Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-03-23
chandelier depended from twelfth-cake-like

| decoration in white-and-gold plaster
Aouenbrooke had drawn his writing table.
Win the lamp on it, close to the fire, and had
settled down to long nights work 1t was
| ,ne evening following Lydia's confession. and
| ne was too busy to get mp to ST. Johns Wood.
ne signed at the thought Of this. then plunged
hVo tne pile of papers, which not only covered
the table, bu. overfowed into several neigh
| boring chairs
he had not been long at work when the door
was hung open and a man entered the room.
sun In these gilded halls johnny said a
voice, which was not quite SO drawing nor so
full of quiet humor as the speaker seemed to
| intend.
| Fleming. by all that's wonderful" cried
Addenorooke. rising with extended hand
| Inc newcomer was a large. heavily-built
young man. with dark hair and a complexion
originally horid burnt crimson by the African
| sun.
de was distinctly handsome. though the lower
| part OF the face was a trihe heavy and there
was lack OF finish about the ears and nostrils.
| Sit down." said Addenbrooke, clearing a
chair and resuming his own seat.
examinations, ugh!' Fleming ficked with
ms large hnger at the papers on the desk. IF
~ not your own exams. it's other peoples,
poor old JOHNNY
Fleming had the greatest contempt for ex-
aminatlons. in which. indeed, he had conspicu-
ously failed to distinguish himself the less
brilliant Addenbrooke having a commonplace
knack OF getting into the first class. which is
7
These two men had been friends, after a
fashion, since their first term NJ the university
In those days Fleming had been a raw. un-
HAPPY, self-conscious young man. subject to
miserable, hideous fits of shyness. and secretly
ashamed of the paternal glove-shop.
Now. perhaps he was too fond of talking
about the glove-shop; of drawing jocose COM
parsons between himself and q well-known
| glover's son Of Stratford-on-Avon: and the only
remaining mark of his shyness a certain
| am Nl,u1,a - ,1E
| affection for him was rather survival from
| earlier days than anything else though Johnny.
1t must be owned. was uncritical. and, like many
| persons. imposed a far less severe standard of
| conduct on his friends than on himself.
Where do you. hang out?' asked Alden
! brooke, gathering together the despised exami-
| natiOn-papers.
Il have been down at Twickenham with my
| people. Can't stand much of that, you know.
! | am now looking out for chambers somwhere
Bond-street way; and Mrs. Baxter is going to
! put me up here for night or two"
'Oh, good. You know Mrs. Baxter has that
| portmanteau of vours?''
Yes, she's fetching it now. / believe. from
the iumber-room. There are some papers i'll it
L want to look at to-nissat."
| Fleming leaned back in his chair his evelids
| dropping moodily, as obey had a trick of doing;
then he he said discontentedly:
Haven't you got anything to tell a fellow?
You London people are all the same. One goes
away anu lives Wnat seems a nfetlme-ltS so
cram-ful OF eXDerlence-and when one gets
back, not a soul remembers if it was last week
or last year they met you at the Jenkinsons'
dnner-party."
From what hear, you've no cause to COM
plain. Fleming"
"Oh, of course ones pestered with invita-
tons from lot Of silly women one never heard
OF =. grumbled the new lion: but isn't there
anything III the shape of news?'
Well" said Addenbrooke. slowly. 80 there is
one piece of news, but don't know that it's
interesting. l am thinking of getting mar
ried."
Addenbrooke had never been a shy man: he
was only very modest and he had not accus-
toned his friends to take an interest in his af-
/ fairs
friend in the face. There was always some
thing startling In his appearance under these
circumstances; perhaps because his eyes were
so rarely shown-perhaps because of some
quality in the eyes themselves. They were
curiously bright and very brown-not black
manque. but beautiful, unusual brown.
Looking at them. it was easier to realize the
power. such as it was. which Lawrence Flem-
ing possessed over his feilow-creatures.
"Addenbrooke," he said, leaning forward.
and speaking with sudden intensity, las you
value your peace of mind have nothing to do
with womenr'
He flung himself back laughing little, and
letting fall his eyelids. In a few minutes he
burst into fierce TRADE against the whole
female sex, taking Addenbrooke's announce
ment merely a text.
Even Johnny was disappointed at this lack
OF interest on the part OF his friend: but re-
membered having heard that Lawrence had
been hard hit before he went to Africa-that
nothing less. indeed. than n broken heart had
sent him forth to those distant shores.
Then, before Addenbrooke knew what was
happening. Fleming plunged into the very
heart of his own peculiar grievance.
1T was last year." he said, lat country
house. 1t began from the moment she came
into the room. don't pretend that she was
the first; but it was different somehow. / am
not even sure that she was good-iooking; but
there was something about her-if you cared at
al-well. you cared! She STAYED week. and
at the end of the time | told her, more or less
directly, that l loved her. was to see her the
next day in London. The next day, as it hap
pened, | was prevented by my mothers serious
illness, | wrote and told her this. begging her
to fix day for my visit. She made no reply.
and four days later called at the house. to be
told she out of town. The next day | ac-
cepted the offer of The Waterloo Place
Gazette and went out to Africa. I'm sure |
don't know why cared. She wasn't worth it:
she had given me every encouragement-had
even allowed me to kiss her. l suppose there
was a richer fellow on hand. or one whose
father didn't happen to keep a shop"
Fleming rose. struggling his shoulders. Adj
denbrooke remained silent. The voice of Mrs.
baxter, announcing tnat the portlnanteau was
in Lawrence's room, came as relief to both.
by the by" said Johnny. in a low voice. as
the other felt for his keys, ''all this took place
at the Meades' in Warwickshire. from March the
2Sth onwards?'
oh" answered Lawrence. with some vexa-
ton, pauslng on his way to the door. Il sup
pose you know all about it like the rest of the
world" And he went from the room.
".
Addenbrooke remained behind pacing the
ridiculous, incOngruous apartment while an
unwonted storm of emotion ragged within him.
The parts of the puzzle lay, fitted together.
in his hand; it only remained for him to step
forward and proclaim the solution of most
commonplace enigma. An inefficient postman,
a careless housemaid-on some such undigni-
fed trife had the whole complication hung,
like many another complication before it.
No doubt. sooner later, the missing clew
would come to light. when he himself had made
its discovery of no Importance whatever.
Had he been of melodramatic turn of mind
Addenbrooke might have laughed aloud at the
irony of the situation.
His own dream shattered forever; but of
that. for the moment he scarcely thought
l. 4. 81. l.