The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1898-10-21
would you speak If you were sus-

pected?"
II didn't suspect" She stopped,
scarlet. We're they discussing her
own wounded heart, or woman in a
book? But he ignored his point. and
she was grateful.
Can man stoop to justify him
Belf?" he asked, softly. There was
pause, and then she spoke indignant
ly, against her will, laying all her poor
defenses bare.
1T isn't that a man should justify
himself. 1t isn't that a woman should
ask it. But when he will not speak
when he would rather walk away from
her forever than hurt his pitiful pride
oh what is word compared" She
stopped, hating herself for having in
woman's way, said all when she had
meant to say nothing.
Robert was watching her. Now he
seemed to himself intolsrably brutal,
and the maternal, protecting quality
which was the better part of him rose
up and charged him to trouble her no
more.
you're tired" he whispered to her,
gently. "Do you want to go home?
You don't care for the apotheosis of
| virtue?'
"I will go home, please" she an
swered, with E. pitiful little smile, but
still bravely. "The voyage-I hadn't
realized, but it did tire me. I'm good
sailor, you know, and suppose don't
consider that it's always more or less
of strain"
They made their way out with the
futtering throng ready to walk in the
lobby; and he hurried her down to the
corner where their man was waiting.
Then they drove away, and Emily gave
little trembling sigh of relief, all to
herself. Yet she felt greater loneli-
ness than she had known even on the
other side of the sea. For he was here,
they had haggled over q cynical COM
edy, and in a moment they must part.
She did not mind very much what he
thought of her now, and she would
talk no more; so she withdrew into her
own corner, and fought down the shud-
der that crept over her to her lips.
Emily" he said, ''give me your
hands. Where are they? You won't?
Then I'll take them. Little cold
things!"
A quick sob escaped her.
"Oh, 1 can't bear It'll" she whispered
to herself. 81 never can bear it'll" And
then her tears were wet upon her
cheek.
Sweetheart! Emily!" he whis-
pered, stop trembling Don't you
know we're here together!" (But he
was trembling, too.) Don't you see
it's all over and done with-that ghast-
ly separation-and we love more
more-more!"
But Emily clung to him and sobbed
as she sometimes had through those
nights in the Paris hotel when he
seemed q world away. The memory
of them flashed before her, and lit
| mind whether he knew how a woman's
soul could tear her body to pieces. He
was finding out And she bit her lip to
stop crying, and then sobbed again.
And Robert was as different from
the old Robert as she from the other
Emily-the untried, happy one.
"How could you do it?" he was say
ing, passionately-"sen me awayfrom
you? Me away from you? And never
should have known why, really, if it
hadn't been for that tell-tale story.
You laid your heart bare, you little
thing! You told me just what you
thought of me-told the world, too,
but they don't know it-and I said:
why, she loves me! And she was a
proud, stupid mink, and she was will
ing to think l would wrong her willful-
| ly, and not ask me to explain Why
didn't you ask me to explain? The
woman in the story did!"
II thought you knew" she mur-
INJURED. II thought you didn't care
enough to do it."
Care? I'd have walked to Jerusa-
lem barefoot to tell you was true. I
haven't any pride where we are con-
cerned. Have you? It's just we two
in the world, and the others can go
hang. What has pride to do with us?
Oh, darling! darling! why, your lips
are salt, too! Are you Niobe-all
tears?" And they laughed piteously,
and he mopped her face with his big
| handkerchief.
"Where is he driving us?" she said,
| after a moment, with a little happy
sigh.
up the avenue and down again. I
told him to-"
"But he'll guess why"
"Well, why?"
"Oh, for-this, supposed"
"Oh, you little child!! Did you suf-
| fer?"
"I'm not little. Pm tall woman, and
I weigh"
Il don't care. You're q tiny mite, all
fur, and as stupid as you can be. Yes,
you are! You write clever stories, and
then think man doesn't love you be-
cause he isn't eternally saying sol"
''Oh, 1t wasn't that!"
ut was, too. But I'm changed I'm
going to din it into your ears till they're
dulled with 1t. I'll chant it on the
housetops, and intone it from the
steeples. Henceforth there sham be
an emotion between us that remains
untold"
mo! no! it isn't that. But said to
myself: If he cared, he couldn't keep
this deadly silence. He couldn't"
"Ah, yes, he could. But he's been
trepanned, and he won't again. There's
your uncle stalking up the steps. I'll
go in and ask him to order the wedding
|