El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1901-02-04
p PUFF
OF WIND
And What It Did For a Husband.
BY w. R. ROSE.

He opened the front door with his
latchkey and let himself in. 1t was
blowing hard outside, and as he held
the door ajar puff of wind rushed in
1t was a strong capful. and it swayed
the curtains and fiuttered the long
leaves of the hardy palm in the parlol
archway. Then it caught up a bit OF
note paper that lay on the little table
In the hall and whirled it away be
meath the bookcase in the corner. The
man who was entering did not see this
fluttering note. He shut the door quick
ly and turned about.
Nellie! Oh, Nellie! Where the deuce
can she beg" he muttered. Never left
me like this before. What did she
take with herr He opened the clothes
closet off the bedroom and looked at
her garments hanging in an orderly
row. He let his hand fall lovingly OH
the familiar folds and pass down them
with gently smoothing pressure. Her
dresses seemed so eloquent of her pres
ence. Was she hiding behind these
dangling frocks? He poked his way
into the closet, up one side and back on
the other, but no Nellie was concealed
within its limited area
Funny he muttered again. Seems
to be gone without a word. Wonder
what she did with her jewelry?" He
thought he knew where she hid it
away, but he didn't. At least it wasn't
there.
MAY have taken it with her." he
murmured and stopped short. The
idea was an ugly one. You're a fool,
TAh ;v,v l,a 1o6 Of
himself in the glass.
There was a pleasant aroma arising
from the interior of the dresser. 1t
seemed a part of her. There were two
of her hairpins lying on the dresser top.
He picked them up carefully and laid
them on the little china dish where a
dozen or more of their brothers were
stretched at length. Her old shoes lay
beside her low sewing chair. small and
slim. He knew she had gone in a hur-
ry. She would never have left this
mark of untidiness if she hadn't been
pressed for time. But what could have
drawn her away from home so sud-
denly?
John Austin was not a thoroughly
well man. He had worked too hard;
he was nervous and irritable. Evening
after evening he had come home and
unloaded into his wife's keeping as
much as he could of his burden of daily
vexations. For the first time in their
Is months of married bliss his wife
had left him without a word of warn
ing.
He came slowly down the stairway
and dropped himself into a big chair in
the library. His eye wandered about
the apartment. 1t was growing dusky
outside. and the books about him were
dim and misty. He shook his fist in a
sudden fit of frenzy at the tiers of vol
umes.
Shes been reading harmful books"
he sputtered; "Ibsen and Maeterlink,
and who knows what all? They are
and degrading. They cor
-upt the sOundest mind with their pes
'imistic sOphistries. What's this?" He
picked up a newspaper clipping from
he table and, lighting the gas, read 1t |
loud:
1.-The souls of women knock some |
lines at the bars of convention. of ira |
iition. of marriage. and clamor for |
reedom-even If it be the briefest of |
espites. Sometimes when they least |
xpect it the desire to fly grows strong
lpon them and they are ready to throw
Town all that is at hand and strike out |
'oidiy in the direction of the Turing
oice- Who can blame them? Do you
lamc the captive brutes in the arena
or beating their breasts sore against
he cruel bars that cut them off from
he delights of liberty? Woman has
he same instinct. 1t flares out at
ines when least expected, and the
roman goes forth heart hungry and
'nging. too. for that blessed boon that
len caIl-and m0nOpoliZe-freedotu.
John threw the clipping down.
absolute rot. he snarled. Then he
uickly said. 'And she must have been
eadinS it just before she started out"
lis voice sank on the last words, then
G briskly added: Don't he fool.
Ohm. Everything! will come out all
lght. You know it will. Here YOU
re- worrying over what is probobly a
-iviai incident. BE Il man.
Nevertheless his hand trembled when
e picked up the obnoxious Ginning
nj tossed it into the wastehasket
He leaned back in his chair and, tax
X out Il cigar. lighted and smoked it.
He thought of the first time he saw ,
ellie, of how little he imagined she
ould become so dear to him. of the ,
'adual growth of love, of the day lie |
'ked her to be his wife. Queer that he ,
'd never gone over the romance be- {
re. How wildly it all came back to ,
III. And this was the first time he had ,
called it. He had been TOO busy to :
link of such trifles. Trifes, Too :
lsy TO think of aught save his own .
ans and hopes and ambitions. Had ,