The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1891-05-28

your accoutrements.
Dick showed Bessie the letter, and she
abused him for that he had ever sent Tor.
penhow away and ruined her life.
"Well, said Dick brutally, ''youre bet.
ter as you are, instead of making love to
some drunken beast in the street, He felt
thst he had rescued Torpenhow from great
temptation.
II don't know if that's any worse than sit
ting to drunken beast in a studio. You
haven't been sober for three weeks. You've
been soaking the whole time; and yet you
pretend you're better than mel"
''What d'you mean?" said Dick
Mean! You'll see when Mr.. Torpenhow
comes back"
It was not long to wait Torpenhow met
Bessie on the staircase without sign OF
feeling. He had news that was more to
him than many Bessies, and the Keneu and
the Nilghai were tramping behind him, call
| ing for Dick,
drinking like fish, Bessie whispered
s'He's been at it for nearly a month" She
followed the men stealthily to hear Judgment
done.
They came into the studio, rejoicing, to be
welcomed over effusively by drawn, lined,
shrunken, haggard Wreck-unshayen, blue
white about the nostrils, STOPPING in the
shoulders. and peering under his eyebrows
nervously The drink had been at work as
steadily as Dick.
''Is that you?" said Torpenhow.
'sAll that's left of me- Sit down. Binkie's
quite well, and I've been doing some good
work" He reeled where he stood.
| 'tYou've done some Of the worst work
! you've ever done in YOUR life Man alive,
| YOU'RE"
Torpenhow turned to his companions ap-
pealingly, and they left the room to find
! lunch elsewhere. Then he spoke; but,
since the reproof Of a friend is much too
scored and intimate thing to be printed,
and since Torpenhow used figures and meta
/ phors which were unseemly and contempt
untranslatable, it will never be known what
was actually said to Dick, who winke3 and
/ blinked and picked his hands. After a time
| the culprit began to feel the need Of little
/ self-respect. He was quite sure that he had
not in any way departed from virtue, and
/ there We're reasons, too, of which Torpen-
! how knew nothing. He would explain.
| He rose, tried to straighten his shoulders,
and spoke to the face he could hardly see.
| 'You are right" he said. "But ! am
! right 100. Alter you went away n2u some
/ trouble with my eyes. So I went to an
| oculist, and he turned a gasogene-I mean a
gas engine-into my eye. That was very
long ago. He said: Scar on the head
sword cut and optic nerve Make note of
that. So am going blind. / have some
work to do before I go blind, and I suppose
that I must DO it, I cannot see much now,
/ but | can see best when I am drunk. / did
not know was drunk till I was told, but
must go on with my work. If you want to
see it, there it is He pointed to the all
but completed Melancolia and looked for
applause.
Torpenhow said nothing, and Dick began
to whimper feebly, for Joy at seeing Tor
penhow again. for grief at misdeeds-if, in
deed. they were misdeeds-that made Tor
penhow remote and unsympathetic and for
childish vanity hurt, since Torpenhow had
not given word of praise to his wonderful
/ picture,
Bessie looked through the kevhole after a
long pause, and saw the two walking up ;.na
down as usual, Torpenhow's hand on Dick S
shoulder. Hereat she said something so
/ improper that it shocked even Binkie, who
was dribbiing patiently on the landing with
the hope of seeing his master again.
/ IT. be Continued