The Olneyville tribune. (Providence, R.I.) 1893-189?, 1894-07-07
"And lit a cigar?"

he's bound to light up; can't help it,"
$50 you lit up?"
eyes, / lit mp. Then l sat down
again then got up then l sat down.
Nearly wore out the chair before I'd
finished"
THAT was serious"
cit was. l wanted something.
Didn't know what l wanted, SO called
myself names and pitched my cigar
away. Which was rash. 1t was a good
cigar" regretfully; "and l haven't
many left. Must take to smoking
shag like Old key does. He enjoys
it,"
Don't he horrid."
81 got tired of walking up and
down, so l stopped short in the mid
! die of the floor, and fixed my eyes up.
on the carpet pattern. It's an swfully
good plan that. The carpet spoke
back to me- 1t said"
"Yes?"
"Oh, it said, you bone-idle beggar,
you've wasted your manhood, you have
tottered in the vineyard (metaphori-
! caly, of course-you cant totter IN
vineyards where there aren't any
stands to reason) while others toiled,
and all that sort of thing. don't you
know. Yet all the time, some impos-
sible dream-a dream of great happi-
ness-has haunted you. You have
drifted, drifted, like boat bottom up,
with this happiness quite close to you.
You had but To go forth into the world,
and-and win your spurs-and you
didn't go. That's what the carpet
said. Extraordinary bit of Brussels,
wasn't it?'
Eyes. Didn't it say anything else? ?"
"Lots of things. 1t said / must
lose this woman loved because l was
ruined"
Ruined |"
"Yes, ruined and all that sort of
thing. l have been living on capital
instead of interest. The only redeem
ing feature about the affair is that the
gallery will have to go. You see, it's
hard lines on fel ow 10 have nothing
but a gallery left to him; he can't live
up to it and yet he has to do so. None
of those ruffianly old ancestors OF mine
ever did days work in their lives.
I'm afraid l haven't done much. REt
why should | bore you with this?"
"You don't bore me, and you-suf-
fer 7"
'1t is a trihe unpleasant"
"You didn't think it would be par
ticulsrly PLEASANT"
II was horribly bored by that gal
lery. Lady Edith of the White Hand
will fetch a good price from a soap
man. l couldn't have stood that de-
pressing female much longer. She had
a way of sticking her hand out at one,
"a if n fellow couldn't live up to it..
I'm sure didn't want live up to it.
I'm thinking of joining the mounted
police in the Northwest Territory.
They're splendid lot; and there's al
ways the pleasureable excitement OF
being scalped by The Man Who-Rides.
A-Mule With His Face-To The Tail,
or some other equally long-named
hero.
"The experience wouldn't be OF
much use to you because it could only
happen once"
"Yes, suppose so. There are worse
things than being scalped. "
Possibly"
"And SO goodby to the old times
aud to-to Lady Edith. When a man
is on the brink of ruin it is best for
him to forget-everything.
eyes" she said almost insudibly.
sTA l.. A
everything. II am very sorry for
you"
He pressed her hand lightly to his
lips. She knew that this was his
characteristic farewell to the hopes he
had cherished. Womanlike, she was
angry at his silence. And then his
wretched pride. She had enough
money for both. What did his poverty
matter? Hadn't he that delightful
gallery of ancestors, some of whom, il
report spoke truly, were little better
than the wicked. You couldn't buy
family portraits like that. There
we're plenty Of dubious old masters in
the market, but few undoubtedly "old
mississes," as Mr.. Eggleston called
them.
And here was this irrational youth,
who loved her, going off to be scalped
by Pswneee, or Comsnches, or Sioux,
or Apaches, OF any other outlsndish
tribe of Indians with whom fate
might confront him. Why not stay
at home and have his hair pulled only
in the family circle? And it was such
beautiful hair
He disappeared in the darkness.
feeling that desperate sorrow which
only comes to q man once in life.
time, fof the simple reason that he
couldn't possibly live through i,
twice. "By Jove," he muttered be.
tween his set teeth, cit would go hard
with any one who crossed Inc TO
night"
"Har-Hsrry gurgled q choking
voice from the shrubs. "'Elp-
'Elpl"
The next moment Harry had jumped