The Durham daily globe. (Durham, N.C.) 1889-1894, 1894-08-18
AT THE PLAY.

It was . inst night and tho curtain
was about 10 rise UTcn the third act. At
n" end Of IL" second act the situation was
this: The hero Of the play had been &C
cuscd Of q great crime. The officers were
close upon his track, and disgrace, ruin
md imprisonment were hand in hand
With them. At this point he was alone
with the woman be loved. He had told her
If all the evils that compassed him and in
the same instant had told her of his love.
Would she risk all for him, fly with him,
give up all else for love of him, or would
she choose safety, comfort, an honorable
name and hOme-all of which awaited her
acceptance at the hands of another: The
curtain had fallen upon the lover appeal
ing, the woman debating. The house re
manned silent, hushed, almost like a house
Of death.
There were two persons in the orchestra
chairs who were watching the play with
an intensity of feeling that could hardly
be yelled. One was a woman, young,
handsome, bearing in every line OF her
face and figure testimony that she had
never known other than the ease and com
fort and security that wealth begetS. by
her side was a man of apparently the same
social rank. MS was DdNIu OSDO1iINI
cashier Of the til National bank. The
woman was Eleanor Wheelright, whom
many supposed to be his affianced wife.
In this, however, they were wrong, as no
word of love had yet passed between the
two.
At the end of the second act Osborne
had turned to his companion questioning
~. st is rather emotional" he said.
Are you ready to guess the outcome of
all this passion? Will the girl be a fool
and yield to his persuasions?"
Il hope SC" Miss Wheelright replied,
her tone gentle and sympathetic, but l
shall not call it being a fool Unless she
can give up much for him she does not
truly love him."
Even if he is the criminal?"
THAT does not alter the fact"
After this they were silent for q little.
At last he spoke again:
eff you were put to such a test, Eleanor,
for the man you lOved?"
eff l loved him, I think 1 should be
equal toit."
Osborne's face grew a shade more pale
as he asked the next question:
H'Have you seen this evenings paPCrS?"
Yes"
Then you know our bank is in trou-
ble?"
\ CS; L read ali the account.
But tia did not tell you all. 1t did
not tell you that / am suspected of EN-
bezzling the funds"
She sat very still and waited for him to
go Oh.
II ought not to nave brought you out
tonight. But l could not resist the tempta-
ton of spending one more delightful even
ing with you. | knew there would be no
public accusation until tomorrow. | could
not deny myself these few hours He
spoke very low, so that his words came to
her ear in a mere whisper. You know
that 1 love you; that [ hoped to make you
my wife. | ought to have been strong
enough not to tell you this now I ought
to have waited, but l could not" Miss
Wheelright made no answer, but she put
out her hand and touched the sleeve of
his coat. 1t gave him courage. BY
morning l may be arrested, - he said, i'm
prisOned. The amount of the defalcation
is very great. If l start sOOn-at Oncc-I
may be in Canada by morning and at
least safe from arrest. A train leaves in
an hour.'
Miss Whcclright's agitation had been
shown only by the nervous plucking at
her gloves. One of these had been drawn
half off. She began now to draw it on
again. She held the hand out to him that
he might button it. Then she drew her
wraps about her. "Comc," she said, we
shall nave no time to lose. Let us go at
once"
"Elcanor, wherc2 Homer" he asked,
not understanding her.
No; where you said. There is time
She had risen to her feet. Osborne rose
also and put out a restraining hand.
Eleanor, think. You may repent, - he
said, but even as he spoke he began to
move with her toward the exit. AS they
did this the curtain came up on the third
act of the play, and almost invOluntarily
they paused to see the conclusion Of the
story, which was SO much like their OWL.
The officers had just appeared, armed
with the warrant for his arrest, and the
lover had turned to confront them. The
heroine intcrposed between him and them,
and one Of the officers spoke to her:
DO not make our task any harder, my
girl. We have come in time to save you
from wasting yourself on this %scOundrcl.
He has stolen the money of widows and
orphans who have trusted him, and with
this had thought to pave a golden road to
comfort and luxury and indulgcncc-with
you. The man will not deny his crime.
You can sea that from his face. Do not
| believe that his heart can be good or his
love pure when be has so wrOnged
others"
The girl had sunk down, sobbing and
covering her face with her hands, after
one long searching look upon her lover
At this he came toward her appealingly.
No, no. she cried, waving him away.
Go, l don't love you. l was about to
yield all for you. 1t was madness, for
you are not worthy of it. 1t is past now
At the words of the officer, He has
stolen the money of widows and orphans,
and with this had thought to pave a gold
en- road to indulgence with YOU, Eleanor
Wheel~ight had looked upon Osborne's
face and read the truth there.
And when the girl cried out: 1t was
madness. 1t is past now" Osborne had
looked upon her face and had seen that
her own madness was also past.
Seeing this, he put out his arm TO her