The Republican., 1898-09-22


flushed, and smiled.
"Oh, here is Capt. Hawtrey?" she
said.
A man had entered the row of stalls
behind, and had taken his place so that
| Sybil was Immediately in front of him
| He leaned forward and shook hands,
and they began to talk. This was in
| the interval between the acts. Digby's
wrath rose with the conversation, it
was no more intimate than ordinary ac-
| quaintance warranted, but it contrived
TO leave Sullivan boiling with jealousy.
lie stared at the man gloomily, and
tried in vain to pick holes in Linn.
"Beastly good looking beggar!" he
said, to himself, with a groan. Must
be recent acquaintance.-h doesn't
know me. Oh, he's going to mee+ her
tomorrow, is he? Confound bis i'm
pertinence! What a bowling cad I am
| to listen"
Then the second act began, and the
divinity of the hour kicked herself
backwards round the stage, and sang a
touching ditty, but even that did not
entirely comfort Digby. The man be.
hind him was whispering and Sybil was
leaning back to listen. Her husband
calculated the number of inches be-
| tween them.
! When the sceHe ended, the crisis
came. They have a way of putting
out all the gas at the Frivolity vixen
they change the scenes, instead of let
ting down the curtain. Digby heard
| Sybil say "Oh!" as the darkness came
upon them, for she was not expecting
it; then there was long, soft breath
and then three small fingers slippedinto
his, making him gasp and set his teeth
hard. He had been sitting with his
hand down beside him. resting between
the seats, and it flashed into his brain
that she had mistaken it for that of the
man behind He gripped
hold of the fingers in a fashion that
must have hurt, but he did not care.
just before the gas was turned on again
he relaxed his hold, and they were with
drawn. The next scene flashed by
while he wondered if she had discovere d
what she had done. Then it was dark
again, and Dighy was only conscious
| that she was leaning sideways in her
stall. He leaned back also, and fourd
her lips by instinct. They kissed each
other in the darkness, and after that lie
waited grimly to the end. When Sybil
rose ut the fall of the curtain be rose
too, and touched her lightly on the arm.
Il should like to speak to you, if yo'l
will allow me few minutes converse
tiOn,' he said, tremendously.
She regarded him with unmoved Sc
renity.
"Ccrtainly." she said, politely. "But
-here?"
IF you will allow me to see you
home"
OH" She turned to her sister-in-
law, and said something in a low tone
After a minute she spoke to Sullivan
again. 81 am quite ready-if you are" "
She remarked.
Sullivan also thought that he was
quite ready until he found him
self alone with her in the han
som. Then he found that be-
tween the intoXication of the volets,
and his furious indignation, he was
dumb. He struggled with himself,
without daring to glance at her, his
eyes fixed vacantly on the glitter of the
streets as they bowled along.
when you kissed me in the theater,"
began his wife, quietly.
He turned round with his eyes blaz-
ing. "Then you knew?" he said.
She bowed
81 thought" He was ashamed to say
what he had thought, and besides the
intoXication had got the upper hand.
Il was going to say" said Sybil,
sweetly, that l suppose it was-by
mistake"
| Five minutes later she remarked that
a looking glass in a hanson was a
handy thing-it looked so bad to come
home with ones hair untidy, and Sui
livan added irrelevantly that he hoped
her sister-in-law would not sit up for
| them.
''N-no," said Sybil. 81 don't think
so. Where are you staying?"
"Out at Westminster. Shall we go
to the Riviera before we settle down
again?"
''lf you lilte-just whatever you like" "
But the curious part was that there
had not been a word of explanation be-
tween them.-St. Paul's.