The true northerner., 1900-12-28

wealth that he was going to have. She
married him for love, but she counted on
the money. 1t had a place among the
certainties in her mind, and that was
why she interposed no objection to
scale of living far beyond their income.
The result was that they began the
second year grotesquely burdened with
debt The coup had now become ne
cessity. Confidence in it had been re-
placed in Alma's mind by sort Of su-
perstitious terror. She dared not think
that it was only a dream.
Twice during that second winter he
named the date Of success and forced her
TO believe, and each time he failed. From
t.As series of disappointments Alma learn
ed 10 distrust her husbands Judgment in
all things, and, though he performed be-
fore her eyes the continuous miracle of
spending twice as much as he earned,
and most of il upon her. she came TO be-
lieve that be had no gift for the manage
ment OF pecuniary affairs.
The second summer helped them IA bit.
for they lived out of town and spent less
money, but in the fall, when they were
again installed in expensive city apart
ments. the absolute climax came Poor
Jones dream had assumed the form ia
miiar in eastern fable: il had grown 10
be a monster that threatened TO swallow
the dreamer.
Alma saw clearly that he would not
only fail to execute his coup. but that lie
would lose his position She saw that he
feared it-that he feared it because Of
her. His eyes had the look OF hunted
animals; his hair was growing gray
above his ears.
Once in those last days he fairly beg
ged her to encourage him. besought her
not TO tell him that he must fail nor to
sink into despair and drag him with her
whenever he mentioned the possibility Of
success. She could not do it, She said
in her heart that she was too honest 10
express q hope she did not feel. Really
she personiied this dream of his and
hated il. and womanlke, she showed her
spite. Manlike he misunderstood her and
supposed that he was losing her love.
When she made an excuse Of her moth
er's illness TO go away from him. she did
ii for his sake and with breaking heart.
As for Sydney. he viewed the suggestion
aghast. Stronger far in man than in wo-
man is the instinct Of comradeship, the
idea Of standing together in trouble. That
she ought not TO go was to him automatic.
1t was so utterly self evident that he
could not think of anything 10 say about
it. lie let her 90 almost without a pro-
test.
She would have given the world TO
have him urge her to stay. but he
couldn't. because he did not know why
she was going. He knew that he was
half frantic and the most direful kind of
an associate, and he supposed that she
had stood him as long as she could.
She thought those terrible soul de-
stroying talks of theirs about money,
money were inevitable so long as she re-
maned with him. that they were bora of
his dream and must continue till the
dream died and that they wasted the en-
ergy he could so little spare.
Obviously she must go, for his sake;
but she did not tell him why Loquacious
woman. how much more silent than any
man you can be sometimes when you
ought to speak!
So Alma went to her sick mother, and
the invalid looked at her just once with a
piercing maternal eye and then got right
up out of bed to take care of her. Two
days later Alma wrote TO her husband
that she was i'll, but she did not say that
leaving him was the cause OF il. She
spoke OF n cold contracted on the journey
Sydney replied in a letter full of ten
derest solicitude for her health, but he
did not say much about wanting her tc