Hutchinson gazette. [volume] (Hutchinson, Kan.) 1895-1902, 1896-03-19
THE BOOKMAKER.


his chair with long sigh of relief. The
last chapter was completed, the book-the
novel that was to make his fame-wRs fin
ished. It was the best thing he had DONE
He felt sure of IL. His reputation, which
had been slowly building itself up during
the last Ave years. would now be definite
ly, absolutely made.
He got up and paced rapidly up and
down the room. The blood In his veins
tlnRled sharply. He experienced the deli
oious sensation Of first triumph. The door
opened quietly.
"Dorothyr'
he stepped toward her and caught her
In his arms.
1T Is finished, deArl"
"It is finished"
"Oh, am gladr'
1T is the best thing dearest, have
ever done. amp sure Of It, Dorothy
he drew her still nearer to him-''you
know what this means. II this book Is
the success that / believe It will be, 1t is
not only fame but money for me. We
shall be able to get married sooner than I
had th0ught-in the spring"
She did not speak, but he read In her
eyes that she was very happy, and he bent
his head d little and kissed her.
Godfrey" said the girl at last, "yOu
have kept so secret about your book up
till now. You will not keep mo in sus-
pense any longerP You will let me read
itr' She caught up a page as she spoke
from the table. "'CypriaP What pref
ty namo' Her eye began to travel down
the page.
"But you can't read 1t now" protested
her lover "You won't have time"
"Just little bit, then, Godfrey"
"Well, II you really want to.
She sat down at his table, the big sheets
Of paper In her hand.
ArkWright watched her silently as she
read. How pretty she was, he thought,
and how proud no was that she had con-
Eented to be his wifel Tonight, 1t seemed
to him, her delicate skin looked more del
ioate than ever. Excitement at his news
had brought faint color to her cheeks;
her eyes sparkled. The minutes passed,
but still he watched her in silence, won
dering what would be her verdict on his
work.
Suddenly, to his establishment, he no.
ticed the flush on her cheeks deepen and
spread over her white face, her lips parted
a little, frightened look came into her
eyes. He was about to speak, to question,
but something warned him not to, and he
was dumb.
The girl still read on. He noticed that
she turned over each fresh sheet moro hur-
riedly than before. AS her fingers grasped
the paper they seemed to tremble.
At last, after having read, as far as he
could Judge, some 30 pages, she put the
pile Of paper down.
"Well," he began hesitatingly, "what
do you think Of ltp But Of course you
have only read enough to give you the very
toughest idea.
II have read quite enough to under
stand ALL" Her tone was hard and cold.
Geoffrey wondered what was the matter.
"You don't like itP' be suggested.
Like it7 It Ia horr1blel Oh, Godfrey,
how could you write like thatp 1t Is not
like your writing at all. Oh, Godfrey
She rose from her seat and came and
twined her arms round his neck. "Geof-
frey, why did you do itf 1t Is bad book
"a book that will make people bad and
drag them down, down. Oh, Godfrey,
you must never let 1t be published You
must destroy It,.
destroy it-destroy the best thing I
have over writtenp Dolly, you must be
mad to suggest such thing. 1t would
be like plucking out my own heart. Be-
sides you don't understand. The only
bad book Is the book that is badly written.
Art does not concern itself with the dis
tinctions of morality. They are beside the
point-absurd. Believe me little one, you
you do not you cannot understand"
mo" she said tearfully, "you are right.
do not understand you. am only an
ignorant girl, you SEQ, and you are far
cleverer than l. To me book Is bad II
1t has bad influence, and your book--it
is horrible. Godfrey, you say you love
me. If you love me, you will destroy this
vile thing"
"Tear 1t up" he murmured hoarsely;
"tear up that. l cannot. cannot. You
don't know what you are asking Destroy
that which has become part of myself;
that which will, must, bring me famo,
honor Il is impossible.
Honor, GeoffreyH There Is no honor to
be got by writing O book like that. You
cannot surely think It. Oh, Godfrey,
Godfrey, surely you will do what 1 askf''
~ cannot, Nina. would do anything
in the world for you, believe me, any
thing-but that"
Silently she untwined her arms from
his neck and turned from him.
"GOodby, then, Godfrey"
She stumbled toward the door. But even
as her fingers touched 1t he had grasped
them tight In his own.
what do you meanH' he crled "You
cannot
IL mean, Godfrey ohoked the
words, and her voice sounded strangely
distant-"I mean you must choose be-
tween your book and me"
He was silent, but his hand grasped hers
little tighter. His white face, his witch
ing lips, the strange almost fierce look In
his eyes, were cruel evidence of tho desper-
ate fight no was fighting against himself
A coal fell from the fire to lie blazing In
the crate.
The sudden noise seemed to arouse him
to consciousness. Staggering blindly TO
the table, he gathered the pile Of manu-
script together, and, throwing 1t into the
flames which burst into renewed life
around 1t, he stamped roughly on IL till
only fantastic black mass remained, the
funeral shroud Of "Cypria." Then, as Il
exhausted by tha effort ha sank hank into