The evening world. Newspaper, July 13, 1916, Page 12

_—— ry rt by E ae Story THE LOST with (Coprriatt HE Gret part of the etrenee dene Gordon wae more or Seletrame Hut the latter ithe ne ether story ever were brought we Hi Was the most pretentious, bie 7 Be and Tom Mercer's father hed sister Mirtam were Det adopted by Hiram Gordon Mercer wae « prim, unat- and @ddly soured nature, had secured for her the post- ‘Of principal of the Bamoset gra echool, And she spent most of Gime at her duties there, growing ‘and more aloot trom her old From the first, she had 4) Janet Gordon and had vainly Seted to Influence Tom axainat her, As for Tom bimecif—trom ehild- “peed be and Janet bad loved each ‘ether, Their fathere had amtied on “the pretty romance, And when, in " manhood, Tom asked Hiram * permission to marry Janet request was heartily granted, The course of true love gave every | promise of running with « most un- eventful smoothness. flawed only by Miriam Mercer's futile opposition. Hiram Gordon was the President @hiet stockholder, of the Bamonet Tom had a position of trust fender bim and on the firet of the year Was to succeed the retiring old gashier, This would mean for him an on which he and Janet could mfortably marry, Then, all at once, the placidly un- £ + qventtul happiness of the two lovers Peesived a sharp netback. & teva of stock speculation had Bwept the country, as reaction after QA aren of hard times, Hiram Gor- Gem was infected by it. He saw—or thought he saw—a chance to turn his eomfortable fortune into enormous i % Me spectiated heavily, not only with bis personal funds, but with those of the bank as well, And prea- @atly came the collapse of the bubbie @t falec prosperity that had Jured ad Many thousand people into crazy in- ‘Btreet, Dosens of banks were wrecked. And, with an army of other un- fortunates, Hirem Gordon lost his all. Gordon could have faced the lons of el Own fortune, But the fact that @esens of people had been tmpover- fghed through his folly was more than _ he gould bear, He made « hurried trip to New York, trying there to raise funds to ever his investors’ lossen, He found the New York money market tight @lgned and he could not wring from it @Blngle dollar. » But, through a Broad Street broker he chanced to meet there a young @eancter named Marc Lander, who had fattened on the panic that had fuined so many better men. Lander had @ reputation that was Bene too savory, He had made his wealth by cleverly gambling on “long ots” in the nancial world, And he @onsented, at Gordon's request, to Journey out to Samoset and look over ‘the ground. ‘He went thither; found the bank's @oMdition too hopeless for recovery and Gordon's own assets too heavily fmvolved to offer even a gambier's @hance for further profits, But he also saw Janet Gordon, And, Deoause the lovely girl strangely stirred the jaded New Yorker's fancy, he stayed for a time at Bamoset. Maro Lander was too well versed In the art of courtship to emake direct Joye to the girl who, at their very first meeting told him she was engaged to another man, Put he resolved all the more strenuously to win her, Janet was wholly different from the Bashy and sophisticated women who had hitherto made up Lander’s social \ world. Her gentleness, her innocence, | her fragile beauty, began to weave @ubtle chains about hin heart and brain. Ho swore at last that she _ should one day be his wife, at what- ever cost, Wherefore he surprised and de- Nghted old Hiram Gordon by paying off the latter's debts of honor and by accepting Gordon's unindorsed notes for the sum. The bank, of course, was hope- Jessly wrecked, And while Gordon Bow had enough money to live on, | Tom Mercer had not, Through Hiram Gordon's influence 'Fom received an offer from a power- ful manufacturing concern whose headquarters were in New York and < eleventh of a series of separate stories the commission inviting judgment upon both actual guilt and real responsibility. A ty Mre Wiles Weetrow) Biram Gordon-Janet'e father—was ne No. 11 PARADISE. oA crimes real! ieae and more tenaelp eneliing part of i told together, Tom and Janet, in the his the very edge of the ares that formed the end Connectiout the New York side of the oresk. Mut in two Wot above the knee, a man could faeily the “Wg man” of Bamoret Mie le ere the broadest tn the litte been chume from their colleme deve er come guests in the big Gordon Bince the death of their parents the two Mercer children had been pany'’® Hartford, Conn, Job there was petty and tll paid, at firet; but It offered fine opportunlt! for promotion, And Tom Mercer made up bie mind to avall himeaeif, to the full, of every one of those oppor tunities, To please Tom, Mr, Gordon at the fame time aeoured for Miriam a post tion In @ Hartford sehool, ao that the brother and steter might atill live to- gether, Miriam welcomed the chang leon because tt brought hy more money than because it took T away from Janet Gordon, whom she hated more and more bitterly as the years went on. Janet and Tom tried to be very brave indeed over the tragedy of their neparation, To deaden the anguish of absence they weed to build air caa- tea around the ewift promotion Tom certain to receive, and und the gloriously happy life that would be theire when, in a year or #o at moat, Tom should come back to Bam- onet to claim her aa his wife, Then with a mist of teara in their eyon they kissed and eald goodby. And Tom eet off to hie new labors, Almont every day for the next six monthe or #0 he wrote to Janot, tell- ing of his work and his prospecta of advancement, And ehe loyally an- swored his every letter, tolling him, over and over again, of her deathives love and loyalty, Then for @ whole month not one letter reached Tom from the girl he loved, although he learned through friends in Bamoset that she was not a He wrote again and in, begging her to tell him the reason for her Indeod, be was on the point of dropping bis work and hurrying back to her when, one morning, the longed for letter arrived, Tom tore it open and, with face alight, began to read it. But, as he read, the Joyous amile faded from his Ups and eyes, to be replaced by blank horror, Janet had written: “Deareat-—I have waited as long as 1 dared before telling you what I muat tell you to-day, I haven't had the courage to write, Because I know what I had to say would be a knife- thrust to your heart, And I would forfeit my own life, if I might, to ave you from pain, my darling. But T cannot. “Lat mo tell it as briefly and ae mereifully I can, “You remember how Mr. Marc Lan- der came to father's rescue last year by lending him money enough to meet the Interest on his debts and by start- ing him afresh in life. Well, a month ago the notes father gave Mr, Lander fell due, Father asked for renewal, Mr, Lander refused. “Father faced bankruptey and loss of financial honor If the notes weren't pald, You know how old and feeble he has grown this past year or two, Buch a disgrace would kill him. “He besought Mr. Lander again to grant him more time, Mr, Lander consented not only to give him time, but to destroy the notes themselves— 0B one condition, “It was @ terrible condition, Tom. A condition I can hardly bring myself tell you. But JT must, He said to father: “TH tear up all these notes—the day I marry Janet!" “It seeme he had fallen In love with me-1 don't know why. And he ad- mitted that he had helped father ia the hope of winning me, It is hor- rible! He had woven a net around father from which there was no es- cape, unless 1 consented marry him “What else could Ido? Lowe every- thing to father, It was the only chance to pay back part of my debt. Father didn't coerce me at all, But I could see how happy it would make him. “Bo I have promised to marry Mr, Lander, It was the only thing I could do. We are to be married very quietly this afternoon, And this eve- ning we go to New York to live. “Dear, LT can't write any more. If you are heartbroken over this you have at least the comfort of knowing that I still love you and that I shall the train he had hoped to take and mires,” she went on, pathetically glad hove poe forewer et ever 0 aoe neve tor 1 heat ee . oe ee for — ~ tm Oe the eriet | om counties you Mut my fee yet ee Help me te? Janet 4 eed wp trom the letter, Ole fare © . . Aone the treat ' hie enter ™ ‘ , ' or t And she eried w * Tom? Janet chair from the talde and oul short hie wstere apite ful speech by elamping out of the bourne Hirelaht to the factory he went, moving @asediy, lke @ man in @ nigbimare. On bis arrival he waa summoned th the ndentea oMoce and was there work had been so watiefactory an to warrant bie superiors in giving bim @ much hieher fied that hie This new pow! tory was one toward wh been fighting bis way for it had been the goal of hopes, For it entailed @ salary afford to marry The good news was now dead wea fruit to the heartbroken man, Yet it roused him from his dase of numb ery and awakened tn him ones more the ambition to Maht on. which he could THURGDAY, JULY 18, 10 or! el eeerly tee boore beaters the eeet would otart “ * hie bende ond oath. tne voarvingy t Hiv log wom harm could 1 de either of them he Ohewid “ her foro half hour 4 tor train time? ty of monthe he hed ' forget her, te , # out of bie memory by « ‘ mt work Hut at tie fret toue her vimion ‘ » remietions for that one elim him lke @ © tinge of thivet © omeln for or welded lle he could oo beck to bis own dreary isbore eon. tent and reconciied. He entered @ drum store and opener & lelephone directory, F jy he 4 in ite pages What he sought “Lander, M—Droker—g, 999 Central Park Houth Fifteen minutes later Tom was con fronting « idly etoday butler at the 4 f the Lander avert Thie functionary east a euperciiious glance at the caller's readymade clothes, bis work-splayed hands aod his woft hat of cheap make. a Mre, Launder at home? anked Tom, Hefore the butler could reply Janet hurried forward. Crossing the apart ment’a hallway, from one roown to an ot had heard and recognized Tom Mercer's vo! With an exclamation of delighted \ thea” @rewied Tom, torae by telking eof ' # he had the good luck ' engel, inetead of ' ‘ ause he can't ay *n o the mud Tell me I's been going on @ long time, se anewered, “Almost © o ¥ fret, But tte bees growing and works, until last might, (he et came And thee thle morn« be — ° “Laat night? esked Tan, “What happened last night?” “We-he gave @ dinner here to number of boon companions of his. Home of them were people I aide like, And | asked leave to ’ ey from the table, That made him every, He said I must be at Ho I had to be, There w ® great deal of drinking, And—and I didn't like the way the people talked—even the women.” “1 know. Lknow, Go on” “One of them made fun of me for not drinking And Mare heard it And he got angry again, And he shouted to me not to be @ little purl t fool And after dinner that odious old ¢ jarding tried to make love to m Oh, it waa hor- rible! This morning I told Marc t it” “Good for you!" approved Tom. JANETS HU: He had hitherto worked with love as his hoped-for prise, Now love was dead, And he vowed that henceforth ambition ghould be his aim in life, He would throw himself, heart and soul, into his career, He would sacrifice everything to success, He would win wealth and power to atons for tho love ho had lost. He would deaden unhappiness by an orgy of work. And he kept his vow, For the next year or eo Tom Mer- cer's example was one which his em- ployer pointed out to lazer toilors. Karly and late ho was at hia desk. His home life, with his sister, was so unpleasant to him that he spent his evenings and most of his Sundays at the factory, Not the resulta of more drudgery did he accomplish, but of Inspiration as well, His brain awoke to possibill- tles of which he had never dreamed himaelf capable. He was forever thinking out and putting Into practice fdeas for the factory's betterment, His campaign of efictency lowered expenses and increased profits, His labor-saving devices were taken up And proved to be of tremendous value, His plans for the reorgantaing of work hours and of duties not only averted & threatened strike, but put money into his employer's pockets, We 4 of his prowess reached the home office In New York, and he was sent for to confer with the dl ors there on a scheme he had outlined, He convinced the directors of the scheme’s value, and to hiv amazement Was appointed superintendent of the entire Hartford factory. The man was a dynamo of energy and of executive genius, and the di- rectors hastened to recognize his ability before some rival firm should do Bo. Tom Mercer left the general offices of his company after the directors’ meeting and started toward the Grand Central Station on his return Journey to Hartford, Glancing at the station clock he saw he had missed astonishment she ran to welcome the guest, Almost incoherently Tom re- plied to her impulsive greetings. Presently the two emerged from the half-light of the hallway into the sun- Mt living room, There Tom halted and stared in frank and distressed amazement at the woman he loved, For the past year or two had wrought startling changes in her, She was dressed in a style that seemed to Tom's unaccustomed senses nothing short of queenly, But she was thinner and much paler than of old and she had wholly lost her air of youth and gay vigor, She looked pal- lid, Nstleas, 11, Her eyes were Jark- ringed, And they were infinitely sad, almost frightened, and were fraught with a mute appeal that went straight to Tom's heart, Your surroundings here are gor- geous,” he said bluntly, “But you're unhappy, Wretchedly unhappy, What ts the matter? Tell me, Jane Bhe made as though to laugh and to deny his assertion that she was not happy. But the laugh and the Ne alike stuck tn her throat, Her self-control, undermined by sorra, and sorely strained by the glad shock of seeing him again, suddenly went to pleces, “Oh, Tom!" she walled, tears gush- Ing to the pale, sad eyes, “I am so unhappy! 80 miserable! I'm such a failure _ “You? he crted, in dental, Ure? Never in this wide world would be a suc “Pm not a suce a failure. A ghastly, stupid fatlure, Mure says so, He told me ao only this morning.” “Mare?” he repeated, “You mean your husband? He sald you were a failure? ‘The cur! Why?" “He was right” she sobbed, “He was right, Tam a failure, 1 can't learn to lead the sort of life he wants his wife to lead.” “Thank the Lord for that!" mut- tered Tom, under his breath, “1 can't be like the women he ad- BAND ATTACKS TOM, “And he's gone out to thrash him?” “No,” she replied. “He told me I was an idiot to be shocked at such trifles and’—— “He did! The beast!” “And then he said I was a ‘skeleton after the feast’ and a ‘kill-joy’ and a 4ittle country prude,’ and I began to ery. I couldn't help it, though he al- ways gots angry whea I cry, I tried ever 8 hard not to, but it was no use, And when I cried he flew into a rage and caught me by the arm and shook me and"—— , She was interrupted by an explo- sion of hot wrath from Tom, As she had spoken she had unconsciously lifted her arm, The lace sleeve of her morning dress had fallen back, revealing an ugly set of black and blue bruises on the soft white flesh, “He did-—that?" shouted Tom, white with righteous indignation, “I've heard there were men who were so beastly as to show cruelty to women, but I never". “Oh, it doesn't hurt 80 very badly now,” she tried to soothe him, “And, anyway, it wasn't as painful as when he struck me, He"-— “He struck you?” panted Tom, al- most tnaudibly, "Struck you? Janet, Vil kill him for that!" “No!" she implored. “Nol You mustn't, You must promise not to, 1 couldn't bear that I" — Why don’t you leave him? de- manded Tom, “Why do you live with such a brute?" “What can I dot" “Where can I go? no profession, Every girl ought to have one, but I haven't, And I couldn't support myself, Father has barely enough money to take care of himself, Bo I couldn't go back to she returned, 1 have no trade, him, I couldn't even pay for a dl- vorce, Mare knows all that and he loves to taunt me with it.” “He would.” growled Tom, flercely, adding: “Listen td me, Janet, This man has treated you with abominable cruelty, Cruelty 1s not @ legal cause for a divorce in New. York Sta more's the pity, But tt is, in Connec- ticut, Let me take you back to Hart. ford, Vou en Gay @Ith Miriam there ond entabiich @ Cennectiut rest Genes’ Ae foen 08 Fou heave coe ened bring oult for . eresity, After that-unless you've Ctopped loving men —— “Tve never topped levine vou. Tom.” be we married to Mare Lander do ae you ummont your sister Miriam dist Pouldn't receive met There are plenty « able bowrdt "het th “My money le ve "I couldn't take one man's money to get @ divorces from another, I should be aa vile as Mare himerif if I stooped to do that. I can't.” “L might have known you wouldn't,” enid Tom. “Forgive me for sumeest- ing 1 But,” he added, more hope- fully, “here te something you can do without biwing @elf-respect: 1 have many 00d friends among the Hart~ ford business men. But 1 can't firet ple 1 can easily wot one of them @ive you a job. A job that will eupport you while you are waiting for your divorce decree, You can find @ good boarding place Hut I know no trade—no way to earn a Hving’ “With your quick bratn,” he sald, “It will be no time at all Mefore you taster nd me an find you @ job where n be worth any fuir living waxes, Will you do tt, Janet?” In his eagerness he caught both her hands in his as he urged her to consent to his plan, And at that n ment the living room portieres were Jerked apart and Ma Lander slouched into the room, Karly in the day as it was, Lander had evidently to ease the a night's potations, While not actually drunk, he most decidedly was not sober, And he was in a savage mood. He stopped short on the threshold at aight of Tom Mercer, He saw that Mercer was holding Janet's hands, Too excited to notice the utter Inno- cence of the action, he misread it as well as the reason of Tom's presence there, “IL came back home for some mall I forgot,” said Lander, striding for- ward, ‘And it's lucky I did, If I dropped in here oftener in the day- time I'd probably walk !n on more Uttle love acenes like this.” “Mare!” gasped Janet, Tom, without a word, stepped be- tween the threateningly advancing man and his trembling wife, His own fists were clenched and his face was dangerously calm. Mare looked sneer- him for an instant, then ‘lear out of here!” “In my own good time,” replied Tom coolly, “And | am not to be ordered out Ike a dog.” “We do more than ‘order’ dogs out of my home,” said Lander angrily; “we enforce our orders with a whip. He caught up a riding crop that had been left lying on a nearby tab and slashed viciously at Tom's face, Tom with his right hand caught the larger man's wrist and wrenched the crop from his grasp. At the same time he struck flercely and scientifi- cally with his left. The blow caught Mare Lander squarely on the point of the jaw, The drunkard collapsed with a grunt and ppewmled helplessly on the hardwood oor. Tom leaned over him, saying in the same ominously cool volce: “If you want any more you know where to get it. And if ever I hear of your maltreating Janet again you'll get It good and plenty, whether you want It or not. Remember that.” Turning to the frightened girl, Tom id, more gently: I'm sorry to have had to do this in your presence. But you see for yourself he left mo no option, I've told you my plan for you. If you de- cide to accept, come straight to Hart. ford. I'll be waiting.” Without so much as another glance at the scrambling and swearing man on the floor he left the apartment, Slowly and ragingly Mare Lander got to his feet. Hoe was still sick and dizzy from the knockout blow, But he was also in a blind rage that he should thus have been thrashed in the presence of the woman jie himself had ao Ill treated, “Are-—are you very badly hurt, Maro?” asked Janet faintly. The solicitous question awoke him to a fresh access of fury, “Hurt?” he bellowed. “I'm not any- where near as badly burt as Mr, Thomas Mercer will be before I'm done with him! I'll get him If it takes my last cent or sends me to the chair! T'll_ get him!" “Mare!” she exclaimed, shocked b; his wild-beast ferocity, “He struc! rou in gelf-defense, You attacked m."* “Shut,up!" he roared, “And now that I've kicked him out, you ean £0, too, I'm sick of you, Get out.” With no show of her former fear whe sald: “Mare, do you mean that? Are you really tired of me? Do you really cast me off?" “I've said #0, have torted, still raging. fore now, Get out!" “I can't divoree you in New York,” she made answer. “But In Connect cut, cruelty 18 a ground for divorce, And" — “Divorce me if you want to!" he snarled, “But I'll get him yet, And you, too, I'll make you both wish you'd neither of you ever been born!" Janet followed Tom Mercer's ad- vice in every particular, She went to Hartford and there presented her- self at the little home which Tom and his sister shared, Miriam greeted her sourly enough to justify Janet's prophecy that she could find no wel- come under that roof. But Tom was in the seventh heaven of bliss, He arranged with t I?” he re- e sald so be- aA business acquaintance to take Janet into his employ while she was learning stenography, And, unknown to the girl herself, Tom, during this period, secretly pald her wages out of his ‘own pocket to her employer. Then with new zest, he threw himself into his own work, And for @ year he and the woman he loved saw little of each other, For both were resolved to give no occasion for gossip. Only Miriam Mercer's tongue voiced disapproval of their wholly innocent acquaintanceship during this time, . egeinet Mare Lander on grounds of * from satiated with his condition. weeping hysterically. At last Tom received word that he ad bens promuied te bi aried om at © or offices tn ew York, And the same week Ja- net's divorce was m The joyous lovers hastened to Hamoset, and there, in Hiram Gor- Gon's home, they were married. Th they went to New York Tom found @ beautiful house tn the euburbs alled hie bride. And their o fe together was ideally happy Both at firet were a Neth over Maro Landers attitude tow. thetr unton, Janet well knew her f mer husband's vindletivenes nd she ok to block roe oF else to revenge bimadt worrted a fully expected he would her div for had not opposed the di- é and gave no sign of intent to In- Mercer little by little, he a bad dre node now forey And #0 the happy yeare went Two children were born to the ¢ Their home life was perfect, was rising faster and faster in the business world, In fact he had ever been a tireless worker, #0 tireless that at last nature med her due fr rwork And T hin house for several weeks by a serl- ous nervous breakd Janet nursed him tenderly back to- ward health, But «he was atill & eclally Was sho troubled when the doctor one day drew her to one aide and said: “He is on the high road to recovery now. But there ts one thing you must look out for, That ts bis heart. The heart has been under a terrific strain throughout all these years of over- work and overworry. This tliness has left it weak, Any sudden shock or ex- citement of physical exertion might perhaps" The doctor did not finish his sen- tence, But Janet understood, And she was afraid, That same afternoon as she and Tom were sitting in the library the two children me in from a walk with their nurse and began to play on the veranda, The youngsters had heard their elders tell of the war, So now, while thoir nurse went indoors on some errand they undertook to play ‘The Rattle of the Marne” on the front steps. This alluring game proved some- what noisy, And Janet feared lest it might disturb Tom, So she slipped out upon the porch to ask the baby warriors to conduct their “battle” more quietly, As she was about to re-enter the house, she saw a man turn in from the street and come up the walk toward her, Thinking it was some neighbor come to inquire after Tom she moved forw: Then she pausec With a thrill of terror she recog- nized Mare Lander, Lander mounted the steps, raising his hat with an insolently jaunty air, and stood before her, his hand out- stretched. As usual, he had been drinking-—and drinking heavily, Janet knew the signs of old, “How ts my dear iittle wife?” he asked, in mock tendern “I am not your wife,” she retorted, in positive loathing as she recoiled from him, “No?” he queried in apparent sur- prise. “That's news to me. I was told that you were. “Please Ko away, rd to welcome him, she said ictly, But he did not stir, Instead he continued in the me friendly fashion: “Old Sofield, my lawyer, told me so, He told me so when I went to him tor advice in getting back at Tom Mercer for my licking, Sofield said then: ‘Let her get her divorce in Con- necticut, Don't oppose it! Then, when you got the divorce there and crossed back into New York and married Mercer, Sofield said to me again: ‘You can interfere any time vou want to now, Sho's not his wife, She's yours," “It 1s not true!” flamed Janet. “I Our wedding certift- am his wife. cate “Your wedding good as gold—in Connecticu' swered grinning, “In New York tt is merely @ scrap of waste paper, New York law does not recognize a Con- necticut divorce on grounds of cru- elty, You are living in New York State, In this State, according to till my wife,” she panted in horror, certifica T "m not! “If you doubt it," he scoffed, your own lawyer, He will tell you so. IT would have told you #o myself before this, but I thought my revenge would be a Httle riper and a little sweeter for every year I waited ou can't—vou can't mean — 1 mean just that.” he assented cheerfully, “Here is the law (verity it if you like): Your alleged divorce 9 was secured in Connecticut, That State was not vour matrimontal »micile, I never appeared to defend suit nor in anv way subinitted self to the jurisdiction of the Con. ticut courts, New York does not recognize your divorce, In the eve of the New York law you aro still my You can be imprisoned for and your supposed husband ean be’ She broke in on his words with a sharp cry of anguish-——a_ cry that startled the two children from. their play—a ery that penetrated to the in- terior of the house and brought Tom Mercer running out to his wife's aid Forgetful of his recent filness and of the doctor's warning against over- exertion, Tom responded to the ery and instinctively rushed forth, For As he flung open the front door and stepped out onto the himself face to face with the one man in all the world whom he least the one man on earth “What are you doing here?” he demanded, Janet threw her arms around T veranda, Tom found ‘s neck, stepped out found bimeelf face to face with one man io all the world whom least expected to seemthe one man on earth whom he hated. ae. “What are you dving here? manded harwhly Janet threw her arme around Tom hywtei realty. ‘Dee. tn her neck, we ntly aside and whi stirred by th Tom put her been saying te |, his eyes ab! been holding @ pe k with my own wits,” flercely upon Lander have you “What n with sudden anecr gust, stopped the slurring words by landing heavily Againat the apeaker’s aouth, Lander, running in, grappled, Up and down the veranda they awaved and reeled tn their primordial battle Lander fought with the accumu. Inted and fermenting hate of years, Hut his life had not been of the sort that fits one for sustained eff Long and steady dissipation preset began to take thelr toll of his once rugired strength. Tom, wrenching free from his op- onent’s grip, drove his left fat ran nto Land ace and follow it with his right, Under the double impact Lander was knocked clean off his balance, His big body flew backward, Hits feet sought tardily for the veranda floor and clawed in futhe effort at the top step. Then he hurtled over the edge of the veranda, down the entire filght of wooden stairs, and his head smote sharply against an tron Jardiniere on the lawn below, Lander lay uncon- scious on the lawn, Tom Mercer made as tf to descend the steps toward his fallen and sense. less foe, But, at the same instant, his features became contorted with agony. He clutched at his heart with both hands, a groan of mortal pain burst- ing from his white I!ps, Janet cried aloud at aight of Tom's ashen face, and ran to catch him as he staggered blindly backward, She was in time to seize the eud- denly helpless and Inert body in her arm? ul her love and all her prayers could not stay for one bdriet minute the flight of the soul from that body. Tom's eyes fluttered fecbly open ag he eank to the veranda floor at her eet. Up into her own eyes his drifted, and rested there for a second in & passion of love and tenderness, “I love you--Janet, my—my wife!” he whispered brokenly, ‘Then bie head fell back, and he lay very till, ee It was on the day after the fun that Catus Lefferts, Tom Mercer's lawyer, called at the once brig Mercer home to see Janet, She came into the brary to recetve him, looking very beautiful, but pitt. fully tragic in her deep mourning, “Well,” sho asked in tense eagere Ness as ho rose to greet her. “Have voked up the law in the mat= and it tan't true, m afraid, Mrs, Merco: ces plied sadly, “that I must answer ‘Yes’ to both those questions, I have cone sulted every authority, Marc Lander was correct. You were solemnly mi ried to Thomas Mercer, in the a! of God and of the law—in Gonnanete But in New York you were Thomas Mercer's wife, In ~ he hositated, then forced 5 self to go on, “In fact, I learn er that Lander {s instituting sult for divorce against you, namin ery Mercer as co-respondent.” = bias “Oh, shaineful!” she gasped, “Worse than shameful,” he “Yet the law will uphold him, He will win his case. If Mercer had lived Lander could have had you both ime prisoned for bigamy. By the appal- Ung discord in our divorce laws a per son may be legally married in one State and yet an adjoining State may hold that person guilty of bigamy.” ck and forth in her her hands clasped across her her elender body rent by dsy must tell you everything,” on the lawyer. “although it te tre torturing a helpless child, ‘Thomas Morcer left no will. It waa doubtless his Intent that you should thus ree ceive one-third of hia property and each of his children one-third, ‘But— none of you three, by New York law, has any status as his wife or ohile She rocked ba chatr, dren, Ther none of you can In- herit his estate, “What! Surely his own ehil- ‘ew York State," replied Lefferts, loes not recognize you as Mercere widow, You and your children have no claim on his estate," “But"—- “His sister," continued Let “called on me this morning. As Mer- cer's next of kin, as he left no will, she is his sole heir, She came to notify me that she intends to evict you And your children from this house and that she refuses to contribute one pe any toward tho support of any of you ne’ He broke off, Janet had fallen back in her chair in a dead faint, And only the principal actors tn the the ones to blame, but law. must share the odium and art of the burden when the accusing finger 1s pointed at them 4 they are asked the question, (END OF ELEVENTH STORY.) THE TWELFTH EPISODE IN THE SERIAL “WHO’S GUILTY?” Will Be Published THURSDAY, July 20.