Daily camera., 1901-12-30
The Other
Wornan's Hand
A Studied Offense and Its
Penalty.
~ owENDoLEN ovIHrou.

|
THE young man who would make
for himself name and fame goes
east. BY the same token, he who
would hide those both betakes himself
west
Henesly went west because the girl
he was in love with Tilted him, out Of
hand, for richer fellow, and he was
very hard hit. He went west and was
lost to sight, and the places where he
had been knew him no more. If any
one chanced to mention him to the girl,
she smiled the smile of plying con-
tempt, which is most women's tribute
to the memory of man they have
treated abominably, and said: Poor
Dick" She was as mean as she was
beautiful-which is not the fairy-tale
formula; but she got her punishment
in the end-which Is.
This is how it game about:
Circumstances and physicians over
| which she had no control sent the rich
mhu she had married-whose name was
Kent-to spend a season on the Pacific
coast. Kent's fancy lighted upon sea-
port town. the only objects of interest
in which were a break-water, in course
of construction, and spit of land
upon which, tourists were assured, the
skeletons of dead and gone pirates
might yet be dug up. Neither these
nor the adjoining shipping village,
which only awaited the appropria-
ton OF a delinquent congress to
become the harbor OF the Pacific
slope. offered to Mrs. Kent that
variety and excitement which alone
could make existence palatable 10
her. So she decided that if there
were to be any such, they must come
from within herself. Therefore, as the
most unlikely thing that she could
happen upon, she determined to try
what it might be like to lead that
which is known as a norma and healthy
hfs-going to bed when the frogs be-
gan to sing in the dismal marshes
about, and getting up with the sun. -
will take plenty Of exercise" she ex-
planned to her husband: 81 will row for
q couple of hours before breakfast, on
the lagoon. think"
She ex-erienced some real enthusi-
asm about it at this point. Ken, die
not He foresaw the disturbance o;
his own comfort, which was not great
ly considered at the best of times, and
he tried to discourage her; but with
out success.
At day break she made her way across
the strip Of land that divided the Ia
goon and the sea. The hotels and cot
tages faced the sea. but the lagoon was
the inner harbor. and there were upon
it only wharveS and rickety boat
houses and fishermen's huts. 1t was
not exactly q picturesque outlook, or
dinarily, but the sunrise lights cast
sort OF glamour over it now. Even the
deep. loose sand was cool and tinted
and all traced over with fine cabalistio
lines where the lizards had dragged
their tails and no one had as yet
stepped. Later on. it would be blister.
ing hot and the marsh weeds would
give ont choking smell; but this early
their stunted yellow and pink blossoms
had = fresh and pungent scent.
She FOLLOWED q pa tn that ledto rough
board shack, standing on stills over
the ebb-tide mud. where a sign adver.
tised that boats were builded and for
rent. When she stopped in the small
doorway. her figure shut out most OF
the light, and she could barely discern
the man who was moving about inside
He came toward her. Her back waste
the low rays of the sun. so her face was
In the blackness, and only her form was
as g.istening white as the Angel OF
Apocalypse.
Had he q row-bost, she asked; one
not too heavy. and with oars of mod.
crate sweep? He was taciturn-n
'long-shore character, probably-for
he did not even answer, only took
pair Of spoon oars from their rack on
the wall, and led the way out to the
landing pier. She followed. running
ag, inst straugs shapes Of Hdet. ind
stl milling over piles Qf lumber z. ne
gloom. when thet were out on the
laf ding. he turned about and faced
her suddenly. She was quite close be-
hind him, and she gave a quick start
back.
II thought so," he said. steadily; "a
thought the voice was like yours"
He had had that much warning, but
she had had none At all, and II might |
have been a full two seconds before
she got control of herself Then the |
beauty of the situation and all its pos
sibilities hoated upon her suddenly,
and she decided that her movement Of |
impulse had been the best she could
have made. So she followed it up.
She shrank back into the doorway
farther stu. "Richard!" she said,
covering.
He stood resting upon the oars and
scrutinising her stolidly. He hattered |
himself that he was calm, not to say
cool. but Mrs. Kent had a deeper than
surface sight. She knew that he ap-
peared cool for very much the same
reason that . circular saw appears
still when it is going fast enough. For
herself and for the major part of man
kind she was q very light scoifer at
love; but she was no such fool a. not |
TO know that the heart which has truly
loved and never forgets does have
its existence in the flesh as we'll as in
the lines Of Erin's bard. So, summing |
up the situation with the aid Of obser- |
vationS upon his character, made rath-
Or exhaustively some five years gone
by, she came to the conclusion that, |
when she should be ready, it would
take pe ihaps half an hour at the out
side to have him at her feet as tiger
l. at the feet Of trainer with a whip.
Henesly spoke at last. "You did
your work pretty thoroughly while
you were about it. you see." he said.
81 went to the devil and to bedrock in
something less than year. Then I !
married a Portuguese fisher girl when