The Portland daily press., 1900-02-08
elHOWI7'
A Password 60 Paradise.
BY owENDoLEN ovERToN.


you can test woman's beauty and prove
that 1t is vain. You can see her after she
has danced until dawn and drives home
In the cold, blue light. You can drop In
upon her when her negligee Is such In
reality and not a matter Of rufiies and
lace. You can see her rise dripping from
the surf, no daaghter, d, foam and fire,
but creature az .daik Jocks and purple
lips. Or you can lookadt her after she
has gone twice round l'the links In the
blazing sun and the dust fraught wind.
All these are likely TO convince you of the
deccitfulness Of beauty. But some wo-
men are so fair as to bear each and all Of
these tests. Yet il you were TO put them
in a smoky, close sleeping car anywhere
between, say, Tucson and Yuma, at the
middle of an August day, they might
then become, as every one else, SO ugly
that il would increase your ugliness and
bad temper TO be forced to look at them.
When a woman under these last condi-
tons is still pleasant to contemplate. you
may set it down that her charms are real
and enduring.
Harrington did so In the case Of the
girl in section 2. He was in section q
himself. and her back was turned to him,
but she faced the beveled mirror, so con-
siderately built In the end of the car, and
he sat SO that he could watch her re-
fected In It. Besides which he could see
her back hair, which was brown and
looked soft and which escaped in wisps
that curled up tighter and tighter as the
day grew hotter and hotter. Harrington
thought about a French novel he had
once read, whose heroine had "boucles
folles qui frissoient autour de sa nuque."
He had always liked that idea, but had
never seen it realized until now.
There were only four people In the
Pullman-a man and a woman who were
not interesting, Harrington and the girl.
Harrington entered the train at Ell Paso.
The girl was there already. The only
mark on her traps was a silver tag strap
ped to her satchel, and Harrington had
not been able to get within reading dis
lance OF it. He had tried hard enough.
Neither had he been able 10 screw up
his courage to the point of questioning
the conductor. He did not believe In dis
cussing women with the first conner. SO
he put his feet up on the opposite seat
and leaned back and watched the boucles
foles, and noted how prettily her skin
flushed, aud what nice shadow her
lashes made on her cheeks. Life would
have been far pleasanter thing IL he
could have talked to her.
The prospect beyond the cinder guard
was SO monotonous. That. of course, is
putting it very much more mildly than
Harrington did. ben Bolt" began to
run in his head. which is bad enough in
itself, but when II times itself TO the tie
rumpety-rump, te-rumpety trump, te-
rumpety-rump of the wheels, is enough
to drive sober man TO drink. The only
reason Harrington did not drink now was
because he had already had one bottle
Of beer, and he was afraid of the opin-
ion of the girl. Besides, 1t flushed his
face. and trembled with tears at your
frown"-the wheels were turning more
slowly. There was that ugly hush of
uncertainty, of interruption in the natu-
raj sequence of things that falls when n
train slows down in the midst OF the
prairie. The sensation OF dying must be
rather like 1t. The train stopped, and the
airbrake Kissed. Then all was silence
that let you hear the blood running in
your veins until there was the crunch of
footsteps on the cinders beside the track.
Harrington put up his window and
looked out. A group OF men STOPPING
about a wheel of the forward car and
the ringing taps Of a hammer upon iron
told the story. 1t was hot box. Har-
rington said Hang it"' and drew in his
head. Pretty soon he got up and put on
his hat and loitered out. When he had
Joined the group. he glanced along at his
car. The girl was leaning out OF her
window. He felt that In a time of emer-
gency one should not handle a situation
a la Somers and Peter Gray. He put
his hands in his pockets, which Is al
ways the way you show that you are
just being casual and offhand and max
ing no particular point of 1t, and saun-
tered back along the cinder bed until he
stood beneath her window. Then he
raised his hat and told her 1t was a hot
box. She said, Thank you very much, y
and hoped it would not delay them and
was very sweet and civil about 1t, but il
was borne In upon him, for all that, that
1t would not be expected Of him to con
tinue the conversation. "'And Peter
takes the north again, and Somers takes
the SOUTH" he murmured as he contin
ued on down to ask the conductor how
long they would have to stop and lighted
| a cigarette. The conductor did not know.
Harrington had not supposed that he
but nc NCuk paSh INV thS ~ eiA
thoroughly Disguised with everything.
He flung himself into section with a
sigh that could be heard In section and
looked out disconsolately over the prairie,
so dull and dreary TO those who see II
with dull and dreary eyes. The air went
in heat waves SO that the distance seem
ed to CULVER. and the whole prospect was
vile. He sat up and pressed the electric
button. The bell fairly pealed In the 81
lence, reverberated TO the horizon. The
girl started and looked away from the
window, Harrington told the porter &c
bring some iced beer. The girl was
watching him in the mirror. 1t was tht
first time she had paid the smallest at
tention to him. He caught her eye-ane
perhaps she did not smile. but 1t was moi
quite a stony stare either. He felt en-
couraged, and that TO the extent Of or
dering another glass. filling 1t and takini
| ii to section 2. Might he offer She
looked startled. but also uncertain.
ats awfully cold and nice"
nj