The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1893-01-04

nanas. ene vas AFRAID TO let go Tor fear
il would slip into the room, where she
had no doubt that the baffied Chinaman
was pulling with all his might; to make
IL more secure, she tore off one OF her
bonnet strings and wound it around the
knot and knob, admiring her own inge-
nuity with complacence.
I" Now i can think, she said.
Thinking was not such an easy matter
with an oily Celestial and a predicament
confronting her. The awful consequences
OF her successful capture now began tc
present themselves for the first time. Her
first feeling had been of rig ghteous indig-
nation to punish the offender, but she be-
gan TO consider the cost to herself of such
a step. She would be the heroine OF the
headlines of to-morrow's issue of the
paper, to say nothing of being the victim
of endless chaff, though no one had ever
yet been found who chaffed Miss Blen-
kinsop.
Could she endure these compound re-
suits? She, who had never been ridicu-
ious or conspicuous in her lifel She
fairly wrung her gloved hands together
in an agony of indecision. Oh, why had
1t ever happened? Why had she given
way to an impulse and gotten herself into
this mess.
alt must have been q common streak
in me somewherel" she murmured. 81
suppose I wanted to do something heroic
or great, or somethingl" sarcastically.
81 wanted to do what was right, any
way"
There was bell Just outside the door
extremely easy to ring 1t and have crowd
there in a minute. A crowd! Miss
~ all
she know the Chinaman had really had
time to take anythingi He would GER
tainly not confide in her il he had. Then,
too, prisons were not the most delight
full places in the world, and even China
man might have an aesthetic aversion to
them. Poor fellow, she would like TO be
spared the pain OF knowing that she had
been the cause of making a wretch-of
course, he was q wretch-more unhappy
then he really was. Not to mention the
relief 1t would be to herself to be rid OF
the responsibility OF bringing the crea-
ture TO justice, which was always hard on
the nerves.
Miss Blenkinsop unwound the ribbon,
united the knot of hair and opened the
door.
"You might as well 60, I suppose.
shouldn't know what to do with you
anyway" she said, 1anguidly, as she
held the door open, with q look on her
face at once apologetic and anectedly in
different.
The Chinaman did not pause to remark
the nice shades of meaning on her coun-
tenance, but picked up his bundle OF
washing and shuffied sadly away, giving
Miss Blenkinsop q glance so amazingly
compounded of gratitude, cunning tri-
umph, stolid stupidity and panied re-
proach that she mused about it probably
for several moments sequent, only to
come to the mortifying conclusion that
"they" were too subtle for her.
The fact that she had let q criminal out
at large on society did not sit with any
great uneasiness on Miss Blenkinsop's
conscience. The great thing was that
affairs had been so beautifully simplifed.
Perhaps, too, this would teach him a les
son in regard to the mutsbility of human
existence, especially in the line Of steal
ing.
ait certainly was rather nice OF me to
let him off," she reflected with immense
complacence. 81 don't believe i have
any of those feelings Of revenge and NAL
Ice that are SO disagreeable and low-and
exhausting."
She passed on into her room and
stopped at her dressing table. There
were the open drawers and everything in
disorder, and her carved gold jewel box
was gone, small affair that she kept her
lesser ornaments in-the safe downstairs
held her more valuable jewelry.
What was 1T? Miss Blenkinsop tried to
remember. Oh, yes! the opal necklace
and one or two rings.
The bonnet string was lying on the
floor. Miss Blenkinsop stopped and
picked IL up and threw 1t into the fire;
then she drew of her long gray kid
gloves and threw them into the CRATE
also and raked the ashes over them. Then
she went and washed her hands.--San
Francisco Examiner.