The Avalanche - Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton (free ebook reader for ipad .TXT) 📗

I Am The Most Degraded Woman In The World."

 

"Oh, No, You're Not. Not By A Long Sight. You Don't Know How Much Worse

You Could Be. One Woman Who Is Here To-Night I Saw Lying Dead Drunk In

The Road Between San Mateo And Burlingame The Other Day When I Was

Driving With Alice Thorndyke, And Alice Is Having Her Fourth Or Fifth

Lover, I Forget Which--"

 

"They Are No Worse Than I."

 

"Listen. He's Coming. Got It Ready?"

 

"I Can't."

 

"You Must. He'll Hound You In The _Merry Tattler_ Until The Whole Town

Knows You're A Welcher, And Not A Soul Would Speak To You. That Is The

One Unpardonable Sin--"

 

"I Wish I'd Told Price--"

 

"Oh, No, You Don't. This Is Just A Lovely Way Out. Glad He Had The

Inspiration. Hello, Nick."

 

A Man Had Groped His Way Between The Trees And Stood Just Under

The Window.

 

"What Are You Doing Here?" Asked Doremus Sourly.

 

"Witness, Witness, My Dear Nick. Besides, Poor Helene Never Would Have

Come Alone, So There You Are."

 

"To Hell With All This Melodramatic Business. It Could Have Been Done

Anywhere--"

 

"Not Much. Dark Corners For Dark Doings."

 

"Well, Hand It Over."

 

Ruyler Had Given His Brain An Icy Shower Bath As Soon As He Heard His

Wife's Voice, And Was Now As Cool And Alert As Even The Detective Could

Have Wished. He Did Not Wait For The Promised Impulse To His Elbow; His

Hand Shot Up Just Ahead Of Doremus's And Closed Over His Wife's Hand,

Which, He Felt At Once, Held The Ruby. At The Same Moment Spaulding

Caught Doremus By His Medieval Collar And Shook Him Until The Man's Teeth

Chattered, Then He Slapped His Face And Kicked Him.

 

"Now, You," He Said Standing Over The Panting Man, Who Was Mopping His

Bleeding Nose, And Holding The Electric Torch So That It Would Shine On

His Own Face. "You Get Out Of California, D'you Hear? You're A Gambler

And A Blackmailer And A Panderer To Old Women, And I've Got Some

Evidence That Would Drag You Into Court However It Turned Out, So's

You'd Find This Town A Live Gridiron. So, Git, While You Can. Go While

The Going's Good."

 

Doremus, Too Shaken To Reply, Slunk Off, And Spaulding After A Glance

Upward, Left As Silently.

 

Chapter 13

 

I

 

Aileen Had Shrieked And Fled. Ruyler Stood In The Room With The Ruby In

His Open Hand. He Saw That Helene Was Standing Quite Erect Before Him.

She Had Made No Attempt To Leave The Room, Nor Did She Appear To Be

Threatened With Hysterics.

 

He Groped Until He Found The Electric Button. The Room, As Ruyler Had

Inferred, Was Mrs. Thornton's Winter Boudoir, A Gorgeous Room Of Yellow

Brocade And Oriental Stuffs.

 

"Will You Sit Down?" He Asked.

 

Helene Shook Her Head. She Was Very White And She Looked As Old As A

Young Actress Who Has Been Doing One Night Stands For Three Months.

Behind The Drawn Mask Of Her Face There Was Her Indestructible Youth, But

So Faint That It Thought Itself Dead.

 

She Looked At Her Hands, Which She Twisted Together As If They Were Cold.

 

"Will You Tell Me The Truth Now?" Asked Price.

 

"Don't You Guess It?"

 

"When I Came Here To-Night I Believed That You Were The Victim Of

Blackmail. I Was Not Watching You--I Hope You Will Take My Word For That.

We--I Had A Detective On The Case--Spaulding Merely Wanted To Nab The Man

Who Was Blackmailing You--"

 

"Do You Still Believe That?"

 

"I Overheard Your Conversation With Aileen Lawton. I Don't Know What

To Believe."

 

"I Am A Gambler. My Father Was A Gambler. He Kept A Notorious Place In

San Francisco. His Name Out Here Was James Garnett. My Grandfather Was A

Gambler. He Was Even More Spectacular--"

 

"I Know All That. Don't Mind."

 

"You Knew It?" For The First Time She Looked At Him, But She Turned Her

Eyes Away At Once And Stared At The Oblong Of Dark Framed By The

Window. "Why--"

 

"Spaulding Told Me To-Night Only."

 

"Mother Told Me A Week Or So Ago. She'd Been Recognized. Shortly After I

Married, When She Found Out How The Women Played Bridge And Poker Here,

She Made Me Promise I'd Never Touch A Card, Never Play Any Sort Of

Gambling Game. I Promised Readily Enough, And I Thought Nothing Of Her

Insistence. Maman Was Old-Fashioned In Many Ways--I Mean The Life We

Lived In. Rouen Was So Different From This That I Could Understand How

Many Things Would Shock Her. I Never Thought About It--But--It Was About

Six Months Ago--You Were Away For A Week And I Stayed With Polly Roberts

At The Fairmont. I Knew Of Course That She Played And That Aileen And A

Lot Of The Others Did, But I Hadn't Given The Matter A Thought. One Heard

Nothing But Bridge, Bridge, Bridge. I Was Sick Of The Word.

 

"But I Found They Played Poker. Polly And Aileen, Alice Thorndyke, Janet

Maynard, Mary Kimball, Nick Doremus, Rex And One Or Two Other Men Who

Could Get Off In The Afternoons.

 

"I Never Had Dreamed Any One In Society Played For Such High Stakes.

Janet Maynard And Mary Kimball Could Afford It, But Polly And Alice And

Aileen Couldn't. Still They Often Won--Enough, Anyhow, To Clean Up And Go

On. Doremus Is A Wonderful Player. That Is How I Got Interested, Watching

Him After He Had Explained The Game To Me.

 

"It Was A Long Time Before I Was Persuaded To Take A Hand. It Was So

Interesting Just To Watch. And Not Only The Game, But Their Faces. Some

Would Have A Regular 'Poker Face,' Others Would Give Themselves Away.

Once Aileen Had The Most Awful Hysterics. We Were Afraid Some One Outside

Would Hear Her; The Deadening Was Burnt Out Of The Walls Of The Fairmont

At The Time Of The Fire. But We Were In The Middle Room Of The Suite.

 

"Nick Told Her In His Dreadful Cold Expressionless Voice That If She Ever

Did That Again He'd Never Play Another Game With Her. That Meant That

They'd All Drop Her, And She Came To And Promised, And She Kept Her Word.

Poker Is The Breath Of Life To Her. I Think She'd Become A Drug Fiend If

She Couldn't Have It.

 

"At Last They Persuaded Me To Play. We Were Playing At Nick's, And After

A Light Dinner Served By His Jap, We Went Right On Playing Until

Midnight. I Never Thought Of You Or Anything. I Seemed To Respond With

Every Nerve In My Body And Brain. I Won And Won And Won, And Even When I

Lost I Didn't Mind. The Sensation, The Tearing Excitement Just Under A

Perfectly Cool Brain Was Wonderful.

 

"I Only Ceased To Enjoy It When I Realized What It Meant. When I Couldn't

Keep Away From It. When I Lived For The Hour When We Would Meet,--At

Polly's, Or At Nick's Or At Aileen's--Any Of The Places Where We Were

Supposed To Be Dancing, But Where There Was No Danger Of Being Found Out.

Of Course I Dared Not Have Them At Home, And The Others Lived With Their

Families, Or Had Too Many Servants....

 

"I Came Fully To My Senses One Day When Nick Told Me I Was A Born

Gambler If Ever There Was One. Then, When I Realized, I Became

Desperately Unhappy.

 

"I Was The Slave Of A Thing. I Was Deceiving You. When I Was At The Table

I Loved Poker Better Than You, Better Than Anything On Earth. When I Was

Alone I Hated It. But I Couldn't Break Away. Besides, I Didn't Always

Win. I Had To Play In The Hope Of Winning Back. Or If I Won A Lot It Was

A Point Of Honor To Go On And Play Again, And Give Them Their Chance.

 

"Mrs. Thornton Found Out. She Gave Me A Terrible Talking To. I Am Afraid

I Was Very Insolent.

 

"But She Came Up That Night Of The Assembly And Warned Me That You Were

Down Stairs. I Was Playing In Polly's Room. We Had All Danced Two Or

Three Times And Then Slipped Up To The Next Floor By Different Stairs And

Lifts. I Liked Her Better Then. Of Course She Did It For Your Sake, Not

Mine. But She's A Good Sort, Not A Cat.

 

"You Have Not Noticed, But I Have Not Bought A New Gown This Season

Except That Little Gray One And This--Which Was Made In The House. I

Dared Not Pawn My Jewels, For Fear You Would Miss Them.

 

"I Have Been In Hell.

 

"Then--It Was That Evening You Heard Maman Reproach Me For Breaking My

Promise--I Had Lost A Dreadful Lot Of Money And Nick Had Scurried Round

And Borrowed It For Me. I Didn't Know Then That He Meant All The Time To

Get Hold Of The Ruby--I Am Sure Now That He Cheated And Made Me Lose.

 

"Well, I Sent The Maid Away That Night And Told Maman. She Was Nearly Off

Her Head. I Never Saw Her Excited Before. Then She Told Me The Truth. I

Felt As If I Had Been Turned To Stone. But I Felt Suddenly Cool And Wary.

I Knew I Must Keep My Head. It Was As If My Father Had Suddenly Come

Alive In My Brain. I Had Never Lied To You Before, Merely Put You Off.

But How I Lied That Night! I Felt Possessed. But I Knew I Must Not Be

Found Out, And I Made Up My Mind To Stop Playing As Soon As I Came Out

Even. If I Had Known That My Father And My Grandfather Had Been Gamblers

I Never Should Have Touched A Card. I'd Far Rather Have Drunk Poison.

 

"I Made Up My Mind Then, And There To Stop And I Felt Quite Capable Of

It. But I Had To Go On And Square Myself, For I Owed That Money To Nick.

But When I Played It Was With My Head Only. All The Fever Had Gone Out Of

My Veins. I Loathed It. I Loathed Still More Deceiving You.

 

"I Won And Won And Won. I Thought I Was Delivered. I Was Almost Happy

Again. Some Day I Meant To Tell You--When It Was All Over.

 

"Then I Began To Lose Horribly. Thousands. It Ran Up To Twenty Thousand.

I Did Not Betray Myself, And The Girls Thought I Had Money Of My Own And

Could Pay My Losses Quite Easily. They Didn't Know That Nick Always

Helped Me Out. He Was Never The Least Bit In Love With Me--He Couldn't

Love Any Woman--But He Said I Played Such A Wonderful Game And Was Such A

Sport, Never Lost My Head, That He Wouldn't Lose Me For The World--When I

Threatened To Stop And Never Play Again.

 

"But All The Time He Wanted The Ruby. I Found That Out When He Told Me He

Must Have The Money Inside Of A Week; He'd Taken It Out Of His Business,

And It Really Belonged To His Partners, And They'd Find Him Out And Send

Him To Prison--

 

"I Offered Him My Jewels. They Would Have Brought Half Their Value At

Least. I Could Have Told You They Were Stolen--Only One More Lie. It Was

Then He Said He Must Have The Ruby. He Had Known About It Ever Since You

Came Out Here, But After He Saw It On Me That Night At The Gwynnes' He

Was More Than Ever Determined To Have It.

 

"I Laughed At Him At First. It Seemed Preposterous That He Could Demand A

Ruby Worth Two Or Three Hundred Thousand Dollars In Payment For A Debt Of

Twenty Thousand. I Thought Of Selling My Jewels And Furs And Laces, Or

Pawning Them And Raising The Amount--He Only Had My I.O.U. For That Sum.

But I Didn't Know Where To Go. So I Told Aileen. She Wouldn't Hear Of My

Disposing Of My Things, Said It Would, Be All Over Town In Twenty-Four

Hours. She Advised Me To Get The Twenty Thousand Out Of You On One

Pretext Or Another.

 

"I Tried. You Will Remember. Then Nick Began To Haunt Me. He Whispered In

My Ear