The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-01-18

ing to come" she said.
I'm SO much out Of the way of max
ing calls that I'm surprised to find my
self here. You have great many call
ers?"
"Well, good many come, but see
very few-only old friends. And of
course" she added, ''as l never was IN
New York before, that is the same as
saying see hardly any one
II met a man lately who knows you,
think-Mr. Randolph"
'.Mr Randolph" She pronounced the
name in changed tone and blushed.
Alexander Randolph" he repeated,
looking at her.
She dropped her eyes. ''1-believe-I
have heard his NAME" she said.
Bellingham said no more; he felt dis
mayed and bewildered. Undoubtedly
there was some unpleasant mystery about
this fellow Randolph. Heard his NAME"
indeed! Had not the man been in her
company five minutes ago?
81 saw you at the opera last night, re-
marked the prima donna, recovering her.
self Bellingham merely nodded. "Were
you disappointed? she asked falteringly.
No, I was like the rest of the audi
ence," he replied in dry tone. -
YOU are not like the rest of the au4
dience to me-" she said, sever since the
first night have sung to you. wouldn't
tell you, only thought you knew it"
81 know nothing about you" returned
'Bellingham roughly.
''You speak as if you didn't care to
know anything" she said, holding up
her head.
Bellingham controlled his rising tenn
per. A weaker man would have pro-
tected himself by irony or sarcasm, but
he said exactly what he thought. Il
care more about what concerns you" he
said, than about anything else. But
will not look away when I am being de-
ceived. You and this Randolph are both
pretending to be strangers to each other.
1 saw him come out of this room just be-
fore came into it. Do you deny that
he was here?"
''He was here" answered she, turning
pale.
"There is only one other question. Are
you going to marry him.
This was so unexpected that she
laughed. It was a nervous, almost hys-
terical laugh, it is true, but Bellingham
naturally did not understand it. 81 am
not going to marry Mr. Randolph" said
the prima donna, with a heartbroken
sense of hu1nor.
''And you will not tell me what your
relations are with him?"
''Ne; they are very peculiar relations"
she replied lightly, for she was getting
desperate. "You must think what you
please-think the worst you can, it
makes no difference 1 will tell you
nethingr'
Bellingham gazed at her fxedly. II
! cannot believe that you are wicked
woman" he exclaimed at length. 'I
don't know how to believe it, Why did
you deceive me? l was ready to take it
for granted that you were-hke other
women on the stage. But you made me
believe you were pure and innocent. No
, woman ever acted innocence before as
: you have done it. You look like inno-
cence incarnate at this moment-at the
actual moment you are admitting. What
is it you want? l would have asked you
to marry meas soon as Ihad persuaded
myself you loved me. loved you with
all my heart and soul. Did you merely
{ intend to lead me on, and then refuse
me, like a common firt? Or would you
have married me and still kept up your
relations with-well, can't talk about
p: it. There is always some motive even
in the lightest wickedness, but I can see
none In yours-and yours is not hghtr'
Mile. Mariana was standing erect
3 twisting her lace handkerchief between
her hands, her face pale, her eyes wide
open, fearless, full of restless light. She
never looked at him. 1t seemed physi-
cally impossible for her to do So
: Il have never been spoken to like
this" she said, in g. faint, painting voice.
'.Will you leave me, please? VIII you
|. leave me?'
Bellingham moved to depart, but he
stopped and turned back
Il have always meant never to be IN
just to any human being" said he. ut
is possible that the very love L felt for
g you may have made me unjust to you.
7 If you can tell me that there is nothing
L disgraceful in this secret Of yours-tel1
Z me, for Gods sake! Are you what you
seem or something else?"
g II am not what seem!' she cried out
9 passionately; and now she looked at him
:, with blaze of fierceness in her eyes.
''You have doubted me, and that is
: enough. L will never explain-I will
never forgive you'll If you are man do
,, not stand there; go QUIT"
IS Bellinghan was shaken to the bottom
|. of his soul. The voice and manner with
u which her every word was uttered
+ seemed to contradict the purport of the
v words themselves. Even yet he could
L not but believe her innocent But there
was nothing further for him to do or saw.
L He went out.
: He descended the stairs slowly and
: emerged into the street. 1t was the
e middle of the day; the avenue was com-
Q paratively deserted. A few carriages
were taking their occupants home to
q luncheon. Bellingham stood on the
!, curbstone, looking up and down, and
IL vaguely wondering what he should do
2, next By and by it struck him that it
5e would not make much difference which
% way he went. In no place in the world
II could he find what he had lost It was no
q where; it had been annihilated. All that
le had made life delightful was gone from
le him, and he was left ironically behind.
= He had never really possessed it, even; it
/ was mirage phantom, which he had
q tried to grasp, and it had vanished. But