attend balls given at the hotel.

And it was this man, rich, it was said, handsome certainly, that
Cynthia Ratchford had married. There had been other lovers whom she
might have wedded, it was rumored, and more than one had remarked:

"Why did she take him?"

To this was the answer--whispered:

"Money!"

And, in a way, it was true. The family of Cynthia Larch--at least her
mother--was socially ambitious, and she saw that if her daughter became
the wife of Langford Larch his wealth, combined with her own family
connections, would give her a chance not only to shine in the way she
desired, but to eclipse some satellites who had outshone her in the
social firmament. She also saw an opportunity of paying old debts and
reaping some revenges.

All of this she had done, in a measure. After the marriage, which was
a brilliant and gay one, if not happy, the Larch hotel--it could hardly
be called a home--became the scene of many festive occasions. A number
of entertainments were given, remarkable for the brilliant and
effective dresses of the women, the multiplicity and richness of the
food, and the variety of the wines.

Langford Larch could not himself be called a drinking man.
Occasionally, as almost perforce he had to, he drank a little wine.
But he was never noticeably drunk. Nor was that side of his business
ever accentuated.

Gradually there had come about little whispers that Cynthia Larch had
made a mistake in her marriage. There was little that was
tangible--mere gossip--a hint that she would have been happier with
some one else, though he had not so much money as had Larch.

The rumors floated about a bit, seemed to sink, and then started off at
full steam just before the news of the separation became public. Then
it was said of Larch that, soon after the echoes of the wedding chimes
had died away, he had begun to treat his wife with refined
cruelty--that hidden away from the public, underneath his habitual
manner, there was the rawness of the brute.

But, for a time, the entertainments were kept up, and Cynthia, lovelier
than ever, presided at her husband's table, graced it with her
presence, and laughed and smiled at the men and women who came to
partake of their lavish hospitality.

But it was noticed that the older and more conservative families were
less often represented, and, when they were, it was by some of the
younger members, whose reputations were already smirched or who had not
yet