The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-06-29
The Romance of a Ring.
And her hand there,
With its rosy inside color, and the
sparkle Of its rings.

1
| taking dose Of literary browsing every
afternoon Indeed, he went as regularly
! up to the aloof and delightful rooms OF
/ the CTerar or Public Library as other
men dropped into their favorite haunts
/ for glass of Madeira. or a Frenchman
stops to sip his o'clock glass of alb
! sinthe. To be sure, the reading OF good
| literature was his only intemperance.
And love of the arts can never be an
| Objectionable mania. although occasional
| ly it proves an Improbable one He
was a broker. He was neither young
| nor Old. He was ordinarily cookbook
| ing. He was successful in his line, but
| he continually experienced a sense of
| deprivation. He fancied the making of a
literary luninary was lost in him-oblit-
Grated by training and environment. This
| idea was probably an Illusion Neverthe-
less. it prevailed. And in reading the
| poets. in keeping abreast with current
thought, and in delving in old books he
found much mild and legitimate enter
! tainment. He knew that his pleasure
| IN reading was vicarious expression of
himself-a sort Of self-offered atonement
for his failure to make his mental I'm
| agery vivid TO the eyes of less keenly
! imaginative men
One blistering summer day he flung off
| Wabash avenue, passed between wide
| reddish portals. swung up the few stone
steps leading to the hall, entered the ele-
vator at his right, and said, SIXTH
| One-two! He happened to glance at
! his hands. He had a feminine detesta-
| ton Of soiled palms and fingers. That
rummaging fer old receipts in the old
desk
six"
He stepped from the elevator There,
to be sure, at the left. was a row, Of
marble basins. He wheeled around, gave
his hat to the attendant removed his
cuffs. and turned the hot water faucet.
4 sense Of gratitude to the founder of
this particular library, and to the indi-
vidual who suggested public lavatory,
came over him. One Of these days when
| he had made his pile, he would see that
his money reverted to those who should
be benefited in manner at once as
worthy and artistic as the former, as
unitarian as the latter. He
Whose ring was that?
II lay on the marble slab before which
! ne stood lathering his shapely hands A
| tiny golden circlet, set with one flashing
! diamond, which was ianked by emeralds,
cleaning and translucent as the heart
of an ocean wave. a beautiful Ii tie
trinketl Never had he touched or han
died a woman's ring. Then, why should
this seem to absudly familiar? Where
-when-how-had he seen it before?
| Sometime-sOmevnere That was sure.
The peculiar, old-fashioned filagree work
at either end OF the Jewels drew his at
| tention. He had admired that at the
time, and
Great Scott" he said to himself,
what kind of a memory have I got.
anyway2 I haven't been drinking. Might
as well have been. though To get gu err
l1art r.
ed up the bauble in question and furtive-
| ly slipped it into his pocket He sent a
stealthy glance in the direction Of the
attendant. While he fastened his cuffs
and pulled down his coat sleeves, and
walked away into the long, lovely, book
! lined room at his right he experience
| all the sensations of an accomplish I'd
KleptOmanlac.
| If he saw the girl to whom the ring
! belonged he would. recollect under what
circumstances he had formerly seen the
costly trite. lie would explain. lie
would apologize. He would restore It 10
its owner. But there were few in the
reference library that hot afternoon Half
a dozen specialized men deep in ponder
| Gus tones, a few precocious youths vi n
deliberately puckered brows, some miu-
dle-aged women who were unnecessarily
! energetic in the matter of cunning the
! leaves of the BOOKS before them-no one
else.
A great disappointment swept over
Burroughs. He stood STILL lingering the
ring in his vest pocket He must hand it
over to one OF those in charge of the
room. It would undoubtedly BE- missed
and called for. But as he moved forward
to perform this act of restoration a swift
remembrance of the ,ime-tha hour
wnen he had seen the ring required to
him.
His friend Dick Leyden had shown it
to him.
This is for the daarest girl in TIE
world he had explained It's my en-
gagement ring for Phyllis Lane We wi /
be married in the fall, and you'll be st
! man, God willing
Whereat John had shaken his hand
heartily and wished him JOY, and from
/ that hour experienced a loneliness at
once morbid and perplexing He did not
feel like looking up any of his kindred
acquaintance today. Those kindly peo-
! pie between covers would ne here when
ne came again. He swung around on
his heel Something caught his eye.
What? A lot of tulla iuted into the
shape OF sweet peas? Braided dark hair
over a shaDely neck? The glimpse OF a
| Joung. eager, rose-lipped face bent over
a book Of old English engravings?
/ Three seconos-six! He was beside her.
was looking down at the pretty pink.
/ ringless hands
II beg your pardon" he said. stard-
/ ing bareheaded before her. your mare
/ IS Miss Lane?"
She rose, coioring deeply, drawing back
little, looking up at him.
You are mistaken, sir. My name IS
| Faith Ferris"
Burroughs drew the ring from his
! pocket. This he began
He started-glanced down at her IN
adorned fingers. Have / lost-did
leave that in TIE lavatory? How good
! gagement ring OF my cousin, Phyllis I
/ begged her to let me wear II 70 town
I that I might remember a certain com
mission. 1 took It ~ when I washed
1 ny hands before coming in here. I do
| q good deal Of magazine work, yol know.
and occasionally there are references 70
/ be secured. How shall I thank your
BY letting me offer you the use Of he
I library I've been accommodating. ! adora
I literary work, but have only the Gesire
I ackinE ability. Aud-as I'm 70 b b. :
man for Dick LydsH til. fall-perha 8
you will allow me 10 see you home"
He did mt browse in The library that
I day. He did see Miss Ferris home AMI
( 4 seems that there is 20 be another 70
nance OF ring-or the romance OF an
other ring
But this is ant.cipat ng-The Oh cago
Tribune
His Request.
Pardon ne" said he meeting her o.
the sands, but are you Dot 1he youaz
LADY 10 whom I was cnsage3 last SUN
M a. thls verN nae?