The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1900-05-26
MRS. HILDYARD'S CHOICE.

/ otner evening. The Haymarket closes or
/ Thursday; it would be a pity to miss the
chance" It cost him an effort to say
this, and he did not look at Mrs Hid.
| yard as he spoke. 8
Il should not think Of breaking my en-.
| gagement with your Mrs. Hildyard said
! to Havers decidedly. 81
When Emerton left that afternoon hi
felt distinctly unhappy. He went to hi.
i rooms, had a-cold bath, and smoked fou1
| cigars before tranquility returned to him
| He had no self-conceit, and he felt that
! on the whole, Havers was better maj
/ than himself. This conclusions decided
him to hurry matters, for, although he &C
| knowledged Havers to be the better man
! he had no intention to play into his hands
! 1t was fair game between them, and the
chances lay, not on the knees of the gods,
but on the lips of Mrs. Hildyard
Soon after her visitors were gone, and
| when Mrs. Hildyard's pretty brows were
wrinkled with thought, Col. Oliver en-
tered the room. He was Mrs Hildyard's
uncle, who managed to pass very easy
| and comfortable existence in the not un.
| pleasant. task Of steering his niece
| through the shoals Of young widowfood
His theory of life was of~the simplest
to trust no woman, to look upon every
| man as a; possible enemy and to treat
all enemies, for diplomatic purposes, as
| friends. His practice was otherwise, for
! he trusted all women like child; he was
simple and tender in his friendship, and
he had not an enemy in the world. Old
! Oliver was, $indeed. the easiest of guard
| ians, and any man might have made love
! to Mrs. Hildyard under his very nose
without his being conscious Of it.
''Who were your visitors ?''. he asked.
! She told him. y ~ 49, Il .
| "They come here pretty often, don't
they?'' '@s ..,a s 4- -
! mot oftener than other people,
"Ah!"' he said. T like 'em both. Hav.
| ers is clever, Emerton dashed pleasant
| I've thought once or twice they were get.
| ting rather fond Of you, Nellie.'
| my dear uncle, you're always thinking
! the most foolish things!'. 5o.. - s.
II don't blame EN-, dear child. If j
were a young man, and not your uncle,
I should want to marry you; I'm not sure
| that yoL could be trusted more than any
| other woman. But If people will marry
| they might do worse, r %t 4
Mrs. Hildyard was thinking again, and
hardly heard what the colonel was say
ing. fts&5 III,
Don't forget she said, "that on
Wednesday we're to go to the Haymarket
with Mr.. Havers. And do remember to
put on anew shirt, not one of those old,
old things you're SO fond Of @s.25
"rhey were good enough in my day.
he grumbled. But If you remind me
again on Tuesday 1 will see about it,
"And you might let me have my dia-
monds for that evening" she said. He
opened his eyes and looked at her under
inquiring eyebrows, but he was too wise
to question her. - 4. ~ ~,
Emerton1 did not hurry matters, but by
Wednesday. evening he had worked him.
self up to such pitch Of excitement
that there was nothing for it but to get
into a handscm and drive to the theater.
He was rather late, but by good fortune
he secured a stall, and took his place in
a rapidly-filling house. The orchestra
was half through the overture, and be-
fore he could discover Mrs. Hildyard
the lights were. down and the curtain up.
He began to feel uncomfortable; per-
haps she, had repented, after all, and
had not come, just as she had escaped
from the Pettigrews' to go to the Lyceusl
with him and the obedient colonel. Per-
haps she had been expecting him to call
and renew his offer; perhaps by this
time she was very angry with him; per-
haps she had chosen to put him out of
her mind altogether and he and all of
his hopes were to be cast adrift. He
looked at the stage vacantly, as a man
in a muse looks vaguely at a picture;
only a detached phrase here or there
made any impression on his brain, and
when the end Of the first, act came he
rose YEARLY to go out All at once, how
ever, he sat down again, fully alive. Two
rows in front of him he had caught sight
of Mrs. Hildyard's beautiful and animat-
ed profile; ond her left sat Col. Oliver,
on her right Havers. An ironic CONVERSE
ton between two exasperated gentlemen
In the gallery caused her@to turn around.
She saw Emerton, recognized him with
little bow and flicker of the eyelids.
and went on talking quietly to Havers.
Havers, on his part, was speaking very
earnestly; the tense attitude of his
shoulders Indicated effort. At intervals
he glanced at his companion like one
who wishes covertly to see the effect
of a story on his auditor. EmertOn felt
uncomf ortable; he could not hear a word
of what passed between them, but he
had rather the feeling of an eavesdrop-
per and began to wish he had not come.
But he waited to the end of the second
act. and then to the end of the third.
Mrs. Hildyard looked particularly bril-
liant that night: the desire Of the moth
for the star was strong in him. He was
not jealous Of Hayers; he only envied him
his seat that was all. It was a fair game,
a, frY MI
He wondered how Havers was cultivating
his opportunity cleverly, he made no
doubt. He resolutely refused to watch
them, and succeeded in getting faint inn
preston of what the fourth act was
about. ss 355
AS the theater emptied, he managed to
reach Mrs. Hildyards side.
81 / thought YOU were going to Covent
garden" she said. aas5i S.
80 I was he said, .ff you had been
able to CO. came where could see
YOU
IF you were so anxious to see me-
she said, t'you might have called. Z,
I'm coming to see you tomorrow
morning he said. 81
You speak as though you had decided
about it long ago.
so I did I decided three days ago.
why tomorrow particularly r. ss
For an unimportant reason, he said,
but It pleased my conscience Good
nigh. : He nodded to Hayers and Col
Oliver and slipped away. &
The next morning he called on Mrs
Iiiilldyard. He assured himself that he
was perfectly cool-and so he was until
his hand was on the knocker; then he
Went to pieces. The collapse was so un-
expected that he ncontinently thought Of
hight That, however. being Impossible
he had TO stihe his nervousness between