etter. Naturally it
gave her great pleasure to snub some one, especially a woman prettier
than herself. She took no notice of Billie's appeal, and when Mrs.
Houston, hoping somehow that it had not reached its destination, spoke
to her sweetly one night at the opera, Josephine was rude before some of
the "best people" in New York.

After that, Billie said to every one that Mrs. Doran-Reeves was insane
as well as deformed; but that "cut no ice," as Jeff Houston remarked,
and when the snapshot of Max St. George, deserter from the Foreign
Legion, appeared with the newspaper story of Sanda Stanton, Billie did
what Jeff described as "falling over herself" to get to the office of
_Town Tales_.

She told nothing damaging to the late Miss Brookton in mentioning Max
Doran, and of him she spoke with friendly enthusiasm. He had been _so_
good, so kind to her, and so different from many young men who were good
to actresses. It broke her heart to think of his fate, for there was no
doubt that Max St. George, the Legionnaire, and Max Doran were one.
Billie told how, to her certain knowledge, Max had sacrificed himself
for Josephine Doran, who (for some reason he was too noble to reveal,
but it had to do with a secret of ancestry) seemed to him the rightful
heiress.

Penniless, Max had been forced to resign from an expensive regiment,
where he lived expensively. He had done this for Josephine's sake,
though he had loved his career better than anything else in the world.
And then, last of all, he had effaced himself rather than accept pity or
favours. He had enlisted in the Foreign Legion, and now he had further
shown the nobility of his nature by the very way in which he had fallen
into disgrace. But what did the Doran-Reeveses do, though they owed
everything to him? They told lies and ignored his existence. Mrs. Jeff
Houston said that she felt it her duty as Max Doran's only faithful
friend to bring this injustice to public notice.

_Town Tales_ was delighted to help her do this, because she was Billie
Brookton, a celebrity, and because it was "good copy." Other
papers--many other papers--took up the hue and cry which _Town Tales_
started; and the Doran-Reeveses' life became not as agreeable as it had
been.

They defended themselves to friends and enemies and newspaper men, and
thought of suing _Town Tales_ for libel, but were dissuaded from doing
so by old Mr. Reeves. Then it occurred to Josephine to let every one
know that, t