 able the man who produces the wealth of the 
 world at least to enjoy some of the fruits of his 
 toil. Now it goes into the hands of the privileged 
 few who use the power their money gives them 
 to keep their less fortunate fellow men in servile 
 subjection. I want to be rich, very rich, but I 
 will use my wealth for good. With it I will help 
 my fellow man rise from the mire. I will help 
 him throw off the shackles with which conscience- 
 less capitalism has fettered him. I want to be such 
 
 a power for good. I want " 
 
 The maid reentered the room. 
 "Frangois is not in his room, m'm." 
 Kenneth gave vent to an exclamation of impa- 
 tience. Turning to his wife, he asked: 
 
 "Where is he? Did you send him anywhere?" 
 Helen shook her head. Quickly she said: 
 "He's never around except when he's not 
 wanted." 
 
 42
 
 THE MASK 
 
 It was so seldom that his wife displayed irrita- 
 tion at any one that Kenneth looked up in sur- 
 prise. 
 
 "He's shopping, too, I suppose. You know 
 there's little time left and he has things to get 
 ready the same as I have." 
 
 Helen made a gesture of disapproval. Quickly 
 she said : 
 
 "I wish you were going with someone else, with 
 anyone but that man. I never liked him." 
 
 Her husband laughed. Carelessly he replied : 
 
 "I know you never did and it's the only instance 
 since we're married where I've found dear little 
 wife to be absolutely unfair. Seriously, sweet- 
 heart, your baseless prejudice against Francois is 
 unworthy of you. I can't go without a servant of 
 some kind. He's an honest fellow and a faithful 
 servant." 
 
 Helen shrugged her shoulders. 
 
 "I'm not so sure about that," she retorted quick- 
 ly. "What do you know about him or his honesty ? 
 He's a perfect stranger that blew in three months 
 ago from nowhere. He had written recommenda- 
 
 43
 
 THE MASK 
 
 tions which may be forged. You never took the 
 trouble to look them up." 
 
 "Yes, I did. I asked Keralio about him." 
 
 Helen looked up in surprise. 
 
 "Signor Keralio? I didn't know Francois was 
 ever with him." 
 
 "He was with him nearly a year.^. Keralio 
 warmly recommends him and says' he is a very 
 faithful fellow. He only left him because he 
 objected to being compelled to practise sword- 
 play with his master. One day Keralio's foil 
 slipped. Frangois got a puncture and it made him 
 nervous." 
 
 "No wonder I don't like him. " Like master, T like 
 valet as the French say." 
 
 Her husband smiled. 
 
 "You are down on Keralio, aren't you?" 
 
 "I detest him. How could any self-respecting 
 woman like such a man? His every glance is an 
 insult. With his polished manners and sardonic 
 smile he reminds one of Mephistopheles." 
 
 "I don't fancy the fellow much myself, but I 
 have to be polite to him. As I told you, he's in 
 
 34
 
 THE MASK 
 
 with the people who own that silver mine. I've 
 found him useful." 
 
 "Don't trust him," replied Helen warningly. "If 
 he makes himself useful to you, depend upon it, 
 he has some ulterior motive in view. Now I know 
 Frangois was once with him I shall dislike him 
 more than ever." 
 
 "Come come dear," protested Kenneth, "that is 
 carrying things too far. Frangois is quite a decent 
 chap if you understand him I find him faithful, 
 discreet." 
 
 "Discreet!" echoed Helen mockingly. "I beg 
 to differ." 
 
 "What do you mean?" 
 
 "I mean that you are blinded in the man. Dis- 
 creet indeed! Only the other day I caught him 
 at your desk reading a letter which you had left 
 there." 
 
 "A letter?" exclaimed Kenneth, looking up in 
 surprise. "What letter?" 
 
 "The letter from your agent at Cape Town, tell- 
 ing of the astonishing diamond find, and suggest- 
 ing that an officer of the Company be sent out to 
 
 45
 
 THE MASK 
 
 bring home the big stone the letter you read at 
 the director's meeting and which decided them to 
 send you out there." 
 
 Kenneth bit his lip. Quickly he said: 
 
 "I'm sorry he saw that. It was careless of me 
 to leave it around. Are you sure he was reading 
 it?" 
 
 "He had a pencil and paper in hand and ap- 
 peared to be copying from the letter. When he 
 saw me, he crushed the paper up in his hand and 
 turned away." 
 
 Kenneth gave an expressive whistle. 
 
 "The deuce you say ! The fellow's smarter than 
 I took him to be. All the more reason why I 
 should take him along with me. Then I'm sure he 
 
 can't tell tales out of school. I . Hush, here 
 
 he is!" 
 
 The door opened cautiously and there entered 
 a man about thirty years of age, of medium height 
 and slightly, even delicately, built. That he was 
 a Frenchman was apparent even at a glance. The 
 dark closely cropped hair, worn in the so-called 
 pompadour or military style, the pale, saturnine 
 
 46
 
 THE MASK 
 
 features, the manner and general bearing all loudly 
 proclaimed his Gallic nationality. His smooth 
 shaven face showed a firm mouth with bloodless 
 lips so thin as to be hardly perceptible. His eyes, 
 when they could be seen at all, were greenish in 
 color, and small and restless as those of a ferret. 
 He advanced into the room with the obsequious 
 deferential manner which in all well-trained ser- 
 vants becomes second nature, moving across the 
 thickly carpeted floor with the rapidity and noise- 
 lessness of a snake. 
 
 "Where have you been, Francois?" demanded 
 Kenneth sharply. 
 
 The valet stopped short, as if struck by a blow, 
 but he did not stand still. His nervous thin hands 
 and lean body were in constant motion, although 
 he did not stir from the one spot. In every in- 
 voluntary movement and gesture there was some- 
 thing that suggested the feline. When spoken to or 
 given an order he replied respectfully and obeyed 
 with alacrity, but when addressed he listened al- 
 ways with eyes averted. This had always exas- 
 perated Helen. She could not recall him ever look- 
 
 47
 
 THE MASK 
 
 ing her straight in the face. For that reason alone, 
 if for no other, she disliked and distrusted him, 
 thinking not unnaturally that a man, who is afraid 
 to let his eyes meet another's, must be plotting in 
 his mind some treachery which he fears his di- 
 rect gaze may betray. His furtive glances went 
 quickly from master to mistress. Something in 
 their attitude, the suddenness with which they in- 
 terrupted their conversation told him that they had 
 been talking about him. 
 
 "Did you hear me?" demanded Kenneth again. 
 "Where have you been? You knew there was 
 this packing to be done." 
 
 The man's eyes flashed resentfully, but he re- 
 plied civilly: 
 
 "Oui, monsieur, but monsieur forgets. Monsieur 
 told me I must go to ze tailor." 
 
 Kenneth's frown disappeared. Yes, it was true. 
 He had sent him to the tailor. Quick to make 
 amends for an injustice, he said more amiably: 
 
 "That's right. I had forgotten. What did they 
 say?" 
 
 "Ze suits will be delivered in half hour." 
 48
 
 THB MASK 
 
 "Very well. When they come, you will know 
 which trunk to put them in." 
 
 "Oui, monsieur." 
 
 "And then, when my trunks are ready you had 
 better hustle with your own packing. There's no 
 time to be lost. The steamer sails at II o'clock 
 to-morrow morning." 
 
 "Oui, monsieur." 
 
 Quietly, stealthily, the valet retraced his cat-like 
 steps and opening the door retired as noiselessly 
 as he had come. 
 
 49
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 WHEN the valet had disappeared, Kenneth 
 turned to his wife with a chuckle. 
 
 "Who was right? You made me 
 scold him for nothing." 
 
 Helen shook her head. 
 
 "I detest the man. There is something crawly 
 and repulsive about him. I can read evil in his 
 face. Don't trust him, Kenneth. Remember, if 
 anything goes wrong, don't blame me. I warned 
 you. My instinct seldom fails." 
 
 Her husband laughed and, advancing, put his 
 arm tenderly around his wife. 
 
 "I guess I'm able to take care of myself, dear. 
 Don't let's discuss Frangois any longer. Tell me 
 about yourself. How are you going to amuse your- 
 self while I'm away?" 
 
 Her head drooped on his breast and once more 
 her eyes filled with tears. With affected careless- 
 ness which cost her a great effort, she replied: 
 
 50
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "Oh, the time won't hang so heavy on my hands. 
 It never does when one has resources within one- 
 self. I'll read and ride and sew. I suppose I'll 
 have plenty to do." 
 
 "Mr. Parker said he would drop in and look 
 after you." 
 
 "Yes tell him to come and see me very often. 
 He's rather tiresome with his prosy talk, but he's 
 a dear old soul." 
 
 With a mischievous twinkle in his eye her hus- 
 band went on: 
 
 "It's not unlikely that Keralio will call, also." 
 
 "I hope not," she said quickly. "I'll soon show 
 him he's not wanted." 
 
 Kenneth laughed. It amused him to see how 
 set she was against the Italian. He did not know 
 the man any too well. He had met him in a busi- 
 ness way and the fellow had been of service, but 
 he had not the slightest idea of making a friend 
 of him. He rather suspected he was an adven- 
 turer although, a stranger in New York, no one 
 knew anything against him. Protestingly he 
 said: 
 
 Si
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "It's hardly fair to attack a man because he 
 admires you." 
 
 "He shows his admiration in a most offensive 
 way. If you could see the way he looks at me 
 sometimes you'd be the first to resent it" 
 
 Kenneth laughed. 
 
 "Oh, you mustn't mind that. It's a way all 
 foreigners have. They ogle women more from 
 force of habit than any desire to effect a conquest. 
 Besides, you won't be alone." 
 
 "No, I shall have Ray. She is excellent com- 
 pany far jollier than I " 
 
 Kenneth protested. 
 
 "No, she isn't by a long shot. Ray is all right 
 as sisters-in-law go, but I'd never change you for 
 her. I'm d d if I would!" 
 
 Quickly Helen put her white hand over his 
 mouth. With mock severity she exclaimed: 
 
 "Kenneth! How can you be so profane? I 
 hate to hear such language from you. Ray is the 
 sweetest thing on earth. It's a shame she never 
 got married. Oh, don't be uneasy on that score. 
 We'll have a good time. We'll go to the theater. 
 
 52
 
 THE MASK 
 
 We'll have teas and little dinner parties. I'll in- 
 vite some interesting men to meet her. I'd love to 
 see her married to some nice man. There's Mr. 
 Steell, for instance. He's rich, young, has a bril- 
 liant future " 
 
 Kenneth made a grimace. Quickly he retorted : 
 
 "It's you he admires, not Ray. He will accept 
 your invitation less with the idea of letting Ray 
 hook him in the matrimonial net, than for the 
 opportunity it affords for a renewed flirtation with 
 you. Oh, quite innocent, of course, but still a 
 flirtation. Have I forgotten what close friends 
 you used to be before I appeared on the scene?" 
 
 "And carried me off, a new Lochinvar come out 
 of the West!" she laughed. "Oh, Kenneth, how 
 can you be so foolish? It is absolutely indecent 
 of you. I like Mr. Steell, and I think he likes me, 
 but our friendship is purely platonic. I never 
 give him a thought, I assure you." 
 
 "I know you don't, but I'm not so sure about 
 him. He's a man and men are only human " 
 
 "He's a gentleman," corrected Helen. "He never 
 forgets that." 
 
 53
 
 run MASK 
 
 Kenneth gave a grunt of incredulity. Sulkily 
 he said: 
 
 "All right all right. Have a good time. Marry 
 him to Ray. Perhaps it's safer that way. When 
 he's my brother-in-law, he'll stop making sheep's 
 eyes at my wife." 
 
 Helen laughed outright. 
 
 "You silly goose. I never suspected you of hav- 
 ing a jealous streak in your nature. How could 
 I prefer anyone to my handsome Kenneth?" 
 
 As she stood before him, playfully patting his 
 cheek, her glance alighted on the solitary lock of 
 gray hair in the center of his forehead. Toying 
 with it, she went on: 
 
 "Isn't it strange that your hair should be white 
 just in that place. I rather like it. It gives an 
 added note of distinction to your face. I wonder 
 what caused it." 
 
 Kenneth laughed. 
 
 "That's my trade mark. If ever I'm brought 
 home on a stretcher you'll know me by that white 
 lock." 
 
 Helen raised her hand in protest. 
 54
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "Don't talk that way. Never jest about acci- 
 dents. Sometimes they happen." 
 
 "Well I said nothing. I only said that if you 
 were ever in doubt about my identity, you would 
 know me by my white lock." 
 
 She smiled, as she patted his cheek lovingly, 
 and said: 
 
 "That would not be necessary, Ken dear. No 
 matter how changed you looked, what disguise you 
 wore, I should still know you." 
 
 "And if it wasn't me," he laughed, "but only 
 someone who looked like me?" 
 
 "I could never be mistaken. The ring in the 
 voice, the expression in the eyes no woman who 
 really loves could ever be deceived." 
 
 She had drawn nearer to him, her mouth up- 
 turned and tempting, her face with that gentle, 
 wistful expression he was never able to resist. 
 Throwing his arms impulsively about her, he 
 clasped her passionately to his breast. 
 
 "Sweetheart," he whispered, "you don't know 
 how dear you are to me!" 
 
 "Nor can you," she replied, as he smothered 
 
 55
 
 THE MASK 
 
 her with kisses, "ever realize what you are to me!" 
 
 Suddenly they were interrupted by a sound at 
 the door behind them. Some one coughed discreetly. 
 Quickly separating, Helen turned round. In some 
 confusion she exclaimed: 
 
 "Hello, Ray. I thought you were out. When 
 did you come in?" 
 
 "I was out. I have been shopping. I met Mr. 
 Steell in the park and we had a lovely walk." 
 Slyly she added : " I am afraid I returned too 
 soon. I see you're both busy." 
 
 "Never too busy for you, Ray," smiled Helen 
 trying to hide her confusion, while Kenneth grinned 
 broadly. 
 
 The young girl laughed as she flung down on 
 the sofa her muff and fur neck-piece. Roguishly 
 she said: 
 
 "Lovemaking so early in the day. Aren't you 
 ashamed of yourselves?" 
 
 Kenneth liked to tease his sister-in-law, but the 
 young girl was quite his equal when it came to 
 a battle of wits and it was not often that she gave 
 him the opportunity. 
 
 56
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "What time do you do your love making?" he 
 demanded. 
 
 Her cheeks reddened a little as she retorted: 
 
 "I'm never so foolish. I leave that to you mar- 
 ried people. My purpose in life is far more 
 serious." 
 
 "Oh, come now," protested her brother-in-law, 
 "I've noticed you and Steell spooning often 
 enough." 
 
 Stylishly and tastefully dressed, her face beam- 
 ing with animation, her eyes sparkling with intel- 
 ligence, Kenneth's sister-in-law was a pretty, whole- 
 some looking girl. She had beautiful blond hair 
 like her sister, and fine, white teeth that told of 
 good health and perfect digestion. Helen's junior 
 only by three years, she was still unmarried and 
 for the present at least seemed more inclined to 
 remain single and partake of life's pleasures than 
 incur the risks and responsibilities of matrimony. 
 Not that she had been without offers. A girl as 
 attractive and clever could hardly have failed to 
 please the sterner sex. All sorts and conditions of 
 men had prostrated themselves at her tiny, well- 
 
 57
 
 THE MASK 
 
 shod feet, but, capricious and headstrong, she 
 would have none of them. She was what might 
 be called a singular girl. She liked men, not be- 
 cause of their sex, but because their point of view 
 was different, their grasp of things stronger than 
 her own. One day she must marry. She knew 
 that. It was, she insisted laughingly, an ignoble 
 state of slavery, a humiliating, degrading condition 
 of subjection to the male which every woman 
 must endure, necessary perhaps, but an ordeal to be 
 put off, something unpleasant to be postponed as 
 long as possible, like the taking of a dose of un- 
 savory physic or having a tooth pulled at the den- 
 tist's. Meantime, heart whole and fancy free, she 
 enjoyed life to the limit and kept her admirers 
 guessing. 
 
 "Oh, I saw such lovely things in the stores," ex- 
 claimed the young girl. "I wish I had the money 
 to buy them all." 
 
 "You will have when I get back from South 
 Africa," he laughed. 
 
 "Don't forget," she laughed. "I'll hold you to 
 that promise. Helen is witness." 
 
 58
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "I swear it!" he said with mock solemnity. "You 
 shall have carte blanche in any Fifth Avenue shop 
 to the amount of $1.75." 
 
 "Will you be ready in time?" she laughed, look- 
 ing around with dismay at the litter of open trunks. 
 
 "I won't, if you stay here chattering like a 
 magpie." 
 
 "What time does the steamer sail?" 
 
 "Eleven o'clock," said Helen. 
 
 "We're all coming to see you off. Mr. Steell 
 told me that he's coming, too." 
 
 "Not exactly to see me, I'm afraid," smiled 
 Kenneth. 
 
 "Who else?" she retorted. "If you mean me, 
 you're mistaken. He doesn't need to make the 
 uncomfortable trip to Hoboken to see me." 
 
 Her brother-in-law smiled, amused at her 
 petulance. 
 
 "My dear," he said, "you don't know what hard- 
 ships a man will endure for the girl he's sweet on." 
 With mock seriousness he went on: "Say sis, 
 Helen and I have been having an argument. Who 
 does Steell come here for for you or for me?" 
 
 59
 
 THE MASK 
 
 Ray burst into merry laughter. 
 
 "How silly you are, Ken. For me, of course. 
 
 At least, I flatter myself that " With a wink 
 
 at her sister she added facetiously: "Of course, 
 one never knows when dealing with these handsome 
 men. And Helen is quite adorable. If I were a 
 man, I should be crazy about her." 
 
 Helen held up a protesting finger. 
 
 "Don't talk like that, dear, or he'll believe 
 you." 
 
 Kenneth laughed. 
 
 "Yes, I'm as jealous as Othello and quite as 
 dangerous. Don't I look it?" 
 
 As he spoke, the front door-bell rang downstairs. 
 Ray hastily took up her things. 
 
 "Here's company!" 
 
 "I hope not!" exclaimed Helen. "I'm in no 
 mood to see anybody." 
 
 "I'll see them," whispered Ray, "and say you're 
 out. It won't be the first fib I've told." 
 
 She ran lightly out of the room and upstairs, 
 while Helen and her husband went on with the 
 ;work of packing. They were just stooping to- 
 
 60
 
 THE MASK 
 
 gather over a trunk when there came a rap on the 
 door, and Frangois appeared. 
 
 "A lady to see monsieur." 
 
 Kenneth looked puzzled. 
 
 "A lady? What lady?" 
 
 Helen laughed merrily. Triumphantly, she ex- 
 claimed : 
 
 "It's my turn now to be jealous." 
 
 "Not exactly a lady, monsieur. An elderly 
 person." 
 
 "What's her name?" 
 
 "Mrs. Mary O'Connor." 
 
 Kenneth smiled broadly. 
 
 "Mary O'Connor, my old nurse. Well, well, 
 show her right in." Turning to his wife he added 
 quickly: "Dear old soul no doubt she's heard 
 I'm off to Africa and wishes to say good-bye." 
 
 An instant later an old woman bent with age 
 and with a kindly face framed with silvery white 
 hair came in, hands outstretched. Without any 
 air of condescension on his part, Kenneth went 
 forward to greet her. Through all the long stretch 
 of years, from his boy days to his manhood he had 
 
 61
 
 THH MASK 
 
 never forgotten how kind Mary had been to him 
 when a child, taking the place of the mother he 
 had lost in infancy. A Christmas was never al- 
 lowed to pass without a fat turkey for the old 
 nurse and many a little present of money had 
 accompanied the bird. The old woman's lips quiv- 
 ered as she said tremulously: 
 
 "It's a long way you're going, Mr. Kenneth." 
 
 "Oh, I'll soon be back, Mary," he rejoined 
 jovially. 
 
 She shook her head. 
 
 "It's a long way and I'm getting old." 
 
 The promoter laughed boisterously. Leading 
 her gently to a chair he exclaimed : 
 
 "Old! Nonsense; You're just as young to me 
 now as when I first remember you." 
 
 The old lady smiled. Nodding her head feebly, 
 she replied: 
 
 "When you used to play hide-and-seek with me. 
 When I wanted to put you to bed you were no- 
 where to be found." 
 
 Helen laughed while Kenneth protested : 
 
 "Oh, come now, Mary, I wasn't so bad as that." 
 62
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "No. You weren't bad just lively and natural 
 as all healthy children. You were always a better 
 boy than your brother." 
 
 Helen looked up quickly. 
 
 "Your brother, Kenneth? I never heard you 
 speak of a brother." 
 
 He looked at the old lady in amazement. 
 
 "My brother? What brother?" 
 
 The old lady smiled. 
 
 "That's so you never knew. You were too 
 young to remember. Yes, you had a brother a 
 twin brother. People hardly knew you apart. 
 There was only one way in which your mother 
 and I could tell." 
 
 "What was that?" demanded the promoter 
 eagerly. 
 
 "He had a scar. He caught his hand in some 
 machinery when a baby and it left a scar in the 
 index finger of the left hand." 
 
 Transfixed, Kenneth listened open-mouthed. At 
 last breaking the spell, he exclaimed : 
 
 "I never heard of him. You never spoke of 
 him before." 
 
 63
 
 THB MASK 
 
 "How should you remember?" went on the old 
 woman. "It's many years ago. Your father and 
 mother are dead. You have no relatives living. 
 No one knows. But I know." 
 
 "Did he die?" asked Kenneth, deeply interested. 
 
 The old lady nodded affirmatively. 
 
 "I shall never forgive myself. It was my fault. 
 You were playing together in the garden. I didn't 
 dream either of you could come to harm. I went 
 into the house for a moment to get something. 
 When I came back your brother was gone no 
 trace of him anywhere. We never saw him again. 
 Your father, heart-broken, offered a fortune for 
 news of him. The police hunted high and low 
 all over the country. There was no trace. Some 
 gypsies had passed recently through the town. I 
 always suspected them. That is thirty years ago 
 and more." 
 
 "So it's not even known if he's dead," inter- 
 rupted Kenneth eagerly. 
 
 The beldame shook her head sorrowfully, as she 
 answered sagely: 
 
 "Oh, he's dead all right. That's sure. There 
 64
 
 THE MASK 
 
 was money left to him by your grandfather. For 
 years the lawyers advertised for news of him. 
 But it was no good. If he'd been alive, he'd have 
 claimed his own." 
 
 "He might still be alive, yet unaware of his 
 identity," broke in Helen, who was a keenly in- 
 terested listener. She had been so accustomed to 
 regard her husband as the only son of parents, 
 both of whom were dead, that the mere possibility 
 of his having a brother awakened her curiosity. 
 
 Still under the spell of the old woman's unex- 
 pected revelation, Kenneth had relapsed into a 
 thoughtful silence. The surprising news had af- 
 fected him strangely. So he had had a brother a 
 twin brother, and all these years he had been in ig- 
 norance of the fact. Yet who could be nearer or 
 dearer than a twin brother ? Together they had lain 
 under the same mother's heart. Together they had 
 first seen the light and laughed in the sun. Ah, if 
 he had only lived to be his comrade, his partner! 
 With a brother at his side, to second him in his 
 hazardous enterprises, he felt he would indeed be 
 invincible. He could have conquered the world! 
 
 65
 
 THE MASK 
 
 The old nurse held out a withered hand, and 
 her eyes were moist with tears as she said : 
 
 "Good-bye, Mr. Kenneth. A safe journey to 
 you. Keep out of danger. I'll be praying for the 
 Lord to watch over you." 
 
 Helen turned away so they might not see her 
 emotion. Kenneth laughed lightly as he kissed the 
 old woman's cheek, and then, slipping a bank note 
 into her hand, he said carelessly : 
 
 "All right, Mary, I'll be careful. I'll come back 
 safe and sound, never fear, and I'll bring you 
 something nice, perhaps a big diamond. Out in 
 South Africa they pick 'em up like stones." 
 
 The old woman's eyes opened incredulously. 
 
 "Really, Mr. Kenneth?" 
 
 "Yes, really. Diamonds as big as apples. They're 
 found every day. When I come back I'll have all 
 sorts of adventures to tell you about. Who knows? 
 I might even run across this twin-brother of mine. 
 Stranger things have happened." 
 
 "Diamonds as big as apples," she echoed. "Do 
 you mean that, Mr. Kenneth?" 
 
 He laughed. 
 
 66
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "Indeed I do! Some of the gems are as big 
 as cocoanuts. Didn't you hear of that wonderful 
 diamond we found the other day? It's worth a 
 million dollars." 
 
 The old woman opened her eyes and gaped with 
 astonishment. 
 
 "A million dollars, Mr. Kenneth!" 
 
 "Yes, a million dollars. What's more, I'll soon be 
 able to show it to you, Mary. My trip out to South 
 Africa is ostensibly for the purpose of negotiating 
 for more land. The real purpose of my journey 
 is to bring home this astonishing stone." 
 
 "But how will you carry it, Mr. Kenneth? A 
 stone worth a million dollars must be big as a 
 house." 
 
 Kenneth laughed. 
 
 "No no, Mary. It can easily go in my waist- 
 coat pocket. But for safety's sake it won't. I 
 don't mind letting you into my confidence. I'm 
 to have a secret bottom made in " 
 
 Before he could complete the sentence, Helen 
 quickly clapped her hand over his mouth, and he 
 had not yet recovered from his astonishment when 
 
 67
 
 THH MASK 
 
 she sprang to the door and opened it. The move- 
 ment was so sudden and unexpected that a man 
 who had been leaning against it, fell all his length 
 into the room. It was Frangois, the French valet. 
 
 "Excuses," he stammered, "I stumbled." 
 
 Kenneth stared first at the servant, then at his 
 wife. Slowly he began to comprehend. Turning 
 to the Frenchman he demanded angrily: 
 
 "What were you doing behind that door?" 
 
 "Excuses. I came back to ask monsieur how 
 many shirts I pack." 
 
 Thoroughly aroused, the promoter pointed to the 
 door. Sternly he said: 
 
 "Get out of here you fool! If you don't know 
 your business, I'll get some one else who does." 
 
 The Frenchman beat a rapid retreat. There was 
 a malevolent look on his face, but he murmured 
 respectfully enough: 
 
 "Oui, monsieur!' 
 
 Kenneth turned to his wife. 
 
 "What did he come back for?" he demanded. 
 
 "He was listening behind the door," she replied 
 calmly. 
 
 68
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 (HE dirty, sullen waters of the harbor 
 washed lazily against the black, precipitous 
 sides of the giant liner which, under a full 
 head of steam, vibrated with suppressed energy, 
 straining at mighty cables as if impatient to start 
 on her long and hazardous voyage across the 
 tumbling seas. A raw, piercing northeaster, howl- 
 ing dismally above the monotonous creaking and 
 puffing of the donkey-engine, swept through the 
 cheerless, draughty dock, chilling the spectators to 
 the marrow. The sun, vainly trying to break 
 through the banks of leaden-colored clouds, cast a 
 grayish pall over land and sky. A day it was of 
 sinister portent, that could not fail to have a de- 
 pressing effect on sailor and landlubber alike. 
 
 Yet unpropitious skies and chilly wind did not 
 appear to keep people at home. The steamer was 
 crowded, both with those who were sailing and 
 those who were not. The gangways, staterooms 
 
 69
 
 THE MASK 
 
 were overrun not only by passengers, but by all 
 sorts of visitors curious to get a glimpse of the 
 luxurious liner. The first-class saloon, heaped high 
 on all sides with American Beauty roses and or- 
 chids, looked as gay and full of color as a florist's 
 shop. 
 
 "Isn't it perfectly stunning? How I adore 
 ships!" exclaimed Ray, eager to see everything. 
 
 Keeping close together, the two young women 
 with difficulty elbowed their way through the ex- 
 cited throng. They were anxious to rejoin Ken- 
 neth whom they had left in the stateroom giving 
 instructions to Francois, and they began to be afraid 
 they might lose him in the crush. Delighted at 
 everything she saw, Ray could not contain her- 
 self. 
 
 "Oh, how I wish I were going! Why doesn't 
 Ken take me?" 
 
 Helen turned to her in mock despair. 
 
 "If you went, what would I do? Who would 
 take care of me?" 
 
 "I would," said a masculine voice close by. 
 women turned quickly. 
 70
 
 THE MASK 
 
 A tall, fair man still in his thirties, had stopped 
 and raised his hat. 
 
 "Why, it's Mr. Steell!" exclaimed Ray, her 
 pleasure at the meeting betraying itself in the tone 
 of her voice. 
 
 "Do you doubt my ability to take care of you? 
 Could any man wish for a more congenial 
 task?" 
 
 "Flatterer!" laughed Helen. Cordially she add- 
 ed: "I'm awfully glad to see you. It was very 
 good of you to come and see Ken off." 
 
 "Nonsense," exclaimed the newcomer. "I 
 wanted to come if only to make sure he wouldn't 
 change his mind. I'm as anxious to see those dia- 
 monds as you are." 
 
 "Hush!" said Helen putting up her finger to her 
 mouth while Ray's attention was momentarily di- 
 verted elsewhere. "No one knows not even Ray. 
 It's a great secret." 
 
 An anxious look passed over the young man's 
 face. He hadn't approved of this South African 
 trip. It was wholly unnecessary. In his opinion 
 his old chum was taking a great risk. 
 
 71
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "That's right," he muttered. "You can't be too 
 careful." 
 
 In metropolitan legal circles Wilbur Steell was 
 looked upon as the coming man. His success in the 
 courts had given him a wide reputation before he 
 was five and thirty, and his gifts as a public 
 speaker, his strong, aggressive personality made 
 more than one political leader anxious to secure 
 his services. Already he was mentioned as district 
 attorney. Even the Governorship might have been 
 his for the asking. But he showed no liking for 
 politics. His sympathies leaned more towards the 
 literary, intellectual life. Having all the money 
 he needed, he preferred to keep out of the social 
 and political maelstrom, leading a quiet life, fol- 
 lowing his own tastes and inclinations. Match- 
 making mammas saw in him a prize, but so far he 
 had shown no disposition to marry. He cultivated 
 few people, in fact, was considered somewhat of 
 a misanthrope. Kenneth he had known all his life. 
 They were boys together, and the Traynors were 
 among the few on whom he called frequently. He 
 made no secret of his attraction for Ray, and the 
 
 72
 
 THE MASK 
 
 young girl liked him as well as she chose to like 
 anybody. He had qualities, not usually met with 
 in successful men, that made a strong appeal to 
 her fine ideals, and a purpose in life. She liked 
 his seriousness, finding him different in this re- 
 spect from any other man she knew. She felt 
 he admired her, but he did not make love to her 
 and she was grateful to him for that. She liked 
 his society and never tired of discussing with him 
 sociology and other subjects in which both were 
 interested. 
 
 "When does the steamer sail?" interrupted Ray 
 anxiously, as if afraid that they might go off with 
 her on board. 
 
 "In half an hour," said the lawyer. "They ring 
 a warning bell. There is plenty of time. Where's 
 Kenneth?" 
 
 "Down below in his stateroom wrestling with 
 baggage," replied Helen. "He said he would join 
 us here." 
 
 "Well, suppose we sit down a bit," he suggested. 
 
 "Yes that will be jolly," exclaimed Ray. 
 
 The lawyer pulled up three steamer chairs and 
 73
 
 THB MASK 
 
 sitting down, they watched the crowd which had 
 already begun to thin out. The novelty of the 
 scene held both women fascinated. The constant 
 bustle and excitement, the going and coming of 
 well-groomed men and women, the little scraps of 
 conversation overheard, interested them both be- 
 yond measure. Helen studied each individual cou- 
 ple, wondering who they were, how long married, 
 if they were happy, where they were going to. 
 She wondered if that coarse, loudly dressed woman 
 really cared for her husband, or if this brutal 
 looking man with insolent stare of the libertine, 
 illtreated his delicate little wife. She herself could 
 not understand marriage without genuine affection 
 on both sides. Any such intimate relation as the 
 marriage tie involved must surely be repellent and 
 abhorrent to any self-respecting woman unless love 
 were there to sanction and sanctify it. 
 
 Ray glanced at her sister and laughed. 
 
 "Why so serious, Helen? He hasn't gone yet." 
 
 Helen sighed. 
 
 "But he soon will be. I wish he were here in- 
 stead of downstairs." 
 
 74
 
 THH MASK 
 
 Ray protested. 
 
 "Please be nautically correct. Remember we 
 are on a ship. You don't say 'downstairs' ; you say 
 'below/ " 
 
 Mr. Steell turned round with a smile. 
 
 "I had no idea you were so well posted in 
 sailor's parlance." 
 
 The young girl laughed. 
 
 "Oh, you don't know half my accomplishments. 
 I'm cleverer than you give me credit for." 
 
 The young man leaned half over the chair as 
 he whispered : 
 
 "I wouldn't dare tell you how clever I think you." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 "Because of my own peace of mind." 
 
 Helen broke in on the conversation. Addressing 
 the lawyer, she said: 
 
 "Now Kenneth is away, we shall expect you 
 to come to the house very often." 
 
 The lawyer bowed. 
 
 "It's always a pleasure to call." 
 
 "Be sure to come next Sunday evening. I ex- 
 pect some friends. We'll have some music." 
 
 75
 
 THB MASK 
 
 "May I bring someone?" 
 
 "Certainly. Any friend of yours is welcome." 
 
 "Who is it?" asked Ray impertinently. "Male 
 or female?" 
 
 "I believe it's a male," smiled the lawyer. "It 
 looks like a male and talks like one." More se- 
 riously he went on: "His name is Dick Reynolds. 
 He has just passed his bar examination and is prac- 
 ticing temporarily in my office. His people live 
 out West and being alone here, he is glad enough 
 to have somewhere to go." 
 
 "Bring him by all means," exclaimed Ray. "Has 
 he any accomplishments apart from being a 
 male?" 
 
 "Yes he plays the piano indifferently, and ten- 
 nis admirably. He swims like a fish, and can run 
 like a hare. But his best accomplishment is a gift 
 that one seldom sees developed " 
 
 "What is that?" exclaimed both his listeners at 
 once. 
 
 "He is a born detective a regular Sherlock 
 Holmes in real life. I have tested him several 
 times with extraordinary results. I have given 
 
 76
 
 THE MASK 
 
 him the most difficult cases to unravel. He has 
 found the solution in every one." 
 
 Ray clapped her hands. 
 
 "Oh, I love that," she said. "Don't forget to 
 invite him. Only the trouble is we have nothing to 
 unravel." 
 
 "I have a skein of silk," interrupted Helen 
 facetiously. 
 
 Suddenly the lawyer stopped speaking and 
 quickly sitting up in his chair stared intently in 
 the distance at a face in the crowd which had 
 caught his eye. 
 
 "Who is it?" demanded Ray, her woman's jeal- 
 ousy aroused. 
 
 "I may be mistaken," he replied, "but I thought 
 I saw your friend Signer Keralio." 
 
 Helen looked up quickly. 
 
 "My friend?" she exclaimed. "He's no friend 
 of mine. I wonder what he's doing here. He can't 
 be sailing." 
 
 "He's up to no good, I wager that," growled 
 the lawyer. 
 
 "You don't like him either, do you?" smiled Ray. 
 
 77
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "Does anyone?" he answered. "I don't see how 
 Kenneth can have anything to do with such a 
 cheap; type of adventurer." 
 
 Helen hastened to explain. 
 
 "Ken doesn't care for him at all, only they are 
 both interested in the same business deal a silver 
 mine in Mexico. Ken bought stock and Keralio 
 is the only man he knows connected with it. That's 
 why." 
 
 The lawyer gave vent to a grunt of disgust. 
 
 "If Keralio has anything to do with it, good-bye 
 to Ken's money. In my opinion the fellow's a 
 crook." 
 
 Suddenly Helen pointed to a spot away down 
 at the other end of the deck. 
 
 "Yes you're right there he is behind that 
 third lifeboat. He's talking to some one." 
 
 The lawyer looked in the direction indicated. 
 
 "Yes and do you see the secretive way in which 
 they're talking hiding behind that boat, as if so 
 that no one might see them. They're plotting some 
 mischief, you may be sure of that. Who's the other 
 fellow?"
 
 THE MASK 
 
 Helen strained her eyes to see. 
 
 "I can't see his face. Oh, yes I can why it's 
 our Francois Kenneth's valet. What can they 
 be talking about? I don't trust that valet. Only 
 the other day I caught him reading some letters. 
 I warned Ken about him ; but he insists he is faith- 
 ful I wonder what they can have in common? 
 He used to be in Signer Keralio's employ." 
 
 The lawyer shook his head ominously. Gravely 
 he said: 
 
 "That fellow Keralio will bear watching. I think 
 I'll put my Sherlock Holmes on his track." 
 
 Ray laughed. 
 
 "Oh, that would be exciting a drama in real 
 life. Please do " 
 
 "Good morning, ladies!" said a voice close at 
 hand. "Good morning, Mr. Steell." 
 
 All looked up. A tall, elderly man with white 
 hair, distinguished looking and fashionably dressed, 
 had stopped. 
 
 "Why, it's Mr. Parker!" exclaimed Helen hold- 
 ing out her hand. "You came to see Kenneth 
 off?" 
 
 79
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "Yes where is he?" 
 
 "In his stateroom attending to his baggage. 
 He'll be here directly." 
 
 "I must see him at once." 
 
 "Anything important ?" 
 
 "Very important, indeed," replied the new- 
 comer. 
 
 Helen jumped up, all flushed from excitement. 
 
 "Please tell me what it is?" she exclaimed. 
 
 The old gentleman drew a telegram from his 
 pocket. 
 
 "I've just received this from our agent in Cape 
 Town. Another diamond of extraordinary size 
 has been picked up. It weighs over 2,000 carats 
 and is calculated to be worth five hundred thousand 
 dollars. That's the second stone of extraordinary 
 size that we have found. Possibly there is some 
 exaggeration in the reports, but there is no doubt 
 whatever that we are on the verge of discoveries 
 little short of sensational. Meantime, the treasury 
 of the Americo- African Mining Company has been 
 enriched by at least a million. When Kenneth re- 
 turns to New York with these wonderful gems in 
 
 80
 
 THE MASK 
 
 his possession, there is likely to be a boom in the 
 company's shares." 
 
 The old gentleman spoke glibly, even eloquently 
 and it was obvious that he was sincere and not 
 talking for effect. It was, indeed, largely due to 
 his distinguished air, and fine oratorical powers 
 that Cornelius Winthrop Parker had been elected 
 president of the Americo- African Mining Company, 
 with fine offices in New York and London and 
 stockholders in every country under the sun. 
 Trained for the ministry and enjoying a wide ac- 
 quaintance but a slim income, he had found the 
 business of stock company promotion more profit- 
 able than preaching the gospel, and when Traynor 
 had first gone to him with the suggestion that a 
 company be formed to take up the large tract of 
 Transvaal land where precious stones had actually 
 been found he was not slow to grasp at the un- 
 usual opportunity. He managed cleverly the pre- 
 liminary publicity campaign. The company was 
 promptly organized and successfully floated, the 
 public snapping as eagerly at the shares as a fish 
 at the bait. It was only logical to infer, there- 
 Si
 
 THB MASK 
 
 fore, that when Kenneth returned to New York 
 with actual proof of the company's suddenly ac- 
 quired wealth in his possession, the stock would 
 soar above par. With this pleasing prospect in 
 view, it was not surprising that Mr. Parker wore 
 to-day his most engaging smile. 
 
 Ray looked up in surprise. 
 
 "What!" she exclaimed. "Kenneth to bring 
 home the diamonds ? This is the first I heard of it. 
 Helen never told me." 
 
 "Hush!" said Mr. Parker, holding up his hand, 
 warningly. "Some one might hear you." Con- 
 tinuing, he said blandly: 
 
 "Of course not, my dear lady, of course not. 
 Your sister is far too discreet and clever a woman 
 to disclose her husband's plans to the world. There 
 are some things a man must keep secret from 
 everyone even from his wife. It would have 
 been the height of folly to make any such an- 
 nouncement from the housetops. The highways are 
 full of rogues; even the walls have ears. Some 
 crook might have learned of our plans and acted 
 accordingly. Kenneth might be followed to South 
 
 82
 
 THE MASK 
 
 Africa, shadowed till he has the gems in his pos- 
 session and then waylaid and murdered. Remem- 
 ber, he will have stones in his waistcoat pocket 
 worth a million. Do you suppose desperate men 
 will stop at anything to secure such a prize ?" 
 
 Ray turned to her sister. 
 
 "Did you know?" 
 
 Helen nodded. 
 
 "Yes, and it has made me very unhappy. It is 
 terrible that he is taking such risks." Turning to 
 Mr. Parker she asked apprehensively: "Do you 
 think he will run any danger?" 
 
 The old gentleman shook his head. 
 
 "Of course not, my dear lady. It is prepos- 
 terous to even think of such a thing. We have 
 kept the matter too secret. Don't be uneasy. He 
 will come to no harm." Raising his hat, he added: 
 "Excuse me, ladies. I'll go and find Kenneth 
 and bring him to you." 
 
 The next instant he was swallowed up by the 
 crowd. 
 
 Helen, uneasy at her husband's prolonged ab- 
 sence, suggested that they go below and join him. 
 
 83
 
 THE MASK 
 
 Suddenly a stentorian voice called out : 
 
 "AH ashore all ashore!" 
 
 Quickly, Helen jumped to her feet, only to 
 bump into Kenneth, who at that moment ran up, 
 followed by Mr. Parker. 
 
 "All ashore, dear," he said hastily, "you had 
 better go." 
 
 She made no reply, but averted her head so 
 he might not see her red eyes. 
 
 All about them the bustle and excitement was 
 bewildering. People pushed this way and that 
 in their efforts to reach the gangway. 
 
 The siren sounded its last deep toned blasts 
 of warning; the final greetings were exchanged. 
 
 Tall and handsome looking in his tourist knicker- 
 bockers and close fitting steamer cap, Kenneth held 
 both Helen's hands in his. Ray and Mr. Parker, 
 under the pretence of visiting the anchor weighed, 
 had discreetly withdrawn. Frangois, the valet, 
 could be seen in the distance, making signals to 
 some one on shore. Husband and wife were stand- 
 ing alone behind one of the big ventilators, Helen 
 glad that no one saw them, ashamed that anyone 
 
 84
 
 THE MASK 
 
 should detect the big tears she was unable to con- 
 trol. How she had dreaded this moment of actual 
 parting, this ordeal of saying good-bye! 
 
 "You'll write every day, won't you?" she asked 
 in choking voice. 
 
 Tenderly he drew her to him. 
 
 "Every day, sweetheart." 
 
 "And you'll come back safe to me?" 
 
 "I'll come back safe to you." 
 
 Bravely she forced back the tears that blinded 
 her. Gently she murmured : 
 
 "I'll wait for you, Kenneth. I shall count the 
 days, every moment, until you return. I never 
 realized till now how much we are to each other. 
 I'll pray for you, Kenneth ; I'll pray God that He 
 watch over and protect you." 
 
 He said nothing, but drew her toward him. 
 Looking searchingly into her eyes, he said half in 
 jest, half in earnest: 
 
 "You'll be true, always true!" 
 
 Gravely she answered: 
 
 "Always until death !" 
 "You'll look at no other man." 
 85
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "How can you be so foolish, Ken dear? I see 
 no one but you. I hear no voice but yours. You 
 are my life, my soul. When you return you'll find 
 me here, at this same dock, arms outstretched, 
 waiting, just waiting." 
 
 The bell rang. 
 
 "All ashore! All ashore!" 
 
 He bent low. His mouth met hers in one deep, 
 lingering kiss. 
 
 "God bless you, darling." 
 
 "Good-bye, Ken, good-bye." 
 
 The next thing she knew she was back on the 
 dock among a crowd of spectators waving hats and 
 handkerchiefs the women weeping, the men shout- 
 ing and gesticulating. 
 
 The passengers stood at the rail, waving frantic 
 adieux in return. The siren sounded deep-toned 
 blasts of warning to the smaller river craft to get 
 out of the way. The huge vessel strained and 
 trembled, vibrating more violently as she grad- 
 ually began to glide into the open. Assisted by a 
 fleet of energetic tugs she finally swung clear and 
 
 86
 
 THE MASK 
 
 pointed her nose eastward. Slowly, majestically, 
 the leviathan moved out to sea. 
 
 It was bad enough to see him go at all, but to 
 have him sail on such a gloomy day as this, with 
 not a ray of sunshine to cheer him on the way, 
 was more than Helen could bear. Blinded by tears 
 she stood kissing her hand to the familiar figure 
 now only faintly discernible on the fast receding 
 steamship, and she stood there long after every one 
 else had left the dock watching until the Maul e- 
 tania was only a speck in the horizon.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 SUNDAY evenings at Mrs. Traynor's were al- 
 ways enjoyable. No formal invitations were 
 issued. Friends just dropped in as they felt 
 inclined. There was good music, excellent tea 
 a la Russe and always a number of interesting 
 people. 
 
 To-night, the second Sunday since Kenneth 
 went away, promised to be duller than usual. Mr. 
 Steell was there, of course, and he had brought 
 Dick Reynolds, a slightly built, shrewd looking 
 young man with glasses, who kept everybody 
 amused with exciting stories of the underworld. 
 Yet, for all the animation, there was an atmos- 
 phere of gloom in the air, an indefinable sense of 
 depression which all felt and could not explain. 
 The lawyer, Dick, and Ray were in a corner 
 carrying on an animated discussion. Helen, 
 her mind preoccupied, her thoughts hundreds of 
 miles away with the loved absent one, sat quietly 
 
 88
 
 
 THE MASK 
 
 at the piano, running her fingers lightly over the 
 keys, her thoughts many leagues distant with the 
 man who had carried her heart away with him. 
 
 Her face was pale, her expression grave. Why 
 had Kenneth's going away affected her like this? 
 She had not had a moment's peace of mind since 
 his departure. She could not sleep. Horrible 
 dreams and thoughts haunted her all night. Some 
 danger threatened, that she felt instinctively. 
 Something dreadful was going to happen. What it 
 was, she did not know. But it was something that 
 threatened her happiness, perhaps her life or Ken- 
 neth's '. At the mere thought a shiver ran 
 
 through her, and a convulsive sob rose in her throat, 
 almost choking her. Not until this moment had she 
 fully realized how much she loved him. 
 
 A sudden burst of laughter at the other end of 
 the room aroused her from her reverie. Looking 
 up, she asked: 
 
 "What are you all so amused about?" 
 
 Ray smiled as she replied : 
 
 "We're arguing about dual personalities. Mr. 
 Steell insists that there is no such thing. Mr. Rey- 
 
 89
 
 THE MASK 
 
 nolds agrees with him. He is wrong of course. I 
 know of several well-authenticated cases, and the 
 medical records are there to back me up." 
 
 "Exactly what do you mean by dual personal- 
 ity?" demanded the lawyer. 
 
 Ray returned to the attack, while Helen, amused, 
 rose from the piano and went over to listen to the 
 argument. 
 
 "I mean that a person we know well may sud- 
 denly cease being that person and assume a per- 
 sonality entirely different." 
 
 Mr. Steell laughed derisively. 
 
 "Does the patient change her or his skin?" 
 
 "No, the change is wholly mental. Although in 
 fact, the new mental attitude does result in certain 
 physical modifications. For instance, a person who 
 in his normal condition may be most punctilious 
 and neat in his dress is likely to become unkempt 
 and slovenly in the new character he unconsciously 
 assumes." 
 
 "Have you ever encountered any such dual per- 
 sonalities ?" 
 
 "Personally, no. But I have heard of them, and 
 90
 
 THE MASK 
 
 physicians often encounter them in their prac- 
 tice." 
 
 The lawyer shrugged his shoulders as he turned 
 to Helen. 
 
 "What do you think about it?" he asked, with 
 an incredulous smile. 
 
 "About what?" 
 
 "These so-called dual personalities." 
 
 Before his hostess could answer, the drawing- 
 room door opened and Mr. Parker entered. Helen 
 rose and went forward to greet the president of 
 the Americo- African Mining Company. 
 
 "Oh, Mr. Parker, how are you? I am so glad 
 you came to see us." 
 
 The visitor advanced smiling into the room. 
 With a salute to all present, he asked cheerily : 
 
 "Well, what news of the wanderer?" 
 
 Helen sighed. 
 
 "None as yet." 
 
 The visitor chuckled as he crossed the room to 
 shake hands with Ray and Mr. Steell. 
 
 "Oh, well you must be patient. He'll soon be 
 there, and then we shall hear wonderful tales."
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "What's the latest news from the seat of war I 
 mean the mines?" asked Ray roguishly. 
 
 Mr. Parker smiled. 
 
 "Everything is going well, thank you." 
 
 "No new big finds ?" demanded Mr. Steell. 
 
 The president laughed. Shaking his head, he 
 said: 
 
 "We can't expect to make such finds every day. 
 If we often picked up stones of that size, we'd soon 
 own all the wealth in the world." 
 
 "More likely," retorted Ray quickly, "that dia- 
 monds would become so cheap that children would 
 buy them for marbles." 
 
 Mr. Steell looked interested. 
 
 "What is the real market value of the two big 
 gems you have already picked up ?" 
 
 The president looked at him for a moment in si- 
 lence. Then, slowly, he said: 
 
 "A very conservative estimate is $1,200,000 for 
 both stones. They are the purest white. There 
 are larger stones in the world, but none of finer 
 quality." 
 
 "What do you expect to do with them?" 
 92
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "First, they will be brought here and exhibited 
 in their crude state. You can easily realize the 
 value to our company of such a gigantic advertise- 
 ment. Crowds will flock to see the wonderful crys- 
 tals. The newspapers all over the country will give 
 them the widest publicity. After everybody has 
 seen them, we shall probably send them to Amster- 
 dam to be cut." 
 
 "Then, what will you do with them?" 
 
 "To tell you the truth, we have not made up our 
 minds. Such very large stones have really no com- 
 mercial value. Take for instance the famous Cul- 
 linan, the wonder of the modern world. That gem 
 was so huge that it was of no real value to the 
 owners ; so, unable to realize on it themselves, they 
 induced the Transvaal government to buy it and 
 present it to the King of England. We shall try 
 to be a little more practical. Our first duty is to 
 our stockholders. We shall probably have the 
 stones cut up into a number of smaller stones, on 
 which we shall be able to realize a large sum. It's 
 a rare stroke of good fortune for us." 
 
 Helen had said nothing, but stood listening in 
 93
 
 THE MASK 
 
 silence. It was less of the money involved in the 
 adventure that she was thinking than of her hus- 
 band's safety. 
 
 "Suppose Kenneth loses the gems?" she faltered. 
 
 The old gentleman laughed. 
 
 "There's no fear of him losing them. He may 
 have to fight for them, but he'll never lose them 
 I know him too well for that." 
 
 Helen's eyes opened wide. 
 
 "He may have to fight for them," she echoed. 
 "Do you mean that?" 
 
 "No no, of course not," said the president 
 hastily. "No one will even know he has them in 
 his possession. We have kept the matter very 
 quiet." 
 
 Mr. Steell shrugged his shoulders. Drily he 
 said : x 
 
 "Oh, I guess Ken is big enough to take care of 
 himself. It does look as if it were tempting Provi- 
 dence to carry loose on one's person valuables for 
 so large an amount, but it's hardly likely that any 
 of the denizens of the underworld know of his de- 
 parture. Still less that he is carrying a million loose 
 
 94
 
 THE MASK 
 
 in his clothes. I don't see that there's any reason 
 to worry." 
 
 "That's precisely my opinion," said a musical 
 voice immediately behind them. 
 
 All started and looked up. Everyone had been 
 so intent on the conversation that they had not no- 
 ticed a man who had entered the room. 
 
 He was a tall, dark-complexioned man of five and 
 thirty with strong, stern features, which, in repose, 
 were actually forbidding. The mouth, partly con- 
 cealed by a long, bristling moustache, was firm, 
 suggesting relentless will power, and his eyes, rest- 
 less, keen and searching, had taken in every person 
 there long before anyone was aware of his pres- 
 ence. He was fashionably, even elegantly dressed, 
 and on his left hand he wore a solitaire of uncom- 
 mon size and luster. His hair, carefully curled, 
 scented and parted, was extraordinarily dark, con- 
 trasting sharply with the unusual pallor of his face. 
 He spoke low and musically, with a slight foreign 
 accent. 
 
 Helen started involuntarily on hearing the sound 
 of his voice, and a cloud passed momentarily over 
 
 95
 
 THE MASK 
 
 her face. It lasted only a moment. She was too 
 tactful, too much the woman of the world not to 
 greet with at least apparent cordiality any visitor 
 under her roof, no matter how unwelcome he might 
 really be. Turning quickly, she advanced and held 
 out her hand. 
 
 "How do you do, Signer Keralio? How you 
 startled us ! I did not hear you come in." 
 
 The newcomer's black eyes flashed, and his thin 
 lips parted in a smile as he bent low and ceremoni- 
 ously kissed his hostess' hand in continental fashion. 
 Fond, as are most men of the Latin race, of mak- 
 ing extravagant compliments, he murmured softly : 
 
 "Your tiny ears, Madam, were not intended to 
 distinguish such gross sounds as ordinary mortal's 
 footsteps. Dainty and delicately fashioned as the 
 shells strewn along the beach, they were modeled 
 only to listen to the gods or re-echo the music of 
 the murmuring sea." Apologetically he added: 
 "But I'm afraid I intrude. Possibly you discuss 
 family affairs " 
 
 A look of annoyance crossed Helen's face. 
 Quickly withdrawing her hand, she said : 
 
 96
 
 run MASK 
 
 "Oh, not at all. We were only talking about my 
 husband. You know he sailed for South Africa 
 two weeks ago. This is Mr. Steell, Signer Keralio. 
 I think you know my sister. Mr. Parker Signor 
 Keralio." 
 
 The old gentleman nodded affably, and, putting 
 on his glass, scrutinized the newcomer narrowly. 
 The president of the Americo- African Mining Com- 
 pany had always made it a point not to neglect any 
 chance introduction. He had no idea who the vis- 
 itor was, but he looked prosperous. Possibly with 
 a little careful manipulation, he might be induced 
 to invest in some A. A. M. stock. Holding out his 
 hand, he said affably: 
 
 "Signor Keralio Let me see. Where have 
 
 I heard that name before?" 
 
 Ray came to the rescue. 
 
 "Signor Keralio is the well-known fencing 
 master." 
 
 A look of disappointment came over the presi- 
 dent's face. Only a fencing master? Ugh! He 
 was hardly worth bothering about. He wondered 
 whether the business were profitable and if all fenc- 
 
 97
 
 THE MASK 
 
 ing masters dressed like millionaires and had such 
 polished manners. Helen explained : 
 
 "Signer Keralio is a friend of my husband. 
 Kenneth enjoys fencing, and Signer Keralio is his 
 teacher." 
 
 "Oh, yes, to be sure," smiled Mr. Parker. "Cap- 
 ital idea splendid exercise. I'd try it myself, only 
 I'm afraid I'd do my adversary some injury." 
 
 The Italian gave a low chuckle. With veiled 
 irony, he said: 
 
 "Monsieur is right. He no doubt has a good eye, 
 a supple wrist. An encounter might be very un- 
 pleasant for his opponent." 
 
 Ray, unable to control her mirth, hastily beat a 
 retreat, followed more leisurely by Mr. Steell, and 
 taking refuge at the far end of the room sat down 
 at the piano, and began to play softly a Chopin 
 nocturne. 
 
 Waving the newcomer to a seat, Mr. Parker of- 
 fered him a cigar, which the fencing master, with 
 a courteous bow, asked his hostess' permission to 
 smoke. 
 
 "By all means," she said, "and with your per- 
 98
 
 THE MASK 
 
 mission I'll leave you gentlemen alone a few mo- 
 ments. I have a letter to finish. It must go to- 
 night to catch the boat." 
 
 "It's to your husband, I wager," said Keralio, 
 with a sardonic smile. 
 
 "An easy guess," she retorted. "I write him 
 every day." 
 
 The fencing master gave a sigh as he exclaimed : 
 
 "Ah, such devotion is truly beautiful! Why have 
 I never known such love as that?" 
 
 "Perhaps you never deserved it!" she retorted. 
 
 Mr. Parker chuckled. 
 
 "That's what we in the American vernacular call 
 'a knock-out.' " 
 
 Helen laughed lightly. There was a swish of 
 silken petticoats, and she disappeared in an alcove, 
 where she sat down at a desk. Keralio looked after 
 her with undisguised admiration and puffed his 
 cigar in silence for a few moments. Then he 
 said: 
 
 "It's a big job which you and Traynor are doing 
 out there in South Africa. I see by the papers that 
 you've already made some valuable finds." 
 
 99
 
 THE MASK 
 
 He appeared unconcerned, and looked narrowly 
 at his vis a vis to see what effect his words had on 
 him, possibly to draw him out. But Mr. Parker 
 was too old a bird to be caught napping, even by 
 a clever adventurer. Instantly on his guard, he 
 said carelessly : 
 
 "The outlook is very bright, very promising in- 
 deed. Our stockholders are quite satisfied, and it is 
 likely that we shall make good money. But of 
 course everything is in the experimental stage as 
 yet." 
 
 "But you have found diamonds big diamonds ?" 
 
 "Oh, yes," replied the president with affected 
 carelessness ; "we have picked up a few stones. As 
 I told you, the prospects are very promising." 
 
 "But haven't you recently made some extraordi- 
 nary finds?" 
 
 Mr. Parker shook his head. 
 
 "No nothing worth mentioning." 
 
 Keralio smiled skeptically. 
 
 "Isn't your memory somewhat at fault, cher 
 monsieur? Surely you haven't forgotten the two 
 stones of enormous size just picked up finds of 
 
 100
 
 THE MASK 
 
 sensational importance. The newspapers have been 
 full of the story." 
 
 Mr. Parker made a deprecatory gesture. 
 
 "Pshaw! My dear sir, you ought to know what 
 newspaper talk is worth! No yarn is too fantastic 
 to print so long as it sells their papers. We found 
 two stones of fair size, it is true, but to say that 
 they are of priceless value is a gross exaggera- 
 tion." 
 
 The Italian eyed his companion closely. Signifi- 
 cantly he said: 
 
 "They're valuable enough, however, to justify 
 you in refusing to trust their shipment to ordinary 
 channels and in going to the expense of sending to 
 South Africa one of your officers to whom is con- 
 fided the task of bringing the gems home." 
 
 "How did you know that?" demanded Mr. 
 Parker, surprised. 
 
 "There is very little I do not know," smiled 
 Keralio ironically, as he blew a ring of cigar smoke 
 up to the ceiling. 
 
 His curiosity aroused, the president of the A. A. 
 M. Co. was about to question his companion far- 
 
 101
 
 ther, but at that moment Helen rose from the desk 
 and came toward them. 
 
 "I'm not in the humor to write now," she said. 
 "I'd rather talk." Sitting in a chair near them, she 
 added quickly: "Won't you let me get you some 
 tea?" 
 
 Both men shook their heads. Mr. Parker rose. 
 With a mischievous twinkle in his eye, he said : 
 
 "I'll go over to the others and take a hand at 
 bridge. I want to make some money, Signer I'll 
 leave you to entertain Mrs. Traynor." 
 
 With a courteous salutation to his hostess, a 
 graceful act of chivalrous politeness of which he 
 was a past master, Mr. Parker crossed the room 
 in the direction of the card table. 
 
 102
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 AN awkward silence followed the president's 
 departure. Helen would have detained 
 him had she dared. Being alone with 
 Keralio was very distasteful to her. Ill at ease 
 in such close proximity to this man, whom she 
 feared even more than she disliked, she sat still 
 without saying a word. Presently between puffs of 
 his cigar, he said: 
 
 "You really don't mind my smoking?" 
 
 "Oh, not at all." 
 
 He bowed and again relapsed into silence. She 
 looked at him sideways and wondered why this for- 
 eigner had always inspired her with such dislike. 
 His manner was courteous, and he was decidedly 
 handsome. He had white teeth and fine eyes. They 
 were bold eyes, but so were the eyes of other men. 
 fThey had a habit of looking a woman through 
 and through. She always felt embarrassed under 
 his close scrutiny. It seemed to her as if he were 
 
 103
 
 THE MASK 
 
 undressing her mentally and took pleasure in sur- 
 veying critically and admirably every part of her 
 as a connoisseur examines a statue. She had an 
 uncomfortable feeling when near him. She was 
 afraid to look straight in his eyes, afraid that pos- 
 sibly he might be able to throw some spell over 
 her, exert some hypnotic influence that she would 
 not be able to resist. She considered him a seduc- 
 tive, dangerous man, the kind of man every pure 
 woman, every wife who wishes to remain faithful 
 to her marriage vows should avoid. 
 
 Suddenly while she was looking at him, he turned 
 his head toward her. Before she could prevent it 
 their eyes met. 
 
 He did not avert his gaze, but kept his eyes fixed 
 on hers as if trying to awaken in her some of his 
 own ardor. She tried to look away, but she could 
 not. He seemed to hold her there by sheer force of 
 will power. Frightened, she started to tremble in 
 every limb. Yet, to her astonishment, she had no 
 feeling of anger or resentment. It seemed quite 
 natural that this man should gaze at her in this 
 intimate, caressing way. She found herself taking 
 
 104
 
 THE MASK 
 
 pleasure in it. Her vanity was gratified. If he 
 looked at her so persistently, it must be that he 
 thought her pretty. Her face began to burn, her 
 bosom heaved, a strange sensation that heretofore 
 only her husband had been able to arouse, came 
 over her. And still his eyes were on hers, caressing, 
 voluptuous. 
 
 At the other end of this room the game of bridge 
 was still in progress. Ray was winning, as usual, 
 and amusing the men with her wit and vivacious- 
 ness. Mr. Steell had glanced over in their direction 
 several times, and he saw enough to convince him 
 that the attentions of the fencing master were un- 
 welcome to their hostess. Had he caught Helen's 
 eye, had she made the slightest sign that she was 
 being annoyed, he would have instantly left the 
 game and gone over to the window, if only to break 
 up the tete-a-tete, but she did not once look up. 
 Suddenly he remembered what had been suggested 
 on the boat. It was an idea. Ray at that moment 
 got up to get some tea, and, profiting by the oppor- 
 tunity, the lawyer leaned over and whispered : 
 
 "Say, Dick, you see that chap over there." 
 105
 
 THE MASK 
 
 The young man looked up. 
 
 "Who the signor?" 
 
 "Yes. What do you know about him ?" 
 
 "Nothing good although nothing very bad for 
 that matter. He's a dark horse keeps pretty much 
 to himself. He's well known in the gay resorts, 
 in the gambling houses and where they play the 
 ponies." 
 
 "What's his reputation?" 
 
 "He's known as a liberal spender. He's always 
 flashing big rolls of money " 
 
 "Where does he get it not from the fencing 
 school?" 
 
 "No that's only a blind." 
 
 The lawyer lowered his voice. 
 
 "Dick, my boy, that fellow will bear watching, 
 and you're the man to do it." 
 
 "You want him shadowed ?" 
 
 "Yes find out where he goes, who he knows. 
 My opinion is that he belongs to an international 
 band of crooks possibly counterfeiters, smugglers, 
 or blackmailers. If you land him behind the bars 
 you'll deserve well of your country." 
 
 106
 
 THE MASK 
 
 Dick glanced once or twice in the direction of the 
 object of their conversation, who, quite unconscious 
 of their scrutiny, was still talking earnestly to 
 Helen. The young man smiled, his chest expanded 
 with satisfaction, and grimly he said : 
 
 "Leave him to me." 
 
 Quite unconscious of the attention he attracted, 
 the Italian turned to Helen. 
 
 "You miss your husband very much?" 
 
 "Yes terribly." 
 
 "It must be lonely for you." 
 
 "It is," she sighed. 
 
 "Yet you have your sister." 
 
 "Can a sister replace a husband ?" 
 
 He gave a low, musical laugh. 
 
 "No not a sister. A lover is preferable." 
 
 Quickly she retorted : 
 
 "My husband is my lover my lover is my hus- 
 band." 
 
 He laughed, as he said : 
 
 "It sounds very pretty, but you must admit that 
 
 it is rather banal." 
 / 
 
 "In what way?" 
 
 107
 
 THE MASK 
 
 He flecked the ash from his cigar. 
 
 "You are too pretty, too charming a woman to 
 be commonplace. Really it spoils you " 
 
 Ignoring his compliments, she persisted. 
 
 "Do you mean I am commonplace because I call 
 Kenneth my lover. What other lover should I or 
 any other woman happily married have? I am 
 faithful to him he is loyal to me." 
 
 He gave a little mocking laugh, and was silent. 
 How she hated him for that laugh ! After a pause 
 he said quietly and suggestively: 
 
 "I am sure you are faithful to him " 
 
 For a moment she looked at him without speak- 
 ing, eager to resent the implied imputation on her 
 husband, yet unwilling to give the slanderer the sat- 
 isfaction of seeing that his thrust had carried 
 home. Concealing as best she could her growing 
 irritation, she said calmly : 
 
 "Don't you suppose he also is faithful to me?" 
 
 Again that horrible, cynical smile. Fixing 
 her with his piercing dark eyes, and, in a man- 
 ner, the significance of which could not escape 
 her, he said: 
 
 108
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "Don't seek to know too much, Madam. To 
 paraphrase a famous saying: 'It's a wise woman 
 who knows her own husband.' ' 
 
 Coloring with anger, she said : 
 
 "You mean " 
 
 "Just what I say that a woman, a wife cannot 
 possibly be sure of her husband's fidelity. Think 
 how different are the conditions. The wife, no mat- 
 ter if her temperament be warm or cold, is always 
 at home, surrounded by prying eyes, rarely beset 
 by temptation. The husband is often away, he 
 goes on business journeys that free him temporarily 
 from the chains which keep him in good behavior. 
 If he is good looking, the women look at him, flirt 
 with him. It is inevitable. The chances are that 
 he succumbs to the first adventure no matter how 
 exemplary a husband he may be at home. If he is 
 a man of unusual character, he passes through the 
 fire unscathed; if he is just a man, he is attracted 
 to the candle like the proverbial moth and some- 
 times singes his wings " 
 
 She looked at him keenly for a moment as if try- 
 ing to read on his sphinx-like face if he knew more 
 
 109
 
 THE MASK 
 
 about Kenenth than he admitted, and then with 
 forced calmness she said: 
 
 "In your opinion, Signer Keralio is my husband 
 a man of unusual character, or is he just a 
 man?" 
 
 The Italian shrugged his shoulders as he replied 
 deprecatingly : 
 
 "My dear madam, just stop and think a moment. 
 Isn't that a rather indiscreet question to put to a 
 man a man who is a friend of your husband " 
 
 Hotly she turned on him. 
 
 "If you are his friend, why do you vilify and 
 slander him behind his back?" 
 
 Keralio lifted up his long slender hands in pious 
 protest. 
 
 "I vilify my best friend Oh, my dear Mrs. 
 
 Traynor you have quite misunderstood me. I am 
 a foreigner. Perhaps it is that I express myself 
 ill." 
 
 She shook her head skeptically. Firmly she said : 
 
 "No, Signor Keralio you express yourself quite 
 plainly. Now, I'll be equally frank with you. I 
 confess there is one thing I do not understand. I 
 
 no
 
 THE MASK 
 
 have never understood it. I do not understand why 
 my husband, a man so honorable, so straightfor- 
 ward in his dealings, a man so free from intrigue 
 or reckless adventures, so regular, methodical and 
 temperate in his habits, a man so entirely apart 
 from the reckless, immoral kind of life you hint at, 
 
 should have made a friend of you " 
 
 The Italian raised his eyebrows, but there was 
 only an amused smile on his bloodless lips as he 
 said with a mock bow : 
 
 "Thank you, madam. You are very flattering." 
 "No I mean it. I don't want to seem unkind, 
 but your temperament and my husband's are as wide 
 apart as the poles." 
 
 He opened wide his eyes as he asked, 
 "In what particular, s'il vous plait?" 
 "Kenneth is frank, outspoken. He is not the 
 type of man who takes rash risks. He is very con- 
 servative, scrupulously honest. He has fine ideals. 
 
 While you " 
 
 He laughed loudly. 
 
 "I? I am secretive, cunning, reckless, material- 
 istic is that it, madam?" 
 
 in
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "I did not say so, but since you draw your por- 
 trait so well " 
 
 He bit his lip. This girl with the flaxen hair and 
 large lustrous eyes was more than a match for him 
 in a battle of wits. He was making no headway at 
 all. It was time to play his trump card. Softly 
 he said: 
 
 "You said your husband was judicious, conserva- 
 tive " 
 
 "So he is." 
 
 "That is a matter of opinion. Some might think 
 otherwise. Of course, it is difficult for a woman 
 when she is blinded by love " 
 
 "What do you mean?" 
 
 "I mean that your husband is far from being the 
 conservative, a f raid-to-take-risks type of man you 
 picture him. You women think you know your 
 husbands. You know only such part of them as 
 they themselves care to reveal. Perhaps if you 
 knew to what extent your husband was involved in 
 Wall Street, it would surprise you! Oh, every- 
 thing is perfectly regular, of course. As treasurer 
 of the Americo-African Mining Company, he has 
 
 112
 
 THE MASK 
 
 at his disposal large sums of money, He is also 
 trustee of several large and valuable estates. All 
 of this money he is supposed to invest conserva- 
 tively. He certainly invests it. Whether conserva- 
 tively or not, I leave others to judge." 
 
 "Do you mean that he is using other people's 
 money in Wall Street?" 
 
 "I mean, my dear lady, that he has the get-rich- 
 quick fever. He has a rage for stock gambling 
 he is already heavily involved. I have often 
 warned him to go slower, to be more prudent, but 
 he won't heed my counsel. You know, he is very 
 headstrong your husband. As long as everything 
 goes well he is all right. If anything goes wrong, 
 he might find himself in an unpleasant predicament. 
 Hasn't he spoken to you of these matters? Why 
 should he worry you? It is as I told you. Hus- 
 bands don't tell their wives everything God for- 
 bid!" 
 
 Helen raised her hand. There was the ring of 
 scorn in her voice as she exclaimed : 
 
 "Don't blaspheme, Signor Keralio. It sounds in- 
 congruous to hear the name of the Almighty on the 
 
 "3
 
 lips of a man of your opinions and tastes. You 
 think you live, but you don't. You go through life 
 seeking only to gratify your appetites, attracted 
 only by material sensual pleasures. You ignore the 
 best part of life the pursuit of an ideal, a noble 
 ambition, unselfishness, self-sacrifice. Really, 
 Signer, I pity you with all my heart." 
 
 He made no answer, but sat in silence watching 
 her. Presently he said : 
 
 "Mrs. Traynor do you know that you are an 
 extraordinary woman?" 
 
 "In what way?" she demanded, elevating her 
 eyebrows in surprise. 
 
 "You are either the cleverest or the most unso- 
 phisticated woman I have ever met. You are at- 
 tractive enough to send a saint to perdition, yet you 
 are quite indifferent to the power of your beauty 
 and the tumult it arouses in the men who chance to 
 cross your path. You seem to be absolutely with- 
 out feeling. Yet I don't believe you devoid of tem- 
 perament. I think I know women. I have met a 
 good many. You do not belong to the type of cold, 
 passionless women." 
 
 114
 
 THE MASK 
 
 Again his eyes sought hers and found them. 
 Again she tried to avoid his gaze and could not. 
 There was something in his manner, his gestures, 
 the tone of his voice, that conveyed to her more his 
 real meaning than his actual words, yet, to her sur- 
 prise, she was not aroused to anger. Sure of her- 
 self, she found herself listening, wondering what 
 he would say next, ready to flee at the first warning 
 of peril, but playing a dangerous game like the 
 moth in the flame. As she sat back on the sofa, 
 her head in the sofa cushions, he leaned nearer to 
 her, and in those low, musical tones which held her 
 under a kind of spell, he murmured : 
 
 "You are the cleverest woman I ever met." 
 She smiled in spite of herself, and he, mistaking 
 the motive, thought she intended it as an encourage- 
 ment. He glanced round to see if anyone was 
 watching them, but Mr. Parker was peacefully doz- 
 ing in a deep armchair a dozen yards away, and at 
 the far end of the room Ray, Steell and Reynolds 
 were engrossed in an exciting game of cards. 
 Leaning quickly over, he seized her hand. His 
 voice vibrating with passion, he said :
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "Not only the cleverest, but the most desirable 
 of women. Don't you see that you've set me afire ? 
 I'm mad for you ! Helen I want you !" 
 
 For a moment she was too stunned by his inso- 
 lent daring to withdraw her hand, which he con- 
 tinued to press in his. His eyes flashing, he went 
 on: 
 
 "Haven't you seen all along that I love you des- 
 perately, passionately. You've set me afire. I'm 
 mad for you. Let me awaken that love that's in 
 your breast, but which your husband has never 
 awakened. Let me " 
 
 He did not finish, for that moment a small, jew- 
 eled hand, suddenly torn from his grasp, struck him 
 full on the mouth. Rising and trying with difficulty 
 to control the emotion in her voice, she said quickly : 
 
 "You'd better go now so as to prevent a scan- 
 dal. If they knew, it might be awkward for you. 
 Of course, you must never come here again." 
 
 That was all. She swept away from him with 
 the dignity of an offended queen. The silence was 
 deadly. All one heard was the silk rustle of her 
 gown as she moved across the floor. 
 
 116
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "It's my say," exclaimed Ray. 
 
 "I lead with trumps," said Steell. 
 
 "Signer Keralio has to go. Isn't it too bad!" 
 
 Mr. Steell and Dick rose and bowed politely. 
 
 There was nothing to be done. He was ig- 
 nominously dismissed like a lackey caught pilfer- 
 ing. But there was black wrath in his heart as he 
 picked himself up, and turning to the others, he 
 bowed and said: 
 
 "Good night." 
 
 117
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 DAWN broke over the desert region of the 
 Kalihari. The gray mists of the South 
 African night slowly dissolved on the ap- 
 proach of the rising sun, until the crimson glow 
 of the coming day, spreading high in the east- 
 ern heavens, tipped with gold the snow-clad peaks 
 of the Drachenberg, and then, swiftly inundating 
 the valley like a flood, chased away the shadows and 
 filled the undulating plains with warmth and light. 
 Stretched out near the flickering embers of an ex- 
 piring camp fire, not half a day's trek from the Vaal 
 River, lay what, at first view, appeared to be bun- 
 dles of rags. A closer inspection showed them to 
 be the prostrate forms of two men, asleep. Hud- 
 dled close together, as if seeking all possible pro- 
 tection from the keen air of the open veldt, they 
 appeared grateful even for the little warmth that 
 still came from the dying fire. Every now and 
 again a tiny flame, bursting from one of the smoul- 
 
 118
 
 THE MASK 
 
 dering logs, would light up the recumbent figures, 
 revealing a brief glimpse of the sleepers. 
 
 Both bore traces of desperate need. The rags 
 they wore were filthy, and gave only scant protec- 
 tion from the weather, their emaciated faces and 
 hollowed cheeks told eloquently of many days of 
 fatigue and hunger; their feet, long since without 
 shoes, were clumsily protected from the rocky veldt 
 by pieces of coarse sacking. For weeks they had 
 tramped across the great, merciless desert, guided 
 only by the stars, often losing the trail, begging 
 their way from farm to farm, glad to do little jobs 
 for friendly Boers in return for a meal, always in 
 peril of attack by hostile Kaffirs, yet never halting, 
 trudging ever onward in their anxiety to reach the 
 coast. That was the haven they painfully sought 
 the open sea where at least there was a chance to 
 die among their fellows and not perish miserably 
 like dogs on the lonely, God-forsaken plains, with 
 only the howling jackal and the screaming vulture 
 to pick their bones. 
 
 They had tried and they had lost in the great 
 gamble. Like thousands of other reckless adven- 
 
 119
 
 THE MASK 
 
 turers attracted to the newly discovered diamond 
 country, they had rushed out there from England, 
 confident that they, too, could wrest from nature 
 that wonderful gem, ever associated with tragedy 
 and romance, mystery and crime, for the possession 
 of which, since history began, men have been ready 
 to give up their lives. Confident of their success, 
 they had risked all on a turn of the wheel, and For- 
 tune, mocking their puny efforts, had first ruined 
 and then degraded them, afterward sending them 
 back home to die. 
 
 It was now quite light. The fire, which had 
 flickered up fitfully at intervals, was entirely extin- 
 guished. A chilly wind had started to blow from 
 the plateau on the north. The strangers stirred un- 
 easily in their sleep and awoke almost simultane- 
 ously. Sitting up with a start, they yawned and 
 rubbed their eyes. 
 
 "What show o' gettin' some breakfast, Hand- 
 some?" asked the smaller of the two. 
 
 "Damned little!" was the profane and laconic re- 
 joinder. 
 
 They were men still in the early thirties. One 
 
 120
 
 run MASK 
 
 was short and stocky, his face slightly pock-marked. 
 Pictures of a mermaid and anchor clumsily tattooed 
 in indigo on his wrist showed him to be a sailor. In 
 fact, Dick Hickey, boatswain on H. H. S. Tartar, 
 having taken French leave of his ship, as she lay 
 in Cape Town Harbor, ran a very good chance of 
 being taken back to England in irons as a deserter. 
 Just now he was serenely indifferent as to what 
 happened to him. Half dead from exposure and 
 lack of nourishment, he would have gladly wel- 
 comed ship's officers or anybody else so long as 
 there was some relief from his present sufferings. 
 Meantime he spent what little breath he had left in 
 cursing his hard luck, and blaming his companion 
 as being solely responsible for his misfortune. 
 
 The latter was some few years his senior, stal- 
 wart and clean-limbed. He appeared to be over 
 six feet in height and a man of splendid physique. 
 At first glance it was evident that he came of su- 
 perior stock. His shapely hands were grimy, his 
 eyes of a peculiarly light shade of blue were hollow 
 and haggard looking. His face, emaciated and 
 ghastly, was almost livid. A clean-cut chin was 
 
 121
 
 THE MASK 
 
 covered with several weeks' growth of beard. Yet, 
 underneath all these repellant externals, there was 
 in his every attitude that indefinable refinement of 
 manner which the world always associates with a 
 gentleman. His dark hair, disheveled and matted, 
 was unusually thick and bushy, with the exception 
 of one spot, in the center of his forehead, where 
 there was a single white lock, a capillary phenome- 
 non, which imparted at once to his face from its 
 very unusualness an individuality quite its own. 
 
 No one knew who he was or where he came 
 from. They called him "Handsome Jack," partly 
 because of his good looks and also on account of 
 his reckless liberality with his cronies when flush. 
 What his real name was no one knew or cared. It 
 was a time when no one asked questions. As soon 
 as the news of the astonishing diamond discoveries 
 reached Europe, men began to flock to South 
 Africa. Adventurers from all over the world 
 gathered in Cape Town, a motley crew of incom- 
 petents and blacklegs, an investigation into the ante- 
 cedents of any of whom was apt to have unpleas- 
 ant results. That he was a professional gambler, 
 
 122
 
 THE MASK 
 
 he made no attempt to conceal, and that he had 
 knocked about the world a good deal was also to be 
 inferred from his wide knowledge of men and 
 places. A man of aggressive, domineering person- 
 ality, he was not without a certain following, at- 
 tracted by his skill with cards and dice, but he was 
 more feared than liked, and his reputation as a 
 dangerous gunman kept inquisitive strangers at a 
 safe distance. He was well known in every den 
 frequented by the criminal and vicious, and it was 
 in one of these resorts that Hickey had met him. 
 The sailor had lost all his savings at faro. Dead 
 broke, he was ready for anything which promised 
 to recoup his fortunes. Handsome Jack laid before 
 him a scheme which would make them both rich 
 beyond the dreams of avarice. The recent discov- 
 eries on the Vaal had startled the world. A native 
 had picked up a stone weighing over 80 carats. 
 They might be equally lucky. All that was needed 
 was pluck and patience. The plan was to make their 
 way as best they could to the Vaal fields, jump a 
 claim, and dig for diamonds. 
 
 They set out secretly, avoiding the larger cara- 
 123
 
 THE MASK 
 
 vans, making the long trek across the great plateau, 
 partly by ox wagon, partly on foot. The trail led 
 through a wild, desolate country, and gradually 
 they left civilization hundreds of miles behind them. 
 As far as the eye could reach in every direction was 
 a monotonous desert of stone and sand, broken 
 every now and then by small kopjies, the sides and 
 summits of which were sparsely covered with thick 
 brush and coarse grass. Scattered here and there, 
 some twenty miles apart, were the homesteads of 
 the Boer farmers and the thatched kraals of the 
 dark-skinned Kaffirs. Over this lonely waste sheep 
 and cattle wandered undisturbed by springbok, os- 
 triches, crocodiles, mountain lions and other wild 
 animals. 
 
 In this barren spot Nature had concealed her 
 treasures. A child's cry of joy over a pretty pebble 
 led to their discovery. The little son of a Boer 
 farmer was playing one day in the fields near the 
 homestead when his eye was attracted by something 
 glittering at his feet. Stooping, he picked up a 
 stone unlike any other he had ever seen. Interested, 
 he began to look for others and found a number of 
 
 124
 
 THE MASK 
 
 them, which with great glee he carried home to 
 show his mother. The worthy woman paid little 
 heed to what, in her ignorance, she regarded merely 
 as pretty stones, but she happened to speak about 
 them to a neighboring farmer, who asked to look at 
 them. Already tired of his new plaything, the child 
 had thrown the stones away, but one was found in 
 the field close by, and the neighbor, a shrewd Dutch- 
 man, who had heard of certain stones picked up in 
 that locality having a certain value, offered to buy 
 it. The good woman laughed at the idea of selling 
 a stone, and made him a present of it. The farmer 
 took it to the nearest town, where experts declared 
 it to be a twenty-one carat diamond, worth $2,500. 
 Round the world the telegraph flashed this remark- 
 able story, and the rush to South Africa began. 
 That was in 1870. In May of that year there were 
 about a hundred men at the diggings in the Vaal 
 fields. Before the next month had closed there 
 were seven hundred. By April of the following 
 year five thousand men were digging frantically in 
 the mud along the Vaal and Orange rivers. 
 
 It was a rough, lawless gathering of men of every 
 125
 
 THE MASK 
 
 nationality under the sun, the criminal and the vi- 
 cious, the idle and the worthless. The region being 
 inside the border lines of the waste territory that 
 lay between the Boers and the Hottentots, it was 
 therefore No Man's Land, and beyond the pale of 
 established law and order. The miners, compelled, 
 in self-protection, to institute laws of their own, ap- 
 pointed committees to issue licenses, keep the peace, 
 and punish offenders. Natives were whipped ; white 
 men were banished, and from this rough-and-ready 
 justice there was no appeal. 
 
 When Handsome and Hickey arrived at the dig- 
 gings, the fever was still at its height, and having 
 secured a claim, they went to work with a will. 
 Claims were thirty feet square, and to prevent spec- 
 ulation in them the owner, in order to hold title, 
 was compelled to toil incessantly. It was hard 
 work, harder work than Handsome had ever been 
 put to in all his life. At the end of a few days, 
 the skin was scraped off his hands from shoveling, 
 and he had such a kink in his back that he couldn't 
 straighten up. But he had come to stay, and a little; 
 discomfort was not going to scare him. Their im- 
 
 126
 
 THE MASK 
 
 plements, purchased at the diggings, consisted of 
 pick, shovel and rocker, this last being a box ar- 
 ranged on rockers like a baby's cradle. It was a 
 clumsy yet useful contrivance, in which were fas- 
 tened, one above the other, wire screens of varying 
 fineness, the coarsest being on top. As Handsome 
 dug the yellow earth out of the hole he shoveled it 
 into the top screen. When it was full Hickey 
 poured in water while he rocked. The water 
 washed the dirt through the holes, leaving the 
 stones. These were taken out, emptied onto a sort- 
 ing table, where Handsome scraped off the worth- 
 less peddles, saving anything that seemed of value. 
 As a rule, and much to Hickey's disgust, the table 
 was scraped clean. Sometimes the sailor would 
 make a joyful exclamation on seeing some glitter- 
 ing pieces of rock crystal, thinking he had found a 
 prize, only to be disappointed a moment later when 
 a more experienced miner assured him it was worth- 
 less. Both soon learned, however, to recognize at 
 sight the precious gems, and, although few came 
 their way, they saw many brought to the surface 
 by luckier neighbors. One day sounds of great re- 
 
 127
 
 THE MASK 
 
 joicing was heard in their tent. They had worked 
 hard for over a month without finding anything, 
 and were feeling greatly discouraged and dejected, 
 when all at once something happened. Handsome 
 had been rocking the cradle in a listless sort of way, 
 and Hickey was sorting the residue, when suddenly 
 the sailor gave a wild whoop of delight. Darting 
 forward, he held up a glittering stone. Examina- 
 tion proved it to be a genuine diamond, weighing 
 about ten carats, and valued at about $1,000. It 
 was not much of a find, but it was enough to turn 
 their heads. Dropping all work, they both pro- 
 ceeded to have "a good time," going on a drunken 
 orgie, which lasted just as long as the money held 
 out. When they came to their senses they were 
 worse off than before. Weakened by prolonged de- 
 bauch, they were in no mood for digging, and to 
 complicate matters some one had jumped their 
 claim during their absence. Even their tools had 
 disappeared. Without resource or credit, they 
 could not procure others. Yet work they must to 
 keep the wolf from the door, so, cursing others 
 when they had only themselves to blame, Handsome 
 
 128
 
 THE 'MASK 
 
 secured employment, digging for another miner, 
 while the sailor performed such occasional odd jobs 
 as he could pick up. 
 
 Broken in spirit, enraged at the long spell of ill 
 luck, Handsome began to drink heavily. Every 
 cent he made went to the grog shop, and Hickey, 
 never over fond of work at any time, was only too 
 glad of an excuse to drink with him. The two 
 cronies filled themselves with rum until their reason 
 tottered, and they became beasts, refusing to work, 
 growing ugly, even menacing, preferring to beg the 
 food their empty stomachs craved for rather than 
 toil, as before. At last they made themselves such 
 a nuisance that the attention of the vigilance com- 
 mittee was called to their particular case. In short 
 order they were hauled up and ordered to leave 
 camp. There was no alternative but to obey, and 
 thus began the dreary trek homeward of the two 
 broken and miserable outcasts. 
 
 "We cawn't go on much longer like this," 
 moaned Hickey. 
 
 He made a painful effort to get up, but his joints, 
 stiff from the all-night exposure, refused to obey 
 
 129
 
 THE MASK 
 
 his will, and he fell back with a groan. Handsome, 
 more successful, had already risen, and was scan- 
 ning the horizon on every side. Except for the 
 kopjies, which in places obstructed the view, there 
 was a clear range for ten miles or more. If any- 
 thing alive moved within the field of vision, they 
 could not help seeing it, but nothing greeted their 
 eyes. There was neither man or beast to be seen; 
 seemingly they were still many weary miles from 
 the nearest homestead. 
 
 "We must go on," replied Handsome deter- 
 minedly. Impatiently he added: "What do you 
 want to do stay here and let the jackals gnaw 
 your bones?" 
 
 Hickey, too weak to argue, shook his head de- 
 spondently. 
 
 "You go on, Handsome. Leave me here. I 
 cawn't go any further, s' help me Gawd ! My feet 
 hurt somethin' awful. I'm all in. If ye get 'ome 
 safe, go and see the old folks, will ye, and tell 'em 
 J put up a good fight ?" 
 
 "Hell!" retorted the other savagely. "Don't 
 squat there crying like a baby. Be a man. Get up 
 
 130
 
 THE MASK 
 
 and let's hike it to the nearest homestead. Shading 
 his eyes as he gazed earnestly over the plain, he 
 added: "I see smoke in the distance. It can't be 
 far off. Come " 
 
 Suddenly, to his astonishment, Hickey leaped to 
 his feet, with an agility unheard of in one so nearly 
 dying. Pointing to the nearest kopjie, he shouted 
 hoarsely : 
 
 "Look! There's a man near that kopjie he's 
 coming this way !" 
 
 It was no dream. A man, unarmed and unac- 
 companied, was advancing toward them. From his 
 dress and manner, it was easy to see that he was 
 not a Boer farmer. He looked more like an Eng- 
 lishman or an American. 
 
 Scarcely able to believe the evidence of his own 
 eyes, Handsome watched his progress. 
 
 As he came nearer, he waved his hand to show 
 that he saw them, and he walked faster, as if afraid 
 that they might disappear before he could reach 
 them. Hickey, unable to restrain himself, had run 
 forward, and in a few minutes they met. 
 
 "Who are you?" demanded the stranger, whose
 
 THE MASK 
 
 face, shaded as it was by a big canvas helmet, it 
 was difficult to see. 
 
 "Miners from the Vaal," answered Hickey. 
 "Who are you?" 
 
 "I am a Frenchman Frangois Chalat. I am ze 
 valet of an American gentleman. Our party not 
 know ze road. We has wandered from what you 
 call ze trail. Will you show ze way to us?" 
 
 "Where's your party?" demanded Hickey. 
 
 Frangois pointed to a kopjie about three miles 
 distant. 
 
 "There! Behind zat hill." 
 
 Just at that moment, Handsome came lum- 
 bering up almost on the run, anxious to know what 
 it was all about. 
 
 "Have you any whiskey ?" was his first breathless 
 ejaculation. "We're starving." 
 
 The valet made no answer. He was too startled 
 to speak. Drawing back a few steps, he stared 
 blankly at the big fellow. For several minutes he 
 stood as if struck dumb. Presently, when he found 
 his speech, he asked in awed tones : 
 
 "Who are you ? What's your name ?" 
 132
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "What business is it of yours?" snapped Hand- 
 some, with some show of irritation. "Have you 
 any food or whiskey ? We're starving." 
 
 The valet made no answer, but just stared in 
 astonished silence at the big six-footer who towered 
 above him. For a moment he had thought it a trick 
 that his master had played upon him. By walking 
 quickly he had got there before him, and dressed 
 up in these rags just to have fun with him. But 
 that matted hair and that chin, with its weeks of 
 growth of beard. He could not be deceived in that. 
 No, this man was not his employer. Could it be 
 possible, was it his twin brother long since given 
 up for dead? The same physique, the same fea- 
 tures, the same eyes, the same thick, bushy hair with 
 the single lock of white hair in the center of the 
 forehead. There was no room for doubt. It was 
 his employer's brother. It was just as well to make 
 friends. Drawing a flask from his pocket and hold- 
 ing it out, he said : 
 
 "Here, take a drink. You need it." 
 
 Eagerly, Handsome snatched it out of his hand. 
 
 "You bet we do." 
 
 133
 
 THE MASK 
 
 He took a deep gulp and handed it to Hickey, 
 whose bleary eyes had watered at the very sight of, 
 the flask. Francois turned to Handsome. 
 
 "Where is ze trail ?" he asked. 
 
 "Over yonder," growled the big fellow in surly 
 tones and making a sweeping gesture with his arm 
 which embraced every quarter of the compass. 
 
 "Rather indefinite, I should say," smiled the 
 valet. "Where you go? Are you on ze way to ze 
 mines ?" 
 
 Handsome Jack took another pull at the flask. 
 His good humor returning in proportion as he felt 
 warmed up by the spirits, he said more amiably : 
 
 "I guess not. My pal and I have enough of the 
 cursed place ain't we, Hickey?" 
 
 The sailor man glanced dolefully at his limping 
 foot, and nodded his head in acquiescence. 
 
 "You show us the trail home. My boss is very 
 rich man," interrupted Frangois quickly. "He pay 
 anything." 
 
 Handsome pricked up his ears. 
 
 "Oh, he's rich, is he?" 
 
 The valet laughed as he replied : 
 134
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "All Americans rich tres riches. Did you ever 
 hear of poor Americans ?" 
 
 Hickey took another drink and snickered. Hand- 
 some looked thoughtful. After a pause, he said : 
 
 "What your boss' name?" 
 
 "Monsieur Traynor of the Americo- African 
 Mining Co." 
 
 Handsome started. 
 
 "What? Kenneth Traynor, of the Americo- 
 African Mining Company the people who made 
 those sensational finds." 
 
 "Yes he's vice-president of the company." 
 
 Handsome gave a low, expressive whistle. 
 
 "He's rich all right ! Do you know what those 
 stones are worth?" 
 
 "Over a million dollairs." 
 
 "And he came out here to " 
 
 The valet nodded. 
 
 "Oui zat's it to get ze big diamonds. We're 
 on our way back from ze mines now. He has ze 
 stones in his possession." 
 
 "And taking them to New York ?" gasped Hand- 
 some; "a million dollars' worth?" 
 
 135
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "Yes taking zem to New York. That's what 
 he came out for. We want to reach ze coast as 
 soon as possible. Again I ask, Will you guide us 
 back to ze trail?" 
 
 For a few moments Handsome made no answer. 
 The thoughtful expression on his pale, care-worn 
 face showed that he was thinking hard. What 
 was passing in his mind no one knew, but what- 
 ever it was it caused the lines about his strong 
 mouth to tighten and the steely blue eyes to flash. 
 A million dollars ? God ! What will a man not do 
 for a million dollars ? Turning to the valet, he said 
 hastily : 
 
 "Yes, I'm on. Take me to your party. I'll show 
 you the trail. Quick, lead the way." 
 
 136
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 TRAVELING to and from the diamond 
 fields in the days immediately following 
 the first rush was not an unmixed joy. 
 Express wagons drawn by eight horses or mules 
 and running from Cape Town to Klipdrift once 
 a week charged passengers sixty dollars a head, 
 the journey across the plains taking about eight 
 days. Travelers whose business was so urgent 
 that they could not wait for the regular stage 
 had to hire a team of their own at a much higher 
 expense. 
 
 Kenneth did not mind the cost, if only he was 
 able to make good time. The trip to the mines had 
 been accomplished without mishap. Everything 
 had gone as well as could be desired. He had been 
 successful in securing valuable land options for the 
 company, and at last the two precious stones were 
 in his possession. That it was a big responsibility, 
 
 137
 
 THE MASK 
 
 he fully realized. The very knowledge that he had 
 on his person gems worth over a million dollars, 
 and this in a wild, uncivilized country where at 
 any moment he might be followed, ambushed and 
 killed, and no one the wiser, was not calculated to 
 calm his nerves. But Kenneth Traynor had never 
 known the meaning of the word fear. He was 
 ready for any emergency and he went about un- 
 armed, cool and unruffled. From his demeanor at 
 least no one could guess that he ever gave a thought 
 to the valuable consignment of which he was the 
 guardian. Of course, it had been impossible to 
 keep the thing secret. Everybody at the mines 
 knew he had come out for the purpose of taking 
 the big stones to America. Even his drivers knew, 
 and so did Francois. The news was public property 
 and was eagerly discussed over every camp fire as 
 one of the sensations of the day. All this publicity 
 did not tend to lessen the risk, and that was why 
 he was so anxious to reach Cape Town without the 
 least possible delay. He had timed his departure 
 from the mines so as to just catch the steamer for 
 England, and now, after all his trouble and careful 
 
 138
 
 THE MASK 
 
 calculation, the fool mule drivers had gone and lost 
 the trail. It was most exasperating. 
 
 The wagon had come to a halt the night before 
 under shelter of a fair-sized kopjie. The mules, 
 tormented by the deadly tetse fly, stood whisking 
 their tails and biting savagely at their hereditary 
 enemy; the drivers, indifferent and stolid, sat on 
 the ground smoking their pipes, while Kenneth, 
 fuming at this unlocked for mishap which threat- 
 ened an even more serious delay, strode up and 
 down the veldt, swearing at the mules, the stolid 
 drivers and everything else in sight. 
 
 Francois, who had left camp for assistance long 
 before sunrise, had not yet returned. Unless help 
 came soon they'd be held there another night. 
 There was no use trying to proceed without a 
 guide, for they might find themselves going round 
 and round in a circle. There was nothing to do 
 but wait until help came. 
 
 Sitting down on the stump of a tree near the fire, 
 he tried to possess his soul in patience while one 
 of the teamsters, who also officiated as cook, bus- 
 ied himself getting breakfast. It was now broad 
 
 139
 
 THH MASK 
 
 daylight; the weather clear and cold. As he sat 
 there idly and smoked reflectively, his thoughts 
 wandered homeward, four thousand miles across 
 the seas. He wondered what Helen was doing, if 
 little Dorothy was well, if everything was all right. 
 Only now he realized what the word home meant 
 to him, and a chill ran through him as he thought 
 of all the things that could happen. Yet how fool- 
 ish it was to worry. What could happen? Helen 
 had her sister constantly with her, and she was well 
 looked after by Mr. Parker and Wilbur Steell. It 
 was absurd to have any anxiety on that score. Be- 
 sides, if anything had gone wrong, they would cer- 
 tainly have called him. He had had several letters 
 from Helen, all of them saying she and baby were 
 well and waiting eagerly for his return. Yes, he 
 would soon be home now. In another two days 
 he would reach Cape Town. From there to 
 Southampton was only a fortnight's sail, and in 
 another week he would be in New York. 
 
 These and kindred thoughts of home ran 
 through his mind as he sat before the camp fire 
 and tranquilly smoked his pipe. The drivers were 
 
 140
 
 THE MASK 
 
 busying themselves cleaning the harness, the mules 
 were docilely browsing, the air was filled by a fra- 
 grant odor of coffee. His memories went back to 
 his boyhood days. He recalled what the old nurse 
 had told him about a twin brother. How strange 
 it would be if he ever turned up. Such things 
 were possible, of course, but hardly probable. No, 
 the chances were that he was dead. If he had lived, 
 how different everything might have been. He 
 would have inherited half their father's money. 
 What had been enough to start one so well in life 
 would only have been a meagre provision for two. 
 Yet it might have been an advantage, forced him 
 to still greater effort. He might have got even 
 farther than he had who knows? 
 
 At that moment his reflections were interrupted 
 by the sound of voices in the distance. He heard 
 some one running. One of the teamsters came up 
 hurriedly and exclaimed breathlessly: 
 
 "He's found some one, sir; he's got two men 
 with him. They're coming now." 
 
 Kenneth jumped up and, shading his eyes, looked 
 out across the yellow waste of stones and gravel. 
 
 141
 
 THE MASK 
 
 About a mile away he saw Francois, accompanied 
 by two strangers, who looked like miners. They 
 were tattered and miserable looking, as if down on 
 their luck. One of them was limping as if lame; 
 the other, much taller, although ragged and forlorn, 
 had a soldierly bearing and the appearance of 
 a gentleman. The valet, who had been walk- 
 ing faster than his companions, came up at that 
 instant. 
 
 "Who have you got there?" demanded Kenneth. 
 
 "Two miners, monsieur. I found zem several 
 miles away on ze veldt. They have tramped for 
 days without food; they are starving." 
 
 "Do they know the trail?" 
 
 "Yes, monsieur. Ze big man knows ze trail. 
 He will show ze way for a consideration." 
 
 "Good! First give them some breakfast and 
 then we'll go." 
 
 He waved his hand in the direction of the cook's 
 mess, where the coffee was already steaming on the 
 fire, and, turning away, began to gather his things 
 together, preparatory to departure. There was no 
 reason why he should have anything to say to the 
 
 142
 
 THE MASK 
 
 the strangers. In fact, it would be better if they 
 did not see him, or know who he was. It was pos- 
 sible that they had been at the mines when he ar- 
 rived, in which case they would instantly recognize 
 him as the American who had come to take the big 
 diamonds to New York. Besides, they were not 
 particularly attractive objects. What did their ad- 
 ventures and mishaps matter to him? He had 
 troubles of his own. Frangois could look after 
 their wants. The main thing was to find the trail 
 and get started back toward Cape Town as soon as 
 possible. When the strangers had been fed they 
 would set out, and, the trail once found, he would 
 give them a lift on their way and a few sovereigns 
 into the bargain. That would more than compen- 
 sate them for all their trouble. 
 
 Meanwhile he thought he would take a quiet 
 walk. His legs were stiff from sitting so long. A 
 little exercise would do him the world of good. So, 
 without a word to anybody, he slipped out of camp 
 unobserved and started off at a brisk gait. 
 
 The region where they had halted seemed to be 
 the center of Nowhere, a land where had reigned 
 
 143
 
 THE MASK 
 
 for all time the abomination of desolation spoken 
 of by all the prophets. Knocking about the world, 
 as he had done for a lifetime, Kenneth had seen 
 some queer spots in the world, but never had he 
 come across so savagely repellent a spot as this. It 
 was Nature in her harshest mood not a vestige in 
 any direction of human or animal life. There was 
 not a farm, not a Boer or Kaffir, not even a tree to 
 to be seen. Nothing in every direction but a 
 monotonous waste of yellow sand, rough stones and 
 stunted grass. An unnatural stillness filled the air, 
 making the silence oppressive, and uncanny. The 
 soil was so poor that cultivation was impossible. 
 The ground, strewn with broken rocks and sharp 
 stones which cut the shoes and hurt the feet, sug- 
 gested that in prehistoric times the plateau had been 
 swept by a volcanic tempest. The slopes of the 
 few scattered kopjies were sparsely covered with 
 verdure and as he strode along, he passed here and 
 there clumps of trees, veritable oases in the desert, 
 or deep water holes under overhanging rocks where 
 under cover of night, strange beasts came to drink. 
 Apart from these few oases, it was a dreary monot- 
 
 144
 
 THE MASK 
 
 onous waste of rock and sand, where neither beast 
 or man could find food or shelter. 
 
 He had walked about three miles and was just 
 passing a kopjie where a group of stunted trees 
 offered a little shelter from the glare of the sun on 
 the yellow gravel when he began to feel tired. Sit- 
 ting down on a decayed tree stump, he took out his 
 pipe, removed his helmet, and laying lazily back, 
 closed his eyes, a favorite trick of his when he 
 wished to concentrate his thoughts. 
 
 The trip, tiresome as it was, had certainly been 
 worth while. His ambitious dreams had been more 
 than realized. He could scarcely wait for his arri- 
 val to tell Helen the good news. He had secured 
 signatures to a plan of consolidation of practically 
 all the mining companies operating in South Africa. 
 Until now, these companies had been engaged in a 
 fierce and disastrous competition, which cut into 
 each other's profits and cheapened the market price 
 of stones. He had suggested a scheme of amalga- 
 mation which would put all the mines under one 
 management, and fix arbitrary prices for diamonds 
 which henceforth could not be sold under a certain 
 
 MS
 
 THE MASK 
 
 figure agreed upon by the Syndicate. This plan, 
 which had the general approval of the mining com- 
 panies, practically gave Kenneth Traynor control 
 of the diamond industry of the world, an industry 
 which in South Africa alone had already produced 
 100,000,000 carats estimated to be worth $750,- 
 000,000. Overnight, Kenneth found himself many 
 times a millionaire. 
 
 It had come at last what he waited for all these 
 years. This new consolidation deal meant great 
 wealth to its promoters. What would he do with 
 it? Most men need only enough for their actual 
 needs, but he had higher aims. An ardent socialist 
 he would use his money for the cause. Not, how- 
 ever, in the way others did, but to buy influence, 
 power. He would fight Capitalism, in his own way. 
 He would go into politics, run for public office, try 
 and remedy some of the economic abuses from 
 which people of the United States were now suffer- 
 ing. He would wage warfare on the high cost of 
 living, on Greed and Graft. He would attack the 
 Plutocracy in its stronghold, lay bare the inner 
 workings of the System, the concentration of the 
 
 146
 
 THH MASK 
 
 wealth of the entire country in the hands of a few, 
 by which the rich each year were becoming richer 
 and the poor each year poorer. It would not be 
 the first time a multi-millionaire had espoused the 
 cause of the proletariat, but he would carry on the 
 fight more vigorously than anyone had done. He 
 would force an issue, make Greed disgorge its ill- 
 gotten gains and accord to Labor its rightful place 
 in the sun, its proper share of the world's produc- 
 tion of wealth. His sympathies in the bitter 
 struggle between the capitalists and the wage 
 earners were wholly with the people who under the 
 present wage system, had little chance to raise 
 themselves from the mire. But he was intelligent 
 enough to realize that the faults were not all on 
 the side of Capital. Labor, too, needed the curb 
 at times. Too ready to listen to the reckless har- 
 angues of irresponsible professional demagogues, 
 wage earners were often as tyrannical as capitalists, 
 insisting on impossible demands, rejecting sober 
 compromise which, in the end, must be the basis of 
 all amicable relations between employer and em- 
 ployed. 
 
 147
 
 THE MASK 
 
 For some time he sat there, giving free rein to 
 his imagination, when suddenly he fancied he heard 
 the sound of heavy footsteps crunching on the 
 hard sand. Raising his head he looked quickly 
 round but seeing no one, concluded he was mis- 
 taken. Looking at his watch, he was amazed to 
 find that he had been away from camp a whole 
 hour. There was no time to be lost. The men 
 had certainly finished eating by now; they could 
 start at once. Jumping up he turned round to re- 
 trace his steps the same way he had come, when, 
 suddenly, a shadow fell between him and the white 
 road. Looking up, he was startled to see himself 
 reflected as in a mirror against the green back- 
 ground of the kopjie. 
 
 At first he thought he must be ill. The walk, 
 the sun, the exposure had no doubt overstimulated 
 him and made him excited and feverish. He was 
 seeing things. His success with the diamond deal 
 had affected his brain. Of course, it was only an 
 hallucination. The next time he looked this fan- 
 tastic creation of his disordered mind would be 
 gone. Again he glanced up in the direction of the 
 
 148
 
 THE MASK 
 
 kopjie. The apparition was still there, a horrible, 
 monstrous, distortion of himself, standing still, 
 speechless, staring at him. That it was only a mir- 
 age there could be no doubt. He had heard of 
 such mirages at sea and also in the Sahara where 
 wandering Arabs have beheld long caravans jour- 
 neying in the skies. But he had never heard of a 
 mirage lasting as long as this one. Would it never 
 disappear? It must be a nightmare which still 
 obsessed him. That was it. He had fallen asleep 
 on the tree and was not yet awake. With an effort 
 he made a step forward and tried to articulate, 
 but the words stuck in his throat. Suddenly the 
 spell was broken by the apparition itself, which 
 moved and spoke. He recognized who it was now 
 one of the strangers brought in by Frangois 
 but that astonishing likeness of himself 
 
 Judging by the astonished expression on his face, 
 Handsome was just as much surprised as Kenneth 
 at the encounter. After satisfying his hunger he, 
 too, had strayed away from the camp, unable to 
 control his impatience while the teamsters were 
 harnessing the mule team. He had left Hickey to 
 
 149
 
 THE MASK 
 
 gorge still more while he strutted on by himself, 
 cogitating on what the valet had told him in regard 
 to the diamonds. This sudden meeting with the 
 very man who had been uppermost in his thoughts 
 was surprising enough, and instantly he, also, was 
 struck with the extraordinary resemblance between 
 them. 
 
 "Who the devil are you?" he demanded in surly 
 tones. 
 
 Thus rudely aroused to the reality, and seeing 
 that it was really a creature of flesh and blood he 
 had to deal with and not a creature of another 
 world, Kenneth answered haughtily: 
 
 "I'm not accustomed to being addressed in that 
 manner." 
 
 Handsome laughed mockingly. With affected 
 politeness he retorted: 
 
 "Your lordship's servant ! What is his lordship's 
 pleasure ?" 
 
 Kenneth did not hear the taunting reply or heed 
 the sneer. He was still staring at this counterpart 
 of himself, this very image yet who was not him- 
 self, but a human derelict, a wretched, sodden out- 
 
 150
 
 THE MASK 
 
 cast. All at once, an overwhelming, horrible sug- 
 gestion rushed across his brain. Could it be, was 
 it his long lost twin brother? Almost gasping, 
 he demanded: 
 
 "Who are you?" 
 
 Handsome chuckled. 
 
 "I don't know." 
 
 "What is your name?" 
 
 The man chuckled. 
 
 "They call me Handsome. That's because I'm 
 a good looker. I have had a good many other 
 names, but I've forgotten what they are. The po- 
 lice know. It's all in the records." 
 
 "My God a police record!" 
 
 "What of it?" Bitterly he added: "We can't 
 all be fine gentlemen and millionaires." 
 
 "Where are you from?" 
 
 "Nowhere." 
 
 "Who were your parents?" 
 
 "Never had any that I know of." 
 
 Kenneth started forward and, seizing the man's 
 left hand, closely examined it. Yes, there was the 
 scar on the index finger of the left hand. No
 
 THE MASK 
 
 further doubt was possible. This was his brother. 
 
 Handsome, meantime, had been watching the 
 other's agitation with mingled interest and amuse- 
 ment. 
 
 Hoarsely, Kenneth cried: 
 
 "Where have you been all these years?" 
 
 Handsome stared as if he thought his interlocu- 
 tor had gone crazy. Almost angrily he retorted : 
 
 "What d d business is it of yours?" 
 
 Paying no heed to the miner's offensive attitude, 
 and anxious only to learn something of his history, 
 Kenneth approached him and held out his hand. 
 
 "I wish to be your friend." 
 
 Handsome drew back suspiciously. Always as- 
 sociated with evil himself, he looked for only evil 
 from others. Bitterly he retorted : 
 
 "My friend what do your kind care for poor 
 devils like me?" 
 
 For answer, Kenneth removed his helmet, sud- 
 denly revealing the solitary lock of white hair. 
 Handsome fell back in surprise. For the first time 
 he realized the extraordinary resemblance. He had 
 noticed a marked likeness before, but now the 
 
 152
 
 " YES, YOU ARE MY BROTHER. WE ARE TWINS." 
 
 p. 153
 
 run MASK 
 
 diamond promoter's helmet was off, it was posi- 
 tively startling. Hoarsely he exclaimed: 
 
 "The devil! Who are you? You look just 
 like " 
 
 Kenneth looked at him keenly for a moment. 
 Then he said calmly : 
 
 "Yes I look just like you. No wonder. You 
 are my brother!" 
 
 "Your brother?" 
 
 "Yes my brother. We are twins. You were 
 kidnapped by gypsies thirty-two years ago. Our 
 old nurse told me the story for the first time the 
 day before I sailed from New York. She also 
 told me about that scar on your hand. You cut it 
 badly when you were a year old and the scar has 
 remained ever since. Everybody believed you dead. 
 Where have you been all these years?" 
 
 Handsome made no answer but fell back a few 
 steps, and passed his hand over his brow as if 
 bewildered. This astonishing revelation had been 
 made so suddenly that it had left him dazed. A 
 wild, improbable tale, it seemed, yet perhaps there 
 was some truth in it. He had never known who 
 
 153
 
 THE MASK 
 
 his parents were and it had always seemed to him 
 that he came of better stock than those with whom 
 he associated. Then again, there was the ridiculous 
 likeness. One had only to look at them both it 
 was the same face. 
 
 Slowly, gradually, as he looked more closely at 
 Kenneth the conviction grew stronger that this, 
 indeed, was his brother, his own flesh and blood, yet 
 it aroused within him no emotion and left him en- 
 tirely cold. No impulse seized him to throw him- 
 self into this man's arms and embrace him. His 
 heart was steeled against the world. Human affec- 
 tion and sympathy had dried up in his breast years 
 ago. What he saw was not a kinsman, a brother, 
 hut a man who had succeeded in life where he had 
 failed, a man who was rich and happy while he 
 was poor and miserable, a man who had everything 
 while he had nothing. And if the tale were true, 
 if indeed, he were this rich man's brother, it only 
 made matters worse, for he had been robbed of 
 his rightful inheritance. This rich man was en- 
 joying wealth half of which rightfully belonged 
 to him. 
 
 154
 
 THE MASK 
 
 Again Kenneth demanded: 
 "Where have you been all these years?" 
 "Here, there, everywhere," was the sullen 
 answer. "London, Paris, Brussels, Vienna, New 
 York, Boston, Chicago, Havana, Buenos Ayres. 
 I know them all and they know me perhaps too 
 well. My earliest recollection is of the Italian 
 quarter in New York, a long narrow always dirty 
 street, bordered on either side by dilapidated greasy 
 tenements, ricketty fire escapes filled with biddy and 
 garbage. Pietro lived there and kept his organ in 
 the basement cellar. When Pietro went out with 
 the organ he took me along to excite sympathy. 
 Until I was fifteen years old I begged to support 
 Pietro. One day he beat me and I ran away and 
 shipped as cabin boy on a sailing vessel bound for 
 Liverpool. I reached London and found employ- 
 ment as stable boy at Ascot. There I learned the 
 fatal fascination of gambling. With what I saved 
 from my wages I bet on the horses. I won and 
 won again. I went back to London and frequented 
 the gambling houses. I won, always won. One 
 day there was a row. Someone complained I had 
 
 155
 
 THE MASK 
 
 cheated. The police arrested me. When I left 
 jail I went to the continent and began gambling 
 again. I have gambled ever since." Pointing in 
 the direction of the mines he added bitterly: 
 "That was my last gamble and I lost. That's all 
 I have to tell." 
 
 Kenneth listened with keen interest. When the 
 other stopped speaking he asked : 
 
 "And now what will you do?" 
 
 Handsome shrugged his shoulders and made no 
 answer. Kenneth went on: 
 
 "You can't keep up the old life that is im- 
 possible. You owe something to the blood that's 
 running in your veins. There is only one thing 
 for you to do. You must break off with the past 
 for good, and come home with me. Are you known 
 in New York?" 
 
 Handsome shook his head. 
 
 "No, I never returned there since I was a child." 
 
 "Your operations in America were confined to 
 San Francisco, Chicago and St. Louis " 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 Kenneth breathed more freely. 
 156
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "That makes matters easier. No one in New 
 York, therefore, has anything against you. There 
 it will be possible to live down your past. You 
 will cease being an outcast, a wanderer on the face 
 of the earth. You will take the place in society 
 for which Nature intended you." 
 
 Handsome smiled cynically. Grimly he replied: 
 "I guess Nature never expected much of me." 
 "You never can tell," said Kenneth quickly. 
 "Your environments no doubt were responsible for 
 your downfall. You have been a victim of circum- 
 stances." 
 
 Handsome was silent. This free roving life had 
 come second nature to him. He looked with sus- 
 picion on any other. After a pause, he asked : 
 "What can I do in New York?" 
 "I will dress and house you like a gentleman. 
 For a time you can make your home with us. If 
 we find we can't agree, well we'll part. I will 
 
 find you employment " 
 
 Handsome laughed. Mockingly he said : 
 
 "Then I am to be dependent on you " 
 
 "No not on me . On your own efforts. 
 
 157
 
 THE MASK 
 
 There is no reason why, if given a chance, you will 
 not make a success in the world. You are still 
 young and energetic. I will give you a start in 
 any line you wish to enter. I will make you a 
 present of $10,000. It should be enough capital 
 to start in any business." 
 
 Handsome shrugged his shoulders. 
 
 "Charity?" he exclaimed. 
 
 "No not charity brotherly affection." 
 
 His brother laughed mockingly. Bitterly he ex- 
 claimed : 
 
 "Maybe it's conscience money." 
 
 "What do you mean?" 
 
 "You inherited from our father, didn't you?" 
 
 "Yes but I've increased it a hundred-fold by 
 my own efforts." 
 
 "How much did he leave you?" 
 
 "Twenty thousand dollars." 
 
 "Why didn't he leave me some?" 
 
 "He believed you dead. The sum I offer you is 
 the sum you would have inherited from our father 
 had he known you were living. Do you accept?" 
 
 Handsome was silent. His brain was working 
 158
 
 THE MASK 
 
 fast. What this man offered him was the merest 
 pittance. Put out at interest, it would give him 
 the princely income of $10 a week. What did he 
 care for the good opinion of the world? He had 
 knocked about so long, roughing it everywhere, 
 that he might as well end as he had begun an 
 adventurer. Suddenly there flashed across his 
 brain a wild, audacious idea a scheme so fantastic, 
 so fraught with adventure and peril that the very 
 thought gave him a thrill. It involved violence, 
 possibly a crime. Well, what of it? He was not 
 the kind to be deterred by trifles. This man was 
 nothing to him. Brotherly love, family ties these 
 were simply phrases to one who had never known 
 them. He knew and obeyed only one instinct 
 the fight for life, the survival of the fittest. Society 
 had waged war on him; he would be merciless in 
 his war on society. This man this alleged brother, 
 threw him a sop, insulted him by offering him 
 charity. Why should he hesitate? It was his life 
 or another's. There was a big prize to be won. 
 Life was sweet when one has millions to enjoy it 
 with. This man had now on his person diamonds 
 
 159
 
 THE MASK 
 
 worth over a million and he had more millions at 
 home. Suppose something happened to this man 
 here in South Africa and he went home in his 
 stead to take his place in his household and enjoy 
 his millions? Who would know the difference? 
 
 Impatient at the other's silence Kenneth de- 
 manded somewhat sharply: 
 
 "Well what do you say? Do you accept?" 
 
 He looked straight at his vis-a-vis, but Hand- 
 some avoided his direct gaze. He was silent for 
 another moment as if reflecting. Then, slowly, he 
 said: 
 
 "Yes, I accept." 
 
 160
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 THE string orchestra, adroitly concealed be- 
 hind a bank of graceful exotic plants, 
 struck up a languorous waltz, and the 
 couples, only too eager to respond to the invitation, 
 began to turn and glide over the polished parquet 
 floor. 
 
 Not since its master's departure for South Africa 
 had the Traynor residence been the scene of so 
 much life and gayety. Every window literally 
 blazed with light. From the front door at the top 
 of the high stoop down to the edge of the street 
 curb, stretched a canvas awning to protect arriving 
 guests from the inclemency of the weather. 
 
 It was a stormy night. The rain was falling in 
 torrents, but no one cared. Everybody was out for 
 a good time and they knew that this was the house 
 to get it. 
 
 Helen's first impulse had been to postpone the 
 affair, held really in celebration of Ray's birthday, 
 
 161
 
 THE MASK 
 
 until Kenneth's return, but as this idea had met 
 with decided opposition from the younger element, 
 she had reluctantly given way. Besides, there was 
 no knowing when Kenneth would return. Nothing 
 as yet had been heard from him excepting a brief 
 cablegram announcing his safe arrival at Cape 
 Town, and it was manifestly unfair to let her own 
 inclinations stand in the way of the happiness of 
 others. So, after due reflection, she had surren- 
 dered completely, giving Ray carte blanche to make 
 what arrangements she chose. That young person 
 did not stand on the order of going. She acted at 
 once and sent out invitations to what proved to be 
 one of the biggest soirees dansantes of the season. 
 Everything was done on a most liberal scale. The 
 house was decorated by Herly, three picturesque 
 fiddlers were obtained from an agency, and Maz- 
 zoni, who provides delicacies for the "400," had 
 charge of the catering. 
 
 Everybody who was anybody was invited, all 
 Ray's personal friends besides a lot of people she 
 did not know so well. A number of Helen's inti- 
 mates were there and also some men friends of 
 
 162
 
 THE MASK 
 
 Mr. Steell and Dick Reynolds. The girls in their 
 light gowns looked pretty as angels. The men were 
 handsome, attentive and gallant. Altogether, every- 
 one voted it one of the most enjoyable social affairs 
 of the year. 
 
 Ray had danced her sixth waltz and at last 
 utterly exhausted, unable to stand any more, she 
 allowed Dick Reynolds to escort her to a sofa. 
 
 "Please get me an ice, will you? That's a dear 
 boy," she gasped. 
 
 "Will I!" echoed the youth. "What wouldn't 
 I do for you fire and water that's all!" 
 
 "As bad as that?" laughed the girl panting. 
 "Please don't be silly. Go and get me an ice." 
 
 Obediently, he left her and forced his way 
 through the throng to the buffet, while Ray, left 
 alone, started to fan herself vigorously. As she sat 
 there Helen passed on the arm of Mr. Parker. The 
 President stopped short and quizzed the young girl. 
 
 "You here?" ejaculated the old gentleman in 
 mock amazement. "Why aren't you dancing? 
 This will never do." 
 
 Helen smiled. 
 
 . 
 
 163
 
 run MASK 
 
 "I expect she's tired out. This is the first time 
 I've seen her sit down all evening." 
 
 Ray nodded. 
 
 "You've guessed right, sis. I'm nearly dead. I 
 sent Dick for an ice." 
 
 "Did you ever see such a crowd?" remarked the 
 president of the A. A. M. Company as he surveyed 
 the throng that passed in and out of the rooms. 
 
 "Oh, Mrs. Traynor we're having such a jolly 
 time," exclaimed a tall graceful girl, gracefully 
 dressed in light blue empire gown with Grecian 
 head dress. 
 
 "I'm so glad, dear," smiled the hostess amiably. 
 Turning to Mr. Parker as the girl passed on she 
 asked : "Do you know who that is ?" 
 
 He shook his head. 
 
 "She's the granddaughter of John R. Rocker- 
 ford, the money king. Fancy her saying this is 
 jolly after the grandeur she is accustomed to!" 
 
 "No doubt she likes this better," retorted Ray. 
 "Those very rich people don't do things any better 
 than we sometimes not so well. Their parties are 
 too stiff and formal." 
 
 164
 
 THE MASK 
 
 Suddenly Mr. Parker nudged his hostess. 
 
 "Here comes Mrs. Brewster-Curtis," he said in 
 a stage whisper. "They say her husband's worth 
 ten millions all made from graft." 
 
 A handsome woman, blazing with diamonds, came 
 up. Addressing Helen, she exclaimed gushingly: 
 
 "Oh, Mrs. Traynor, isn't this perfectly delight- 
 ful? How do you do, Mr. Parker. Do you know 
 I haven't enjoyed myself so much this season. 
 What's the news from your dear husband ?" 
 
 "No news as yet." 
 
 "Dear me you poor thing! How interesting 
 so pretty and husband away. What an opportunity 
 for some of our gay Lotharios!" 
 
 "They wouldn't have much chance with Helen!" 
 laughed Ray. 
 
 Mrs. Brewster-Curtis turned, and putting up her 
 gold lorgnon, stared at the unknown young woman 
 who had been so bold to venture to express an 
 opinion. Ray, meantime, was wondering what de- 
 tained Dick. Here she was famishing with thirst 
 and still no ice. Her partner had disappeared 
 completely. 
 
 165
 
 THE MASK 
 
 Addressing her hostess Mrs. Brewster said lan- 
 guidly : 
 
 "Your niece, I believe." 
 
 "No my sister," corrected Helen with a smile. 
 It was a mistake often made. 
 
 "Of course of course, how silly of me. I might 
 have known that. You look enough alike." 
 
 "Do you think so?" interrupted Ray hotly. 
 "Helen is far prettier than I." 
 
 "You are no judge, my dear. You must let the 
 men decide that." 
 
 "They do," said Ray, "and they all declare in 
 favor of Helen." 
 
 "Not by the way Mr. Steell dodges your foot- 
 steps." Looking up she exclaimed: "There he 
 is now." 
 
 "Oh, Mr. Steell," cried Helen, "don't forget our 
 next waltz." 
 
 His face all smiles, the lawyer forced his way 
 through the press of people. 
 
 "Have you seen Dick ?" asked Ray. "I sent him 
 to get me an ice." 
 
 Mr. Steell laughed outright. 
 166
 
 THH MASK 
 
 "Oh, it was you who sent him. If I had 
 known " 
 
 "Why?" demanded Ray, opening wide her eyes. 
 ".Where is he? I want my ice." 
 
 "I'll get you an ice, dear," said Helen. 
 
 "No, let me go," exclaimed Mr. Parker. 
 
 "No no one will get the ice but myself," said 
 Mr. Steell. "It's my fault that the ice is not al- 
 ready forthcoming. It is only just that I suffer 
 accordingly." 
 
 Mr. Parker laughed. 
 
 "The ice episode threatens to become a diplomatic 
 incident." 
 
 "Why whatever is the matter?" smiled Helen. 
 
 The lawyer was so much amused that he could 
 hardly keep his face straight. With an effort he 
 controlled himself, and said: 
 
 "Just now I was talking with a pretty girl and 
 Dick suddenly forced his way through the crowd, 
 going in the direction of the buffet. I had no 
 idea on what a serious mission he was bound, of 
 course, and so I called him to introduce him to the 
 pretty girl, who had with her an aunt, a veritable 
 
 167
 
 THE MASK 
 
 witch, as hideous as a Medusa, and who, in addition, 
 is afflicted with a wooden leg. Dick gave the aunt 
 only a glance. That was enough, but he was all 
 smiles for her pretty niece, who, I must admit, is 
 somewhat of a flirt. Anyhow she rolled her eyes so 
 eloquently at him that he forgot all about the im- 
 portant errand on which he was bound. Just at 
 that moment the musicians struck up a schottische, 
 and, on the spur of the moment, he asked the pretty 
 girl to dance. She declined, with an arch smile, 
 but, pointing to the old witch, said her aunt would 
 be delighted. Poor Dick! There was no help for 
 it. The Medusa got up, seized him in her claws, 
 and, the last thing I saw of the poor youth, they 
 were doing a sort of Bunny Hug, the wooden leg 
 of his lady partner marking time on the waxed 
 floor." 
 
 "Please stop! If you go on I shall expire." 
 Ray was nearly in convulsions of laughter in 
 which all joined. When Helen had somewhat re- 
 gained her composure, she said : 
 
 "I think it's unkind to make fun of the poor 
 woman. Who is she ?" 
 
 168
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "I haven't the least idea. Perhaps Dick will 
 tell us." 
 
 At that moment the youth emerged from the 
 throng and came towards them, his linen mussed, 
 his hair dishevelled. But in one hand he held 
 grimly a plate of ice cream. Looking shamelessly 
 at Ray, he smiled: 
 
 "I've got it at last." 
 
 "Where have you been all this time?" she de- 
 manded innocently. 
 
 "Oh, I've been having no end of a good time!" 
 
 Steell burst out laughing. 
 
 "Did she ask you to call, Dick?" 
 
 "If she had I'd have killed her." 
 
 "How did the artificial leg work?" 
 
 "She jammed it on my foot once. How it did 
 hurt!" 
 
 Ray, by this time, was almost in hysterics, and 
 Helen and the others, catching the contagion, the 
 whole group were soon shaken by uncontrollable 
 laughter. 
 
 The orchestra struck up a quadrille. A man 
 came rushing up to Ray. 
 
 169
 
 THB MASK 
 
 "My dance, I believe." 
 
 .With a comical expression of resignation, the 
 young girl allowed herself to be led away, while 
 Helen and Mrs. Brewster-Curtis took seats to 
 watch the figures. 
 
 "Come, Dick," said Steell in an undertone. "Let's 
 go and smoke a cigar." 
 
 Leading the way he went into the smoking-room, 
 where cigars and liquors were laid out. Turning 
 to the youth, he inquired eagerly : 
 
 "Well what about the Signor? What have you 
 found out?" 
 
 Dick lit a cigarette and then calmly he said: 
 
 "Everything." 
 
 "What to be specific." 
 
 "He's all and more than we expected." 
 
 "In other words a crook?" 
 
 "Yes, and a dangerous one." 
 
 "What's his game?" 
 
 "Confidence man, bank robber, blackmailer." 
 
 "How did you find out?" 
 
 "Very easily. I found his record. The police 
 haven't disturbed him because his clever disguise 
 
 170
 
 THE MASK 
 
 has deceived them. They have not recognized in 
 the polished, suave Signer Keralio, the popular 
 fencing master, the man they have been hunting 
 for years. His real name is Richard Barton. His 
 pals call him Baron Rapp. Five years ago he was 
 convicted of robbing a bank out West and was 
 sent up for ten years. He served a year in Joliet 
 and then broke jail and he has been at liberty ever 
 since." 
 
 "Good!" exclaimed the lawyer, rubbing his 
 hands with satisfaction. "We've got him where we 
 want him. What else?" 
 
 "He has managed to elude the police so far 
 owing to the fact that he has not been operating 
 of late, but from what I've been able to ferret out, 
 he is preparing some big haul. Everything points 
 that way. I don't know what it is, but it's the 
 biggest thing in which he has yet been mixed up. 
 He's affiliated with crooks who operate all over the 
 country. Some of his men are disguised as ser- 
 vants and valets in rich houses. They spy on their 
 masters and tell him if there is anything worth 
 robbing. He is the master-mind that schemes the 
 
 171
 
 THB MASK 
 
 operations that others carry out. He tells his men 
 what banks and homes to break into and instructs 
 them how to do it. He receives all the stolen prop- 
 erty. At this very moment his flat in the Bronx is 
 full of stolen loot. I also suspect him of being en- 
 gaged in counterfeiting." 
 
 The lawyer was lost in admiration. 
 
 "Dick, you're a wonder!" 
 
 The young man grinned with pride. 
 
 "Well what's it to be shall we tip off the 
 police ?" 
 
 "Not by a long shot. We'll have the gun loaded 
 all ready for use. If the Signer gets ugly we'll 
 shoot that's all. Not a word, do you hear. 
 Leave everything to me. Come, let's go back or 
 they'll think something's wrong." 
 
 In the ballroom, they were still dancing the quad- 
 rille, the pretty gowns of the girls and black coats 
 of the men making a picturesque sight as they 
 blended in the ever changing figures. 
 
 The gayety was at its height when the maid en- 
 tered and whispered in her ear : 
 
 "There's a gentleman downstairs." 
 172
 
 THE MASK 
 
 Helen looked at the girl in surprise. 
 
 "A gentleman? What's his name?" 
 
 "I don't know, m'm. He wouldn't say." 
 
 "Very well, I'll go down." 
 
 Slipping away unobserved, Helen made her way 
 downstairs and throwing back the heavy tapestry 
 portieres entered the drawing room which was al- 
 most in complete darkness. The maid had for- 
 gotten to switch on the electrolier and as the only 
 light came from the distant dining-room, the big 
 parlor was practically all in gloom. Before her 
 eyes had become quite accustomed to the dark, a 
 man advanced out of the shadow. It was Signer 
 Keralio. 
 
 She recognized him instantly and instinctively 
 she shrank back, alarmed. How had he dared 
 come again to her house after what had occurred? 
 He noticed the movement and asked: 
 
 "I see that I'm unwelcome. Do I frighten you 
 so much?" 
 
 Coldly she answered: 
 
 "You do not frighten me. You surprise me. I 
 did not expect this pleasure after what passed be- 
 
 173
 
 THE MASK 
 
 tween us the last time you were here." Making a 
 half turn, as if about to leave the room, she added 
 quickly: "I have company upstairs. You must 
 excuse me." 
 
 She walked away and had almost reached the 
 door, when, with a quick stride, he intercepted her. 
 
 "Please don't go. I am here in your own inter- 
 est. I want to talk to you just a moment, 
 about " 
 
 She hesitated. 
 
 "About what?" she demanded haughtily. 
 
 "About your husband." 
 
 "My husband?" she echoed, turning and facing 
 him. 
 
 "Yes your husband. He is in danger. I want 
 to help you and him." 
 
 "Kenneth in danger?" she faltered. "What do 
 you mean?" 
 
 He pointed to a chair. 
 
 "Won't you sit down. I won't keep you a mo- 
 ment. I will tell you everything " 
 
 She sat down like one in a dream. Taking a seat 
 near her, he began in his low, musical tones. 
 
 174
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "Peril threatens your husband. It is known that 
 he has gone to South Africa to bring home dia- 
 monds of almost inestimable value. A number of 
 desperate men, who stop at nothing to accomplish 
 their ends, have taken steps to secure the diamonds 
 at any cost even at the price of a human life." 
 
 A chill ran through her, but her voice was firm 
 as she demanded scornfully: 
 
 "You know these men these murderers ?" 
 
 "Yes I know them." 
 
 Instantly came the bitter retort: 
 
 "Maybe you are one of them!" 
 
 His eyes flashed in the darkness and his voice 
 vibrated with passion as he answered : 
 
 "I know you think ill of me. You do me an 
 injustice. I have no share in these men's opera- 
 tions, but I have great power over them. They 
 must obey my command. They know that and so 
 respect my orders. A word from me and your 
 husband will be unmolested." 
 
 Like the drowning man who in his agony will 
 grasp eagerly at a floating straw, Helen seized at 
 the hope his words held out. That Kenneth was 
 
 175
 
 THE MASK 
 
 in peril she readily believed. It was a dangerous 
 mission. She had scented danger from the outset. 
 This man might be lying, and yet he might have 
 the influence he boasted. 
 
 "You can avert the danger?" 
 
 He nodded. 
 
 "I can." 
 
 "How?" 
 
 "I will give orders that he be unmolested." 
 
 "And they will obey you ?" 
 
 "They will." 
 
 Her face brightened. More amiably she said : 
 
 "You'll do this, won't you?" 
 
 "Yes for a price." 
 
 "What price?" 
 
 "That you recall what you said the other day and 
 restore me to a place in your friendship." 
 
 There was no mistaking his true meaning. It 
 was a price no self-respecting woman could pay. 
 She rose indignantly, and haughtily she said : 
 
 "You have never had a place in my friendship, 
 Signer Keralio, and you never will. I see through 
 your motive and I despise you now all the more. 
 
 176
 
 THE MASK 
 
 My husband, who is an honorable man, would be 
 the first to have done with me forever if I entered 
 into any such bargain. He has mistaken your 
 character. When he returns I will enlighten him, 
 and he will tell you himself that his wife has no 
 dealings with a scoundrel. As for your threats, 
 and tale of mysterious danger, I don't believe a 
 word you say. But I may think it worth while to 
 cable my husband in order to put him on his guard 
 and to inform the police. Good night!" 
 
 Before he could stop her, she had touched an 
 electric bell and left the room. The next instant 
 Roberts, the butler, appeared and threw open the 
 front door. There was nothing to do but go. 
 
 She had defied him. 
 
 177
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 EAGERLY, breathlessly, Helen tore open the 
 cablegram. 
 
 It was late Saturday afternoon and she 
 had been with Ray and Mr. Steell to see some 
 paintings a private view of a remarkable col- 
 lection of old masters. After having tea at the 
 Plaza they had taken a brisk walk through the Park, 
 the lawyer insisting that the exercise would do them 
 good. 
 
 "It's just come, m'm," said the maid, holding 
 out the thin envelope. 
 
 "Oh, it's from Kenneth!" exclaimed Ray ex- 
 citedly, throwing down her muff and running to 
 look over her sister's shoulder. 
 
 For long, dreary weeks Helen had expected, and 
 waited for, this message, and now it had come, she 
 was almost afraid to read it. There were only a 
 few words, cold and formal, the usual matter-of- 
 
 178
 
 THE MASK 
 
 fact, businesslike phraseology of the so-much-a- 
 word telegram: 
 
 CAPE TOWN, Thursday (delay in transmis- 
 sion). Sail to-day on the Abyssinia. All's well. 
 KEN. 
 
 "Is that all?" exclaimed Ray, disappointed. 
 
 Mr. Steell laughed. 
 
 "How much more do you expect at $2 a word ?" 
 
 "Well, he might be a little more explicit," 
 pouted Ray. "If I were his wife, that wouldn't 
 satisfy me/' 
 
 Helen laughed lightly. Her eyes sparkling, her 
 usually pale cheeks filled with a ruddy color from 
 her walk in the park, the lawyer thought he had 
 never seen her looking so pretty. 
 
 "It satisfies me," she said, her face all lit up with 
 joyous excitement. "All I want to know is that 
 he is safe and on his way home. The cablegram 
 is dated Thursday. Then he's already on the water 
 three days ! I wonder why we didn't hear before ?" 
 
 Mr. Steell glanced over her shoulder. 
 
 "The dispatch has been delayed. Don't you see ? 
 It says, 'delayed in transmission.' " 
 
 179
 
 THE MASK 
 
 Helen turned round, her face radiant 
 
 "When ought he to get here?" 
 
 The lawyer was silent for a moment as if cal- 
 culating. Then, looking up, he said : 
 
 "The Abyssinia is not a very fast boat I 
 suppose she is the best he could get. She's due at 
 Southampton two weeks from to-day. A week 
 after that, he ought to be in New York providing 
 nothing happens." 
 
 Helen, who was still reading and re-reading the 
 cablegram, looked up quickly. With a note of 
 alarm in her voice, she exclaimed : 
 
 "Providing nothing happens! What could hap- 
 pen ?" 
 
 "Oh, nothing serious, of course. In these days 
 of the wireless nothing ever happens to steamers. 
 One is safer traveling on the sea than on land. I 
 didn't mean anything serious, but merely that 
 sometimes boats are delayed by bad weather or by 
 fog. That prevents them arriving on schedule 
 time." 
 
 Almost three months had slipped by since Ken- 
 neth's departure from New York. To Helen it 
 
 180
 
 THE MASK 
 
 had seemed so many years. She had tried to be 
 contented and happy for Ray's sake. She enter- 
 tained a good deal, giving dinner and theater par- 
 ties, keeping open house, playing graciously the 
 role of chatelaine in the absence of her lord, to all 
 outward appearances as gay and light-hearted as 
 ever. Only Ray and her immediate friends knew 
 that the gayety was forced. 
 
 The poison had done its deadly work. The few 
 words uttered by Signer Keralio that afternoon 
 shortly after her husband's departure had burnt 
 deep into her mind like letters of fire. Well she 
 guessed the object of the wily Italian in speaking as 
 he did. It availed him nothing, and she only de- 
 spised him the more. It was cowardly, contempti- 
 ble, and, from such a source, absolutely unworthy 
 of belief. Yet secretly it worried her just the same. 
 She had always considered Kenneth's life an open 
 book. She thought she knew his every action, his 
 every thought. The mere suggestion that her hus- 
 band might have other interests, other attachments 
 of which she knew nothing took her so by sur- 
 prise that she was disarmed, powerless to answer. 
 
 181
 
 THE MASK 
 
 The innuendo that he might be unfaithful had gone 
 through her heart like a knife. Of course it was 
 quite ridiculous. He was not that kind of man. It 
 was true he had often gone away on trips that 
 seemed unnecessary, and now she came to think of 
 it Kenneth's absences had of late been both frequent 
 and mysterious. Then, too, she had no idea of the 
 extent of his operations in Wall Street. She knew 
 he bought and sold stocks sometimes. That is only 
 what every investor does. But it was incredible 
 that he was involved to the extent Keralio said he 
 was. She knew he was ambitious to acquire wealth, 
 but that he would take such fearful risks and jeop- 
 ardize funds which, after all, belonged, not to 
 him, but to the stockholders that was impossible. 
 It was a horrible libel. 
 
 Still another cause for worry was the health of 
 her little daughter, Dorothy. Nothing ailed the 
 child particularly, but she was not well. The doctor 
 said nothing was the matter, but a slight tempera- 
 ture persisted, together with a cough which, natu- 
 rally, alarmed the young mother out of all propor- 
 tion to the seriousness of the case. The doctor also 
 
 182
 
 THE MASK 
 
 advised a change of air, so Helen at once made ar- 
 rangements to send her little daughter to Philadel- 
 phia, where, in Aunt Carrie's beautiful house, she 
 would have the best air and attention in the world. 
 Aunt Carrie came to New York to fetch the child, 
 and, as she stayed a couple of weeks sight-seeing 
 and visiting friends that also helped to keep Helen 
 busy. 
 
 "I do wish that I didn't have such a worrying dis- 
 position" she laughed nervously after the lawyer 
 had been at some pains to assure her about the sea- 
 worthiness of the Abyssinia. "Really, it makes me 
 so unhappy, but I simply can't help it. The other 
 day it was baby who made me terribly anxious; 
 now it is Kenneth's home-coming. I must seem 
 very foolish to you all." 
 
 Ray quickly protested. 
 
 "You sweet thing how could you look foolish? 
 What an idea! Only please don't worry, dear. I 
 never do." 
 
 Mr. Steell nodded sympathetically. 
 
 "It's nothing to be ashamed of, Mrs. Traynor. 
 It shows you have a fine, sensitive nature. It is 
 
 183
 
 THE MASK 
 
 only the grosser natures that are callous and unaf- 
 fected by the anxieties of life." 
 
 Taking the remarks to herself, Ray threw up her 
 head indignantly. 
 
 "I deny the imputation that I'm gross." 
 
 The lawyer laughed. 
 
 "You are far too healthy to worry. Moreover, 
 you have nothing to worry about. If a man you 
 loved were six thousand miles away " 
 
 "Yes," interrupted Helen; "that's it. Only those 
 who care for each other can understand " 
 
 "Oh, of course!" retorted her sister, flaring up. 
 "We spinsters, belonging, as we do, to the sister- 
 hood of the Great Unloved, are quite incompetent 
 to express an intelligent opinion on that or on any 
 other matter. I grant that, but is Mr. Steell, a 
 confirmed old bachelor, any more competent than 
 I?" 
 
 "Hardly an old bachelor!" interrupted Helen re- 
 provingly. 
 
 "No middle-aged bachelor!" corrected Ray 
 saucily. "He never cared for a woman in his life. 
 
 He ." 
 
 184
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "Who told you so?" inquired the lawyer quickly, 
 with an amused twinkle in his eye. 
 
 Ray colored visibly. 
 
 "Oh, I judge so," she stammered. "You never 
 speak of that sort of thing. One can only draw 
 conclusions." 
 
 "The conclusions may be wrong," he replied 
 gravely. "My life is a very busy one. I have had 
 no time to think of anything outside my immediate 
 work. Yet I am human. I sometimes yearn for 
 the companionship of a good woman. A pretty face 
 attracts me, as it does other men, but, in my opinion, 
 any such attachment is too serious a matter to be 
 treated lightly. When a man feels deeply he keeps 
 his own confidence until the moment comes when he 
 can unburden himself and say what is in his 
 heart." 
 
 "I like that," said Helen, nodding her head ap- 
 provingly. 
 
 Ray jumped up to conceal her embarrassment. 
 
 "Oh, how terribly serious you two are to-day!" 
 she exclaimed. "I declare I'll run away unless you 
 cheer up a bit. Suppose I get some tea?" 
 
 185
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "Excellent idea!" laughed the lawyer. 
 
 Ray touched a bell, and went to clear a small side 
 table, which she drew up near where they were sit- 
 ting. 
 
 "There!" she exclaimed, smiling roguishly at the 
 lawyer. "Don't you think I'm smart?" 
 
 "Of course we do." Lowering his voice he ad- 
 ded significantly : "At least I do." 
 
 Apparently the compliment fell on deaf ears, for, 
 turning her head away, she said quickly: 
 
 "Please don't be sarcastic." 
 
 More seriously, and in the same tone, that even 
 Helen, who was only a short distance away, could 
 not hear, he said : 
 
 "I'm never sarcastic. I think you are all a 
 woman should be." 
 
 "Do you mean that?" 
 
 "I do. I have thought it for a long time." 
 
 "Really?" 
 
 "Really." 
 
 The young girl colored with pleasure. For all 
 her sophisticated and independent manner she was 
 still a child at heart. She had no thoughts of mar- 
 
 186
 
 THE MASK 
 
 riage, but it flattered her to think that she had the 
 power to attract and interest this serious, brilliant 
 man of the world. She said nothing more, re- 
 lapsing into a meditative silence as she busied her- 
 self helping the maid to set out the tea table. 
 
 To Helen it was a source of keen satisfaction to 
 notice the attention which the brilliant young law- 
 yer was paying her sister. She had long recog- 
 nized his sterling qualities. He was a man of whom 
 any woman might well be proud. He could not but 
 make a good husband. Next to Kenneth and her 
 baby no one was dearer to her than Ray and, since 
 their mother died, she had felt a certain sense of 
 responsibility. To see her well and happily mar- 
 ried was the one secret wish of her life. 
 
 But overshadowing these preoccupations at pres- 
 ent were those other new anxieties which preyed 
 upon her sensitive mind with all the force of an 
 obsession. Was there any part of her husband's 
 life that he had hidden from her? Was he really 
 as loyal as she had always fondly and blindly be- 
 lieved ; had his ambition led him to take grave finan- 
 cial risks that might one day jeopardize their com- 
 
 187
 
 THE MASK 
 
 fort and happiness, the very future of their child? 
 
 Ray rose to put away the tea table, and she found 
 herself sitting alone with the lawyer. There was a 
 moment's silence, and then, as if thinking out aloud 
 what was on her mind, she said : 
 
 "Thank God, he's safe; I had the most fearful 
 premonitions " 
 
 The lawyer laughed. 
 
 "Don't put your trust in premonitions things 
 happen or they don't happen. It's absurd to believe 
 that misfortunes are all prepared beforehand." 
 
 "Then you are not a fatalist?" 
 
 "Decidedly not. I hope I have too much intelli- 
 gence to believe in anything so foolish." 
 
 "Do you believe in a Supreme Being who has 
 the same power to suddenly snuff us out of exist- 
 ence as he had to create us ?" 
 
 "I neither believe nor disbelieve. Frankly, I do 
 not know. What people call God, Jehovah, Nature, 
 according to my reasoning, is an astounding energy, 
 a marvellous chemical process, created and con- 
 trolled by some unknown, stupendous first cause, 
 the origin of which man may never understand. 
 
 188
 
 THE MASK 
 
 How should he ? He has not time. We are rushed 
 into the world without preparation. We are ig- 
 norant, helpless, blind. Gradually, by dint of much 
 physical labor and mental toil, we succeed in ferret- 
 ing out a few facts regarding ourselves and the phy- 
 sical laws that govern us. We are just on the verge 
 of discovering more we are just beginning to un- 
 derstand and enjoy life when suddenly we find 
 ourselves growing old and decrepit. Our physical 
 and mental powers fail us, and the same force that 
 benevolently created us now mercilessly destroys us, 
 and we are hurled, willy-nilly, back into eternity 
 whence we came. Rather absurd, isn't it?" 
 
 Intensely interested Helen looked up. Eagerly 
 she exclaimed: 
 
 "You have a whole system of philosophy in a 
 mere handful of words, haven't you?" 
 
 He smiled. 
 
 "It's all one needs, and perhaps as good as those 
 more complicated and more verbose." 
 
 More seriously and lowering her voice so Ray, 
 who was still busy at the other end of the room, 
 might not overhear, she said : 
 
 189
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "Mr. Steell you are so clever you know all 
 about everything. Tell me, do you know anything 
 about Wall Street?" 
 
 The ingenuousness of the question amused him. 
 With a laugh he answered : 
 
 "A little to my sorrow." 
 
 "It's a dangerous place, isn't it?" 
 
 "Very; it has a graveyard at one end, the East 
 River at the other, two places highly convenient at 
 times to those who play the game." 
 
 "If luck goes against him, a man could lose his 
 all, then?" 
 
 "Not only his all but the all of others, too if 
 he's that kind of a man." 
 
 She was silent for a moment. Then she con- 
 tinued : 
 
 "And sometimes even fine, honest men are 
 tempted, are they not, to gamble with money which 
 is not theirs?" 
 
 "Many have done so. The prisons are full of 
 them. There is nothing so dangerous as the get- 
 rich-quick fever. All the men who gamble in stocks 
 have it. It becomes a mania, an obsession. Their 
 
 190
 
 THE MASK 
 
 judgment becomes warped; they lose all sense of 
 right and wrong." 
 
 "There's something else I want to ask you. 
 What do you think of Signer Keralio?" 
 
 He hesitated a moment before he answered. 
 Then, with some warmth, he said : 
 
 "As I told you before, I think he's a crook, only 
 we can't prove it. I've been looking up his record. 
 It's a bad one. The fellow has behaved himself so 
 far in New York, but out West he is known under 
 various names as one of the slickest rogues that 
 ever escaped hanging. At one time he was the 
 chief of a band of international crooks and black- 
 mailers that operated in London, Paris, Buenos 
 Ayres, and the City of Mexico. The scheme they 
 usually worked was to get some prominent 
 man so badly compromised that he would pay 
 any amount to save himself from exposure, 
 and they played so successfully on the fears 
 of their victims that they were usually success- 
 ful." 
 
 A worried look came into the young wife's face. 
 Perhaps there was more in Signer Keralio's rela- 
 
 191
 
 THE MASK 
 
 tions with her husband than she had suspected. 
 Quickly she asked : 
 
 "Why do they permit a man of that character to 
 be at large?" 
 
 The lawyer shrugged his shoulders. 
 
 "You can't proceed against a man unless there is 
 some specific charge made. The police have nothing 
 now against him. He may have reformed for all I 
 know. But that was his record some years ago." 
 
 "I don't think he'll dare come here again," went 
 on Helen. "He's exceedingly offensive, and yet he 
 has about him a certain magnetism that compels 
 your attention, even while his manner and look re- 
 pels and irritates. Only the other day he " 
 
 Before she could complete the sentence, there was 
 a loud ring at the front door bell. Helen hastily 
 rose, but Ray had already gone forward. 
 
 "It's Mr. Parker," she cried. "I saw him coming 
 from the window." 
 
 The next instant the door of the drawing-room 
 was flung open and Mr. Parker appeared. 
 
 "Hallo, ladies! Howdy, Steell!" 
 
 The president of the Americo-African Mining 
 192
 
 THE MASK 
 
 Company was not looking his usual debonair self 
 that evening. His manner was nervous and flus- 
 tered, his face pale and drawn with anxious lines. 
 His coat lacked the customary boutonniere, and his 
 crumpled linen and unshaved chin suggested that 
 he had come direct from his office after a strenuous 
 day without stopping to go through the formality 
 of making a change of attire. 
 
 Helen was quick to note the alteration in his ap- 
 pearance, and her first instinct, naturally, was to 
 associate it with her husband. Something was 
 amiss. 
 
 "There's nothing wrong, is there?" she asked in 
 alarm. 
 
 "No, no, my dear woman!" 
 
 But his tone was not convincing. He always 
 called her "my dear woman" when nervous or ex- 
 cited, and "my dear lady" in his calmer moods. 
 She at once remarked it, and it did not tend to re- 
 assure her. Now greatly alarmed she laid a trem- 
 bling hand on his arm. 
 
 "Tell me, please ! Don't hide anything from me. 
 Has anything happened to Kenneth?" 
 
 193
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "No no ; of course not." Quickly changing the 
 subject he asked : "You got a message." 
 
 "Yes a cablegram. It came just now." 
 
 "Have you got it? Let me see it." 
 
 "Yes, certainly," said Helen, looking around for 
 the dispatch. Unable to find it, she called to her 
 sister. 
 
 "Ray, dear, what did you do with Kenneth's 
 cablegram?" 
 
 Her sister came up to assist in the search, in 
 which even Mr. Steell joined. But the search was 
 fruitless. The cablegram had disappeared. 
 
 "Oh, I know!" suddenly exclaimed Ray. "It 
 must have been carried away with the tea things." 
 
 "That's right! I never thought of that!" said 
 Helen. 
 
 The next instant the two women hurried out of 
 the room in the direction of the kitchen. 
 
 The instant they had disappeared Mr. Parker 
 turned to the lawyer. In a whisper he said : 
 
 "There is terrible news! I don't know how to 
 break it to the poor woman " 
 
 Steell sprang forward. Anxiously he exclaimed : 
 194
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "Terrible news? Surely not " 
 
 The president nodded. 
 
 "Yes all lost, and the diamonds, too. A dis- 
 patch just received in London says that, accord- 
 ing to a wireless relayed from Cape Town, the 
 Abyssinia caught fire twelve hours after sailing 
 from that port and all on board perished. It is 
 shocking, and the pecuniary loss to us disastrous. 
 The stones were not insured. Hush! Here they 
 come. Not a word!" 
 
 "My God!" muttered the lawyer, as he fell back 
 and turned away, so they might not see the effect 
 which the shocking news had made on him. With 
 an effort he managed to control himself. 
 
 The two women entered the room joyfully. 
 
 "Here it is !" cried Helen exultantly, as she bran- 
 dished the missing telegram. "You see, he's just 
 sailed, and all's well." 
 
 The president said nothing, but, taking the dis- 
 patch from her hands, slowly read it. Nodding 
 his head, he said slowly: 
 
 "Yes he's just sailed, and all's well." 
 
 "When do you think he'll be here?" questioned 
 
 195
 
 THE MASK 
 
 the young hostess, looking anxiously up into his 
 face. 
 
 The president shook his head. 
 
 "That is hard to tell," he answered evasively. 
 
 Mr. Steell had gone to the window, where he 
 stood looking out, idly drumming his fingers on the 
 pane. How was it possible to break such fearful 
 tidings as that? What a horrible calamity! He 
 wished himself a hundred miles away, yet some one 
 must tell her. At that moment shrill cries arose in 
 the street outside the familiar, distressing, almost 
 exultant cries of news-venders, glad of any calam- 
 ity that puts a few nickels into their pockets. 
 
 "Ex-tra! Ex-tra! Special ex-tra!" 
 , "What's that?" exclaimed Helen apprehensively. 
 The sound of special editions always filled her with 
 anxiety, especially since Kenneth's departure. 
 
 "Ex-tra! Ex-tra! Special edition! Ex-tra! 
 Big steamer gone down. Great loss of life. Ex- 
 tra!" 
 
 Her face was pale, as she turned and looked at 
 the others, who also stood in silence, listening to 
 the hoarse accents of distress. 
 
 196
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "A steamer gone down!" she faltered. "Isn't 
 that terrible ? I wonder what steamer it was." 
 
 Ray ran to the door. 
 
 "I'll get a paper," she said. 
 
 Before Mr. Parker or Mr. Steell could prevent 
 her the young girl had opened the front door. 
 Now there was no way of preventing Helen know- 
 ing. The best thing was to prepare her gently. 
 
 "My dear Mrs. Traynor I didn't tell you the 
 trouble just now. There has been a little trouble. 
 The Abyssinia " 
 
 Helen gave a cry of anguish. 
 
 "I knew it ! I knew it ! Kenneth is dead !" 
 
 "No, no, my dear lady. These newspaper re- 
 ports are always grossly exaggerated. The Abys- 
 sinia has met with a little trouble nothing very 
 serious, I assure you. Everything is all right, no 
 doubt. Your husband is well able to take care of 
 himself. We may hear from him any moment, re- 
 assuring us as to his safety." 
 
 His words of comfort went unheeded. Her face 
 white as death Helen tottered rather than walked 
 to the door, reaching it just as Ray, almost as pale, 
 
 197
 
 THH MASK 
 
 entered, reading the paper she had just purchased. 
 On seeing her sister she instinctively made an effort 
 to hide the sheet, but Helen quickly snatched it out 
 of her hand. Her hand trembling so violently that 
 she could scarcely make out the letters she glanced 
 at the big scare-head, printed in red ink, to imitate 
 blood, a merciful custom sensational newspapers 
 have of making the most of the agony of others. 
 
 S. S. ABYSSINIA GONE DOWN! 
 ALL PERISH! 
 
 For a moment she stood still, looking at the big 
 type with open, staring eyes. Then, with a low cry, 
 like a wounded animal, she let the paper slip from 
 her nerveless fingers. There was a furious throb- 
 bing at her temples : her heart seemed to stop. The 
 room spun round, and she fainted just as Steell 
 rushed forward to catch her in his arms. 
 
 "Brandy!" Brandy!" he shouted. "She's 
 fainted!" 
 
 While Ray ran for the smelling salts and Mr. 
 Parker was bringing the brandy there came another 
 vigorous pull at the bell. An instant later the maid 
 
 198
 
 THE MASK 
 
 entered with a cablegram, which Mr. Parker seized 
 and tore open. As he read the contents, a look of 
 the greatest surprise and joy lit up his face. 
 
 "Look at this!" he cried. 
 
 "What is it?" demanded Steell, still on his knees 
 trying to revive the unconscious woman. 
 
 "This will do her more good than all your 
 brandy." 
 
 "What is it?" cried Ray impatiently. 
 
 "He's safe!" cried Mr. Parker exultantly. 
 
 "Safe!" they all cried. 
 
 "Yes safe." Handing the dispatch to the law- 
 yer, he added : "Here read this." 
 
 Steell took the dispatch and read: 
 
 CAPE TOWN, Saturday : Miraculously saved. 
 Sail to-morrow on the Zanzibar. KENNETH. 
 
 199
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 THE house of mourning had suddenly be- 
 come transformed into a house of joy. 
 From the deepest abyss of hopeless de- 
 spair Helen, during the next few days, was raised 
 to the highest pinnacle of human felicity. Ken- 
 neth was safe, that was all she wanted to know. 
 Whether he had succeeded or not in saving the dia- 
 monds she did not know or care. 
 
 Nothing more had been heard from him. Cable 
 dispatches reported the Zanzibar to be making good 
 time on her way to Southampton, but, until the 
 steamer arrived there, no further details were to be 
 expected. Much, however, had been gleaned as to 
 the fate of the Abyssinia, and, as the accounts of 
 disaster began to come in, she could only thank God 
 that he had succeeded in escaping such a fearful 
 fate. The ship had mysteriously caught fire the 
 first day out from Cape Town, and, in the excite- 
 
 200
 
 THE MASK 
 
 ment, the crew, as well as the passengers, lost their 
 heads. Only one boat could be lowered, and in this 
 Kenneth got away, together with Frangois, his 
 valet, and some other passengers. A news item in 
 connection with the affair, which was of particular 
 interest to Helen, ran as follows : 
 
 "The loss of the Abyssinia brought to a tragic 
 ending a remarkable romance in which Mr. Ken- 
 neth Traynor, one of the rescued passengers and 
 a prominent New York broker, is one of the 
 principal figures. Mr. Traynor is one of two 
 twins so identical in appearance that no one, not 
 even their own mother, knew them apart. One 
 of the children mysteriously disappeared when a 
 mere child and was believed to be dead. Mr. 
 Kenneth Traynor went recently to South Africa 
 on business, and on the diamond fields found in 
 starving condition an unlucky miner who was a 
 perfect counterpart of himself. It was his lost 
 brother. Mutual explanations followed and the 
 identity was established. Overjoyed at the re- 
 union the two brothers sailed for home on the 
 Abyssinia. Suddenly came the alarm of fire. 
 While the panic on board was at its worst, the 
 broker lost sight of his brother, whom he never 
 saw again and whom it is only too certain went 
 down with the ship." 
 
 2O I
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "It's almost unbelievable, isn't it?" exclaimed 
 Helen, as she read the paragraph for the hundredth 
 time and handed it to Wilbur Steell, who had 
 dropped in to hear if there was any news. 
 
 Ray, who loved a mystery better than anything 
 else in the world, clapped her hands. 
 
 "Isn't it perfectly stunning?" 
 
 "Not for Kenneth's brother poor fellow," said 
 Helen reprovingly. "He did not live long to enjoy 
 his bettered condition." 
 
 "That's right. How thoughtless of me!" said 
 Ray contritely. 
 
 As he finished reading Mr. Steell looked puzzled. 
 Looking toward Helen he asked : 
 
 "Did you know that your husband had a twin 
 brother?" 
 
 "I only knew it recently just before he sailed. 
 He did not know it himself." 
 
 "How did he find it out?" 
 
 "His old nurse told him. I was present." 
 
 "Did the nurse know the brother was in South 
 "Africa?" 
 
 "No she had no idea of it. I'm sure of that. 
 202
 
 THE MASK 
 
 It's one of those wonderful coincidences one some- 
 times hears of." 
 
 The lawyer shook his head. Thoughtfully he 
 said: 
 
 "It's certainly strange one of the strangest 
 things I ever heard of." 
 
 "Kenneth will be able to tell us more about it 
 when he comes," said Ray. 
 
 "Yes no doubt," asserted her sister quickly. 
 
 The lawyer remained thoughtful for a moment. 
 Then, lightly he said: 
 
 "We ought to give Kenneth a rousing welcome 
 home. After such experiences as he has had he 
 richly deserves it." 
 
 Eagerly Helen caught at the suggestion. 
 
 "By all means!" she cried. "Suppose we give a 
 dinner, followed by a dance." 
 
 "Oh, lovely!" said Ray. 
 
 "The night following his arrival," went on Helen 
 enthusiastically. "We'll make it quite an affair and 
 invite everyone we know the Parkers, the Gallo- 
 ways, the Fentons, everybody " 
 
 "Don't forget me!" interrupted Steell. 
 203
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "Oh, you, of course!" Roguishly she added: 
 "Aren't you one of the family?" 
 
 He looked at her and smiled. In an undertone 
 which Ray, too busy looking at the paper, did not 
 hear, he added : 
 
 "Not yet, but I hope to be." 
 
 "The sooner the better, Wilbur," she said ear- 
 nestly. With a significant glance at her sister she 
 added, "Don't let her keep you waiting too long." 
 
 Every hour brought nearer the happy day when 
 they would see Kenneth again. A cablegram from 
 England reported that the Zanzibar had reached 
 Southampton. Closely following this came a brief 
 message from Kenneth himself, stating that he was 
 on the point of sailing for New York on the Adri- 
 atic. In five more days he would be in New York. 
 
 Expectation now reached fever heat, the excite- 
 ment being communicated to everyone in the house. 
 Every time the front door bell rang there was a 
 rush downstairs in the hope that it might be another 
 message. 
 
 Ray, bubbling over with excitement, was almost 
 as eager as her sister. 
 
 204
 
 "Won't it be jolly to go down to the dock and 
 meet him?" 
 
 Helen shook her head. 
 
 "I won't go to meet him. I prefer to be here 
 when he arrives." Anxiously she added: "I hope 
 everything is all right." 
 
 "Why shouldn't it be all right?" 
 
 Her sister was silent. It seemed absurd, when 
 everything seemed to point to her happiness, that 
 she should still feel depressed and nervous, but, 
 somehow, she could not shake off the feeling that 
 something was wrong. It was certainly strange 
 that no letter had been received from Kenneth since 
 the accident. Yet perhaps it was wicked of her to 
 expect more. She ought to be grateful that he had 
 been spared. Almost unconsciously she remarked: 
 
 "Isn't it strange that Ken hasn't written for so 
 long? I haven't had a line from him since he left 
 Cape Town." 
 
 "Yes you have," protested her sister. "You 
 had a cablegram telling you of his safety." 
 
 "A cablegram yes, but no letter. I have had 
 no letter since he left Cape Town." 
 
 205
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "That's true. But how could he write? He has 
 been traveling faster than the mails." 
 
 "I hope he's not hurt." 
 
 "Of course not. You would have heard it before 
 this. Bad news travels fast." 
 
 Every moment from now on was devoted to get- 
 ting the house ready for the arrival of its lord and 
 master. Ray had skilfully fashioned out of red let- 
 ters on white paper, a big "Welcome" sign, which 
 was to be suspended in the hall on the complacent 
 horns of two gigantic moose heads, souvenirs of a 
 month's vacation in the Adirondacks. While this 
 was being done downstairs Helen busied herself in 
 the library and bedroom, getting ready the things 
 for his comfort his dressing-gown, his slippers, his 
 pipe. She detested pipes, as do most women, but 
 she could not refrain from giving this pipe a furtive 
 kiss, as she laid it lovingly on the table within easy 
 reach of the arm-chair. The maids, changed since 
 he went away, were laboriously instructed in what 
 they should and should not do, what towels should 
 be put in the luxurious bathroom, what pajamas 
 should be laid on the bed. 
 
 206
 
 THE MASK 
 
 Well Helen remembered the first time she had 
 entered this bedroom. Just married, in the full 
 flush of her new-found happiness, it had all seemed 
 so beautiful, so ideal. The dull pink color scheme, 
 so chaste and delicate, the gracefully carved furni- 
 ture, so luxurious and elegant, the cupids flying 
 above the massive beautifully carved bed, a veri- 
 table bower of love all this seemed only a realiza- 
 tion of her girlhood dreams of what married life 
 should be. And now Kenneth was coming back, 
 after his long absence in South Africa, it would be 
 like getting married all over again. 
 
 The next four days seemed longer than any Helen 
 had ever spent in all her life. The delay was in- 
 terminable. The minutes appeared to be like hours, 
 the hours like days. Having to wait patiently for 
 what one desired so ardently was simply intolerable. 
 She tried to divert her mind by busying herself 
 about the library, dusting his favorite books, tidy- 
 ing his papers, but constantly came back the 
 thoughts that filled her with uneasiness, a vague, 
 undefinable alarm. Was he all right? 
 
 At last the great day arrived. A Western Union 
 207
 
 THE MASK 
 
 telegram announced that the Adriatic would dock 
 at 2 o'clock. Long before that time, Ray, unable 
 to restrain her impatience, was on her way down 
 town, accompanied by Mr. Steell, while Helen, her 
 face a little paler than usual, her heart beating a 
 little faster, sat in the great recessed window of the 
 library, and waited for the arrival of the loved one. 
 
 Anxiously, impatiently, she watched the hands of 
 the clock move round. How exasperatingly slow 
 it was : how indifferent it seemed to her happiness ! 
 If the ship docked at two they could hardly arrive 
 at the house until four. It would take at least two 
 hours to get through the customs. Oh, would the 
 moment never come when she would see his dear 
 face and clasp him in her arms? 
 
 It was nearly half past two when suddenly the 
 front door bell rang. Her heart leaping to her 
 mouth, she rushed to the top of the stairs. It' was 
 only Mr. Parker, who had dropped in on the chance 
 of finding his associate already arrived. 
 
 To-day the president of the Americo-African 
 Mining Company was in the highest spirits. Every- 
 thing had gone according to his expectations. Ken- 
 
 208
 
 THE MASK 
 
 neth was home with the big diamonds safe in his 
 possession. The directors could not fail to give him 
 (Parker) credit for his sagacity and enterprise. 
 The stocks of the company would soar above par. 
 Fortune was smiling on them in no uncertain way. 
 Was it a wonder he was feeling in the best of 
 humors ? 
 
 "How do you know the diamonds are safe?" 
 questioned Helen anxiously. "In such a terrible 
 panic as there must have been on that ship a man 
 thinks only of saving himself." 
 
 "Pshaw !" replied the president confidently. "I'm 
 as sure of it as that I'm here. It was understood 
 that he was never to part with the stones under any 
 circumstances. They are in a belt he wears round 
 his waist next to his skin. If the diamonds were 
 not here, Kenneth would not be here. Knowing he 
 is safe I am convinced that they are safe." 
 
 "Will you wait here until he comes ?" 
 
 "No, I can't. There's a meeting of the directors 
 this afternoon. I must attend. I'll call him up on 
 the telephone " 
 
 "But you are coming to dinner this evening " 
 
 209
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "Yes, yes, of course." With a smile he added: 
 **Now, don't get too spoony when he comes, or 
 else Ken will have no head for business." 
 
 "No fear," laughed Helen. "We are too long 
 married for that." 
 
 "Well, good-bye. I'll see you later." 
 
 The president took his hat and turned to go. As 
 he reached the door he turned round. 
 
 "By the bye, have you seen Signor Keralio 
 lately?" 
 
 Helen's face grew more serious. 
 
 "No Signor Keralio does not call here any more 
 at my request." 
 
 The president gave a low, expressive whistle. 
 Holding out his hand he said : 
 
 "Got his walking papers, eh? Well, I guess if 
 you don't like him he isn't much good. I never did 
 care for the look of him." 
 
 "Why did you ask?" she inquired. 
 
 "I was just curious that's all. He's a per- 
 sistent, uncomfortable kind of man. I don't like 
 his face. It's a face I wouldn't trust " 
 
 "That's why he's not coming here any more," 
 210
 
 THE MASK 
 
 she replied calmly. "He forgot himself and that 
 was the end " 
 
 The president turned to go. 
 
 "Well, good-bye. Ken will be here soon." 
 
 "Good-bye." 
 
 He went away, and once more Helen resumed 
 her lonely vigil at the library window, straining 
 her ears to catch the direction of every passing car, 
 catching her breath with suspense as each pedes- 
 trian came into view. They could not be much 
 longer. She wondered if he had missed her as 
 much as she had him. No, men do not feel these 
 things in the way women do. They are too busy 
 their minds too much preoccupied with their work. 
 The turmoil of affairs absorbed their attention. 
 
 The clock struck the three-quarters, and the re- 
 verberations of the chimes had not entirely died 
 away, when through the partly opened window 
 came the sound of a taxicab suddenly stopping in 
 front of the door. 
 
 At last he had come! It was surely Kenneth. 
 Her bosom heaving with suppressed excitement she 
 ran to the stairs and was already in the lower hall 
 
 211
 
 THE MASK 
 
 before the maid had answered the bell. Quickly 
 she threw open the door, eager to throw herself in 
 the traveler's arms. A tall shadow darkened the 
 doorway. It was Francois, the French valet 
 
 Helen fell back in dismay. 
 
 "Oh, it's you!" she exclaimed, looking over his 
 shoulder to see if Kenneth were following. "Where 
 is your master?" 
 
 A curious expression, half-defiant, half-cunning, 
 came over the servant's face, as he replied : 
 
 "Monsieur coming. He sent me ahead with light 
 baggage. He detained at customs." 
 
 "Oh!" she exclaimed, disappointed. "When will 
 he be here?" 
 
 "He come presently perhaps quarter of an 
 hour." 
 
 "How is your master?" 
 
 "He very well, except his eyes they bother him 
 a leetle." 
 
 Helen stared at him in alarm. 
 
 "His eyes," she exclaimed. "What is the matter 
 with his eyes ?" 
 
 The valet avoided her direct gaze, and, shifting 
 212
 
 THE MASK 
 
 uneasily on his feet, began to fuss with the leather 
 bags he was carrying. Awkwardly he said : 
 
 "Didn't madame hear ?" 
 
 "Hear what?" she gasped, now thoroughly 
 alarmed. 
 
 The man put out his hand deprecatingly. 
 
 "Oh, it's nothing to make madame afraid. It 
 will soon be all right. I assure madame " 
 
 "But tell me what it is, will you?" she inter- 
 rupted impatiently. "Don't have so much to say > 
 tell me what it is " 
 
 "It was when the ship caught fire, madame. We 
 were running to ze life-boat, monsieur and me, when 
 suddenly " 
 
 "Well what?" she almost shouted, in agony of 
 suspense. 
 
 "Monsieur tripped over a coil of rope and 
 fell " 
 
 Almost unconscious in her excitement of what 
 she was doing Helen laid her hand on the man's 
 arm. Terror-stricken she cried: 
 
 "He didn't hurt himself seriously, did he?" 
 
 The valet shook his head. 
 213
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "No, madame not seriously. He struck his 
 head against a chair and just graze ze eye. It is 
 nothing serious, I assure madame. The doctor says 
 that if he wears blue spectacles for few months he 
 will be all right." 
 
 "Oh, he wears blue spectacles, does he ?" 
 
 "Yes, madame, he must. Ze eye is inflamed and 
 cannot stand ze strong light." 
 
 "Poor Kenneth!" she murmured, half-aloud. "I 
 shall hardly know him in blue spectacles." 
 
 The valet, who had been watching her like a 
 hawk out of his half-closed, sleepy-looking eyes, 
 overheard the remark. Quickly he said : 
 
 "Of course, madame must expect to find mon- 
 sieur a little changed. What we went through was 
 epouvantdble, something awful. We just escaped 
 with our lives. For days monsieur was so nervous 
 he was hardly able to speak a word. Even now he 
 stops at times " 
 
 Helen looked at him in wonder. 
 
 " 'He stops!' What do you mean?" 
 
 The valet turned away, and for a moment was 
 silent. Then, as if making a great effort, he turned 
 and said : 
 
 214
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "Madame will pardon me, but she must be brave 
 and not show monsieur she notices any change. Ze 
 doctor said it was a terrible shock to his nervous 
 system that fire. Monsieur has not been ze same 
 since, pas du tout ze same. Ze doctor he says that 
 these symptoms will all disappear once he gets home 
 and has a good rest. It is only ze shock, I assure 
 madame." 
 
 Helen listened appalled, her face growing whiter 
 each moment, her lips trembling. He had met with 
 an accident, then, after all! Her instinct had 
 spoken truly. Her darling was ill. That explained 
 his long silence. He had been too ill to write. He 
 had gone through a terrible shock and he had come 
 home ill, very ill, quite changed. Her voice falter- 
 ing she said: 
 
 "What are the symptoms?" 
 
 "Monsieur's memory is so bad, madame. He 
 forgets. Only to-day, as ze ship came up ze 
 harbor, I ask monsieur if he expect madame 
 to meet us at ze dock. C'est vraivient incroy- 
 able! He turned to me, with a look of ze great- 
 est surprise, and asked: 'Who ze devil is ma- 
 dame?"' 
 
 215
 
 THB MASK 
 
 "What ! Didn't he seem to remember me, even ?" 
 A look of distress came over her face. 
 
 The valet shook his head. 
 
 "Non, madame." Quickly he added : "But it is 
 nothing. It is only temporary." 
 
 "Didn't he know my sister and Mr. Steell? 
 Didn't they greet him at the dock ?" 
 
 "Yes, madame. They spoke to him and he spoke 
 to them. But he was not himself. They seemed 
 surprised. They will tell madame." 
 
 Helen fell back, sick and faint. Why had she not 
 known this before? She would have gone down 
 to meet him, thrown herself weeping into his arms. 
 He would have known her then who better than 
 he would recognize that perfume he loved so well? 
 He would have taken her in his strong arms and 
 kissed her passionately. If he was not himself it 
 was because he was ill. The shock had affected his 
 memory! Poor darling husband, he must be well 
 nursed. A few days of her devoted care and he 
 would be all right again. Of course, it was nothing 
 serious. Kenneth had led too clean and wholesome 
 a life for anything grave to be the matter. If only 
 
 216
 
 THE MASK 
 
 he would come ! God grant that he return to her as 
 he went away ! 
 
 As the unspoken prayer died away on her lips, 
 there was the chugging of an automobile stopping 
 suddenly at the curb. 
 
 "Les void!" cried Francois, dropping into his 
 native tongue in his excitement. 
 
 He threw open the wide doors and the next in- 
 stant Ray ran up the steps. Helen, weak and dizzy 
 from nervous tension, feeling as if she were about 
 to faint, met her on the threshold. 
 
 "Kenneth!" she gasped. "Is he all right?" 
 
 "Certainly he's fine. He's a little tired and 
 nervous after the long journey, and the blue spec- 
 tacles he wears make him look different, but he's all 
 right." 
 
 The wife looked searchingly, eagerly at the young 
 girl's face, as if seeking to read there what she 
 dreaded to ask, and it seemed to her that the cus- 
 tomary ring of sincerity was lacking in her sister's 
 voice. 
 
 "Where is he why isn't he with you?" 
 
 "Here he is now don't you see him?" 
 217
 
 THE MASK 
 
 Helen looked out. There came the tall, familiar 
 figure she knew so well, the square shoulders, the 
 thick bushy hair, with its single white lock so 
 strangely isolated among the brown. Her heart fell 
 as she saw the blue glasses. They veiled from her 
 view those dear blue eyes, so kind and true. They 
 made him look different. But what did she care 
 as long as he had come home to her? Even with 
 the horrid glasses, that dear form she would know 
 in a thousand!" 
 
 Slowly he came up the long flight of stone steps, 
 weighted down by traveling rugs and handbag, both 
 of which he refused to surrender to the obsequious 
 Francois. Eagerly she rushed down the steps to 
 meet him, her eyes half-closed, ready to swoon from 
 excitement and joy. Nothing was said. He opened 
 his arms. She put up her mouth, tenderly, submis- 
 sively. For a moment he seemed to hesitate. He 
 held her tight in his embrace, and just looked down 
 at her. Then, as he felt the warmth of her soft, 
 yielding body next to his, and saw the partly opened 
 mouth, ready to receive his kiss, he bent down and 
 fastened his lips on hers. 
 
 218
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 FOR one blissful, ecstatic moment Helen lay 
 tight in his embrace, nestling against the 
 breast of the one being she loved better than 
 anyone else in the world, responding with in- 
 voluntary vibrations of her own body to the gust 
 of fiery passion that swept his. But only for a 
 moment. The next instant she had torn herself 
 violently free, and was gazing, wonderingly, fear- 
 fully, up into his face, trying to penetrate those 
 glasses which veiled, as it were, the windows of his 
 soul. Why she broke away so abruptly from his 
 embrace she could not herself have explained. 
 Something within her, some instinct to which her 
 reason was unable to give a name, made her body 
 revolt against the unusual ardor of the caress. 
 Strange ! Never before had she felt so embarrassed 
 at Kenneth's demonstrations of affection. 
 
 "How are you, dear?" she murmured, when at 
 last she could find words. 
 
 219
 
 THE MASK 
 
 She had not yet heard the sound of his beloved 
 voice, and when at last he answered her it seemed 
 to her ears only like an echo of its former self, so 
 exhausted and wearied was he by what he had gone 
 through. 
 
 "Very tired, sweetheart," he replied huskily. "I 
 shall need a long rest." 
 
 She led the way into the house and up the stairs, 
 where everything had been so elaborately prepared 
 for his welcome. In the bedroom she pointed with 
 pride to the real Valenciennes lace coverlet put on 
 in his honor, and showed him the dressing-gown 
 and slippers so lovingly laid out. He looked at 
 everything, but made no comment. She half ex- 
 pected a few words of praise, but none were forth- 
 coming. While affectionately demonstrative he was 
 unusually reticent. She wondered what worry he 
 could have on his mind to make him act so strangely 
 and suddenly Keralio's words of warning came to 
 her mind. Was there a side to his life of which she 
 knew nothing? Were his thoughts elsewhere, even 
 while he was with her ? Quickly there came a look 
 of dismay and anxiety, which he was not slow to 
 
 220
 
 THE MASK 
 
 notice. Instantly on his guard, he murmured in 
 a low tone: 
 
 "Forgive me, dear, I can't talk now. I'm so 
 tired I can hardly keep my eyes open." 
 
 Instantly her apprehension was forgotten in her 
 desire to make him comfortable. 
 
 "That's right, dear. You must be dead with fa- 
 tigue. You'll take a nice nap and when you wake 
 up it will be time for dinner. I've planned a nice 
 little party to celebrate your return only a few 
 intimates Mr. Parker is coming, and Wilbur 
 Steell, and a young man named Dick Reynolds, an 
 acquaintance of Wilbur's. You won't mind such 
 old friends, will you?" 
 
 He shook his head. 
 
 "No, indeed. I'm very tired, now, but I'll be all 
 right in a few minutes." 
 
 "Of course you will," she smiled, as she removed 
 the handsome lace coverlet from the bed. "No one 
 will disturb you. My darling hubbie can sleep as 
 sound as a top, and, when he wakes, we'll talk a ter- 
 rible lot, won't we?" Looking up roguishly, as 
 she smoothed his pillow for him, she added shyly: 
 
 221
 
 "There are two pillows here now. There has been 
 only one while you were away " 
 
 For the first time he seemed to evince interest in 
 what she was saying. His eyes flashed behind the 
 blue spectacles, and his hands trembled, as he 
 quickly made a step forward and put his arm round 
 her waist. 
 
 "There'll always be two in the future, won't 
 there?" he asked hoarsely. 
 
 "Yes, of course there will," she laughed. 
 
 "To-night ?" he insisted. 
 
 "Yes, of course," she said, her color heightening 
 slightly under the persistency of his gaze. What a 
 foolish question! Changing the topic she added, 
 with a laugh: "Now, take your coat off, like a 
 good boy, and go to sleep. I'll go down and keep 
 the house quiet. When it's time to get up, I'll 
 come back." 
 
 "Don't go yet," he murmured, looking at her ar- 
 dently. Taking her hand caressingly he tried to 
 lead her to the sofa. "Sit down here. I won't sleep 
 yet. Let us talk. I have so much to say." 
 
 Firmly Helen withdrew from his embrace. 
 222
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "No, no; I won't stay a moment," she said de- 
 cisively. "Not now. You must behave yourself. 
 We'll talk all you want to to-night. But not now. 
 You are very tired. The sleep will do you good. 
 Now be a good boy go to bed." 
 
 He tried to intercept her before she reached tfie 
 door, but she was too quick for him. She went out 
 and was about to close the door behind her when 
 he called out: 
 
 "Please send Francois to me." 
 
 She nodded^ 
 
 "Yes, dear, I will. Of course you need him. 
 Why didn't I think of it before?" 
 
 She closed the door and went downstairs. It was 
 hard to believe that he was back home. How long 
 she had waited for this day, and, even now it had 
 come, the void did not seem filled. There still 
 seemed something wanting. What it was, she did 
 not know, yet it was there. 
 
 In the dining-room she ran into Ray, who had her 
 arms filled with magnificent American beauty roses. 
 
 "Oh, how beautiful!" cried Helen enthusiasti- 
 cally. "Where did you get those flowers?" 
 
 223
 
 THE MASK 
 
 The young girl laughed. "They're a present from 
 me and Wilbur in honor of Kenneth's arrival. 
 Where is he?" 
 
 "Upstairs he's going to lie down until dinner is 
 
 ready. Poor soul he's almost dead with fatigue." 
 
 , 
 
 "Has he got the diamonds ?" 
 
 Helen gasped. She hadn't thought of that. In 
 all the excitement the real object of her husband's 
 trip to South Africa had quite escaped her mind. 
 
 "I don't know," she said quickly. "I haven't 
 asked him. We've hardly exchanged a dozen 
 words. He'll tell us later. Was nothing said about 
 them at the Customs? Didn't he declare them?" 
 
 "No I thought it was strange. That's why I 
 asked you if he had them. Possibly he left them to 
 be cut in Amsterdam." 
 
 Helen grew thoughtful. 
 
 "I don't know. He'll tell us later." 
 
 Ray filled the vases with the flowers, while Helen 
 busied herself at the buffet, getting out all the pretty 
 silverware with which the dinner table was to be 
 decorated. The young girl hummed lightly as she 
 decorated the room with the fragrant blossoms. 
 
 224
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "Isn't it lovely that Kenneth is back?" she ex- 
 claimed. 
 
 "Yes, indeed." 
 
 "I hardly knew him at first in those spectacles." 
 
 "I'm not surprised at that." 
 
 "If it hadn't been for that white patch of hair I 
 don't think we could have picked him out of the 
 crowd. There was an awful crush there." 
 
 There was a pause, and then Helen asked : 
 
 "How do you think he looks?" 
 
 "About the same," replied the girl carelessly. 
 "He doesn't seem in as good spirits as when he 
 went away. He is very quiet. He hardly spoke a 
 word to us on the way home. Possibly he has some 
 business anxiety on his mind." 
 
 "Did he ask about me?" 
 
 "Yes you were his first question." 
 
 "Did you tell him about Dorothy?" 
 
 "That she was not so well? Yes." 
 
 "What did he say? Was he worried?" 
 
 "Not particularly. I think men are more sensi- 
 ble in those matters than we women. He knows 
 baby is well taken care of." Changing the subject, 
 
 225
 
 THB MASK 
 
 the young girl went on : "I hope everybody will be 
 jolly to-night. I've made up my mind to have a 
 good time." 
 
 Helen sighed. 
 
 "I'm feeling a little uneasy about Dorothy. I got 
 a letter this morning from Aunt Carrie, saying she 
 was not feeling so well. The doctor was going to 
 see her to-day, and, if she got worse, they said 
 they'd telegraph." 
 
 Ray looked at her sister in consternation. 
 
 "What would you do then?" 
 
 "I would have to go at once to Philadelphia." 
 
 "And Kenneth just come home oh, Helen!" 
 
 "I couldn't help it. Kenneth couldn't go. Some- 
 body must go. The child could not be left alone. 
 Who should go better than its mother?" 
 
 Ray made a gesture of protest. 
 
 "Well, don't let's imagine the worst. Dorothy 
 won't get worse. To-morrow you'll get a reassur- 
 ing letter, and your worries will be over." 
 
 "I hope so," smiled Helen. 
 
 Leaving the task of sorting the knives and forks 
 Ray came over to where Helen was standing. The 
 
 226
 
 THH MASK 
 
 young girl pointed to all the vases filled with the 
 crimson roses. 
 
 "How do you like that?" she exclaimed. 
 
 "Beautiful!" 
 
 There was a brief silence, both women being pre- 
 occupied by their thoughts, when Ray, in her usual 
 vivacious, impulsive way, burst out: 
 
 "Sis, I have something to tell you." 
 
 Helen looked up quickly. 
 
 "Something to tell me something good?" 
 
 i . 
 "I'm so happy! I'm engaged at last." 
 
 "To Wilbur, of course?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 Helen gave an exclamation of joy. 
 
 "Oh, I'm so glad. When did it happen? Tell 
 me all about it quick." 
 
 "He proposed to-day, and I said yes. We're to 
 be married in two months." 
 
 The next moment the two women were in each 
 other's arms. 
 
 "I'm so glad so glad," murmured Helen. "I 
 hope you'll both be very, very happy." 
 
 "We certainly shall if we are like you and Ken- 
 227
 
 THE MASK 
 
 neth. Wilbur says that your example is the one 
 thing that decided him to make the plunge." 
 
 Helen smiled. 
 
 "You'll have one advantage I don't enjoy. Your 
 husband, being a lawyer, won't be taking trips to 
 South Africa all the time." 
 
 "Oh, I don't know," laughed the girl ; "it's some- 
 times nice to lose sight of each other for a time. 
 The lovemaking is all the more furious when your 
 husband gets back." 
 
 "Yes unless he happens to meet some other 
 charmer on his travels." 
 
 "Oh, nonsense, Helen men don't really have 
 such adventures. That only happens in novels." 
 
 "I hope so," murmured her sister. 
 
 "Oh, by the bye," exclaimed Ray, "who do you 
 suppose we saw on the dock?" 
 
 "Who?" 
 
 "That horrid creature Signer Keralio." 
 
 Helen looked up in surprise. 
 
 "Keralio? What was he doing there? Did he 
 speak to you?" 
 
 "No he seemed to avoid us. Once I got lost for 
 228
 
 THE MASK 
 
 a moment in the crush, and, as I turned, I thought 
 I saw him talking earnestly to Kenneth and Fran- 
 Qois. Of course I must have been mistaken, for, 
 when I finally rejoined them, both denied having 
 seen him !" 
 
 "Keralio!" murmured Helen. "How strange! 
 That man seems to pursue us like some evil genius. 
 No matter where we go, he follows like a shadow. 
 Oh, I forgot all about Francois. Where is he ?" 
 
 "Downstairs." 
 
 Helen touched a bell. 
 
 "Why do you need him?" 
 
 "Kenneth wants him. I forgot all about it. All 
 his things need putting away. The litter upstairs 
 is simply terrible." 
 
 "There won't be much time for unpacking," ob- 
 jected Ray. "It's half-past five already. We'll 
 soon have to think of dressing for dinner." 
 
 Suddenly the door opened and Francois appeared. 
 He entered quietly, stealthily, and, advancing to 
 where his mistress was, stood in silence, awaiting 
 her orders. 
 
 "Your master wants you upstairs, Frangois." 
 229
 
 THE MASK 
 
 The man bowed. 
 
 "Bien, madame!" 
 
 "Tell Mr. Traynor not to keep you too long, be- 
 cause there's a lot of work to be done downstairs 
 before dinner." 
 
 "Bien, madame." 
 
 The man lingered in the room, arranging the 
 chairs, and fussing about the table, until he began 
 to make Helen nervous. Peremptorily she said: 
 
 "You had better go, Francois; monsieur is wait- 
 ing for you." 
 
 The valet bowed obsequiously, and left the room, 
 shutting the door carefully. Instead of proceeding 
 immediately upstairs, he stopped for a moment be- 
 hind the closed door and listened intently. But, un- 
 able to overhear the two women, who were con- 
 versing in an undertone, he hurried upstairs toward 
 his employer's bedroom. Arrived on the landing, 
 he went straight to the room, and, without stop- 
 ping for the formality of knocking, he turned the 
 handle and went in. 
 
 230
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 INSTEAD of finding his master resting from 
 his fatigue, as Mrs. Traynor had said, Fran- 
 cpis discovered the new arrival very much 
 awake. He was sitting in front of Helen's bureau, 
 eagerly perusing a bundle of private letters tied 
 with blue ribbon, which he had taken from a 
 drawer. As the door opened, he jumped up quickly, 
 as if detected committing a dishonorable action; 
 but, when he saw who it was, his face relaxed and 
 he gave a grim nod of recognition. 
 
 "Lock the door!" he said in a whisper. "It won't 
 do to have anyone come in here now." 
 
 The valet turned the key, and, dropping entirely 
 the obsequious manner of the paid menial, threw 
 himself carelessly into a chair. Taking from his 
 pocket a richly chased silver cigarette box, loot 
 from former houses where he had been employed, 
 he struck a match on the highly polished Circassian 
 walnut chair, and proceeded to enjoy a smoke. 
 
 231
 
 THE MASK 
 
 His companion looked at him anxiously. 
 
 "Well?" he demanded hoarsely. "Is it all right? 
 What do they say? Does anyone suspect?" 
 
 The Frenchman gracefully emitted from between 
 his thin lips a thick cloud of blue smoke, and broke 
 into a laugh that, under the circumstances, sounded 
 strangely hollow and sinister. 
 
 "Suspect?" he chuckled. "Why should they sus- 
 pect ? Are you not ze same man who went away 
 ze same build, ze same face, ze same voice, ze same 
 in every particular except one. Zat you have not 
 non you have not ze education, ze fine manners, 
 ze savoir faire of monsieur." With that expressive 
 shrug of the shoulder, so characteristic of his na- 
 tion, he added : "Mais que voulez vous? We must 
 do ze best we can." 
 
 His listener struck the brass bed-post savagely 
 with his heavy fist. With a burst of profanity he 
 broke out : 
 
 "Yes, damn him ! He had all the advantages. I 
 had none. But it's my turn now. I want all that's 
 coming to me." 
 
 "Hush!" exclaimed the valet, raising his finger 
 232
 
 THE MASK 
 
 warningly. "Zey may hear. Everything will be 
 all right. We must be very careful. You must not 
 talk. You must avoid people. Let them think you 
 sick, or strange, or crazy, anything you like. But 
 keep away from zem, or else they soon discover 
 that 'Handsome Jack/ ze penniless adventurer, is 
 quite a different person from ze accomplished and 
 wealthy Monsieur Kenneth Traynor." 
 
 "We can't expect to keep the game up long," in- 
 terrupted the big fellow moodily. 
 
 "We won't have to," replied his companion 
 calmly. "Just enough time to squeeze ze orange 
 dry that's all " 
 
 Handsome looked up quickly. Savagely he re- 
 torted : 
 
 "Of which juice you and Keralio want a goodly 
 share, don't you ?" 
 
 The valet's greenish eyes flashed. 
 
 "Of course I do, and, what's more, I mean to get 
 it" Changing his free, careless tone to one tense 
 with significance and menace he went on: "Don't 
 be a fool, Monsieur Handsome. Who put you up 
 to this snap, but me? Who knows what you did 
 
 233
 
 THE MASK 
 
 to monsieur out there on ze veldt, better than me? 
 Dead men tell no tales, but live ones do. Don't 
 forget that! If you want to keep clear of ze elec- 
 tric chair, you'll keep your mouth shut, and play 
 fair." 
 
 The gambler listened, his mouth twitching ner- 
 vously, his eyes glowing with sullen hatred. 
 
 "What do you and Keralio want? I gave you 
 the diamonds what more do you expect?" 
 
 The valet laughed scoffingly. 
 
 "You gave him ze diamonds. Why? You were 
 d d glad to be rid of zem. We can't do any- 
 thing with zem now. We may have to wait months 
 or years before we can venture to cut zem up and 
 dispose of zem. Non, monsieur! If zey appeared 
 on ze market now, ze news would be flashed imme- 
 diatement to every corner of ze globe, and your 
 career and mine would come to a quick end. 
 Voila!" 
 
 "Don't forget Keralio!" said Handsome, with a 
 sneer. 
 
 "Eh } bienf Has he not earned it, Signor Ke- 
 ralio? Is it not because of his courage and daring 
 
 234
 
 THE MASK 
 
 that you are here ze master in this house? Who 
 but Keralio would have had ze nerve to carry ze 
 thing through?" 
 
 Handsome shrugged his shoulders. Cynically he 
 said: 
 
 "Oh, I don't know. It seems to me that Keralio 
 is safe under cover, while here I am, disporting 
 myself in the limelight, with every eye turned on 
 me. I guess I prefer Keralio's job to mine " 
 
 The valet's eyes flashed vindictively as he re- 
 torted : 
 
 "Could your puny brain have conceived this 
 scheme which will make us all rich? Keralio out- 
 lined ze whole plan to me directly he heard of your 
 existence. On our reaching Cape Town, after find- 
 ing you starving on ze veldt, I cabled him ze news. 
 A few hours later he told me exactly what to do. 
 He knew you would do it. How, I do not know. 
 He is no ordinary man, Keralio. When I first saw 
 you out zere, unkempt, in rags, starving, I could 
 have dropped dead from surprise. It never oc- 
 cured to me that you might be useful. But Keralio 
 knew. He knows everything. He also knew that 
 
 235
 
 THE MASK 
 
 you would accept his leadership, that you would 
 quickly get rid of monsieur, and secure ze dia- 
 monds. Was it not his idea that you set fire to ze 
 ship? And who set fire to ze ship, s'il vous plait, 
 when you refused? Who but your very humble 
 servant. And a hard, dangerous job, it was, too r 
 catch me ever wanting to do it again !" 
 
 "Not half so bad as mine. He put up a terrible 
 fight before I threw him overboard." 
 
 "Who monsieur ?" 
 
 "Yes he fought like a wildcat, and he was fast 
 getting the best of me, when I managed to give 
 him a rap on the head. That quieted him, and over 
 he went." With an exclamation of disgust, he ad- 
 ded: "It was a d d nasty job. I'm sorry I 
 
 ever went into it " 
 
 "Sorry you fool ? Sapristi! Just think of this 
 wonderful opportunity. You have ze keys to his 
 vaults, you have control of his bank accounts." 
 Lowering his voice, and, with a significant leer on 
 his face, he added "and you have his wife!" 
 
 Handsome grinned, and the valet went on : 
 
 "Precisement! Madame is cold and haughty, like 
 236
 
 THE MASK 
 
 all zese American women. It's not exactly my taste, 
 but she's pretty and dainty, and " 
 
 "Who are all these other people," interrupted the 
 miner, "that man Steell " 
 
 "Yes, that is so. You must know everyone. You 
 must make a study of each, so as to avoid making 
 bad breaks. Monsieur Steell is a lawyer. He's in 
 love with madame's sister, Miss Ray. You've 
 known him all your life, went to school with him, 
 and all that sort of thing. Say 'yes' to everything 
 he says. That's your cue at present. Talk as little 
 as you can, and agree with everybody. The man 
 you must talk with most is Monsieur Parker. He is 
 president of the mining company. Happily he's 
 rather shortsighted, so he won't notice anything. 
 He's the man to whom you'll have to explain ze 
 loss of ze diamonds. He'll be here to-night for 
 dinner, so you'd better get your story ready." 
 
 "What can I say?" 
 
 "Say that in ze panic your belt worked loose, 
 you had to dive into ze water. When you were 
 dragged into ze lifeboat the belt was gone, do you 
 understand ?" 
 
 237
 
 THB MASK 
 
 "Yes but will they believe it?" 
 
 "They must believe it. There'll be an awful fuss, 
 of course, but they'll get over it. No suspicion can 
 attach to you." 
 
 "He's coming to-night this man Parker?" 
 
 "Yes, to-night He'll be here for dinner. 
 He " 
 
 Before the valet could complete the sentence 
 there was a knock on the door and Helen outside 
 called out: 
 
 "May I come in?" 
 
 Instantly the valet jumped up and assumed once 
 more his deferential demeanor. The gambler hur- 
 riedly shut the bureau drawers and put on the blue 
 spectacles. 
 
 The door opened and Helen entered. 
 
 Alert as the Frenchman was, he was not quick 
 enough to quite conceal from the wife that his pres- 
 ent obsequious manner had been suddenly assumed 
 for her benefit directly she had entered the room. 
 She had overheard voices, as she reached the land- 
 ing, and the abrupt manner in which these sounds 
 had ceased was not entirely natural. It had also 
 
 238
 
 THE MASK 
 
 seemed to her that the valet's tone had had a ring 
 of familiarity about it which she had never known it 
 to have before. Could it be possible that they were 
 discussing matters which were to be kept from her? 
 If so, her husband already had secrets in which 
 not she but his valet shared. She recalled Keralio's 
 cynical smile, as he had whispered: "Husbands 
 only tell their wives half." Perhaps he had spoken 
 the truth. Perhaps at this very moment she was 
 degraded, insulted in her womanhood by a man who 
 was secretly unloyal to her. The very thought went 
 through her like a knife-thrust. All her life, every 
 hour she had devoted to her husband. Even now 
 she did not like to even harbor a shade of distrust, 
 but his strange behavior since his return, this ear- 
 nest conversation behind closed doors with a menial 
 she despised and distrusted all this could not but 
 add to her anxiety. Calmly, she asked: 
 
 "Have you finished with Francois, dear? We 
 need him downstairs." 
 
 The valet himself answered the question : 
 
 "Old, madame. I was just coming." 
 
 Bowing politely, he turned on his heel, and, with 
 
 239
 
 THE MASK 
 
 a significant glance at Handsome, which his mis- 
 tress did not notice, he left the room. Helen 
 glanced at the bed, which was undisturbed. Sur- 
 prised, she exclaimed: 
 
 "Why, I thought you were going to lie down!" 
 
 He shook his head. Shifting uneasily on his feet, 
 and, without looking up, he answered : 
 
 "No I can't sleep. I'm too nervous. I'll sleep 
 to-night." 
 
 Advancing farther into the room she went up him 
 and put her arm affectionately round him. Sympa- 
 thetically she said: 
 
 "You'll feel better in a few days, dear. Just 
 rest and take things easy. I won't hear of your 
 going to the office for a week at least. All the busi- 
 ness you and Mr. Parker have you can transact 
 here. By the way, dear, you haven't even mentioned 
 the most important thing of all have you brought 
 back the diamonds?" 
 
 Instead of replying at once to her question, he 
 turned quickly and pulled down the blind. 
 
 "You don't mind, do you?" he said. "The light 
 hurts my eyes." 
 
 240
 
 THB MASK 
 
 "Of course not," she replied. Sitting down near 
 him she went on : "Tell me have you got the dia- 
 monds? How beautiful they must be! How I 
 should love to see them!" 
 
 When finally he turned and confronted her she 
 could see his face only indistinctly, as the drawing 
 of the blind had left the room almost in darkness. 
 His voice was strained and tense as he replied 
 huskily : 
 
 "I have not got the diamonds !" 
 
 Helen almost started from her seat. 
 
 "You have not got them!" she exclaimed. 
 "Where are they, Ken?" 
 
 "They are lost!" 
 
 "Lost?" she echoed, stupefied. 
 
 "Yeslost." 
 
 "Oh, how terrible!" she faltered. 
 
 This, then, was the secret of his strange manner, 
 his depression and nervousness. He had lost the 
 diamonds. He had returned home to announce to 
 the eagerly awaiting stockholders that over a mil- 
 lion dollars' worth of property had suddenly been 
 swept away. His feeling of personal responsibility 
 
 241
 
 THE MASK 
 
 must have been awful. No wonder he was not him- 
 self. It was enough to unnerve any man. Of 
 course he was not to blame, but the world is so 
 merciless. He would liave to bear the censure, even 
 when he was perfectly innocent. How she regret- 
 ted that he had ever undertaken so heavy a respon- 
 sibility. Timidly, not wishing to embarrass or an- 
 noy him, she said: 
 
 "How did it happen, dear?" 
 
 For a moment he made no answer, but just sat 
 and stared at her. What little light entered between 
 the shade and the window frame fell full on her 
 face, lighting up the fine profile, the delicately chi- 
 seled mouth, throwing off golden glints from her 
 artistically arranged hair. From her face his eyes 
 wandered greedily down to her snow-white neck, 
 her slender, graceful figure, her beautifully molded 
 arms. Certainly, he mused to himself, his brother 
 was an epicure in love. This woman was dainty 
 enough to tempt a saint. 
 
 "How did it happen?" she asked again. 
 
 "It was in the first rush from the burning ship," 
 he said hoarsely. "I was asleep when the fire broke 
 
 242
 
 THE MASK 
 
 out. It happened at two o'clock in the morning. 
 The diamonds were in the belt which each night I 
 unfastened and put under my pillow. It was more 
 comfortable to do that than to wear it. When the 
 first alarm came I forgot everything except my 
 own safety. I rushed pell-mell on deck. It was a 
 nasty night. We didn't know where we were, or 
 how grave the situation was. Outside the wind was 
 howling furiously, the "siren was blowing dismally, 
 the panic-stricken passengers and sailors were fight- 
 ing like wildcats. I lost my head along with the 
 rest. I had reached the lifeboat when suddenly I 
 remembered the belt. I felt at my waist. It was 
 not there. I remembered I had left it under the 
 pillow. I was horror-stricken. Great beads of per- 
 spiration broke from every pore. The people were 
 fighting to get into the boat; I fought to get out 
 and back to my stateroom. Suddenly someone 
 knocked me on the head. I lost consciousness. 
 When I came to we were miles away from the 
 wreck, drifting on the ocean in an open boat, and 
 the Abyssinia was nowhere to be seen." 
 Helen made an exclamation of sympathy. 
 
 243
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "Poor soul how terrible you must have felt! 
 Thank God, you escaped with your life ! We ought 
 to feel grateful for that. Suppose I had been com- 
 pelled to tell Mary that you were drowned. It 
 would have killed her you know that. Do you 
 remember what you told her when you went 
 away ?" 
 
 He stared at her, not understanding. 
 
 "Told who?" he said cautiously. 
 
 "Mary." 
 
 "Oh, yes Mary of course you mean your sis- 
 ter " 
 
 Helen looked at him in amazement, then in 
 alarm. Could the wreck have affected his mind? 
 Laughingly she retorted: 
 
 "Ray? Of course not. How foolish you are, 
 Kenneth. Don't you remember that your old nurse 
 came to see you before you sailed ?" 
 
 He nodded and coughed uneasily, moving rest- 
 lessly about in his chair, as if to hide his embarrass- 
 ment. These questions were decidedly unpleasant. 
 Inwardly he wished Frangois was present to help 
 him out 
 
 244
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "Mary? Oh, yes, I remember of course of 
 course " 
 
 The look of anxiety in the young woman's face 
 deepened. His memory failed him completely. 
 Changing the subject she said quickly: 
 
 "There's something else I wish to mention to you, 
 dear. It is about Signer Keralio " 
 
 He started quickly to his feet. How came his 
 brother's wife to know the name of the arch-plotter, 
 the man who had sentenced her own husband to 
 death ? Was it possible that she knew more ? Was 
 she aware of his real identity? Was her present: 
 amiability of manner merely simulated? Was she 
 waiting her time before calling in the police and 
 exposing him as an impostor? 
 
 "Keralio?" he echoed hoarsely. "What about 
 Keralio?" Making a step forward he exclaimed 
 savagely: "Has he squealed? Is the game up? 
 He's to blame, not I !" 
 
 Impulsively, instinctively, Helen sprang from her 
 chair and fell back with a startled exclamation. 
 Now thoroughly alarmed, more than ever con- 
 vinced that the shipwreck had affected his brain, her 
 
 245
 
 run MASK 
 
 one solicitude was to keep him quiet until she could 
 get a doctor. Soothingly she said: 
 
 "Of course, dear; of course. We won't speak of 
 Signer Keralio now. He's not worth discussing 
 anyhow." 
 
 He watched her closely for a moment, as if try- 
 ing to see if she were deceiving him, but her face 
 was frank and serene. Suddenly, taking hold of 
 her hand, which she abandoned willingly enough in 
 his, he murmured : 
 
 "You mustn't mind what I say. I'll soon be all 
 right. I'm a bit mixed up. My mind's been queer 
 ever since that awful night." 
 
 "Perhaps you would prefer if we had no one to 
 dinner. I could easily give some excuse and put 
 them all off." 
 
 His first impulse was to promptly accept this sug- 
 gestion, yet what was the good? If he did not meet 
 them to-day he must do so to-morrow. It was best 
 to get it over with. The quicker he got to know 
 the people the easier it would be for him. If he 
 seemed to avoid meeting them, it might only arouse 
 suspicion. Shaking his head, he said : 
 
 246
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "No, dear. That's all right. I'm glad they're 
 coming. It will liven things up." 
 
 Helen's face brightened. It was the first cheerful 
 remark he had made. 
 
 "That's what I think. You must forget what 
 you have gone through. After all it's not so bad, 
 but it might be a lot worse. Mr. Parker will feel 
 badly about the stones, of course, because he had 
 counted on making capital out of the advertising 
 they would receive. But who knows ? Perhaps it's 
 all for the best. They may find other stones even 
 more valuable." 
 
 A sudden knock at the door interrupted them. 
 
 "Come in," called out Helen. 
 
 The maid appeared. 
 
 "Mr. Parker is downstairs, m'm." 
 
 "Good gracious! Here already for dinner. 
 What time is it?" 
 
 "Seven o'clock, m'm." 
 
 "All right. I'll be down immediately." 
 
 The girl went away and Helen turned to her com- 
 panion. 
 
 "Now, hurry, dear, won't you? Dinner is ready. 
 247
 
 THE MASK 
 
 The guests are arriving. Dress quickly and come 
 down." 
 
 He still held her hand. 
 
 "You're not angry with me?" he whispered. 
 
 "Why should I be angry?" 
 
 "Because of the diamonds." 
 
 "No, indeed it was you I wanted, not the dia- 
 monds." 
 
 Drawing her to him, he kissed her. But her lips 
 were cold. There was no response to his ardor. 
 She could not herself have explained why. She 
 felt no inclination to respond to his caresses, which 
 at any other time she would have returned with 
 warmth. With a slight shade of impatience she 
 broke away. 
 
 "We have no time for that now, Kenneth. Our 
 guests are waiting." 
 
 "That's right," he replied, with a smile that did 
 not escape her. "We've no time now. But the 
 night is still before us." 
 
 "Will you come soon?" 
 
 "Yes I'll be right down." 
 
 248
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 ONCE more the Traynor residence was filled 
 with the sounds of mirth and revelry. 
 From cellar to attic the old mansion was 
 ablaze with light. The large dining-room, deco- 
 rated with flowers and plants, wore a festive air, 
 and the long table in the center literally groaned 
 under its burden of fine linen, crystal, and silver. 
 
 The dinner, now drawing to a close, had been a 
 huge success in every way, and, with the serving of 
 the demi-tasse, the guests sat back in their chairs, 
 feeling that sense of gluttony satisfied which only a 
 perfect dinner can impart. The rarest wines, the 
 richest foods Helen had spared no expense to 
 make the affair worthy the occasion. 
 
 As Mr. Parker sat back and with deliberation lit 
 the big black Corona, which his host had given him, 
 he felt as much at ease as can a man who has dined 
 well and knows that his affairs are prospering be- 
 
 249
 
 THE MASK 
 
 yond all expectations, and, as his eyes half closed, 
 he listened dreamily while his host, for the hun- 
 dredth time, told yarns of the diamond fields, he 
 silently congratulated himself on his astuteness in 
 having employed so successful a messenger. He 
 had not yet had an opportunity to ask any questions 
 about the diamonds. He had his own reasons for 
 not wanting those present to learn too much of his 
 plans. There would be plenty of time when he 
 could get the vice-president alone. So he just sat 
 back and puffed his cigar, while around him went 
 on the hum of conversation, punctuated here and 
 there with bursts of laughter. 
 
 Considering his short stay at the diamond mines 
 it was astonishing how well stocked their host was 
 with stories. To hear him talk one might have 
 thought he had been a miner all his life. Stimulated 
 by copious draughts of champagne, which he con- 
 trived to make flow like water, he was highly inter- 
 esting, and his listeners, greatly interested, hung on 
 to every word. 
 
 "It must be a terrible life!" said Steell, as he lit 
 another cigar. 
 
 250
 
 THE MASK 
 
 The host emptied his glass and again refilled it 
 before he answered: 
 
 "It's a life of a dog not of a human being. The 
 toil is incessant, the profit doubtful. You starve to 
 death: good food is unprocurable save at prohibi- 
 tive prices. One sleeps practically in the open, save 
 for such rude shelter as each man can make for 
 himself. The flies are a pest and constant source of 
 danger. The water is abominable." 
 
 "You like champagne better, eh?" laughed Ray. 
 
 The gambler had already drunk more than was 
 good for him, and, raising his glass in a mock toast, 
 began to hum the first lines of a familiar camp 
 ditty : 
 
 "La femme qui sait me plaire 
 C'est la petite veuve Clicquot." 
 
 "Is there much stealing of diamonds by the 
 miners?" demanded Mr. Parker. 
 
 Handsome nodded. 
 
 "Lots of it. They have to watch 'em all the 
 time. They resort to all kinds of tricks to conceal 
 stones they find. They used to swallow them, but 
 
 251
 
 THE MASK 
 
 when they were forced to take powerful emetics 
 and other drugs, they soon got tired of that game. 
 They also try to smuggle them across the border 
 line. One detective, who had been for months on 
 the trail of a well-to-do smuggler, was badly stung. 
 The man invited him to go shooting, and kindly 
 furnished guns and cartridges. The unsuspecting 
 policeman carried the cartridges across the border, 
 never dreaming that each one was filled with dia- 
 monds." 
 
 Ray clapped her hands. 
 
 "Oh, what a clever idea!" 
 
 The host nodded approvingly. 
 
 "That's what I thought. Any man as smart as 
 ithat deserved to get away with it." 
 
 Mr. Parker protested. 
 
 "Rogues are always smart!" he exclaimed. 
 
 "Until they're caught," laughed Dick Reynolds. 
 "Then they don't think they're so smart.'* 
 
 Mr. Steell nodded approval. 
 
 "I know something about that," said the lawyer. 
 "A crook is never really clever. He always leaves 
 some loophole which leads to detection. He thinks 
 
 252
 
 THE MASK 
 
 he is secure, that his disguise is impenetrable, but 
 there is always someone watching him, closely ob- 
 serving his every move. And, the first thing he 
 knows, he has walked into a trap, the handcuffs are 
 snapped, and the electric chair looms grimly before 
 him " 
 
 Crash! 
 
 All looked up to the end of the table, where their 
 host had broken a glass. In the act of raising the 
 champagne to his lips the glass had slipped and 
 broken into a thousand pieces. Helen, frightened, 
 started from her seat. 
 
 "Are you hurt, dear?" she asked. "There is 
 blood on your hand." 
 
 "No no, it's nothing. I cut myself with a bit 
 of glass. It's nothing." 
 
 Ray was eager for more anecdotes. 
 
 "Do tell us more, Kenneth," she exclaimed, in- 
 terrupting her chat with her left-hand neighbor. 
 
 "Give him a breathing spell," laughed Dick. 
 "We've kept him at it ever since the dinner began." 
 
 Handsome, his face pale, his hand trembling, 
 filled another glass with the foaming golden wine, 
 
 253
 
 THE MASK 
 
 and drained it at a draught. What the lawyer just 
 said had been somewhat of a shock. Was there 
 more meaning in it than appeared in the chance 
 words? He eyed Steell narrowly, when he was not 
 looking, but the lawyer's face was inscrutable. 
 Again he filled his glass and again emptied it. 
 
 That her husband had been drinking heavily all 
 evening had not escaped Helen's attention, and it 
 worried her. Nudging her sister she whispered : 
 
 "Ken's drinking more than is good for him. He 
 never used to drink like that." 
 
 At that moment, the host looked up and caught 
 
 Helen's eye. Raising his glass he offered a toast : 
 
 "Here's to the prettiest, the sweetest, the most 
 
 desirable little woman in the world! Gentlemen 
 
 and ladies my wife!" 
 
 They all drank except Helen who, confused and 
 annoyed, tried to turn it off with a laugh. 
 
 Noticing her embarrassment, Ray made a signal 
 to Mr. Steell and they both rose from the table. 
 Helen and Dick quickly followed their example and 
 the hostess led the way into the drawing-room, leav- 
 ing Handsome and Mr. Parker alone to their cigars. 
 
 254
 
 THE MASK 
 
 The president of the Americo-African Mining 
 Company was not sorry of the opportunity which 
 this tete-a-tete afforded for a quiet business talk. 
 
 "By the way, old man," he began, "we haven't 
 had a chance to talk business yet. You've got the 
 diamonds, of course." 
 
 His host was silent. Mr. Parker thought he had 
 not heard. A little louder he repeated : 
 
 "You've got the diamonds?" 
 
 Still no answer. The president began to get un- 
 easy. Could anything be wrong or was his friend 
 drunk? He had noticed that he had been drinking 
 heavily something he had never known Kenneth 
 Traynor do. With some impatience he said sharp- 
 ly : "What's the matter, Kenneth ? Wake up, old 
 man. I asked you a question. Can't you answer?" 
 
 Handsome brought his fist down on the table with 
 a bang that made the glasses dance. 
 
 "D it !" he exclaimed angrily. "Can't a man 
 
 be left alone in his own house for a few minutes 
 without bothering him with business?" 
 
 This outburst was so utterly unexpected that Mr. 
 Parker, taken entirely by surprise, fell back in his 
 
 255
 
 run MASK 
 
 chair and stared at his host in amazement. Never 
 before had he known his old friend and partner to 
 act in this strange way. Could anything be amiss ? 
 Now he came to think of it, he had noticed a great 
 change in his associate directly he saw him. He 
 had seemed to lack his customary cordiality and 
 frankness. He appeared moody and morose, as if 
 he had on his mind some weighty responsibility he 
 was unwilling to share. Evidently there was noth- 
 ing to be gained by displaying impatience, so, in 
 more conciliatory tones, he asked: 
 
 "That's all right, my boy. If you don't care to 
 talk shop to-night, we won't. I didn't want to hurry 
 you. I was curious, that's all. I have scarcely 
 been able to curb my impatience. You understand 
 what it means to us. Why, the very announcement 
 that we have the diamonds safe here in New York, 
 will be enough to send the company's stock up twen- 
 ty points." Lowering his voice and bending over 
 he added confidentially : "I don't mind telling you 
 that I've been buying for my own account all the 
 cheap stock I could put my hands on. As to the 
 stockholders, they're simply wild with impatience 
 
 256
 
 THH MASK 
 
 to see the big stones. But we won't talk any more 
 about it to-night. We'll wait till to-morrow." 
 
 Handsome, his face almost livid, leaned over the 
 table. Hoarsely, he replied : 
 
 "It's no use waiting till to-morrow. All that's 
 to be told can be told now. I haven't got the dia- 
 monds !" 
 
 For a moment Mr. Parker did not realize what 
 the other man was saying. Thinking he had not 
 heard right he asked: 
 
 "What did you say?" 
 
 "I have not got the diamonds !" 
 
 The president started from his seat. His face 
 pale as death, his hand shaking as stricken with 
 palsy, he almost shouted : 
 
 "You have not got the diamonds! Then where 
 in God's name are they?" 
 
 "At the bottom of the ocean!" 
 
 The senior partner dropped back in his chair, 
 white as death. Then this was the outcome of all 
 his hopes, all his planning. Faintly he gasped: 
 
 "Why didn't you tell me so before?" 
 
 "I had no opportunity. I didn't want to cable 
 257
 
 THE MASK 
 
 such news. It might have caused a slump in the 
 shares. I could not let you know before. This is 
 the first time I've seen you alone." 
 
 The president said no more. The lines about his 
 mouth tightened and the expression of his face un- 
 derwent a change. He uttered not a word, but just 
 sat there, his eyes fixed steadily on his companion, 
 who continued to fill his glass with champagne. 
 Cornelius Winthrop Parker was not a man to be 
 easily deceived. He had too much experience of 
 the world for that. All his life he had been reading 
 men and what he heard now in the tone of his host's 
 voice convinced him that he was lying. That, in 
 itself, was sufficient of a shock. To find Kenneth 
 Traynor the soul of integrity and honor deliber- 
 ately betraying a trust of such importance hurt him 
 almost as much as the loss of the gems. That they 
 had gone down with the Abyssinia he did not for 
 a moment believe. It was more likely that they had 
 been sold possibly to make good Wall Street 
 losses. Talk of big stock deals in which Traynor 
 had been mixed up had reached his ear before to- 
 day, and more recently this gossip had become more 
 
 258
 
 run MASK 
 
 insistent. Kenneth was interested, said rumor, in 
 pool operations involving millions. The recent sud- 
 den slump had found him unprepared. Ruin threat- 
 ened him and to save himself he had succumbed to 
 temptation. This, at least, was the theory which 
 the President's alert brain rapidly evolved as he sat 
 watching the man in front of him. Perhaps all was 
 not yet lost. If the stones had not yet been dis- 
 posed of, an effort might still be made to recover 
 them and at the same time save Traynor and his 
 young wife from the disgrace that such a grave 
 scandal would entail. The first thing necessary was 
 to keep cool, show no concern and disarm sus- 
 picion by pretending to accept the loss as irrepar- 
 able. Then, at the first opportunity, he would take 
 Wilbur Steell into his confidence. That wide awake 
 lawyer would know exactly how to handle the case. 
 Dick Reynolds would have an opportunity to show 
 his talent as a detective. Breaking the long silence 
 he said calmly: 
 
 "Of course, I understand your silence. I think 
 you acted wisely. We had better keep the loss to 
 ourselves as long as we can. No one can attach 
 
 259
 
 THH MASK 
 
 any blame to you. It is a terrible loss, but we must 
 face it like men." 
 
 The gambler looked up quickly, and eyed his 
 guest narrowly. Seeing nothing on the latter's face 
 to arouse his suspicions, he grew more cheerful, 
 Less sullen and defiant, he extended his hand. 
 
 "Thanks, old man!" he exclaimed heartily. "I 
 expected no less from you. I can't tell you how 
 badly I feel about the loss. No doubt my manner 
 has seemed strange since my return. I have been 
 irritable with everybody even my dear wife has 
 noticed it. It was only because I did not know how 
 to make a clear breast of it. Since you take it so 
 sensibly, I'll cheer up. I declare I feel like a new 
 man already." 
 
 Mr. Parker lit another cigar. Calmly, he said: 
 
 "That's right, Kenneth my boy. Keep a stiff up- 
 per lip. All's for the best. We'll have better luck 
 next time." 
 
 As he spoke, Wilbur Steell passed on his way to 
 join the ladies in the drawing-room. The president 
 called out to him : 
 
 "Hello, Steell. What are you so busy about? 
 260
 
 THE MASK 
 
 Entertaining the women, eh? Always thought you 
 were a lady killer. Suppose you come and smoke 
 a cigar with me and let our friend here go and 
 have a chat with his wife. You've no right to 
 monopolize the fair sex in that fashion, even if you 
 are a trust lawyer. Anyhow, I want to talk to you 
 just a little matter of business that's all!" 
 
 Steell laughed, and, dropping into a chair, took 
 the cigar which Mr. Parker held out. Turning to 
 his host, and clapping him genially on the back the 
 president exclaimed : 
 
 "Go and talk to your wife, old man. You've 
 left her alone long enough." 
 
 "All right I will," replied the gambler, not sorry 
 of any excuse to get away. 
 
 Mr. Parker waited till he was out of hearing, 
 then, leaning quickly over to his companion, he ex- 
 claimed in a tense whisper: 
 
 "Steell, I need your help." 
 
 The lawyer looked at him in surprise. Remov- 
 ing his cigar from his mouth he said: 
 
 "My help? By g all means. What can I do for 
 
 you?" 
 
 261
 
 THE MASK 
 
 Mr. Parker gave a quick glance behind him to 
 see if they were observed, and then he said : 
 
 "My God, Steell, something terrible has hap- 
 pened! At any cost, we mustn't let the wife 
 know " 
 
 The lawyer stared at his companion in amaze- 
 ment. 
 
 "What is it, for Heaven's sake?" he demanded, 
 looking anxiously at his vis-a-vis. 
 
 "The diamonds are lost !" replied Parker hoarsely. 
 
 "The diamonds lost!" 
 
 "Yes lost he has returned without them. They 
 went down in the Abyssinia. At least, that's what 
 he says " 
 
 The lawyer started. 
 
 "You think " 
 
 "I think nothing," replied the president cautious- 
 ly. "I want to know. That's why I want you to 
 help me to find out you understand?" 
 
 The lawyer nodded : 
 
 "Some detective work, eh?" 
 
 "Precisely. The stones may have gone down 
 to the bottom of the ocean, or they may not. For 
 
 262
 
 THE MASK 
 
 all we know the ship may have been set on fire pur- 
 posely, in order to create such a panic -" 
 
 The lawyer protested. 
 
 "Surely you don't think Kenneth " 
 
 The president shook his head. 
 
 "I accuse nobody. I want to find out." 
 
 He was silent for a moment, and then after a 
 pause he went on : 
 
 "I suppose you've heard, as well as everybody 
 else, how Traynor has been plunging in Wall Street 
 recently." 
 
 The lawyer nodded. Hesitatingly he replied: 
 
 "Yes I have. Unfortunately, the reports are 
 true. Investigations I have conducted privately on 
 my own account have convinced me that Kenneth 
 has been a big plunger for some time. But as far 
 as I know, he has operated only within his means. 
 I have often remonstrated with him about the folly 
 of it, but he enjoys the excitement of the speculation 
 game, and as long as he kept within bounds and 
 gambled with his own money I didn't see that any- 
 one had any right to interfere." 
 
 "Ah, just so as long as he operated with his 
 263
 
 THE MASK 
 
 own means and with his own money. But suppose 
 the market suddenly goes against such a man, and 
 he is face to face with a tremendous loss, possibly 
 ruin, what does such a man do nine times out of 
 ten?" 
 
 "Blow his brains out." 
 
 "Yes sometimes that, but often he succumbs to 
 temptation, and takes what isn't his " 
 
 "Then you think that Kenneth " 
 
 "I think nothing. I want to know. He has come 
 back from Africa a changed man. He is surly, 
 morose, secretive. That man has something on his 
 conscience. We must find out what it is. It is up 
 to you to ferret it out. Set your detectives to work. 
 The company will spend the last cent in its treasury 
 to find those stones. You must trail his associates, 
 find out where he goes. The diamonds are proba- 
 bly right here in New York. Who first took Ken- 
 neth to Wall Street?" 
 
 "Signer Keralio " 
 
 "Ah always that fellow! Who is he?" 
 
 "An adventurer of the worst type. I have had 
 him shadowed by one of my men. He has a police 
 
 264
 
 THE MASK 
 
 record as a dangerous criminal of international 
 
 reputation." 
 
 "And Kenneth's valet that fellow Frangois." 
 
 "He was formerly in Keralio's employ." 
 
 The President rose. Extending his hand to the 
 
 lawyer, he said : 
 
 "That's enough. I don't think the trail will be 
 
 hard to pick up. Spare no expense. Good night!" 
 
 265
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 THE last guest had gone. One by one the 
 lights in the Traynor residence were ex- 
 tinguished. The servants, tired after an 
 exciting and strenuous day, had gone to their 
 quarters. 
 
 In the hall downstairs, the grandfather's clock 
 rang out its musical chimes and then, in ponderous 
 tones, slowly struck the twelve hours of midnight. 
 
 The master of the house was sitting at the desk 
 in the library, looking over some papers. From 
 time to time he glanced significantly, first at the 
 clock and then at the corner where Helen and Ray 
 were chatting over the events of the day. At last 
 the young girl took the hint. Jumping up, she ex- 
 claimed good naturedly : 
 
 "How selfish I am to be sitting gossiping here 
 when poor Kenneth is so tired. Go to bed, both 
 of you. I'm so sleepy myself I can hardly keep 
 awake. Good night!" 
 
 266
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "Good night, dear!" said Helen, rising and kiss- 
 ing her. 
 
 "Good night, Ken! Pleasant dreams," cried the 
 young girl as she left the room. 
 
 "Good night!" he responded hoarsely. 
 
 The sound of her footsteps died away in the dis- 
 tance and Helen and the gambler sat there in silence. 
 He watched her furtively, trying to guess the trend 
 of her thoughts, his eyes bloodshot with wine, feast- 
 ing on every line of her girlish figure. 
 
 Never had she looked more beautiful, more de- 
 sirable, than this evening. Her decollete gown re- 
 vealed a white, plump neck, her lips were red and 
 tempting, her large dark eyes fairly sparkled from 
 excitement. It was a vision to distract a saint and 
 Handsome was no saint. It was indeed only with 
 the greatest difficulty that he curbed his impatience 
 to carry off the prize that lay within his grasp. 
 
 "Are you tired," he said at last. "Do you 
 want to go to bed?" 
 
 "Not very," she answered. "I'm too excited to 
 sleep. Hasn't it been an exciting day?" 
 
 He made no reply, pretending to be occupied at 
 267
 
 THE MASK 
 
 the desk, and she relapsed into a dream silence, glad 
 of a few quiet, peaceful moments to be alone with 
 her thoughts. How good it was to have him home 
 again ! Now she could be at peace once more and 
 enjoy life as she used to. She could go to the opera, 
 to the theater. The days would not be so monoto- 
 nous. She wondered why she was still unable to 
 shake off the feeling of anxiety and apprehension 
 which had haunted her ever since he went away. 
 With a devoted husband safe at her side, what rea- 
 son had she for feeling depressed? Yet, for some 
 reason she was unable to explain, she was not able 
 even now to throw off her melancholy and presenti- 
 ment of danger. 
 
 There recurred to her mind what Signer Keralio 
 had said, his veiled, ambiguous words of warning. 
 Could it be true, was it possible that her husband 
 had deceived her all these years and unsuspected 
 by her, had led a double life of deceit and disloy- 
 alty ? Certainly there was much that needed expla- 
 nation. The loss of the diamonds did not directly 
 concern her, although she felt that, too, was part 
 of the mystery. But his strange aloofness of man- 
 
 268
 
 THE MASK 
 
 ner, his inexplicable loss of memory and nervous- 
 ness, the frenzied outburst when she had mentioned 
 Keralio's name that afternoon, the sudden craving 
 for drink was not all this to some extent, corrobo- 
 ration of what the fencing master has told her? She 
 thought she would question him, speak to him open- 
 ly, frankly, as a loyal wife should the man she loves, 
 and give him an opportunity to explain. Now was 
 as good a time as ever. Looking up she said 
 abruptly : 
 
 "Signer Keralio was here while you were away. 
 I started telling you this afternoon, but you got so 
 excited " 
 
 Making a deprecatory gesture with his hand he 
 said indifferently: 
 
 "That's all right. I was tired and nervous. I'm 
 quieter now. What did Keralio have to say?" 
 
 "Nothing worth listening to. He never says any- 
 thing but impertinences." 
 
 He shrugged his shoulders. 
 
 "You mustn't take him too seriously." 
 
 Hotly she retorted: 
 
 "He takes himself too seriously. If he only 
 269
 
 THE MASK 
 
 knew how repellent he is to a decent woman he 
 would cease to annoy me." 
 
 He laughed. 
 
 "Oh, Keralio's not a bad sort when you get to 
 know him. Those foreigners think nothing of mak- 
 ing love to a woman " 
 
 "I don't want to know him/' she retorted with 
 spirit, "and what's more, I don't want him coming 
 here. One evening he was so insulting that I had 
 to show him the door. He had the impudence to 
 come again. So I had my servant put him out. 
 You won't invite him here again, will you?" 
 
 He was silent, while she sat watching him, 
 amazed that he did not at once fiercely resent the 
 insult done her in his absence. After a pause, he 
 said awkwardly : 
 
 "I don't invite him. Keralio's the kind of a chap 
 who invites himself." 
 
 "But can't you put him out?" she demanded with 
 growing irritation. 
 
 "No I can't," he answered doggedly. 
 
 "Why?" she demanded firmly. 
 
 "I can't that's all!" 
 
 270
 
 THE MASK 
 
 She looked at him wonderingly, and the color 
 came and went in her face and neck. There was 
 a note almost of contempt in her voice as she de- 
 manded : 
 
 "What is the hold this creature has on you? Is 
 it something you are ashamed of ?" 
 
 The blood surged to his face and the veins stood 
 out on his temples like whipcord. Another instant 
 and it had receded, leaving him ghastly pale. 
 
 "We have business interests in common, that's 
 all," he said hastily and apologetically. "He has 
 been very useful to me. I don't like him any more 
 than you do, but in business one can't criticize too 
 closely the manners or morals of one's associates." 
 
 "No, but a man can prevent his associates from 
 annoying his wife." 
 
 He made no answer, but toyed nervously with a 
 paper cutter. Determined to .get at the truth, she 
 went on: 
 
 "What business interests can you have together ? 
 Is it legitimate business or merely stock gam- 
 bling?" 
 
 "What do you mean?" 
 271
 
 THE MASK 
 
 Rising from the divan, she went toward him. 
 Earnestly, she said: 
 
 "Kenneth, I've wanted to speak to you about this 
 matter for a long time. During your absence I've 
 heard rumors. Things have been insinuated. A 
 hint has been dropped here, gossip has been over- 
 heard there all to the effect that you are heavily 
 involved in Wall Street. Is it true?" 
 
 For a moment he was silent, at a loss what to 
 answer. He could not imagine the reason for the 
 questioning or where it might lead him, but instinct 
 warned him that it was dangerous ground and that 
 caution was necessary. Why hadn't Francois told 
 him of his brother's Wall Street operations? It 
 would never do to show himself entirely ignorant 
 of them. If such rumors existed, there was proba- 
 bly some basis of them. No doubt his brother had 
 played the market and kept from his wife the ex- 
 tent of his losses. 
 
 "Is it true?" she repeated. 
 
 He shrugged his shoulders. Nonchalantly, he 
 replied : 
 
 "Never believe all you hear !" 
 272
 
 THE MASK 
 
 Her face lit up with pleasure. 
 
 "Really?" she exclaimed. "It isn't true?" 
 
 "Not a word of it. I have money invested in 
 stocks and bonds, but anyone who accuses me of 
 wild cat speculation is guilty of telling what I would 
 very politely call a d d lie!" 
 
 Reassured more by his ease and carelessness of 
 manner than by his actual words of denial, the 
 young wife gave an exclamation of delight. 
 
 "Oh, I'm so glad!" she exclaimed. "You've no 
 idea how relieved I feel. It was worrying me ter- 
 ribly to feel that you might be in difficulties and had 
 not thought enough of me to take me into your con- 
 fidence." Looking at him appealingly she added: 
 "You will always confide in me, won't you Ken?" 
 
 "Sure I will, sweetheart " 
 
 Trembling with the ardor he was trying to con- 
 trol he seized hold of her hand and drew her on 
 to his knee. She offered no resistance, but passively 
 sat there, clasped against his broad shoulder, her 
 face radiant with happiness at the load which his 
 words had taken off her mind. 
 
 Putting his arm round her waist, he leaned for- 
 
 273
 
 THE MASK 
 
 ward as if to kiss her, but drawing quickly back 
 she said : 
 
 "There's still something else I must ask you be- 
 fore my happiness is quite complete." 
 
 "What's that?" he demanded, impatient at these 
 continual interruptions to his amorous advances. 
 
 Turning she looked steadily into his face, as if 
 trying to read the truth or falsity of his answer. 
 She could not see his eyes, veiled as they were by 
 the glasses, but that sensitive mouth she knew so 
 well, that determined chin, that high forehead 
 crowned by the bushy brown hair with its solitary 
 white lock all these were as dear to her as they 
 had always been. To think that he might have 
 fondled some other woman as he was now fondling 
 her was intolerable agony. 
 
 "Kenneth," she said slowly and impressively, 
 "are you sure that there is no part of your life that 
 you have kept hidden from me?" 
 
 He started and for a moment changed color. 
 What did she mean? Was it possible that she sus- 
 pected the substitution, or was she alluding to some 
 past history of his brother's life, of which he knew 
 nothing? Evasively, he answered: 
 
 274
 
 THH MASK 
 
 'Why all these question, sweetheart, the first day 
 I come home. Is this the kind of welcome you 
 promised me, the one I had a right to expect. I 
 am very tired. Let us go to bed." 
 
 His arm still around her, he again drew her 
 to him and, stooping, tried to reach her mouth 
 with his own. But again she resisted, her 
 mind too disturbed by jealousy to be in a 
 mood to respond to his wooing. Gently she 
 said: 
 
 "I know you are tired, Ken. I am tired, too, 
 tired of all these rumors and slanderous insinua- 
 tions. I have been made unhappy by hearing this 
 gossip. It is my right to tell you what I have heard 
 and ask for a straightforward, loyal explanation. 
 I know you are true to me. I have never doubted 
 it for an instant. I only want a word from you to 
 forget what I've heard and dismiss the matter from 
 my mind forever." 
 
 He looked at her, an amused kind of expression 
 playing about the corners of his mouth. It was only 
 with an effort that he controlled the muscles of his 
 face. What a comedy, he thought to himself! 
 Here was this sweet little woman breaking her heart 
 
 275
 
 THE MASK 
 
 over something which, as far as he knew, didn't 
 exist. But he must continue to play his part, no 
 matter at what cost. Evidently, she had heard 
 something for which there might be some basis of 
 truth. She might even have proofs of his brother's 
 infidelity, and ready to produce them. Too sweep- 
 ing a denial might still further complicate matters, 
 arouse suspicion, and end in exposure. Cautiously, 
 he replied: 
 
 "You know all there is in my life, sweetheart. I 
 :never conceal anything from you." 
 
 Looking searchingly at him, she demanded : 
 
 "Never?" 
 
 "Never." 
 
 "Has there been another woman in your life, 
 Kenneth, since you married me?" 
 
 "No, sweetheart never. If anyone told you that 
 or even insinuated it, he was a scoundrel. It's a 
 damned lie! You are and always will be the only 
 one 
 
 Her head fell back on his shoulder. 
 
 "Then I am completely happy!" she murmured. 
 
 His arms folded about her and she felt his warm 
 276
 
 THE MASK 
 
 breath on her cheek. But this time she did not re- 
 sist. It felt good to be sheltered there in those 
 strong arms against the attacks and calumnies of 
 the world. 
 
 "It is late," he murmured. 
 
 Suddenly, he threw her head back and bending 
 down till his mouth reached hers he kissed her full 
 on the lips. She did not resist, but just abandoned 
 herself, responding only feebly to the fierce passion 
 that made him tremble like a leaf. His face flushed, 
 his hands shaking, he murmured : 
 
 "It is very late. Are you not tired ?" 
 
 "No dear I'm not tired. There's no hurry. We 
 needn't get up early to-morrow. It's so beautiful 
 here sitting together like this so happy in each 
 other's company." 
 
 "But I am tired," he said, trying to control his 
 emotion. 
 
 It was almost more than he could endure, yet 
 still he mastered himself, and resisted the tempta- 
 tion that arose violently within him to take her by 
 force, if needs be, and carry her into the inner room, 
 as the wild beast, tiring of playing with its victim, 
 
 277
 
 THE MASK 
 
 suddenly ends the game by seizing its hapkss prey 
 and drags it away to its lair. Was he not the mas- 
 ter? Why should he allow her childish prattle to 
 stand in the way of his desires. For years, Hand- 
 some had not known female society save that of 
 those wretched outcasts who infest the mining 
 camps. He had caroused with them and quarreled 
 with them. He had even loved one of them after 
 the rough and ready fashion of the veldt. She was 
 a Spaniard, a tall handsome woman, with large 
 black eyes and the temper of a fury. She had killed 
 her husband in a drunken brawl, and on leaving 
 prison had gone to South Africa. She met the 
 gambler one night in a gambling house, and, with- 
 out as much as asking for an introduction, she went 
 up to him and, in a characteristic Spanish style, 
 gave him a hearty kiss on both cheeks. It was her 
 way of notifying her female associates that, hence- 
 forth> the big miner was her man. Handsome ac- 
 cepted the challenge, and for a couple of years they 
 lived as happily together as can two adventurers 
 who are in constant hot water with the police. One 
 <iay, in a fit of drunken jealousy, she struck him. 
 
 278
 
 Furious with rage, he seized her by the neck. He 
 did not mean to harm her ; it was his giant strength 
 that was to blame. Anyhow her neck was broken 
 and the coroner called it an accident. For a week 
 or so, Handsome was really sorry. She was the 
 only woman he had ever cared for. She at least 
 was a woman. 
 
 But this slip of a girl, with her childish prattle 
 and aristocratic airs, was quite different. Accus- 
 tomed to the rougher ways of the camp, her fine 
 manners and refined graces at first had rather in- 
 timidated him. He did not feel at home with her. 
 He felt awkward and ill at ease. Yet, for all that, 
 she was a woman, too a woman of his own race, 
 desirable, tempting. When Frangois had first sug- 
 gested that he impersonate his brother and enjoy 
 his fortune, he had said nothing about his brother's 
 wife. Perhaps he reserved her for his master, Ker- 
 alio. At the thought, a pang of jealousy went 
 through him. If Keralio, why not he? Evidently 
 Keralio had been stalking the game, for she com- 
 plained of his conduct and had dismissed him from 
 the house. Yet, in what position was he to frustrate 
 
 279
 
 THE MASK 
 
 Keralio in any of his schemes? He had him in 
 his power; he was completely at his mercy. He 
 allowed him to masquerade in New York as the 
 millionaire, but he was the real master of the Tray- 
 nor home. Even now, Frangois might be spying 
 on their actions, eager to report to the arch con- 
 spirator. Rising from the chair, he lifted her to 
 her feet. 
 
 "Come, darling it is late " 
 
 He led her slowly, almost imperceptibly, in the 
 direction of the inner room. A feeling of languor 
 came over her, and she allowed him to lead her, 
 abandoning herself to his ardent, feverish embrace, 
 responding every now and then to the hot kisses he 
 rained on her mouth and neck. Through her thin 
 dress he could feel her soft form pressing against 
 him. From her neck arose a delicious aroma, a kind 
 of feminine incense that still further aroused and 
 lashed his desire. 
 
 "I adore you I adore you !" he murmured, as he 
 kissed her again. Slowly he led her past the book- 
 case and marble Venus to the open door of her 
 pink and white boudoir. 
 
 280
 
 "I ADORE YOU 1 ADORE YOU", HE MURMURED AS HE KISSED HER AGAIN. 
 
 p. 280.
 
 THE MASK 
 
 She looked up at him in surprise. 
 
 "How you love me!" she murmured. "You 
 never used to care for me like this." 
 
 Her head on his shoulder, her eyes half closed, 
 she was conscious only of the presence of the man 
 she loved better than anyone in the world. 
 
 Yet even now, in the hour of her supreme con- 
 tent and felicity, when all her tormenting anxie- 
 ties and doubts had been dissipated by his frank 
 words of denial, there was still something that wor- 
 ried her. He was changed somehow, even in his 
 love making. It was delicious to be loved passion- 
 ately, fiercely, like this to be carried off by force, 
 as it were, by your own husband. But she did not 
 understand how a man could change so much in 
 a few weeks. Kenneth had always loved her deep- 
 ly, but never had she known him display such ardor 
 as this. She had heard that men change, particu- 
 larly after long absences from home. Some, she 
 had heard, became colder ; others were more demon- 
 strative. Of the two, she thought the latter pre- 
 ferable. If there was such love in the world, why 
 should it not be shown her. Her own temperament 
 
 281
 
 was cold, but no woman could but feel flattered 
 that she possessed the power to arouse men to such 
 passion. 
 
 At last they had reached the threshold of the 
 boudoir. What to him was an earthly paradise, 
 was almost attained. In a state of blissful helpless- 
 ness, intoxicated by a delicious sensation of being 
 completely dominated by a will stronger than her 
 own, she permitted him to take her where he 
 wished. Her eyes closed, her head on his shoulder, 
 she submitted willingly to his fervent kisses. An- 
 other moment and he had closed the door behind 
 them, when, suddenly, a commotion on the landing 
 outside the library aroused both with a start. There 
 was the sound of voices and people running up the 
 stairs. 
 
 "What's that?" exclaimed Helen startled. 
 
 Irritated at this unlocked for interruption, the 
 gambler went quickly toward the landing to inves- 
 tigate. Francois met him at the library door. In 
 his hand he held an envelope. Holding it out, he 
 said: 
 
 "A telegram for Madame!" 
 282
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "A telegram!" cried Helen, rushing forward. 
 "Good God, I hope Dorothy is not " 
 
 She tore it open, while Handsome stood by in 
 silence. On the valet's face there was a triumphant 
 expression, the gratified smile of one rogue who en- 
 joys the discomfiture of another. 
 
 Helen suddenly gave a cry. 
 
 "It's as I thought !" she exclaimed. "Dorothy is 
 worse. The doctor thinks it is scarlet fever. I must 
 go to her at once." 
 
 "Go where?" demanded Handsome in consterna- 
 tion. 
 
 "To Philadelphia." 
 
 "To Philadelphia to-night?" he cried in dismay. 
 
 "Yes to-night," she said firmly. 
 
 He protested vigorously. 
 
 "Nonsense you can't go to-night. It will do no 
 good. Wait till the morning. There are no trains." 
 
 Quickly, the valet drew from his pocket a time- 
 table. With a side glance at his master, he said : 
 
 "There is a train at 1.15. If Madame is quick, 
 she will make it. The car is already waiting down- 
 stairs." 
 
 283
 
 THE MASK 
 
 Helen seized her fur coat, which the obliging 
 valet had also brought up from the hall. 
 
 "Yes yes. Throw a few things in my bag. You 
 needn't come, Ken. I'll telephone you directly I 
 get to Philadelphia. Good-bye!" 
 
 The next instant she was gone and the gambler, 
 with a muttered curse, went to the sideboard and 
 poured out a glass of whiskey, with which to drown 
 his disappointment. 
 
 284
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 FOR a person so fastidious and particular, so 
 fond of the luxurious and the elegant, 
 Signer Keralio had certainly selected a 
 queer neighborhood for his abode. Miles dis- 
 tant from the fashionable centers, far away up 
 in the Bronx, he occupied the entire top floor of 
 a dingy, broken down tenement. There were no 
 other people in the house, it being in such bad 
 repair that no one cared to live in it, and as 
 Keralio paid as much as all the previous tenants 
 combined and made no requests for improvements, 
 the landlord was only too glad to leave him undis- 
 turbed. It was situated at the extreme end of a 
 blind alley and, there being no egress from the street 
 save at one end, there was consequently little or no 
 traffic and, for the great part of the day and night, 
 the silence was as deep and unbroken as in the open 
 country. 
 
 With his neighbors Signer Keralio was distantly 
 285
 
 THE MASK 
 
 polite, but never intimate. The district was a poor 
 one, being settled mostly by Italian laborers who 
 rose and went to bed with the sun and toiled too 
 long and too hard each day to bother their heads as 
 to why such a fine gentleman as the Signer ap- 
 peared to be, should live in such squalid quarters. 
 No one had ever been admitted to his flat. If the 
 baker called, he left the bread on the mat; if a 
 chance peddler or book agent happened to wander 
 in, he had to talk through closed doors. The Signer 
 was always busy and could not be disturbed. The 
 lights often burned all night long, and sometimes 
 people drove up in a taxi and went away again. 
 For a while the corner gossips speculated idly as 
 to who he might be, but gradually they lost all in- 
 terest. When he purchased trifles at the corner 
 grocery he gave out casually that he was a news- 
 paper man and had to work all night, and the fact 
 that muffled sounds of hammering and machinery 
 in motion had been heard at all hours, only helped 
 to make the explanation more plausible. 
 
 To-night, Keralio was perhaps more anxious than 
 at any time to discourage callers especially should 
 
 286
 
 THE MASK 
 
 they happen to be inquisitive secret service agents. 
 Another few days and he would have nothing more 
 to fear. The presses would soon have completed 
 their work and $500,000 worth of as fine a $10 
 counterfeit as ever deceived a bank teller would 
 be ready for distribution. Half of them had al- 
 ready been run off and, as he held them up to the 
 light and critically examined the silken thread that 
 ran here and there through the specially prepared 
 paper and noted the careful coloring, the beautifully 
 geometrical lathe work and skilfully traced signa- 
 tures, he silently congratulated himself. Here was 
 half a million dollars' worth of splendid cur- 
 rency. Detection was absolutely impossible. 
 Had not Francois already succeeded in passing a 
 lot? After all had been disposed of, he could af- 
 ford to take a rest. On the proceeds of this rich 
 haul, he could live like a prince for a few years in 
 Europe, and when that was all gone, he still had 
 the diamonds to fall back upon. Glancing at the 
 clock, he wondered why Handsome did not come. 
 He was anxious to get possession of the diamonds. 
 It was too soon to attempt doing anything with 
 
 287
 
 THE MASK 
 
 the stones now. The hue and cry would be too 
 loud. All the diamond markets would be watched, 
 if they were not already. He had a suspicion that 
 Parker and Steell suspected something wrong. 
 Frangois had seen the President in earnest consul- 
 tation with the lawyer directly after Handsome had 
 announced the loss. He had not been able to hear 
 what was said, but from their manner he inferred 
 that the diamonds were the sole subject of conver- 
 sation. They did not question Handsome's iden- 
 tity. That never entered their heads, but they 
 doubted his story of losing the stones. They, no 
 doubt, thought he had used the diamonds to make 
 good Wall Street losses. 
 
 He chuckled as he thought how admirably his 
 scheme had worked out. He had hinted at Kenneth 
 being heavily short in this street, which at once 
 explained a motive for Kenneth diverting the stones 
 to his own use. Yes, he had triumphed over them 
 all except one. Helen Traynor, so far, had foiled 
 him in everything, and the more she resisted and 
 insulted him, the more determined he was to drag 
 her at his feet. Handsome, poor devil, fondly im- 
 
 288
 
 THE MASK 
 
 agined he would inherit the wife as well as the for- 
 tune. How could he guess that he, Keralio, would 
 send a bogus telegram just in time to dash the cup 
 from his lips. 
 
 Impatiently he strode up and down the rooms. 
 Why was Handsome late? A frown darkened his 
 face. He had better not trifle with him. He must 
 obey without question or take the consequences. 
 He was in no mood to be defied. 
 
 Suddenly, he started and listened. His alert ear 
 had caught the sound,, of approaching footsteps on 
 the stairs outside. A moment later came three de- 
 liberate knocks on the door, a signal which indi- 
 cated a friendly visitor. Quickly, Keralio went 
 forward and withdrew the bolt. 
 
 Francois entered, suit case in hand. Hardly be- 
 fore he could take breath after the long climb, Ker- 
 alio exclaimed: 
 
 "Well, how are they going?" 
 
 V. 
 
 The Frenchman grinned. 
 
 "A merveille! Like hot cakes. I've passed all 
 of zem. Good work, is it not?" 
 
 "And the real stuff?" demanded Keralio. 
 289
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "Is in here." 
 
 The valet pointed to the leather case. 
 
 Eagerly Keralio seized the portmanteau, and, 
 opening it, emptied the contents. A perfect shower 
 of greenbacks genuine ones this time fell upon 
 the floor. With shaking hands, like a miser who 
 trembles as he handles his hoarded gold, Keralio 
 picked up the money by armfuls and, taking it to a 
 table, proceeded to count it. 
 
 "Is it all here?" he demanded suspiciously. 
 
 The valet scowled. 
 
 "Do you think I'm holding any back on you? 
 'Ma foi, non!" 
 
 Keralio, still counting, fixed his assistant with 
 steely, piercing eyes. 
 
 "No, Francois, I think you know me too well 
 for that. You know I never forget a service ; you 
 also know I never forgive anyone who crosses my 
 will." 
 
 The valet shrugged his shoulders. In an injured 
 tone he asked: 
 
 "What's all ze talk about? I work well for you. 
 I do your dirty work, riest ce pas? I never com- 
 
 290
 
 THB MASK 
 
 plain I am faithful. What more would you 
 have?" 
 
 "Why should you complain? You get your 
 share," rejoined his chief sternly. 
 
 The valet was silent and Keralio went on : 
 
 "A few days more and we'll be rid of all the new 
 stuff. Then we'll take down the presses and carry 
 away the parts, piece by piece. When we're ready 
 to leave this hole, there won't be a shred of evidence 
 left. Have you heard any news from our man in 
 Washington? What are the secret service men 
 doing?" 
 
 "Ze alarm is given. Zey have spotted several 
 of ze bills. Half a dozen of ze cleverest sleuths in 
 ze country have been put on our trail. Zey will not 
 succeed. Ze scent is cold. We've got zem com- 
 pletely doped." 
 
 Keralio looked anxious. 
 
 "Is there any danger of them having shadowed 
 you and followed you here?" 
 
 "No mon cher, pas le moins du monde. It took 
 me three hours to come here from ze Pennsylvania 
 station such a crazy in and out route I gave ze 
 
 291
 
 THE MASK 
 
 chauffeur. If they succeed in following such a 
 labyrinth as that, they deserve to get us." 
 
 Keralio smiled and pointed to a bottle of brandy 
 on the table. Approvingly, he said : 
 
 "Good boy! There, take a drink and a 
 cigar " 
 
 After the valet had refreshed himself, he again 
 confronted his chief. 
 
 "What else a votre service?" 
 
 Keralio pointed carelessly to a seat. In a com- 
 manding tone, he said: 
 
 "Yes I have more work for you. Sit down. 
 I will tell you." 
 
 The valet took a chair and waited. Keralio 
 looked at him meditatively for a moment. Then 
 suddenly he asked: 
 
 "When did you leave the house?" 
 
 "This afternoon at three o'clock." 
 
 "When did Mrs. Traynor return from Phila- 
 delphia?" 
 
 "Yesterday furious at the hoax played upon 
 her? Miss Dorothy is perfectly well " 
 
 Keralio smiled. 
 
 292
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "Of course. I sent that telegram." 
 
 The valet grinned. Admiringly, he exclaimed: 
 
 "You are admirable! Quel homme, mon dieu f 
 quel homme!" 
 
 Paying no heed to the compliment, Keralio went 
 on: 
 
 "What did Handsome say?" 
 
 "He is puzzled himself and can't understand. 
 Everyone's up in the air. They think it is a dis- 
 charged maid who did it for spite." 
 
 "The next time Mrs. Traynor receives a sudden 
 message about her baby it will not be a hoax." 
 
 The valet looked up in surprise. 
 
 "What do you mean?" 
 
 Keralio did not answer the question immediately, 
 but sat nervously twisting his fingers, a moody sul- 
 len look in his pale saturnine face. At last, break- 
 ing the heavy silence, he said : 
 
 "That woman insulted me. You saw it. You 
 were there " 
 
 The valet nodded. 
 
 "You mean she put you out ah, oui, she has a 
 'diable of a temper when angry." 
 
 293
 
 THE MASK 
 
 Keralio nodded. 
 
 "Yes that I can never forgive. She shall aslc 
 my pardon on her knees. I will break her spirit, 
 humiliate her pride. I have been taxing my brain 
 how to do it. At last I have hit on a plan one 
 that cannot fail and you shall help me." 
 
 "In what way s'il vous plait?" 
 
 Bending forward, his black eyes flashing, Ker- 
 alio said earnestly: 
 
 "That woman is devoted to only two beings in 
 this world her husband and her baby. Sooner or 
 later, perhaps only in a few days, she will discover 
 that Handsome is an impostor. He is such a fool 
 that exposure is inevitable. The blow will almost 
 kill her. Above all, it will humiliate her pride to 
 know that unwittingly she has allowed that drunken 
 brute, that poor counterfeit of her husband, to 
 caress and fondle her. Next in her affections comes 
 her baby. If any danger threatened the child, she 
 would stop at nothing, she would make any sacrifice 
 to ward off the danger. I propose to bring about 
 just that situation " 
 
 The valet half started up from his chair. Har- 
 294
 
 THE MASK 
 
 dened and callous as he was in crime, he was hardly 
 prepared to go to that extreme. 
 
 "Death?" he exclaimed, horror stricken, "you 
 would kill ze child?" 
 
 "No fool not kill the child. I'll kidnap it 
 that's all. We'll bring the child here and, then I'll 
 write the mother, telling her where it is and to come 
 to it, but warning her that if she values the child's 
 life, she must tell no one, and must come here un- 
 accompanied. Once she is here, I will take care 
 of the rest. Do you understand?" 
 
 The valet breathed more freely. 
 
 "So you will that I " 
 
 His chief nodded. 
 
 "Precisely. You'll take the flyer to Philadelphia. 
 Say you come from the mother. They'll have no 
 suspicion. Take the child and come here at once. 
 Understand?" 
 
 "Oui, monsieur." 
 
 Keralio rose. In commanding tones, he said: 
 
 "Then go at once." 
 
 The valet went to get his hat. As he approached 
 the door Keralio halted him and said: 
 
 295
 
 run MASK 
 
 "What's Handsome doing keeping sober?" 
 
 "He has to, for I lock up all ze liquor. He lives 
 like a lord, buying swell clothes, riding in ze auto- 
 mobile. Last night he lost at ze club $10,000 he 
 had drew from ze bank." 
 
 Keralio gave a low whistle. 
 
 "The deuce he did! Living high, eh? Well 
 that's all right. Let him enjoy it. His gay life 
 won't last long only just as long as it suits my 
 purpose." 
 
 "Hush! Not a word here he is!" 
 
 From the landing outside came the sound of a 
 heavy body lurching. Then came the noise of 
 someone groping for the handle, followed by a 
 furious pounding on the wooden panels. 
 
 "Open up there, will you!" shouted a hoarse 
 voice. 
 
 "Drunk, as usual!" said Keralio contemptuously. 
 
 He suddenly threw the door open and the gam- 
 bler, burly and unsteady on his legs, almost fell in. 
 He was in evening dress, his collar and tie rumpled, 
 his hair unkempt. His face was flushed, his eyes 
 bloodshot. Reeling in, he hiccoughed : 
 
 296
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "What'n h 11 do you live so far up town for? 
 I thought I'd never get here. Say, this is the end 
 of the world, ain't it? Jumping off place, eh? 
 Stopped several times on the way to get a drink. 
 My cabby nearly got lost. Been driving me round 
 for three hours trying to locate the blooming house. 
 Charged me $5. Hell of a good business, ain't it. 
 Tain't on the level to treat an old pal that way. 
 Y'oughter be ashamed o'yourself." 
 
 "I'm more ashamed of you for making such a 
 beast of yourself," rejoined Keralio angrily. "Stop 
 your cursed noise or you'll have the police on top 
 of us!" 
 
 Without ceremony, he pushed the newcomer into 
 a seat and made a gesture to Francois to go. The 
 valet went toward the door. 
 
 "Remember," said Keralio warningly. "There 
 must be no blundering. I want the child brought 
 here " 
 
 "Oui, monsieur it shall be as you say." 
 
 The door closed and Keralio turned quietly to the 
 miner. Sternly, and in a manner that brooked no 
 nonsense, he demanded: 
 
 297
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "Did you bring the diamonds?" 
 
 Handsome grinned, and pointed to his waist. 
 
 "I've got 'em all right !" With another hiccough, 
 he added : "But there's no hurry, old sport. Let's 
 have a drink before we get talking business." 
 
 In two rapid strides Keralio was up to him. 
 Fiercely he said : 
 
 "Give me the stones give me them I say. We've 
 
 no time for your d d fooling. Hand them 
 
 over. Come " 
 
 For a moment the gambler just sat and looked 
 at his master. A giant in physical strength com- 
 pared with the slightly built foreigner, he could 
 have overpowered him as a child might crush an 
 egg-shell, but he lacked the mentality, the magne- 
 tism of the Italian. He was cowed, dominated by 
 the stronger mind. Grumbling, he began to fumble 
 at his waist: 
 
 "I don't see what's the hurry." 
 
 "But I see," exclaimed Keralio, his eyes growing 
 larger, as he already saw the colossal stones glit- 
 tering in his hand. 
 
 'the next instant Handsome had slid his hand 
 298
 
 THE MASK 
 
 under his waistcoat and unbuckled a belt he wore 
 next his shirt. Unfastening a pocket and taking 
 out the contents, he growled: 
 
 "Here they are! I'm glad to get rid of the 
 d d things." 
 
 With a cry of exultant joy Keralio took hold 
 of the stones and, going to the window, greedily 
 feasted his eyes on them. Report had not exag- 
 gerated the value and extraordinary beauty of the 
 gems. They were worth more than a million. 
 
 "What do I get out of it?" whined the gambler. 
 
 Keralio regarded him with contempt. Dryly he 
 said: 
 
 "You get out of it that you're not sitting in the 
 electric chair for murdering your twin brother. 
 You get out of it that you're playing the role of the 
 millionaire, basking in the smiles of your brother's 
 charming wife, and making a drunken beast of 
 yourself that's what you get out of it. Isn't it 
 enough?" 
 
 Handsome winced. Keralio had a direct way of 
 saying things to which there was no answer possi- 
 ble. 
 
 299
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "All right," he grumbled, "I'm not kicking." 
 
 "No I wouldn't if I were you." 
 
 Changing the topic, Keralio carelessly lit a cigar- 
 ette and, between the puffs, asked : 
 
 "How's your wife?" 
 
 "My wife? You mean his wife?" 
 
 Keralio smiled. 
 
 "Yours for the time being." 
 
 Handsome scowled. 
 
 "It isn't so easy as I thought," he replied. "I 
 don't know if she suspects something's wrong or 
 not, but ever since that evening she was called to 
 Philadelphia she avoids me like the pest. I can see 
 in her face that she's puzzled. 'It's my husband, 
 and yet not my husband' that's what she's think- 
 ing all the time. I can guess her thoughts by the 
 expression on her face." 
 
 Keralio shrugged his shoulders. 
 
 "That's your own fault. I gave you the oppor- 
 tunity. You failed to profit by it. You got drunk 
 the first night you arrived. Kenneth Traynor was 
 a temperate man. Is it no wonder you excited won- 
 der and talk? Then you were stupid under ques- 
 
 300
 
 THE MASK 
 
 tioning and gave equivocal answers. Your explan- 
 ation to Parker about the diamonds was more than 
 unfortunate; it was idiotic. His suspicions were 
 at once aroused. He may yet give us trouble before 
 we have time to get rid of the stones. Finding the 
 wife eluded you, you began to stay out late at night. 
 You caroused, you drank hard, you gambled all 
 of which follies your brother never committed. In 
 other words, you are a fool." 
 
 The miner pointed to the diamonds which still 
 lay on the table. Sulkily he asked : 
 
 "Is that all you wanted?" 
 
 Keralio put the gems away in his pocket, and 
 pointed to the stacks of newly printed counterfeit 
 money that lay in stacks all over the floor. 
 
 "No, you can help me make up bundles of this 
 stuff." 
 
 Handsome opened wide his eyes at sight of the 
 crisp currency. Greedily he exclaimed: 
 
 "Say that's some money ! Ain't they beauties ?" 
 
 Keralio made an impatient gesture and, taking off 
 his coat, made a gesture to his companion to do 
 likewise. 
 
 301
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "Come there's no time to talk. We must 
 get rid of it all before morning. For all I 
 know the detectives may be watching the house 
 now." 
 
 302
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 I'M sure it was Mary," exclaimed Ray posi- 
 tively. "I never did like the girl. She was 
 sullen and vicious and would stop at nothing 
 to get even with us for discharging her." 
 
 "Perhaps you are right," said Helen, "although 
 it is hard to believe that a woman would do such 
 a cruel thing to a mother. Just imagine how wor- 
 ried I was all the way to Philadelphia, only to find 
 when I got there that no message had been sent, 
 and Dorothy was perfectly well." 
 
 It was evening. The two women were sitting 
 alone in the library on the second floor, Ray busy 
 at her trousseau, Helen helping her with a piece 
 of embroidery. The master of the house was ab- 
 sent, as usual. He had not come home to dinner, 
 having telephoned at the last minute that he was 
 detained at the club, a thing of such common occur- 
 rence since his return from South Africa that Helen 
 had come to accept it as a matter of course. In- 
 
 303
 
 THE MASK 
 
 deed, things had come to such a pass that she rather 
 welcomed his absence. She preferred the sweet, 
 amiable companionship of her little sister to that 
 of a man who had suddenly become exacting, over- 
 bearing and quarrelsome. 
 
 "Why don't you let Dorothy come home?" asked 
 Ray. "Then you wouldn't have this constant worry 
 about her." 
 
 "I think I will, now that we are more settled 
 and things are quieter. I wrote to auntie to-day 
 that I might go to Philadelphia one day next week 
 to bring her home. You are right. I shall not be 
 happy until she's with me. I have such terrible 
 dreams about her. If anything were to happen that 
 child, I think it would kill me." 
 
 Ray nodded approvingly. Sympathetically, she 
 said: 
 
 "Yes, dear. You'll feel better satisfied when she's 
 with you. Besides she'll be a companion for you 
 especially when I'm married " 
 
 Helen sighed and turned away her face so her 
 sister should not see the tears that suddenly filled 
 her eyes. Sorrowfully, she said : 
 
 304
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "It will be terrible to lose you, dear. Of course, 
 I'm happy over your marriage. It would be very 
 selfish in me to want to stand in the way of your 
 happiness. I'm sure I wish you and Wilbur every 
 joy imaginable. But I shall certainly feel very 
 lonely when you are gone." 
 
 The young girl looked closely at her sister. She 
 realized that her sister was no longer the happy, 
 contented woman she once was, and she readily 
 guessed the cause. Helen had not taken her into 
 her confidence, but she had ears and eyes. Living 
 in the house in such close intimacy, she could not 
 help noticing that the relations between the wife 
 and husband were no longer what they had been. 
 Guardedly she said: 
 
 "But you have Kenneth." 
 
 Helen sighed and was silent. 
 
 Ray looked up. More gently she said : 
 
 "Haven't you your husband, dear?" 
 
 Her sister shook her head. There was a note 
 of utter discouragement and melancholy in her voice 
 as she answered: 
 
 "He is seldom home his club seems to have 
 305
 
 THE MASK 
 
 more attraction for him. I rarely see him except 
 at breakfast time." She was silent for a moment, 
 and then added quickly: "Would you believe that 
 he hasn't been home a single night since the time 
 I was called to Philadelphia?" 
 
 Ray opened her eyes. 
 
 "He's out all night?" 
 
 "Yes all night. The other morning it was seven 
 o'clock when he came home and his dress suit and 
 shirt looked as if he had been in a fight." 
 
 The young girl put down her work and looked 
 at her sister in dismay. 
 
 "Sis! what's the matter with Ken all at once?" 
 
 Helen made no reply, but covering her face with 
 her two hands, burst into tears. Ray rose quickly 
 and going over to where she was sitting, sat on the 
 edge of the chair and put her arms about her. 
 Soothingly she said : 
 
 "Don't cry, dear, don't cry. He will soon be him- 
 self again. His terrible experience on the steamer 
 upset him dreadfully. His nervous system under- 
 went such a shock that it has entirely changed his 
 character. Wilbur says it is quite a common phe- 
 
 306
 
 THE MASK 
 
 nomenon. Only the other day he read in some 
 medical book an article on that very subject. The 
 writer says any great shock of that kind can cause 
 a temporary disarrangement of the moral sense and 
 perceptions. For example, a man who, under or- 
 dinary circumstances is a perfect model of a hus- 
 band, with every good quality and virtue, may sud- 
 denly lose all sense of conduct and become an 
 unprincipled roue. In other words, we have two 
 natures within us. When our system is working 
 normally we succeed in keeping the evil that's in 
 us under control; but following any great shock, 
 the system is disarranged, the evil gains the as- 
 cendancy, and we appear quite another person. This 
 explains the dual personality about which Wilbur 
 and I had an argument the other day. Don't you 
 remember ?" 
 
 Helen nodded. Sadly she said: 
 
 "I begin to think you are right. Certainly he 
 has changed. If he had been like this when I first 
 met him I should never have married him. It is 
 not the Kenneth I learned to love." Bitterly, she 
 added: "As he is now, I feel I dislike and detest 
 
 307
 
 THB MASK 
 
 him. Unless he soon changes for the better, I shall 
 leave him. In self respect I can't go on living like 
 this?" 
 
 Kissing her sister again, Ray rose and went back 
 to her seat. Confidently, she said : 
 
 "Don't worry, dear. I'm sure everything will 
 be all right soon. You see if I'm not right. By 
 my wedding day only three weeks away now- 
 you'll think as much of Ken as ever " 
 
 "I hope so, dear, but three weeks is a long time 
 to wait " 
 
 The young girl laughed. 
 
 "Why that's nothing at all. Just imagine Ken is 
 ill or gone away from you on a visit for that length 
 of time " 
 
 As she spoke the door opened, and Francois en- 
 tered with a silver salver, which he presented to his 
 mistress. 
 
 "A letter for Madame." 
 
 Helen looked at the envelope and threw it down 
 with a gesture of impatience. Crossly, she ex- 
 claimed : 
 
 "Francois, I do wish you'd be more careful. 
 308
 
 THE MASK 
 
 Can't you read. Don't you see the letter is ad- 
 dressed to Mr. Traynor?" 
 
 The valet nodded. 
 
 "Oi, madame. But as Monsieur is out I 
 thought that possibly madame " 
 
 Incensed more at the fellow's impudent air than 
 by what he actually said, Helen lost her temper. 
 Angrily, she exclaimed: 
 
 "Don't think. People of your class are not hired 
 to think; they are paid to do as they are told. 
 You've been very careless in your work recently. 
 The next time it happens I shall have to tell you 
 to find another place." 
 
 The valet smiled. An insolent look passed over 
 his sallow, angular face. Dropping completely his 
 deferential manner and fixing the two women with 
 a bold, familiar stare, he said impudently: 
 
 "You needn't wait till next time. I'll quit right 
 now, parbleu. It's a rotten job, anyhow." 
 
 Indignant, Helen pointed to the door. 
 
 "Go!" she cried. "The housekeeper will settle 
 with you. Never let me see your face again." 
 
 The Frenchman shrugged his shoulders and went 
 309
 
 THE MASK 
 
 toward the door. As he reached it, he turned 
 round, a sneer on his face: 
 
 "You'll see me again all right, but ze circum- 
 stances may be different? My lady may not be so 
 proud ze next time." 
 
 With this parting shot, he went away, and a 
 moment later they heard him going up to his room 
 to pack his things. 
 
 Ray turned to her sister. Reprovingly, she said : 
 "Weren't you a little severe with him?" 
 Helen shook her head. Quickly, she said: 
 "I never could bear the sight of the man. He is 
 treacherous and deceitful. I'm not at all sure that 
 he's honest. It was only after he'd been here some 
 time that I learned he was formerly with Signor 
 Keralio. That was enough to set me against him. 
 Like master, like valet, as the saying goes, and it's 
 usually a true saying. On several occasions lately 
 I have noticed things that seemed suspicious. The 
 fellow is more intimate now with Kenneth than I, 
 his wife, have ever been. Only the other day I 
 discovered them in earnest and intimate conver- 
 sation. Directly I appeared they separated and 
 
 310
 
 THE MASK 
 
 Frangois, instead of continuing to converse on terms 
 of apparent social equality, was once more the fawn- 
 ing valet. I didn't take the trouble to ask Kenneth 
 what it all meant. So many singular things have 
 happened since his return, that this only adds one 
 more to the list." 
 
 "May I come in?" said a voice. 
 
 Helen looked up quickly. It was Wilbur Steell 
 who was standing at the door with his head half in 
 the room, laughing at them. The two women had 
 been so busy talking that they had not heard the 
 sound of approaching footsteps. With an excla- 
 mation of joy Ray jumped to her feet and ran up 
 to him. 
 
 "It's Wilbur my precious Wilbur!" 
 
 Helen nodded approvingly, as she noticed the 
 girl's enthusiasm. Certainly her sister had changed. 
 She was hardly the cold, self-centered Ray of six 
 months ago. With a smile she said : 
 
 "It's astonishing how a man can alter a girl if 
 he's the right kind." 
 
 The lawyer laughed. 
 
 "It works both ways. The right kind of woman 
 
 3"
 
 THE MASK 
 
 can make a man change his ways even a hardened 
 old bachelor. Who could have guessed that I would 
 ever fall in love?" 
 
 Helen sighed. 
 
 "What is love? We have it to-day; it eludes 
 us to-morrow. A few weeks ago I thought I loved 
 my husband better than any being in the world. 
 To-day, I can hardly look him in the face. How 
 do you account for it?" 
 
 Dropping into a chair, the lawyer look serious. 
 
 "I can't account for it, nor can I blame you. Ken- 
 neth has returned from South Africa a changed 
 man. Whether the wreck and the loss of the dia- 
 monds affected his mind I do not know. Only a 
 psychologist could determine that. But he is not 
 the same. Where is he to-night?" 
 
 Helen threw up her hands. 
 
 "Do I ever know?" she exclaimed wearily. "I 
 haven't seen him since morning, and don't expect 
 to see him before breakfast to-morrow. He's at his 
 club or drinking and carousing, or in some gam- 
 bling house playing roulette. How do I know?" 
 
 "It is certainly a most singular case," said the 
 312
 
 THE MASK 
 
 lawyer meditatively. "Mr. Parker and I have gone 
 carefully over his accounts at the Company's office. 
 Everything is perfectly regular. There only re- 
 mains the missing diamonds. We have detectives 
 working on half a dozen clues but so far we have 
 accomplished nothing. We have also gone to Wash- 
 ington to get the secret service men interested in 
 the case on the ground that if the diamonds are 
 here they were smuggled in and no duty was paid. 
 But we found the secret service men busy follow- 
 ing up counterfeiters. The country is being flooded 
 with counterfeit $10 bills a splendid reproduction, 
 almost defying detection. It is believed that the 
 plates and presses from which they are made are 
 right here in New York and the whole secret ser- 
 vice force is at work trying to run the counterfeiters 
 to earth. This is why our diamond case is going so 
 slowly. They are so busy following up the coun- 
 terfeiters they have no time for us." 
 
 Ray, much interested, leaned eagerly forward. 
 
 "A counterfeit ten dollar bill, did you say?" she 
 'demanded. 
 
 "Yes it is a remarkable counterfeit. You would 
 313
 
 THE MASK 
 
 not know it from a good one. Only an expert can 
 tell the difference. But all these crooks overreach 
 themselves. Clever as they are, they usually leave 
 some mark which betrays them. For example, in 
 printing this bill which bears the head of Lincoln, 
 they have spelled his first name 'Abrahem' in 
 other words, the engraver made an V when it 
 should have been 'a.' ' 
 
 Ray jumped up, quite excited. Her eyes flash- 
 ing, she cried. 
 
 "Isn't that strange! I have a new $10 bill, and 
 I noticed to-day the queer spelling of Abraham. 
 Wouldn't it be funny if I had one of the counter- 
 feits?" 
 
 The lawyer smiled. 
 
 "It wouldn't be funny; it would be a trag- 
 edy, considering that in a short while from now 
 I am to pay your bills. Where is the bank 
 note?" 
 
 "I'll run up and get it. It's in my purse." 
 
 When she had disappeared, Steell turned to his 
 hostess and said: 
 
 "Have you seen Signer Keralio lately?" 
 3H
 
 "Hardly you know I dismissed him from the 
 house." 
 
 The lawyer sat thoughtfully drumming his fin- 
 gers on the table. Musingly, he said : 
 
 "Somehow I have a hunch that that fellow knows 
 something about the diamonds. Does Kenneth ever 
 see him?" 
 
 "I asked him the other day. He said he did not." 
 
 "That's strange !" exclaimed the lawyer. "It was 
 only yesterday morning that I saw them together 
 in a taxicab." 
 
 "Where?" demanded Helen, surprised. 
 
 "Away uptown. I had business up in the Bronx. 
 I was driving my car and was near 2ooth street 
 and going north when suddenly I had to steer to 
 one side to allow a taxicab to pass. There were two 
 men in it. I just chanced to glance inside and, to 
 my surprise, I recognized your husband and Ker- 
 alio." 
 
 "What time was that?" 
 
 "Very early about nine o'clock." 
 
 "What direction?" 
 
 "They were coming south." 
 
 315
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "Then he must have been with Keralio all night, 
 for he didn't come home." 
 
 The lawyer was silent. Certainly here was a 
 mystery which needed more detective talent than 
 he possessed to clear up. Yet he would not rest 
 until it was solved. To-morrow he would get Dick 
 Reynolds busy, and they would go to work in ear- 
 nest. The first thing to find out was what took 
 Keralio and Kenneth to the Bronx. 
 
 "Does Keralio live in the Bronx?" 
 
 "I don't know," said Helen. 
 
 "I'll find out," said the lawyer, grimly. 
 
 At that moment Ray returned, holding out a 
 new ten-dollar bill. 
 
 "I was right," she cried. "The name Abraham 
 is spelled with an *e.' Do you really think this is a 
 counterfeit ?" 
 
 The lawyer took the bill and examined it criti- 
 cally. 
 
 "I have no doubt of it," he answered. "There are 
 other indications the general appearance, the touch 
 of the paper. Where did you get it?" 
 
 For a moment the young girl was puzzled. 
 316
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "Let me think. Where did I get it. Oh yes, 
 I know. Francois gave it to me." 
 
 "Frangois!" exclaimed Helen. 
 
 The lawyer started and looked up in surprise. 
 
 "Francois, your brother-in-law's valet?" 
 
 "Yes I wanted a $20 bill changed to pay for 
 some things that came home from the store, and 
 he went out and brought me some old bills and this 
 new one." 
 
 The lawyer gave vent to a low, expressive whistle. 
 
 "Francois gave it to you, eh? .Where is Fran- 
 gois?" 
 
 "I discharged him to-day for insolence," said 
 Helen. 
 
 "He's gone!" 
 
 "Yes he went shortly before you came in." 
 
 The lawyer jumped to his feet, a look of exulta- 
 tion on his face. Quickly, he said: 
 
 "Didn't you say that this Francois was formerly 
 with Signor Keralio?" 
 
 "Yes he was with him for years." 
 
 The lawyer gave a wild whoop of joy. 
 
 "Then we've got it at last." 
 317
 
 THB MASK 
 
 "Got what?" cried the women. 
 
 "A clue a clue!" cried the lawyer, excitedly. 
 "Can't you see it? Frangois is hand in glove with 
 Keralio the master rogue who is making this coun- 
 terfeit." 
 
 "What do you propose to do?" 
 
 "Find where Keralio lives then, perhaps, we'll 
 find the lost diamonds."
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 HIS way," whispered Dick, as he darted 
 swiftly from door to door, "keep close 
 behind me, and stick to the wall, or he'll 
 see you." 
 
 But Frangois was so utterly fagged after his 
 long walk from the Elevated road, carrying his 
 heavy suitcase, that he worried about nothing save 
 his own discomfort. Unable to find a taxi, he 
 had been compelled to tramp the entire distance, 
 and the fatigue of it had made him peevish. He 
 could have saved himself at least a mile if he had 
 taken a more direct road, but Keralio's orders were 
 explicit. He must always follow a circuitous route 
 so as to throw possible pursuers off the scent. There 
 was no disobeying the orders of the chief, so on he 
 trudged, looking neither to right nor left, up one 
 street, down another, now crossing an empty lot, 
 now darting through a narrow alley, through the 
 wastes and dreariness of Bronxville. 
 
 319
 
 As he approached his journey's end, he acceler- 
 ated his pace, going along so fast that it was as 
 much as Dick and Steell could do to keep up with 
 him. The night was dark and foggy, and at times 
 they could not see him for the mist. But as he 
 came within the glare of each lamp post, they could 
 make out his lithe figure, scurrying along as if the 
 devil himself were at his heels. 
 
 "Let's get up closer," gasped Dick, who was 
 winded from the long chase. "I guess their den 
 is in this neighborhood. He'll slip in somewhere 
 and we'll lose him if we keep so far away." 
 
 "No he may see us," whispered Steell cautious- 
 ly. "We can make him out all right." 
 
 They increased their pace a little. The valet was 
 less than two blocks away, and once he actually 
 stopped and looked around as if to see if he was 
 followed. Quickly Steell and Dick darted under a 
 doorway, and, seeing nothing to arouse his sus- 
 picion, Francois went on. 
 
 The lawyer was taking no chances to-night. It 
 was too good a game to spoil. That they were on 
 the right trail at last he was morally certain. Ray's 
 
 320
 
 THE MASK 
 
 experience had given him the first clue. After 
 that it was easy. For two days Dick had shadowed 
 the valet, and seen him changing crisp $10 bills in 
 half a dozen different places. The lawyer could 
 have had him arrested at once, but he was after 
 bigger game. It was not enough to arrest Fran- 
 Qois. He was only the tool. They must get the 
 man higher up, the man who employed him. That 
 man, the lawyer felt equally confident, was Keralio. 
 He was the master counterfeiter. The first step to 
 take was to find out where the counterfeiting was 
 done, where Keralio had his plant, and the only 
 way to do this was to follow the valet to his mas- 
 ter's secret den. 
 
 For several days they had shadowed the French- 
 man constantly, until to-night they were rewarded 
 by seeing him start with a suit case in the direction 
 of the Bronx. They quickly gave chase, the lawyer 
 confident of results. It was not part of his plan, 
 however, to hurry matters or do things prematurely. 
 To-night they would merely reconnoiter. They 
 would content themselves by watching the premises, 
 seeing who came and went, and trying to obtain 
 
 321
 
 THE MASK 
 
 a glimpse of the interior. If the evidence was in- 
 criminating enough to make a raid successful, it 
 would always be time enough to call in the police. 
 Keralio, he was also well convinced, had some- 
 thing to do with the missing diamonds, and possi- 
 bly the present investigation would throw some 
 light on the mystery surrounding Kenneth himself. 
 He had made no mention of his suspicions to Helen, 
 but he could not help feeling that in some way, yet 
 to be discovered, his old comrade had become in- 
 volved with a band of crooks. How otherwise ex- 
 plain his acquaintance with Keralio, an utter 
 stranger of dubious antecedents. How explain the 
 loss of the diamonds? The explanation Kenneth 
 had given was decidedly fishy. Parker did not be- 
 lieve a word of it in fact, frankly expressed, his 
 opinion was that his vice-president had disposed of 
 the gems. Had he himself not seen Kenneth driv- 
 ing about the Bronx with Keralio at an impossible 
 hour? Had not Helen discovered Francpis con- 
 versing on intimate terms with his master? It all 
 looked decidedly bad; only time could unravel it 
 all. It was a fearful thing to suspect a man of 
 
 322
 
 THE MASK 
 
 Kenneth's standing, but everything pointed to his 
 being involved in a vast network of crime. 
 
 He was aroused from his reflections by an excla- 
 mation of warning from his companion. 
 
 "Quick there he goes!" whispered Dick. 
 
 The valet had suddenly made a sharp turn to 
 the right, and was lost to view. But quick as he 
 was, Dick was quicker. The young man was a lit- 
 tle ahead of the lawyer, and, putting on a spurt 
 of speed, he reached the corner just in time to see 
 the Frenchman and suitcase disappear into a grimy, 
 dilapidated looking tenement at the end of a blind 
 alley. 
 
 "We've run the fox to earth," whispered Steell 
 exultantly. 
 
 "Could any melodrama wish for a more appro- 
 priate mise-en-scene?" grinned Dick. 
 
 "Come opposite, and find out what we can see 
 from the outside." 
 
 Crossing the street they took up positions in 
 the shadow of a doorway. 
 
 The house which the Frenchman had entered was 
 all dark and apparently tenantless, except on the 
 
 323
 
 THE MASK 
 
 top floor where lights could be faintly seen behind 
 hermetically sealed shutters. Straining his ears, 
 Steell thought he could hear the steady hum of ma- 
 chinery in motion. With an exclamation of satis- 
 faction, he turned to his companion : 
 
 "We've got 'em, Dick, we've got 'em. Do you 
 hear the presses going?" 
 
 The young man listened. The sound was plainly 
 audible, but it was a muffled sound, as if the walls 
 and windows were padded with mattresses to pre- 
 vent any sounds of the operations within from 
 reaching inquisitive, outside ears. 
 
 "Let's go upstairs," whispered Steell. 
 
 Recrossing the road, they entered the house and 
 began to grope their way up the narrow, winding 
 staircase. They could make only slow progress, 
 not only because of the absence of light, but owing 
 to the rotten condition of the stairs. Indescribably 
 filthy and littered with all sorts of rubbish and 
 broken glass, in some places the boards had broken 
 through entirely, leaving gaping holes, which were 
 so many dangerous pitfalls. Twice the lawyer came 
 near breaking his neck. 
 
 324
 
 THE MASK 
 
 At last they reached the top, both out of breath 
 from the long and perilous climb. 
 
 "Hush there it is!" whispered Dick pointing at 
 the end of a narrow hall to a door from underneath 
 which issued a faint glimmer of light. 
 
 Cautiously, noiselessly, treading on tiptoe, the 
 lawyer and his companion crept along the passage 
 until they came to the door. They listened. There 
 was not a sound. Even the hum of machinery 
 which they had heard in the street, had ceased. 
 Could the inmates have taken alarm? 
 
 All at once they heard people talking. Instantly, 
 Steell recognized the voice of Keralio. He was 
 questioning someone, no doubt the valet. They 
 listened. 
 
 "Well, did you carry out my orders?" 
 
 "Oui, monsieur, ze last of ze ten-dollar bills has 
 been passed. I have ze money here." 
 
 "I did not mean that," broke in Keralio impa- 
 tiently. "I mean as regards the child - " 
 
 ij monsieur. Didn't you receive my telegram. 
 I brought the child from Philadelphia yesterday 
 evening." 
 
 325
 
 THB MASK 
 
 Steell, puzzled, turned to his companion. 
 
 "What child are they talking about?" he whis- 
 pered. 
 
 "I have no idea. Some more mischief they're 
 up to, I guess." 
 
 Again Keralio's voice was heard asking : 
 
 "Where is Handsome to-day? I told him to 
 come. Why isn't he here?" 
 
 "He's drinking again, monsieur. When he's 
 drunk you can't do anything with him. He's get- 
 ting ugly about ze diamonds." 
 
 Steell nudged his fellow eavesdropper. 
 
 "Did you hear that?" he whispered. "He spoke 
 of diamonds!" 
 
 Keralio was heard bursting into a peal of savage 
 laughter. 
 
 "Getting ugly is he? What does he want?" 
 
 "He says you promised him half of ze proceeds 
 when ze diamonds were sold, and that now you are 
 
 trying to do him out of it He says he's sick of 
 
 ze whole thing and will squeal to ze police unless 
 you do ze right thing." 
 
 326
 
 THE MASK 
 
 Straining every nerve to hear, Steell glued his 
 ear to the door. 
 
 Keralio burst out fiercely : 
 
 "Squeal, will he, the dog? I'd like to know what 
 will become of him when the final reckoning's paid. 
 Will he tell the police that he was a drunken ad- 
 venturer in the South African mining camps before 
 his twin brother, Kenneth Traynor, arrived at Cape 
 Town? Will he tell the police that he set the 
 steamer afire, murdered his own brother, and, profit- 
 ing by the extraordinary resemblance, returned to 
 New York, passing himself off as the man who 
 went away. No, he won't tell all that, will he ? But 
 I will. Did you bring the money? Let me see it." 
 
 The talking suddenly ceased, and was followed 
 by a deep silence. Steell, staggered at this unex- 
 pected revelation, almost stumbled in his eagerness 
 to hear more. Turning to his companion, he ex- 
 claimed in a horror-stricken whisper: 
 
 "My God! Did you hear that? It's even worse 
 than I feared. They've done away with Kenneth. 
 That man at the house is an impostor !" 
 
 327
 
 THH MASK 
 
 "An impostor?" ejaculated Dick. "Impossible. 
 Don't we all know Kenneth when we see him?" 
 
 "Nothing's impossible !" rejoined the lawyer hur- 
 riedly. "Kenneth had a twin brother the resem- 
 blance was so extraordinary as children that no one 
 knew them apart. The brother disappeared years 
 ago. They thought him dead. Kenneth must have 
 come across him in South Africa. This brother 
 killed him and took his place. It's all clear to me 
 now. We're in a den of assassins!" 
 
 Inside the conversation began again. 
 
 "Hush! Listen!" whispered Steell. 
 
 The voice of Keralio was once more raised in 
 angry tones. 
 
 "Didn't I tell you that I wanted the child brought 
 here at once?" 
 
 "Oui, monsieur, but I could not. I had ze rest 
 of ze money to get rid of and ze suitcase to carry. 
 I will bring her in a taxi to-morrow." 
 
 "Where is she?" 
 
 "Safe in the care of the woman who runs my 
 boarding house." 
 
 "When did you bring her from Philadelphia?" 
 328
 
 ftHH MASK 
 
 "Yesterday afternoon." 
 
 "Did you have any trouble?" 
 
 "Non, monsieur. I didn't even have to go to ze 
 house, although I had a plausible story all ready. 
 I was going to say that Mrs. Traynor had sent me 
 to fetch Miss Dorothy because her mother wanted 
 her home for ze coming marriage of Miss Ray. 
 But it wasn't necessary to lie about it. I found ze 
 child playing in ze street near the house. I merely 
 told her her mamma wanted her to come home, gave 
 her some candy, and she followed me willingly 
 enough." 
 
 "By this time the alarm has been given." 
 
 "Sans doute, monsieur. They probably tele- 
 graphed Mrs. Traynor last night that ze child was 
 missing " 
 
 The voices again stopped. Steell, his face white, 
 and fists clenched, turned to his companion: 
 
 "Good Heavens, Dick, did you hear that? 
 They've kidnapped Mrs. Traynor's little girl no 
 doubt, with the idea of demanding ransom. Thank 
 God, we're in time to frustrate that crime " 
 
 "Hush !" exclaimed his companion. "Listen !" 
 3 2 9
 
 THE MASK 
 
 Keralio proceeded: 
 
 "Now you understand what you are to do. You 
 bring the child here to-morrow morning. Mean- 
 time, I have already written in a disguised hand 
 to Mrs. Traynor telling her that her child is safe 
 for the present, and that if she wants to see her 
 she must come here to-morrow afternoon. I warned 
 her that if she communicated with the police or in- 
 formed any of her friends, the child would be put 
 to death before it would be possible to effect a res- 
 cue. That ought to bring her here " 
 
 "Would monsieur go as far as to kill " 
 
 "Why not," demanded Keralio fiercely. "I per- 
 mit nothing to stand in the way of my will. That 
 woman can save her child's life, but she must pay 
 the price I ask. She shall learn what it costs to 
 dismiss me from her house " 
 
 The valet was heard to chuckle as he said: 
 
 "I don't love her any too much myself. She dis- 
 charged me from her employ the other day so 
 haughtily I felt like a whipped cur." 
 
 Again there was silence, followed by a muffled 
 hammering. 
 
 330
 
 THH MASK 
 
 "They're taking the printing press apart," whis- 
 pered Dick, who through the keyhole, had man- 
 aged to get a glimpse of machinery. "If. we don't 
 act quickly, they'll get away with all the evidence. 
 Hadn't we better go and call the police?" 
 
 For answer, the lawyer put his fingers to his 
 lips with a warning gesture, and beckoning the 
 young man to follow, retraced his steps on tiptoe 
 along the narrow, dark hall and down the filthy, 
 winding staircase. Not a word was spoken by 
 either man until they reached the street. Once in 
 the open air, the lawyer turned and said: 
 
 "Dick, we've uncovered as black a plot as was 
 ever hatched in hell. If we don't queer the game 
 and put them all in the chair it won't be my fault. 
 We can't bring poor Kenneth back to life, but we 
 can and will revenge his cowardly murder. It will 
 be a positive joy to me to see that arch-scoundrel 
 Keralio electrocuted." 
 
 "What do you propose to do?" asked his com- 
 panion. "Hadn't we better call Mrs. Traynor 
 on the telephone and warn her before it's too 
 late?"
 
 THB MASK 
 
 The lawyer was silent for a few moments. Then 
 meditatively, he said : 
 
 "No, that would be a mistake. No doubt, by 
 this time, she has received Keralio's anonymous 
 letter. She is probably frantic with anxiety over 
 the news of her child's disappearance, and will re- 
 spond eagerly to any clue that promises to take her 
 to her child. If we warned her she would pay no 
 heed. She might pretend to, but only to pacify us. 
 Afraid that punishment might be visited on the 
 child, she would obey the warning not to talk, and 
 she will come here to Keralio's flat to-morrow at 
 the time the letter stated. Of course, she has no 
 idea Keralio wrote the letter. But even if she had, 
 it would make no difference. I know her. She 
 would run any risk to save her child." 
 
 "I think you're right," replied Dick, "but how, 
 then, will you help her ? There is no knowing what 
 Keralio's object is in enticing her here you can 
 be sure it's nothing good." 
 
 "Precisely that's why we, too, must be on hand, 
 together with a strong force of detectives. We'll 
 get them all. There will be no possible escape. 
 
 332
 
 THE MASK 
 
 We'll surround the house with men. They'll be 
 caught like rats in a trap." 
 
 The lawyer turned to go. 
 
 "Where are you bound now?" asked Dick. 
 
 "To police headquarters!" 
 
 333
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 THERE take a little water you're much 
 better now!" said the nurse, soothingly. 
 The patient swallowed greedily the 
 cooling drink handed to him, and, tired even 
 by that small effort, fell back on his pillows ex- 
 hausted. 
 
 "Where am I ?" he inquired of the comely young 
 woman, who in neat service uniform, hovered about 
 the bed. 
 
 "You're in St. Mary's Hospital." 
 "In New York?" he queried. 
 
 "No San Francisco " 
 
 He was too weak to question further, but his hol- 
 low blue eyes followed her as she moved here and 
 there, attending skilfully and swiftly to the duties 
 of the sick room. Presently he made another ven- 
 ture : 
 
 "Have I been ill long?" 
 334
 
 THE M\ASK 
 
 "Yes very long." 
 
 "What's the matter?" 
 
 "Concussion of the brain, pneumonia and shock. 
 Ydu are much better now, but you mustn't talk so 
 much or you may have a relapse." 
 
 He asked no more, but passed his hand over his 
 brow in a bewildered sort of way. Presently, he 
 began again: 
 
 "Does my wife come to see me?" 
 
 The nurse stopped in her work and looked at him 
 curiously. In surprise, she exclaimed: 
 
 "Your wife! Have you a wife?" 
 
 It . was his turn now to be surprised. In some- 
 what peevish tone he said: 
 
 "Of course I've a wife everyone knows that." 
 
 "What's her name?" 
 
 "Helen Helen Traynor." Enthusiastically, he 
 added: "Oh, you'd just love my wife if you only 
 knew her. She's the sweetest, the most unsel- 
 fish " 
 
 The nurse looked at him curiously. 
 
 "So your name is Traynor, is it? We've tried 
 to find out for a long time. But there were no 
 
 335
 
 THE MASK 
 
 marks on your clothes when you were picked up. 
 We did not know who you were and so have not 
 been able to communicate with any of your friends. 
 We guessed you were a man of social position by 
 your hands and teeth, and we knew your name be- 
 gan with a T because of the monogram on the 
 signet ring on your finger." 
 
 "Pick me up?" he echoed. "Where did they pick 
 me up? What has happened? Was it an acci- 
 dent?" 
 
 "You were found unconscious, drifting in the 
 ocean, clinging to a spar, and were brought here 
 by a sailing vessel. You had a fracture of the skull 
 and you were half drowned. It is supposed that 
 you were one of the passengers of the Abyssinia, 
 which took fire and went down two days after leav- 
 ing Cape Town, but as several passengers and 
 officers whose bodies were never found also had 
 names beginning with T, it was impossibly to iden- 
 tify you." 
 
 As he listened, the vacant, stupid expression on 
 his face gradually gave place to a more alert, in- 
 telligent look. Indistinctly, vaguely, he recalled 
 
 336
 
 THE MASK 
 
 things that had happened. Slowly his brain cells 
 began to work. 
 
 He remembered cabling to Helen from Cape 
 Town telling her of his sailing on the Abyssinia. 
 He recalled the incidents of the first day at sea. 
 The weather was beautiful. Everything pointed to 
 a good voyage. Who was traveling with him? He 
 could not remember. Oh, yes, now he knew. Fran- 
 c,ois, his valet, and that other queer fellow he had 
 picked up at the diamond mines his twin brother. 
 Yes, it all came back to him now. 
 
 Why had he gone to the diamond mines? Yes, 
 now he knew to take back to New York the two 
 big stones found on the Company's land. He had 
 them safe in a belt he wore round his waist next 
 to his skin. The second night out he went to bed 
 about midnight and was fast asleep when suddenly 
 he heard shouts of "Fire ! Fire !" Jumping up and 
 looking out of his cabin he saw stewards and pas- 
 sengers running excitedly about. There was a red- 
 dish glare and a suffocating smell of smoke. Quick- 
 ly he buckled on the belt with the diamonds, and, 
 slipping on his trousers, went out. The electric 
 
 337
 
 THE MASK 
 
 lights had gone out. The ship was in complete dark- 
 ness. From all sides came shouts of men and 
 screams of frightened women. It was a scene of 
 utter demoralization and horror. He was groping 
 his way along the narrow passage, when, suddenly, 
 out of the gloom a man sprang upon him, and, taken 
 entirely by surprise, he was borne to the deck before 
 he had time to defend himself. He could not see 
 the man's face and thought it was one of the pas- 
 sengers or sailors who had gone mad, but when he 
 felt a tug at his belt where the diamonds were, 
 he knew he had to do with a thief. He fought 
 back with all his strength, but he was un- 
 armed, while the stranger had a blackjack which 
 he used unmercifully, raining fearful blows on 
 his head. The struggle was too unequal to last. 
 Weak from loss of blood, he relaxed his grip, 
 and the thief, dealing one fearful parting blow, 
 tore away the belt and disappeared. His life 
 blood was flowing away, he felt sick and dizzy, 
 but just as the thief turned to run he managed to 
 get a glimpse of his face. Now he remembered 
 that face it was the face of his twin brother 
 
 338
 
 THB MASK 
 
 the man he had rescued from starvation on the 
 veldt. 
 
 Yes, it all came back to him now, like a horrible 
 nightmare. What had happened since then? How 
 could he tell, since all this time his mind had been 
 a blank ? Helen, no doubt, believed him dead. Mr. 
 Parker and all the others thought he had gone 
 down with the ship. But what of his valet, Fran- 
 c,ois, and his cowardly, murderous brother were 
 they saved? If so, the thief had the diamonds, and 
 had probably disposed of them by this time. Per- 
 haps there might still be time to capture the would- 
 be assassin and save the gems for the Americo- 
 Af rican Company. Brother or no brother, he would 
 have no more pity on the unnatural, miserable cut- 
 throat. The first step was to let his friends know 
 where he was. He must telegraph at once to Helen. 
 
 Yet, on second thought, it would not be wise to 
 do that. If Helen really believed him dead and was 
 now mourning his loss, it might be almost a fatal 
 shock if suddenly she were to receive a telegram 
 saying he was alive. Such shocks have been known 
 to kill people. A better plan would be to get well 
 
 339
 
 THE MASK 
 
 as soon as possible, leave the hospital, and go to 
 New York. Once there, he could go quietly to his 
 office and learn how matters were. 
 
 The days passed, the convalescent making speedy 
 progress toward recovery, and in a few weeks more 
 he was able to leave the hospital. Making himself 
 known quietly to a San Francisco business acquain- 
 tance, he was quickly supplied with funds and im- 
 mediately he turned his face homeward. 
 
 The long, overland journey was tedious and ex- 
 hausting, especially in his present weakened condi- 
 tion, and even those who knew him well would 
 hardly have recognized in the pale emaciated look- 
 ing stranger with ill fitting clothes and untrimmed 
 full growth of beard who emerged from the train 
 at the Grand Central Station, the carefully dressed, 
 well groomed Kenneth Traynor who, only a few 
 months before, had sailed away from New York 
 on the Mauretania. 
 
 The noise and turmoil of the big metropolis, in 
 striking contrast to the quiet and seclusion of the 
 sick room in which he had lived for so many weeks, 
 astonished him. The crowds of suburbanites rush- 
 
 340
 
 THE MASK 
 
 ing frantically for trains, elbowing and pushing 
 in their anxiety to get home, the strident hoarse 
 cries of newsboys, the warning shouts of wagon 
 drivers as they drove recklessly here and there at 
 murderous speed, the blowing of auto horns, the 
 ceaseless hum and roar of the big city's heavy traf- 
 fic all this bewildered and dazed him. At first 
 he did not remember just in what direction to turn, 
 whether he lived in the East or West side, uptown 
 or down. But as he got more accustomed to his 
 surroundings, it all came back to him. How stu- 
 pid of course he had to go downtown to 2Oth 
 Street. Once more he was himself again. Hailing 
 a taxi, he started for Gramercy Park. 
 
 Conflicting emotions stirred his breast as he 
 drew near his home. What joy it would be to clasp 
 Helen once more in his arms. How delighted she 
 would be to see him! Then he was filled with 
 anxiety, a sudden feeling of dread came over him. 
 Suppose some misfortune, some calamity had hap- 
 pened during his absence! Helen might have met 
 with some accident. Baby might have been ill. The 
 worst might have happened. He would never have 
 
 341
 
 THE MASK 
 
 heard. Perhaps he was only going home to find 
 his happiness wrecked forever. 
 
 The driver made his way with difficulty down 
 Fifth Avenue, threading his way in and out the 
 entanglement of carriages and automobiles, until, 
 after a ten minutes' run, turned into Gramercy 
 Park and pulled up short on the curb of the Tray- 
 nor residence. 
 
 Eagerly Kenneth put his head out of the window 
 and scanned the windows for a glimpse of the loved 
 one, but no one, not even a servant, was visible.' 
 The house looked deserted. His misgivings re- 
 turned. Stepping out hastily, he paid the driver, 
 and. running up the steps, rang the bell. 
 
 Roberts, the faithful old butler, who had been in 
 the family service for years, came to open. See- 
 ing a rather shabbily attired person outside, he 
 held the door partly closed and demanded, sus- 
 piciously : 
 
 "Who is it you wish to see?" 
 
 Irritated at the manner of his reception, Ken- 
 neth gave the door a push that nearly knocked the 
 servant over. Angrily, he exclaimed : 
 
 342
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "What's the matter, Roberts? Didn't you see it 
 was me?" 
 
 The butler, who had recovered himself, and now 
 believed he had to do with a crank or some person 
 under the influence of liquor, again barred the way. 
 Trying to push the unwelcome visitor out, he said 
 soothingly : 
 
 "Come now, my good man, you've made a mis- 
 take. You don't live here." 
 
 Struck almost speechless with amazement at the 
 brazen impudence of one whom he had always re- 
 garded as a model servant, Kenneth turned round 
 as if about to make a wrathful outburst. As he 
 turned, the light from the open door fell full on his 
 face and now for the first time Roberts saw the 
 visitor's features. With a startled exclamation the 
 man fell backward. For a moment he was so sur- 
 prised that he could not speak. Then, in an awe- 
 stricken whisper, he cried: 
 
 "Who are you?" 
 
 For a moment Kenneth thought the man had 
 suddenly become insane. For his own servant not to 
 know him was too ridiculous. At that moment he 
 
 343
 
 THE MASK 
 
 caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror of the hat 
 stand. Ah, now he understood. The beard and 
 emaciated face had made quite a difference no 
 wonder the man failed to recognize him. Breaking 
 into laughter he exclaimed: 
 
 "No wonder you didn't recognize me, Roberts. 
 I have changed a little, haven't I? I've grown a 
 beard since I saw you last and been through a regu- 
 lar mill. But you know me now don't you I'm 
 your long lost master." 
 
 The servant shook his head. Still closely scruti- 
 nizing Kenneth's face as if greatly puzzled, he said : 
 
 "You're not my master, sir. Mr. Kenneth Tray- 
 nor left the house some ten minutes before you 
 arrived." 
 
 Kenneth stared at the man as if he thought he 
 had gone clean out of his mind. 
 
 "I went out ten minutes before I arrived," he 
 echoed. "What kind of nonsense is that, Roberts ?" 
 
 "I didn't say you went out," replied the servant, 
 beginning to lose his patience. "I said Mr. Ken- 
 neth Traynor went out. You are not Mr. Kenneth 
 Traynor." 
 
 344
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "Then who in the name of heaven am I?" 
 
 "I haven't the remotest idea," retorted the man. 
 Condescendingly, he went on: "I admit you look 
 a little like the master." Impatiently he added : 
 "You must excuse me. I want to close the door." 
 
 Instead of obeying the hint to withdraw, Ken- 
 neth strode further into the house, the protesting 
 and indignant butler at his heels. 
 
 "You must really go," said the servant. 
 
 Kenneth turned around. 
 
 "Roberts don't be a fool. Don't you know me? 
 I know why you don't recognize me. You all think 
 me dead, but I'm very much alive. I did not go 
 down on the Abyssinia. I was picked up and taken 
 to San Francisco and have been in a hospital there 
 ever since. I have just come home. Where's my 
 wife?" 
 
 The butler stared and stood motionless, as if not 
 knowing what to make of it. 
 
 "But you came home long ago." 
 
 "Who came home?" 
 
 "You did." 
 
 "No, I didn't. I've been in San Francisco all the 
 345
 
 THE MASK 
 
 time. How could I be here if I was sick in a San 
 Francisco hospital?" 
 
 "Then who is the other Mr. Traynor?" 
 
 Now it was Kenneth's turn to be surprised. 
 
 "The other Mr. Traynor?" he echoed stupefied. 
 
 "Yes the gentleman who looks more like you 
 than you do yourself. He arrived here a month 
 ago. We all took him for you." 
 
 For the first time a light broke in on the dark- 
 ness. Who was the person who looked so like him 
 that he could successfully impersonate him? Who 
 could it be but the man who left him for dead on 
 the Abyssinia after murderously assaulting him? 
 Suddenly a horrible thought came to him. Grasping 
 the butler's arm he exclaimed: 
 
 "My wife? Is she well?" 
 
 "Yes, sir. Mrs. Traynor's quite well." 
 
 "And Dorothy?" 
 
 "Quite well, sir." 
 
 "Thank God!" 
 
 The servant hesitated. 
 
 "That is sir Miss Dorothy " 
 
 "Out with it, man. Out with it." 
 346
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "Mrs. Traynor's being greatly worried sir, lately. 
 Miss Dorothy was at her aunt's in Philadel- 
 phia " 
 
 "Yes, yes " 
 
 "Someone's run away with Miss Dorothy. She's 
 been kidnapped." 
 
 "My God!" 
 
 "But Mrs. Traynor has a clue. She got a letter 
 yesterday, saying where the child was. She 
 wouldn't confide in any of us and she left here only 
 half an hour ago to go to the place." 
 
 Again Kenneth was seized by panic. 
 
 "Gone to a kidnapper's den. Great God! She's 
 running a terrible risk. Where has she gone? I'll 
 go to her." 
 
 "I don't know, sir, but Mr. Steell may 
 know " 
 
 "Ah, that's right. I'll go and see Steell." 
 
 Not waiting to say more he rushed down the 
 steps, and, hailing another taxi, went off at full 
 speed in the direction of Wilbur Steell's office. 
 
 347
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 THE startling news from Philadelphia that 
 Dorothy had suddenly disappeared and 
 was believed to have been kidnapped, fell 
 upon the Traynor home with the crushing force 
 of a bombshell. At first Helen refused to credit 
 the report. It seemed impossible that any new 
 suffering was to be inflicted upon her after what 
 she had already endured. White faced, her whole 
 being shaken by emotion, she read and re-read 
 her aunt's letter, telling of the child's mysterious 
 disappearance, and when at last she could read it 
 no more because of the tears that blinded her, she 
 threw herself limp and broken hearted into Ray's 
 arms. Hysterically she cried: 
 
 "What have I done that I should be made to suf- 
 fer in this way? My God! Where is my child? 
 This maddening suspense will kill me." 
 
 Ray tried to soothe her. Reassuringly, she said : 
 "Don't worry, dear. Everything will be all right. 
 348
 
 THE MASK 
 
 A general alarm has been sent out. The police all 
 over the country are searching high and low. It's 
 only a question of a few hours and you'll have good 
 news." 
 
 But the hours passed and no news came to cheer 
 the distracted, broken-hearted mother. Dorothy 
 had disappeared completely, leaving no trace, no 
 clue behind. 
 
 There was neither rest nor peace for the Traynor 
 household that day. Helen, almost out of her mind 
 from grief and worry, refused to eat or sleep un- 
 til news of the missing child was received. In her 
 agony she went down on her knees and prayed as 
 she had never prayed before that her child be re- 
 stored to her. 
 
 Her little daughter was, she felt, the one link 
 that still bound her to life. To her husband she 
 felt she could not turn for sympathy. The romance 
 of their early married life had been shattered for- 
 ever by the extraordinary change that had come 
 over him. He had long since ceased to be to her 
 any more than a name. In her heart, she had come 
 to despise and detest him as much as before she 
 
 349
 
 THE MASK 
 
 had worshiped the very ground he trod. It was 
 an astonishing revulsion of feeling which she was 
 powerless to explain; she only knew that the old 
 love, the old passion he had awakened was now 
 quite dead. He inspired in her no more affection 
 or feeling than the merest stranger. Ever since his 
 return from South Africa they had lived apart. 
 Ever since that first night of his return when their 
 tete-a-tete in the library was interrupted by the bo- 
 gus telegram, he had quite ceased his amorous ad- 
 vances. He seemed anxious to avoid her. Only on 
 rare occasions, and then it was by accident, did they 
 find themselves in each other's company. 
 
 In fact, he was practically never home, living al- 
 most exclusively at the club, where he went the 
 pace with associates of his choosing, mostly gam- 
 blers and men about town. He had begun to drink 
 hard and when not in pool rooms or at the races, 
 betting recklessly on the horses, squandering such 
 huge sums, and overdrawing his check account so 
 often that the bank was compelled to ask him to 
 desist, he sat in the barrooms with his cronies till 
 all hours of the morning when he would be brought 
 
 350
 
 THE MASK 
 
 home in a condition of shocking intoxication. Hap- 
 pily Helen was spared the spectacle of the degrada- 
 tion of a man she once had loved with all the force 
 of her virgin soul. Roberts, the butler, aided by 
 the other servants, smuggled their intoxicated mas- 
 ter up to his room, where he remained until sober, 
 when he went back to his club only to repeat the 
 same performance. 
 
 To such a man she could not turn for aid or con- 
 solation in the hour of this new misfortune. In- 
 deed, ever since his return, he had been strangely 
 indifferent to the welfare of the child, never asking 
 after her or expressing a desire to see her. At 
 times it seemed as if he had forgotten that he had a 
 child. By some strange metamorphosis he had de- 
 veloped into an unnatural father as well as a bru- 
 tal, indifferent husband. 
 
 But to Helen, alone save for the devoted com- 
 panionship of her sister, this was anxiety and suf- 
 fering enough. Only twenty- four hours had passed 
 since the child disappeared, but to the unhappy 
 mother it seemed as many years. Constantly at 
 the telephone, expecting each moment to hear that
 
 THE MASK 
 
 the police had been successful in finding the child, 
 she was gradually wearing herself away to a 
 shadow. Breakfast she left untouched. Lunch she 
 refused to eat. In vain Ray remonstrated with 
 her. If she went on like that she would fall ill. 
 But still Helen refused. Tears choked her, and 
 morning wore into afternoon and still no news. 
 
 After lunch Ray went out to see if Mr. Steell 
 could help them, promising to return as soon as 
 possible. Helen sat and waited alone. The clock 
 was just striking two o'clock when the front door- 
 bell rang and a letter was brought to her. She did 
 not recognize the writing, but eagerly she tore it 
 open. Instinctively, she felt it concerned her miss- 
 ing darling. The letter read as follows : 
 
 No. Lasalle Street, Bronx. 
 
 Friday. 
 Madame : 
 
 Your child is safe and in good hands. She 
 wants to see her mother. If you come this after- 
 noon (Friday) to the above address you can see 
 her. It is the house with the closed green shut- 
 ters. But if you value your child's life you must 
 come unaccompanied, and you must inform no 
 one of the contents of this letter, not even the 
 
 352
 
 THE MASK 
 
 members of your family. If you disobey, swift 
 punishment will follow and your child will suffer. 
 Climb eight flights and knock three times on 
 door at end of passage. X. 
 
 There was no signature. The person who wrote 
 it evidently had reasons of his own for wishing 
 to remain concealed. That money would be de- 
 manded was more than probable. What other mo- 
 tive could the kidnapper have? Money she would 
 give all she had in the world, if only she could 
 get back her precious child. That a visit to such 
 a place unattended was full of danger she did not 
 stop to consider. She only knew that her child 
 was close by here in New York and had asked 
 for her. Not for a moment did she listen to the 
 warnings of prudence. Go she must, and immedi- 
 ately. She did not even stop to leave a note of 
 explanation for Ray. Stuffing some money in a 
 bag, she left the house, saying she would return 
 soon. 
 
 Taking the Third Avenue "L" she left the train 
 at Tremont Avenue, and, after considerable diffi- 
 culty, found the house indicated in the letter. Yes, 
 
 353
 
 THH MASK 
 
 there were the closed green shutters. At first, on 
 seeing it apparently untenanted, she thought she 
 must have made a mistake in the number, but, find- 
 ing that there was no other place near by that an- 
 swered the description as well, she decided to risk 
 climbing the long flight of stairs. 
 
 Arrived on the top floor, breathless from the un- 
 usual exertion, she saw a long narrow passage, and, 
 at the end of that, a door. That, no doubt, was the 
 place. Her heart beating violently, she went up to 
 the door and gave the three knocks. For a moment 
 or so there was no answer. A profound stillness 
 reigned. Then she heard footsteps approaching. 
 The next instant, the door was thrown open and 
 a man's voice, which sounded somewhat familiar, 
 told her to enter. 
 
 At first when she went in, she could see nothing. 
 All the shutters of the windows looking on the 
 street were closed, and the only light was that which 
 filtered through the slats. It was an ordinary, cheap 
 flat, with no carpets on the floors and little or no 
 furniture. On the floor, scattered here and there, 
 
 354
 
 THE MASK 
 
 were nailed-up boxes, and parts of machinery, some 
 already crated, as if to be taken away. 
 
 "So you've come! I thought you would," said 
 a voice behind her. 
 
 She turned and found herself face to face with 
 Signer Keralio. 
 
 At first she was so astonished that she was speech- 
 less. Then her instinct prompted her to turn and 
 flee. If this man had caused her to be decoyed to 
 this house it could be for no good purpose. But 
 there was no way of egress. The front door was 
 closed and locked. Not a human soul was within 
 call. She was alone in an empty house with the 
 one man she distrusted and feared more than any 
 one else in the world. 
 
 Making an effort to conceal her alarm, she turned 
 and faced him boldly: 
 
 "What are you doing here?" she asked. 
 
 He smiled a horrid, cynical smile she knew 
 only too well. 
 
 "Has not a man the right to be in his own home ?" 
 
 She started back in surprise. 
 355
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "This your home?" she exclaimed, glancing 
 around at the scanty and shabby furnishings. 
 
 He shrugged his shoulders. 
 
 "Oh, don't judge by appearances. I'm really very 
 comfortable here. It's away from the world. I 
 like to work undisturbed." Significantly, he added : 
 "Then, you see, it is all my own. I am quite at 
 home here in my own house. No one can put me 
 out not even you " 
 
 She raised her hand deprecatingly. 
 
 "Please don't remind me of that. I have for- 
 gotten it long ago." 
 
 His eyes flashed dangerously as he made a step 
 near and exclaimed : 
 
 "You have, but I have not. I have not forgotten 
 that you put me out of your house ignominiously 
 as one turns out a servant. I have neither for- 
 gotten nor forgiven. That is why you are here to- 
 day." 
 
 She looked at him in utter astonishment. 
 
 "What do you mean?" 
 
 He bowed and, with mock courtesy, waved her 
 to a seat. 
 
 356
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "I will tell you. Did you receive a letter to-day?" 
 
 "Yes I did." 
 
 "You came here in answer to that letter." 
 
 "Yes I did." 
 
 "Do you know who wrote that letter?" 
 
 "No not the least." 
 
 "It was I I wrote the letter." 
 
 With a stifled cry of mingled fright and amaze- 
 ment, Helen jumped up from the chair. 
 
 "You wrote the letter?" she exclaimed, incredu- 
 lously. 
 
 He nodded. 
 
 "Yes I wrote the letter." 
 
 Her eyes opened wide with terror, her hands 
 clasped together nervously, she exclaimed: 
 
 "Then you are " 
 
 He bowed. 
 
 "Exactly. I am the kidnapper of your child " 
 
 Speechless, she stared at him, her large black eyes 
 opened wide with terror. Looking wildly about 
 her as if seeking her little daughter, she gasped : 
 
 "Dorothy? Dorothy here? Where is she?" 
 
 "She is safe," he replied calmly. 
 357
 
 THE MASK 
 
 "Where is she, where is she? Take me to her!" 
 she cried, distractedly, going up to him and clasp- 
 ing her hands in humble supplication. 
 
 He shook off the hand which, in her maternal 
 anxiety, she had laid on his arm. Lighting a cigar- 
 ette, he gave a low laugh. 
 
 "Plenty of time. There's no hurry. You're not 
 going yet." 
 
 Anxiously, she scrutinized his face, as if trying 
 to read his meaning. 
 
 "She's going when I go, isn't she?" 
 
 He shrugged his shoulders. 
 
 "That depends on you." 
 
 "What do you mean?" 
 
 Again he waved her to a seat. 
 
 "Sit down and I'll tell you." 
 
 Trembling, she dropped once more on to a chair 
 and waited. He puffed deliberately at his cigarette 
 for a few moments and then, turning his glance in 
 her direction, he smiled in a peculiar, horrible way 
 and his eyes ran over her figure in a way that made 
 the crimson rush furiously to her cheek. There 
 was no mistaking that smile. It was the bold, lust- 
 
 358
 
 run MASK 
 
 ful look of the voluptuary who enjoys letting his 
 eyes feast on the prey that he knows cannot now 
 escape him. 
 
 "Mrs. Traynor," he began in the caressing, dul- 
 cet tones which she feared more than his anger, 
 "you are un exceptional woman. To most men of 
 my temperament you would not appeal. They would 
 find your beauty too statuesque and cold. I know 
 you are clever, but love cannot feed on intellect 
 alone. I have loved many women, but never a 
 woman just like you. Your coldness, your haughty 
 reserve, your refinement would intimidate most men 
 and keep them at a distance, but not me. Your 
 aloofness, your indifference only spurs me, only 
 adds to the acuteness of my desire. I swore to 
 myself that I would conquer you, overcome your 
 resistance, bend you to my will. You turned me 
 out of your home. I swore to be avenged." 
 
 He stopped for a moment and watched her close- 
 ly as if studying and enjoying the effect of his 
 words. Then, amid a cloud of blue tobacco smoke, 
 he went on: 
 
 "I knew only one way to win you it was to 
 
 359
 
 THB MASK 
 
 humiliate you, to place you in a position where you 
 would have to come to me on your knees." 
 
 She half rose from her chair. 
 
 "I would never do that," she cried. "I would 
 rather die!" 
 
 "Oh, yes, you will," he continued, calmly, mak- 
 ing a gesture to her to remain seated. "When I've 
 told you all, you'll see things in a different light." 
 Fixing her steadily with his piercing black eyes, 
 he asked: "Have you noticed any difference in 
 your husband since his return." 
 
 She looked up quickly. 
 
 "Yes what does it mean? Can you explain?" 
 
 He nodded. 
 
 "Did you ever hear your husband speak of a 
 twin brother he once had?" 
 
 Her face turned white as death and her heart 
 throbbing violently, she stared helplessly at her per- 
 secutor. She tried to be calm, but she could not. 
 Yet, why be so alarmed, why should this single 
 question so agitate her? In the deepest recesses of 
 her being she knew that it was her unerring in- 
 stinct warning her that she was about to hear 
 
 360
 
 THE MASK 
 
 something that would entail worse suffering than 
 any she had yet endured. 
 
 "Yes yes why do you ask ?" she gasped. 
 
 "You all thought the brother dead." 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "You were mistaken. He is alive." 
 
 "Where is he?" she faltered. 
 
 "Here in New York." 
 
 "Where?" 
 
 "In your house. The man who returned home 
 was not your husband. He was your husband's 
 twin brother." 
 
 She looked at him as one bewildered, as if she 
 did not understand what he was saying, as if words 
 had suddenly lost their meaning. Her face, white 
 as in death, she faltered: 
 
 "Not Kenneth then where is Kenneth?" 
 
 "He is dead!" 
 
 Her powers of speech paralyzed, her large eyes 
 starting from their sockets from terror, an expres- 
 sion of mute helpless agony on her beautiful face, 
 she looked up at him with horror. Not yet could 
 she fully grasp the meaning of his words. At last 
 
 361
 
 THE MASK 
 
 the frightful spell was broken. With an effort 
 the words came : 
 
 "Then you," she cried. "You are his assassin!" 
 
 He shook his head as he replied carelessly: 
 
 "No not I his brother!" 
 
 She gave a cry of anguish and, starting to her 
 feet, made a movement forward, her hands clutch- 
 ing convulsively at her throat. Air ! air ! She must 
 have air. She felt sick and dizzy. The room was 
 spinning round like a top, and then everything grew 
 dark. Lurching heavily forward she would have 
 fallen had he not caught her. 
 
 Instantly she shrank from the contact as from 
 something unclean, and with a low moan sank down 
 on a chair and buried her face in her hands. Her 
 instinct had told her true. Her loved one was dead, 
 she would never see him again, and that man who 
 had come into the sanctity of her home and fon- 
 dled her in his arms was his murderer. Oh, it was 
 too horrible! 
 
 The bitter, cynical smile was still on Keralio's 
 lips as he went on: 
 
 "You see the folly of resisting me. Had you 
 362
 
 THE MASK 
 
 surrendered at that time all might have been well. 
 The price was not too much to pay. I would have 
 been discreet. No one but ourselves would have 
 known that you and I were " 
 
 He did not complete the sentence, for at that 
 moment she sprang forward like an enraged tiger 
 cat, and, seizing a cane that stood close by, struck 
 him across the face with all the force of her out- 
 raged womanhood. 
 
 "Murderer! Assassin!" she cried indignantly. 
 "How dare you talk like that to me? I will de- 
 nounce you to the whole world. I will not rest till 
 I see you and that other scoundrel punished and 
 my poor husband is avenged. On leaving here I 
 shall go direct to the police." 
 
 Imbued with strength she never dreamed she 
 possessed, she was about to hit him again when 
 he seized the cane and threw it away. But across 
 his pale, handsome face lay a telltale red mark, the 
 smart of which burned into his soul. 
 
 His eyes flashed with anger and he made a visi- 
 ble effort to control himself. He took a step for- 
 ward and, as he advanced she saw an expression in 
 
 363
 
 THB MASK 
 
 his face which prompted her to retreat precipitately. 
 It was a dangerous look, the look of a man who 
 knew he had a helpless woman in his power, a man 
 who was desperate and would stop at nothing to 
 encompass his ends. Now thoroughly frightened, 
 she looked around for some way to escape. The 
 windows were impossible, the only way was by the 
 door and he barred the way. Besides, she would 
 never go without her child. 
 
 He noticed the movement and look of alarm, and 
 he smiled. Continuing to advance, he said: 
 
 "There's no use making a fuss. No one could 
 hear you if you shouted for help till the crack of 
 doom. You are alone with me and absolutely in 
 my power. Do as I ask and there is nothing you 
 shall not have. Refuse, and I answer for nothing. 
 Come " 
 
 Her whole body trembling, her face white with 
 terror, she kept on retreating : 
 
 "Leave me alone !" she gasped, "or I will scream." 
 
 "Scream away," he laughed. "There's no one 
 here to hear you." 
 
 Suddenly he made a quick lunge forward and 
 
 364
 
 THH MASK 
 
 seized her. She struggled and resisted with all the 
 energy born of despair, pushing, twisting, scratch- 
 ing. But they were too unevenly matched. She 
 was like an infant in the grasp of an Hercules. 
 Slowly, she felt her strength leaving her. His iron 
 grasp gradually closed on her, nearer and nearer 
 he drew her into his embrace. 
 
 With a last, superhuman effort, she managed to 
 wrench herself free, out of his grip, and breaking 
 completely away, she fled into the next room. But 
 he was after her in a minute and again seized her, 
 but not before she screamed at the top of her voice : 
 
 "Help! Help! Kenneth! Wilbur! Help! Help!" 
 
 He tried to gag her mouth to stifle her cries, but 
 it was too late. His quick ear caught the sound of 
 approaching footsteps in the outside hall. Almost 
 at the same instant there was a loud knocking at 
 the door. 
 
 Keralio fell back, his face white and tense. Had 
 his plans failed at the eleventh hour, could anyone 
 have played him false? If the game was up, they 
 should never take him alive. Leaving Helen, he 
 drew a revolver, and, going quickly into the inner 
 
 365
 
 THE MASK 
 
 hall, he waited in grim silence for the visitors to 
 force an entrance. 
 
 "Open the door, or we'll break it in!" shouted 
 a stern voice outside. "There's no use resisting. 
 The place is surrounded." 
 
 Still no answer. Keralio stood grimly in the 
 shadow of the parlor doorway, revolver in hand, 
 while Helen cowered in the inner room, in momen- 
 tary expectation of a tragedy. 
 
 Crash! The front door fell in, shattered into a 
 thousand splinters, and through the breach thus 
 made rushed Wilbur Steell, Dick Reynolds, and 
 half a score husky Central Office detectives, re- 
 volvers in hand. 
 
 "There is he!" cried the lawyer, pointing to 
 Keralio. 
 
 Quick as a flash, the Italian raised the revolver 
 and fired, the bullet entering the plastered wall an 
 inch away from the lawyer's head. Almost simul- 
 taneously, another pistol shot rang out, but this 
 time the aim was truer, for, with a cry of baffled 
 rage, Keralio threw his arms above his head and fell 
 fo the floor dead. Quickly, one of the detectives 
 
 366
 
 THE MASK 
 
 stooped down and compared his face with a pho- 
 tograph he had taken from his pocket. 
 
 "Yes " he exclaimed; "that's the fellow- 
 well known counterfeiter. Did time in San Quen- 
 tin and Joliet. Known as Baron Rapp, Richard 
 Barton and a dozen other aliases. He's one of the 
 slickest rogues in the country. We've got the valet 
 safe downstairs. I guess he'll get twenty years." 
 
 But Steell had not waited to hear about Keralio. 
 There were others more important to think about. 
 Rushing into the inner room, he found Helen pros- 
 trate, half fainting from fright. 
 
 "Thank God, I'm in time!" he exclaimed. 
 
 "Dorothy," she murmured weakly. "Save Doro- 
 thy! She's somewhere here." 
 
 Going into another room, the lawyer found the 
 little girl fast asleep on a bed. Bringing her to 
 her mother, he said tenderly: 
 
 "Here's your treasure. Now you can be happy." 
 
 She shook her head. The nightmare of what 
 Keralio had told her, still obsessed her. 
 
 "No " she shuddered; " never again. They 
 have killed him!" 
 
 367
 
 THH MASK 
 
 To her surprise, the lawyer, instead of sharing 
 her sorrow, actually smiled. 
 
 "Helen," he said; "I have a great surprise for 
 you. A friend has accompanied me here. He called 
 at your house to-day, but you had just left, so he 
 called on me. You have not seen him since he 
 sailed away three months ago on the Mauretania" 
 
 She listened bewildered. Her color came and 
 went. What did he mean? Could it be possible 
 that no, had not Keralio said he was dead ? Trem- 
 bling with suppressed emotion, she whispered : 
 
 "Tell me what is it tell me " 
 
 For all reply, the lawyer went to the door and 
 beckoned to someone who had waited in the outer 
 hall. A moment later a man entered, a tall, well 
 set figure that was strangely familiar. Straining 
 her eyes through her tears, it seemed to her that 
 her mind must be playing her some trick, for there 
 before her, stood Kenneth, not the impostor her in- 
 stinct had warned her to detest and avoid, but the 
 real Kenneth she had loved, the father of her child. 
 With a joyous exclamation, she tottered forward. 
 
 "Kenneth!" she cried. 
 
 368
 
 THE MASK 
 
 The man, his athletic form broken by sobs, opened 
 his arms. 
 
 "My own precious darling!" 
 
 A moment later they were clasped in each other's 
 arms. Ah, now she knew that he had come home! 
 This, indeed, was the husband she loved. There 
 was no deception this time. Wonderingly, she 
 turned to Steell. 
 
 "How did it happen?" she asked wonder- 
 ingly. 
 
 "We'll tell you later not now," he replied. 
 
 She shuddered as she asked in a low voice. 
 
 "But where is his brother?" 
 
 "Dead! He shot himself at the club. Kenneth 
 and I went to confront him at the club before com- 
 ing here. It was his only way out." 
 
 The detective stepped forward. Addressing the 
 lawyer and holding out two enormous diamonds that 
 sparkled like fire in the sunlight, he said: 
 
 "We've just found these, together with a lot of 
 counterfeit money." 
 
 The lawyer laughed as he took charge of the 
 diamonds. 
 
 369
 
 THH MASK 
 
 "It'll please Mr. Parker to see these. Come 
 Dick. Our work is done." 
 
 Kenneth put his arms around his wife. 
 
 "Safe in port at last, dear." 
 
 "You'll never go away again," she murmured 
 through her tears. 
 
 THE END
 
 By ARTHUR HORNBLOW 
 
 The Talker jut issued 
 
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 12mo. Cloth, Illustrated. Popular Edition, 50 cents 
 
 A Texas Ranger 
 
 How a member of the most dauntless border police force 
 carried law into the mesquit, saved the life of an innocent map 
 after a series of thrilling adventures, followed a fugitive tc> 
 Wyoming, and then passed through deadly peril to ultimate 
 happiness. 
 
 12mo, Cloth, Illustrated. Popular Edition, SO cents 
 
 Wyoming 
 
 In this vivid story of the outdoor West the author has cap- 
 tured the breezy charm of " cattleland," and brings out the 
 turbid life of the frontier with all its engaging dash and vigor. 
 
 12mo, Cloth, Illustrated. Popular Edition, SO cents 
 
 Ridgway of Montana 
 
 The scene is laid in the mining centers of Montana, where 
 politics and mining industries are the religion of the country. 
 The political contest, the love scene, and the fine character 
 drawing give this story great strength and charm. 
 
 12mo, Cloth, Illustrated. Popular Edition, SO cents 
 
 Bucky O'Connor 
 
 Every chapter teems with wholesome, stirring adventures, re- 
 plete with the dashing spirit of the border, told with dramatic 
 dash and absorbing fascination of style and plot. 
 
 12mo, Cloth, Illustrated. Popular Edition, 50 cents
 
 THREE SPLENDID BOOKS BY 
 
 ALFRED HENRY LEWIS 
 
 FARO NELL AND HER FRIENDS 
 
 A new story of " Wolfville" days the best of all. It 
 pictures the fine comradeship, broad understanding and 
 simple loyalty of Faro Nell to her friends. Here we meet 
 again Old Monte, Dave Tutt, Cynthiana, Pet-Named 
 Original Sin, Dead Shot Baker, Doc Peets, Old Man En- 
 right, Dan Boggs, Texas and Black Jack, the rough-ac- 
 tioned, good-hearted men and women who helped to 
 make this author famous as a teller of tales of Western 
 frontier life. 
 
 12 mo. Cloth. Illustrated. Net $1.25 
 
 THE APACHES OF NEW YORK 
 
 A truthful account of actual happenings in the under- 
 world of vice and crime in the metropolis, that gives an 
 appalling insight into the life of the New York criminal. 
 It contains intimate, inside information concerning the 
 gang fights and the gang tyranny that has since startled 
 the entire world. The book embraces twelve stories of 
 grim, dark facts secured directly from the lips of the 
 police and the gangsters themselves. 
 
 12 mo. Cloth. Illustrated. Popular Edition. SO Cents 
 
 THE STORY OF PAUL JONES 
 
 A wonderful historical romance. A story of the boy- 
 hood and later life of that daring and intrepid sailor 
 whose remains are now in America. Thousands and tens 
 of thousands have read it and admired it. Many con- 
 sider it one of the best books Mr. Lewis has produced. 
 
 12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. Popular Edition. SO Cents 
 
 G. W. DILLINGHAM COMPANY 
 
 Publishers New York
 
 By 
 
 Mrs. George Sheldon Downs 
 
 Katharine's Sheaves 
 
 A Great Novel With a Great Purpose. 
 
 {Catherine's Sheaves is altogether delightful, a charming piece of 
 fiction, a beautiful romance. One must admire the book for its charac- 
 terization, its brilliant pictures of life, and its dramatic situations, but 
 Still more for its philosophy and wisdom. 
 
 The story is a dramatic one, abounding in strong situations. 
 
 The plot is well conceived and carried out, the style easy and the 
 characters likable. 
 
 I2mo, Cloth, Illustrated. Popular Edition, 50 cents. 
 
 Step by Step 
 
 Judged as a story pure and simple, "STEP BY STEP" is altogether 
 delightful. But it is not merely a charming piece of fiction. Ethical in 
 its nature, the underlying thought shows throughout the lofty purpose 
 and high ideals of the author, and exhales a wholesome atmosphere, whfle 
 the element of romance pervading it is both elevated and enriched by its 
 purity and simplicity. 
 
 izmo, Cloth, Illustrated. Popular Edition, 50 cents. 
 
 Gertrude Elliot's Crucible 
 
 It is a readable story, dean, wholesome, and high in moral tone- 
 optimistic and constructive. 
 
 It has an alluring plot, and is well and skillfully worked out. The 
 incidents are dramatic, and therefore always striking, and the entire 
 romance will hold the attention of the reader. 
 
 I2mo, Cloth Bound, Illustrated. Popular Edition, 50 cents. 
 
 Redeemed 
 
 Dealing with divorce the most vital problem in the world to-day 
 this book tells how a pure-minded woman is divorced from her hus- 
 band, upon a flimsy pretext, because he wishes to marry again. How 
 he suffers when he learns that he has thrown away the true disinterested 
 love of a noble woman, and how he craves that love again, makes a 
 vivid, forceful story of an intensely modern significance. 
 
 I2mo, Cloth, Illustrated. Popular Edition, 50 cents.
 
 Popular Detective Stories 
 by Fergus Hume 
 
 Claude Duval of '95 
 
 Coin of Edward VII, A 
 
 Disappearing Eye, The 
 
 Green Mummy, The 
 
 Lady Jim of Curzon Street 
 
 Mandarin's Fan, The 
 
 Mystery of a Hansom Cab, The 
 
 Opal Serpent, The 
 
 Pagan's Cup, The 
 
 Rainbow Feather, The 
 
 Red Window, The 
 
 Sacred Herb, The 
 
 Sealed Message, The 
 
 Secret Passage, The 
 
 Solitary Farm, The 
 
 Yellow Holly, The 
 
 Peacock of Jewels, The 
 
 Popular edition, I2mo, cloth. Per volume, 50 cents
 
 A 000 040 453 3