The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Last Woman, by Ross Beeckman, Illustrated by Howard Chandler Christy

Title: The Last Woman

Author: Ross Beeckman

Release Date: March 24, 2008 [eBook #24910]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1

***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LAST WOMAN***

E-text prepared by Suzanne Shell, Hélène de Mink,
and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team
(http://www.pgdp.net)

THE LAST WOMAN

COVER

FRONTISPIECE

THE LAST WOMAN

by

ROSS BEECKMAN

AUTHOR OF
"Princess Zara"

FRONTISPIECE BY
HOWARD CHANDLER CHRISTY

NEW YORK
GROSSET & DUNLAP
PUBLISHERS

Copyright, 1909—by
W. J. WATT & COMPANY
Published August

THE THEME

If I could have my dearest wish fulfilled,
And take my choice of all earth's treasures, too,
And ask of Heaven whatsoe'er I willed—
I'd ask for you.

There is more joy to my true, loving heart,
In everything you think, or say, or do,
Than all the joys of Heaven could e'er impart,
Because—it's YOU.

CONTENTS

THE PRICE
ONE WOMAN WHO DARED
A STRANGE BETROTHAL
THE BOX AT THE OPERA
BEATRICE BRUNSWICK'S PLOT
A REMARKABLE MEETING
THE BITTERNESS OF JEALOUSY
BETWEEN DARKNESS AND DAYLIGHT
PATRICIA'S COWBOY LOVER
MONDAY, THE THIRTEENTH
MORTON'S ULTIMATUM
THE QUARREL
SALLY'S GARDNER'S PLAN
PATRICIA'S WILD RIDE
ALMOST A TRAGEDY
THE AUTOMOBILE WRECK
CROSS PURPOSES AT CEDARCREST
MYSTERIES BORN IN THE NIGHT
RODERICK DUNCAN SEES LIGHT
THE LAST WOMAN
THE REASON WHY
THE MYSTERY
BOOKS ON NATURE STUDY BY CHARLES G. D. ROBERTS
FAMOUS COPYRIGHT BOOKS

THE LAST WOMAN

CHAPTER I

THE PRICE

The old man, grim of visage, hard of feature and keen of eye, was seated at one side of the table that occupied the middle of the floor in his private office. He held the tips of his fingers together, and leaned back in his chair, with an unlighted cigar gripped firmly in his jaws. He seemed perturbed and troubled, if one could get behind that stoical mask which a life in Wall street inevitably produces; but anyone who knew the man and was aware of the great wealth he possessed would never have supposed that any perturbation on the part of Stephen Langdon could arise from financial difficulties. And could his most severe critics have looked in upon the scene, and have seen it as it existed at that moment, they would unhesitatingly have said that the source of his discomfiture, if discomfiture there were, was the queenly young woman who stood at the opposite side of the table, facing him.

She was Patricia Langdon, sometimes, though rarely, addressed as Pat by her father; but he alone dared make use of the cognomen, since she invariably frowned upon such familiarities, even from him.

In private, among the women with whom she associated, she was frequently referred to as Juno; and when she was discussed by the gossips at the clubs, as she frequently was (for there are no greater nests of gossip in the world than the men's clubs of New York City), she was always Juno. There was a double and subtle purpose in both cases; one felt it rather a dangerous proceeding to speak criticizingly of Patricia Langdon, lest somehow what was said should get to her ears. She was one who knew how to retaliate, and to do so quickly. She was like a man in that she feared nothing, and