The afternoon papers contained a notice of the fact that a young
gentleman who had gone away from a fashionable party at a late hour
on the night before had not been heard of by his friends, who were
anxious and distressed about him. Foul play was hinted at, as the
young man wore a valuable diamond pin and had a costly gold watch in
his pocket. On the morning afterward advertisements appeared
offering a large reward for any information that would lead to the
discovery of the young man, living or dead. They were accompanied by
minute descriptions of his person and dress. But there came no
response. Days and weeks passed; and though the advertisements were
repeated and newspapers called public attention to the matter, not a
single clue was found.

A young man, with the kisses of his mother sweet on his pure lips,
had left her for an evening's social enjoyment at the house of one
of her closest and dearest friends, and she never looked upon his
face again. He had entered the house of that friend with a clear
head and steady nerves, and he had gone out at midnight bewildered
with the wine that had been poured without stint to her hundred
guests, young and old. How it had fared with him the reader knows
too well.






CHAPTER III.