The morning times., 1896-12-20
CHAPTER V.
THE FOREST OF STEEL.

Wneh we descended from the airship at
| Chicago l was Mortified to notice that Eva
retained the hideous old feminine nine
leentn century habit OF gra bling her skirt
I Violently at the rear witt: one hand, and
holding 1T up, ostcnsibly to prevent its
dragging on tie pavement. She did this
only on street crossings or wherever, ac-
cordins TO her theory, there ought to be
dust or dirt or mud or dampness- matter
how dry and clean The crossing might be-
Ihcn she would compacently let the skirt
Ial again, and trail at will as a side walk
sweeper with the proud consciousness that
she bad done her whole duty. l wondered
whether our vanished sisters of the past
had ever realized how objectionable they
made themselves appear by tins ugly trick,
ana what would have heen thought Of men
III thcy had adopted the custom of hosting
their trousers by such rearward seizure.
There was not much to be seen at Chicago
beyond the big garrison buildings, from
Iliteen to twenty stories in height, and the
deserted streets shaded by these piles of
~sthLe. NO one lived in the city now, unless
drafted by government and compelled to
uo SO. There were even pleasant little
borders OF grass and Towering weeds along
Tie once tumultuous thoroughfares, which
were now covered with noislcss asphalt or
gntta- -percha pavement; and some Of the
unnecessary great buildings had been al
lowed to crumble into mounds or hills
which were planted with trees and shrubs
ana laid out as pleasure grounds, giving a
variety To the topography and landscape.
Shlch Was sadly lacking i'll the old times
ON the whole, we were much refreshed by
The rurdliZation and the quietncss of Chi
caeo, ana enjoyed some delightful strolls
with Electra over the crumbled buildings
and among the ruins of the ancient Worlds
Fair.
l could more than fancy that Hammer
IleeG did not approve OF these excursions
lie made his distaste for them very clear.
In his solemn, undemonstrative way. But
l took the opportunity to have one or two
frank conversations with Electra. Briefly,
made love TO her,in a strictly honorable,
board way. Thatis, explained that
/ had been in love witt! Eva PRYOR three
hundred years and more ago that Eva had
tlen rejected me, and that | had since IN
dcrSonc some change OF feeling myself
We were standing on the moldering crest
oi The Old Auditorium, the slope OF which
went down toward the shore of Lake Michi-
Gan In charmingly broken terraces of ver-
dure ana blossom and gurgling fountains.
Electra had been recalling TO me how,
when women first entered politics they
had swayed large conventions Of intelligent
reasoning men, by swinging Il parasol or
q nag and raising some wild shout for a
candidate But this was much greater
tribute to the blind inteili gpnce OF women.
thaDit was To that of men tfatthc women
decided III would be more convenient to
sway small group of men than TO excite
b mob OF sci erai hundred or q couple of
thousand male creatures calling Themselves
delegates. so the women had reduced the
membership of political conventions to n
lew dozen; every man being carefully Sc
iected ior his sensitiVeness to paraSols and
feminine influence and Outcry. The lessen
Ing OF the number OF delegates had been a
great aUEHIt.lp to fiIp fpr IL Il
thcm erfort;and. incidentally, Ii was good
Tor the country. Hence, there was no more
need Tor auditoriumS, colosseums or large
nails. a convention could now be held
any where, and quite inexpensively, under
the spread or Few japanese umbrellas
heiu hy women and judiCiously waved by
Them at the proper moment.
We'll Electra l asked. why should
not women rule the worldo''
An, If the world is willing" she said |
softly, deprecatingly.
1t must be willing" / responded, ''since |
every man is ruled by a woman
But how is that?" she inquired.
By his love for her." said l. "You. |
Electra, can rule me, and precisely by that |
means-I love you.'
She smiled with clear, pure, genial amuse-
ment Then suddenly she wept: and there
was the light OF rainbow en- her face
uhe hihtshhS VI SuHSniu llllrln ana or tear
ful sorrow such thing as / never bebeld
in any other woman, and donot eXDect eyer
to see again.
Why" she exclaimed, 1T gives me
great happiness To hear YOU say so"
Ihen, with q cadence as of n forest riII
dropping plaintively into some rocky pool
: You must know that nothing can come Of
this. Dear Gerald Benis, it is hopeless. /
am pledged, am bound to some one else
am what they call a Child of the state
and The government has promised me to an
other man.
Who is heo" l asked, thrilled with a
sudden, fierce defiance of the State ana of
the man.
As spoke Hammerfleet came up behind
us, over the crest of the Auditorium Hill.
Electra moved one hand, Indicating him.
silently.
YOU exclaimed, turning suddenly to
He is the man. Electra whispered.
u have heard your conversation unwill-
ngly,' Hammerfleet observed to me. un
moved. But we will not discuss in.
came up here to look for you. and to saw
that 1T las been arranged that you and |
shall start tonight by train for New York
and make some little side excursions on
the way--so that you may see more of the
This announcement l recognized as a
and a threat united: but I was