Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-08-18

He would not admit to her how he had
struggled against the temptation of seeing
her again. He was angry, aggressive and
nervous-and yet he wanted to sit there and
look on her face forever.
She did not reply to his last words, as he
expected she would. She cast her lashes
down and her lips quivered pathetically.
Deming could not bear this. He leaned
close to her and whispered:
"Forgive mel was brute, cad. Why
should expect to be frstl Why should I
expect to be anything to you, the most beau
tiful woman alive? Only let me be near
you, so that may look into your face and
be blessed. That is all ask"
Again she looked at him with her splendid
eyes, and in his face read the confession of
her triumph.
'You are very changeable, Monsieur, 4"
she said. "a moment ago you were scolj-
ing me, insult"
"Ah, DON'T" broke in Deming. impetu-
ously. "a jealous man is a beast, and his
words should not be weighed and charged
against him by the woman he"
"Stop, Monsieurp'
s'You refuse to let me say it?''
"Yes. Why should you want to when
you can only be second?"
"Claricei''
"Don't forget, Monsieur lie comte."
''He drives with me each day."
Sand he"
"Dines with me each night"
"And he
''The curtain is going up, Monsieur"
"May 1 come to see you tomorrow"
asked Deming, still looking intently at her
ayerted face.
"Ohl have a little supper at my hotel
after the play. That will be earlier than
tomorrow. Will you Gomez"
'Who is to be there?"
"Three friends beside yourself. Shall you
come?''
"Yes."
Deming went back to Madge feeling like
a cur. She welcomed him with her sweet
smile, and asked if he had a pleasant talk
with the manager. He was very silent, and
as he and Madge drove home in o cab after
the play she took bis hand in hers and asked
if anything had gone wrong. He put his
face down against her shoulder and said
nothing was the matter, but, as he spoke, it
almost seemed as though he had difficulty to
suppress q sob.
After leaving Madge at her house he was
driven to neighboring hotel, where he
wrote his review of the play he had seen and
sent it by messenger to the newspaper Office.
Ten minutes later he was rshered into
drawingroom was empty. In the center
table was set, and four chairs were drawn
up to it Deming regretted that he should
DE the first arrival.
Presently, in such bewildering splendor
of costume that the journalist was fairly
stunned as he gazed upon her, Clarice en-
tered from an adjoining room, and swung
forward to meet her guest, with her hand
held out to him and her head dropping, in
the way he had before noticed. Her arms
and neck were bare and supremely beauti-
full. Her flesh was the whitest and bright
est this young man had ever seen, and the
mouth was brought out vividly by contrast.
In her small ears, which were half concealed
by her hair, were diamonds, around her
throat were diamonds, around her arms, her
fingers and on her breast cleaned starry gems
without number. Deming would have
thought any other woman over dressed. But
diamonds could not exist for him where this
glorious creatures eyes were shining. The
supper passed spiritedly, and at the end of
its two hours duration. all the guests de-
parted-saye one, who fingered as though
under a spell.
81 must go" said Deming, ,springing to his
feet.
"Yes," she replied, ''it is getting very
late.'' And as she spoke she rose from the
table and crossed the floor to the mantle.
She placed one elbow on the shelf and
leaned her head against her hand. The
diamonds seemed to fall in q shower of
sharp lights over her shoulders A rose
flush was on her cheeks, and mellow light
cleaned from under her lowered lashes, as
she looked toward Deming, waiting for
him to bid her good night. He would not
look directly at her, for he was afraid to,
A,,& L.. Ill. r. A. !
picture that she made as she stood there,
He was awkward in his movements and
speech, as he edged toward the door with
his hat and stick. He tried to call up a
vision of Madge-tried to think of her
asleep at that moment and dreaming of
him. He believed he had said the last
necessary good night, and was about to pass
out of the door, when his eye caught sight
of a photograph of the Russian Count
which stood in frame on the mantel, al
most touched by Clarice's arm as she leaned
there. Impulsively, and without knowing
why or how he did it, he crossed the room
place and dashed it on the hearthstone at
the actress feet. Then he stood with
lowered head, glaring at Clarice, but .trem-
bling like a frightened animal.
"Do you love him?" he asked her delib-
erately and with terrible intensity.
NO." she replied, and she fell back,
away from Deming, as though she feared
his excitement, and yet she still bathed him
in the fire of her gaze. He came nearer
and nearer to her, and she leaned back against
the mantel to keep her face from being met
by his. He took both her hands, followed
her arms up to her shoulders. and pressed
steadily nearer to her until his mind reeled
in an odor like rose leaves; and as be gath
cred her to him, he felt tnat he had clutched
a great armful of flowers, and was burying
his face in their sweetness. He was aware
beyond this of nothing but her eyes gazing
on him without anger.
"Clarice," he gasped, trying to extricate
himself. 81 must go. must must"
She clung to him, weeping, and between
her sobs repeated over and over her words:
II love you"
And Madge, off in her quiet room, had
awakened, and uttered prayer for the hap
piness of the man whose wife she was to
become.
CHAPTER Nv.
The night of the debut of Clarence Rim
auld at Murray Hill Theater was at hand,
and such an audience as only widely adver-