The Face and the Mask

The Face and the Mask

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Title: The Face And The Mask
Author: Robert Barr
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The Face and the Mask
BY ROBERT BARR

[Illustration: "THE GIRL KISSED THE TIPS OF HER FINGERS."]

THE HON. WILLIAM E. QUINBY
(United States Minister to the Netherlands)
HAS HELPED SO MANY UNKNOWN LITERARY ASPIRANTS
THAT HE CAN HARDLY HAVE HOPED TO ESCAPE THE
DEDICATION TO HIM OF A BOOK BY AT LEAST ONE OF
THEM

CONTENTS.
CHAP. I. THE WOMAN OF STONE II. THE CHEMISTRY OF
ANARCHY III. THE FEAR OF IT IV. THE METAMORPHOSES OF
JOHNSON V. THE RECLAMATION OF JOE HOLLENDS VI. THE
TYPE-WRITTEN LETTER VII. THE DOOM OF LONDON VIII.

THE PREDICAMENT OF DE PLONVILLE IX. A NEW
EXPLOSIVE X. THE GREAT PEGRAM MYSTERY XI. DEATH
COMETH SOON OR LATE XII. HIGH STAKES XIII. "WHERE
IGNORANCE IS BLISS" XIV. THE DEPARTURE OF CUB
MCLEAN XV. OLD NUMBER EIGHTY-SIX XVI. PLAYING WITH
MARKED CARDS XVII. THE BRUISER'S COURTSHIP XVIII.
THE RAID ON MELLISH XIX. STRIKING BACK XX.
CRANDALL'S CHOICE XXI. THE FAILURE OF BRADLEY XXII.
RINGAMY'S CONVERT XXIII. A SLIPPERY CUSTOMER XXIV.
THE SIXTH BENCH

[Illustration]
The Personal Conductor: "It is a statue of no importance whatever."
The Personally Conducted: "Yes, but what does it mean?"
The Personal Conductor: "I don't suppose it means anything in
particular. It is not by any well-known artist and the guidebooks say
nothing about it."
The Personally Conducted: "Perhaps the sculptor intended to typify life;
the tragic face representing one side of existence and the comic mask
another."
The Personal Conductor: "Very likely. This way to the Louvre, if you
please."

THE WOMAN OF STONE.
Lurine, was pretty, petite, and eighteen. She had a nice situation at the
Pharmacie de Siam, in the Rue St. Honoré. She had no one dependent
upon her, and all the money she earned was her own. Her dress was of
cheap material perhaps, but it was cut and fitted with that daintiness of
perfection which seems to be the natural gift of the Parisienne, so that

one never thought of the cheapness, but admired only the effect, which
was charming. She was book-keeper and general assistant at the
Pharmacie, and had a little room of her own across the Seine, in the
Rue de Lille. She crossed the river twice every day--once in the
morning when the sun was shining, and again at night when the radiant
lights along the river's bank glittered like jewels in a long necklace. She
had her little walk through the Gardens of the Tuileries every morning
after crossing the Pont Royal, but she did not return through the
gardens in the evening, for a park in the morning is a different thing to
a park at night. On her return she always walked along the Rue de
Tuileries until she came to the bridge. Her morning ramble through the
gardens was a daily delight to her, for the Rue de Lille is narrow, and
not particularly bright, so it was pleasant to walk beneath the green
trees, to feel the crisp gravel under her feet, and to see the gleaming
white statues in the sunlight, with the sparkle on the round fountain
pond, by the side of which she sometimes sat. Her favorite statue was
one of a woman that stood on a pedestal near the Rue de Rivoli. The
arm was thrown over her head, and there was a smile on the marble
face which was inscrutable. It fascinated the girl as she looked up to it,
and seemed to