Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1890-09-06

vain for an unoccupied liable was
on the point OF going away to seek re-
treshment elsewhere when the enterpT1s-
ing wife of the proprietor, observing my
FTedicament and reluctant TO lose my
reckoning, came up and exhorted me to
remain. Mo place." she queried .'Oa,
that's all right | make place foI you"
She led me into u small back room,
properly a sort of ante-chamhar to the
kitchen, which served as armory Of the
stronghold, its walls being lined with
dressers containing pots and pans, spits
and skewerB and such other weapons, Of
fensive and defensive, as are required to
complete the accoutrement of a belted
cook, but which. on occasions like the
present, was thrown open to the public
and there she kept her promise to make
place for me by ordering chair to be
brought and planting it at one side of
tiny table, the opposite side of which
was already in commission.
s'Set there" she bade me. You'll be
all right"
obediently seated myself there; but
did so with beating heart, for the occu-
pant of the other side of the table was
Miss Eczardy.
Well, there we sat, faci 2 each other
across that tiny table throughout that
long Italian table d'hote, and ate our re-
spective dinners in solemn, unbroken
silence. WANTED desperately to begin
a conversation with her, but lacked the
hardihood to speak the first word, and
Of course / could not expect the first
word to come from her. | thought out
a dozen possible maneuvers by which
the ice might be broken and the conver-
sation started; but when it came to the
rub of putting any one of them in opera
ton my heart failed me, my tongue
Glove to the roof Of my mouth. fancied
had got my courage quite screwed up
to the point Of asking her to pass the
vinegar; that, it seemed to me, would
be a natural opening and one that might
lead to something; but then at the
eleventh hour it occurred to me that the
vinegar cruet stood within easy reach of
my own hand, and that it would be in
fnitely ridiculous to impose upon her the
supererogatory task Of passing it, and so
| dared not. This was utterly absurd.
There was no reason why we should
not chat together. She knew who Twas.
l knew who she was; we We're members
of the same guild, dwellers under the
same roof tree; we had even correspond
ed together-did | not hold in nv DOS
session one of her visiting cards, with a
note written on it by her hand for my
eyes? There could have been no earthly
harm or wrong il our speaking to each
other and making friends 1t would
have been unconventional, if YOU like,
but not unconventional i'll any bad sense:
and beside, isn't unconventi0nality in
their mutual intercourse the privilege of
artists? Yet there we sat vis-a-vis, dis
tant not more than eighteen inches from
each other, ana my childish timidity
tied my tongue and prevented my max
ing the first advance.
As time went on and saw the mo-
ment drawing near and nearer when she
would have finished her dinner and be
ready to leave the restaurant my ankle
tY to speak to her waved more intense,
hut not so my courage. | wondered
whether she appreciated the situation as
[ did and perceived my faint hearted
ness, and WIS laughing at me in her
Sleeve. stole q glance at her beautiful
white face; 1t was lQScrutable. Present.
Il she rose from her chair. put on her
Glantie and moved ofinto the otharroom.
into the street.
The chance was gone. 1t was too l:Its
now. Such a chance might never occur
again. reviled myself with curses not
Dud but deep.