Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-02-10

'Impossibler'
Il say. my dear" he persisted, .if any
one Is doing this for joke, hope he will
own up 1t seems to me that it has been
carried far enough" There was a chorus of
assent, half indignant, half exculpatory
but no one owned to the joke. No one pro-
We'll. 1 never!' Mrs. Burton Smith ex-
Claimed. And as the company looked at
one another, it seemed as II they also had
never known anything quite SO extraordi-
Really. Lady Linacre. I think that 1t
must be somewhere about you" said the
self Il good shaker"
She rose. and was solemnly preparing to
agitate her skirts when a guest interfered
1t was the Hon. Vereker May. You need
with a curious dryness. He was still stand
ing by the fireplace "It is not about YOU
Then where in the world is it," retorted
Mrs. Galantine. DO you know"
IF you do. for goodness sake speak out"
Mrs. Burton Smith added Indignantly: while
every one turned and stared at the Civilian
You had better" he said. TASK Mr.. wib-
That was all. But something in his tone
produced an electrical effect on every one.
Joanna, in her corner-remote, like the In
dian. from the center Of the disturbance
turned red and pale and flashed angry
glanoes round her. For the rest, they wish
ed themselves away. 1t was impossible to
misunderstood the insinuation- The words,
a graver complexion on the matter Even
Mrs. Burton Smith was silenced. looking to
her husband. He looked furtively at wib-
berley.
And wibberleyr Up to this moment he
had merely thought himself in an unpleas-
ant fix, from which he must escape as best
he could, at the expense of a little embar-
rassment, a slight loss Of self-respect. Even
the latter he might regain tomorrow IL he
saw fit by telling the truth to Mrs. Burton
Smith; and In time the whole thing would
become subject for laughter. a stock din
ner party anecdote. But now! now at the
first sound Of the Indians voice he recog-
nized his danger. and saw clearly in the
hundredth part Of a second that ruin. social
His presence of mind seemed to fail him
suddenly at sight Of the pit opening at his
feet: He felt himself Keeling. choking. his
head surcharged with blood. The room, the
that strange expression on them, swan
round before him. He had to lay his hand
on chair to steady himself
But he did steady himself. so far that
those who marked his agitation did not
know whether 1t proceeded from anger or
fear. He drew himself up and looked
straight at his accuser holding the chair
mean?' he said hoarsely.
should not have spoken" the Civilian
continued. returning his gaze and speaking
IN cool. measured accents. III Mr.. Burton
smith had not twice appealed to us-if any
"Well?''
Well. only this" the old gentleman re-
Linacre's bracelet from that table a few
berley."
You saw me? cried Wibberlev. This
time there was the ring of honest defiance
OF indignant innocence. in his tone. For
If he felt certain Of one thing, 1t was that
no one had been looking at him when the
unlucky deed was done.
Cixyfli
ately. My back was toward you But
my eyes were on this mirror"-he touched
an oval glass in Venetian frame which
stood on the mantelpiece-"and / saw clear
ly. quite clearly. 1 am bound to saw that
Judging from the expression of your face
l was assured at the time that it was a
trick ElnS you We're PLAYING jest only"
words and now ?"-tried to force a smile
But he could not. The perspiration spranC
out In great beads on his face He shook
all over. He felt himself-and this time it
was no fancy-growing livid.
To the best Of my belief" added the
Civilian quietly. 1.-The bracelet is on your
left arm now"
Wibberley tried to master, but could not. the
impulse-the traitor impulse-which urged
him to glance down at his wrist. The IDEA
that the bracelet might be visible-that the
damning evidence might be plain to every
eye-overcame him. He looked down. OF
course there was nothing to be seen. he
might have known 1t, for he felt the hot
clasp OF the horrible thing burning his
arm inches higher. But when he looked
again. Meeting as had been his glance, he
found that something dreadful had ham
pened to him. He faltered, and the chair
dropped from his hands. He had never
met looks like these before He read in
every face save one suspicion or condemna-
tion Thief and liar! He read the words
in their eyes. the eyes of his quondam
friends! Yet he would, he must, brazen II
out; and though he could not utter a word.
he looked for them to-Joanna.
The girls face was pale and scared But
her eyes-they answered his right eagerly
were ablaze with Indignation They held
no doubt, no suspicion. The moment his
your arm!' she cried impulsively. SHOW
them you have not got 1t, Ernest! with
such scorn, such generous passion in her
voice that 1t did not need the tell-tale name
which fell too glibly from her lips to betray
her secret-at least to every woman in the
room
Show them your arm! All, but that
was just what he could not do! And as
he comprehended this, he CRASHED his teeth
He saw himself Melted and entrapped and
his rage and misery were so written in his
face that the best and most merciful of
those about him turned from him in shame
and pity. Even the girl who loved him
shrank back. clutching the mantelpiece in
the first spasm of doubt and fear and an
guish. Her words. her suggestion, had
taken from him his last chance. He saw
IL was 80. he 1elt the Nemesis the more
bitterly on that account; and with a wild
gesture and some wilder words, he turned
abruptly and hurried from the room blind
ly seized his hat. and went down to the
street.
His feelings when he found himself out
side were such as 1t is impossible to de-
scribe in smooth. passionless sentences. He
had wrecked his honor and happiness in
an hour. He had lost his place among
men through chance word. We talk and
read of thunderbolt from the blue; but
still the thing Is to US unnatural Some
law-abiding citizen whom a moments pas
sion has made a murderer. some strong
man whom a stunning blow has LETT
crushed and wrtthing on the ground, a
twisted cripple-only these could fifty de-
scribe his misery and despair as he travers-
ed the streets. 1t was misery he had
brought on himself, and yet how far the
punishment exceeded the offensei How i'm
mensely the shame and exposure exceeded
the guilt! He had lied. and the lie had
made him a thief!
He went up to his rooms like one In a
dream, and, scarcely knowing what he did
tore the bauble from his arm and flung II
on the mantel shelf. By his last act of
bringing 1t away he had made his position
hundred times more serious, but he did
not at once remember this After he had
sat awhile. however, with his head between
his hands. wondering II this really were
himself-if this really had happened to
himself. this dreadful thing!-he began
to see things more clearly. Still, he could
not at once make up his mind what to do
Beyond some hazy idea of returning the
bracelet by the first post, and going on the
e ntinenf-Of he hi