Middletown transcript., 1902-05-03
Clasesing banded her ii and ssoad inter

J.
| negatively
ssTeIl him home. she said, xpeas
| for the iirst time since she lAaa ueIeoinsa g
him, land sseoms and hare some 81
Eustace. =
The fooknan touched his hat ard x;la-|
yering settled himself eonGentAlIy $e-s.
side her He knew he hssa come q NE
solution ol She problem II his HE aud he
was satisfied to leave il announcement
10 time and to the beautiful wonaan at
Ills side. They drove rapidly through
i the Park and stopped at q freshly decora-8
i ted house near Lancaster Gate.
/ Over tea, the silence, which had never
been embarrassing, was broken
..Gracie, asked Clarering, however
| did You get TO town without ny knowing
lit. Have you been long here2
mo, returned the other with silyery
laugh that affected CIavering like lsit
motif iii Wagner; mo. ] arrived BY the
Camponia on Wednesday, and this is the
| first time I've been ont. # you we're
woman you would know BY this" and
| she stroked the soft gray dress she wore
sfhat am recent arrival. Women.
don't risk lsse-maieste in gowns without
cause, you know. "
ssThank heaven you did, Or might
have missed you. II was the sight Of the
dove among the crows that drew me TO-
you In Bond street. But how on earth
do you come to be living here? ] thought
this was Max Weston's houae9
II am Mrs. Max Weston.
There was silence for awhile between
the two, and Clavering realized for the
/ first time there was mora than one solu-
ton possible to bis life. He toyed with
his cup and marveled at the calm self
possession Of the woman opposite. She'
on her part, watched him dreamily
through the heavy curtain Of her eye
lashes.
"You have become man, Eustace,
she said at length, as il the remark sum-
med up q whole volume of impressions.
seYes? But wasn't legally an infant |
when last We met, you know. But as
regards one thing / was older then than
now
"And that isg
ssWoman.n
s'That is everything"
"Almost thou persuadest me-" he re-
turned, with . lazy laugh.
Once more they drifted into silence,
Clavering wondering why In his madness
be had let this woman slip away from
him, Mrs. Weston delighting in the signs
Of his strength and his manhood. It
was he that spoke first:
81 wonder why the dramatist in me
should be 10 painfully conventional. In
those othek days my sense Of the drama-
tic properii pt me constantly gaze
for settings ried to make love to ap-
propriate m| Il remember once there
was girl --as young men love-
and / deter to pledge my truth to
her at the pie fountain. You re-
member til ntain, don't you?-:he
one Dicken ote about IN Oliver
Twist, isn't where the idle drops Of
water dance Il danced, and peeping
ont in sport bong the trees plunged
lightly down lide themselves pardon
rue, the quo ii jumps with the CON
yentionality. matter Of fact, in my
time the cons Of the water was so &C.
centric the d ! had little opportunity
for dancing. Z
ssDid Rebecl ,ome to the fountain?"
mo, I reg TO say. You see, the
fountain is &C oroughly out Of every
body's way, exS 4 OF the law clerks and
the American rists, fancy Rebecca
remained ignor of bis whereabouts"
''But you b philosophy in those
days?'
Eyes, but ny ,ilosophy had nasty
habit OF deserti ane at critical NOM i
ents."
1.-THE dramatic u perties, then2n f
"Well, the dramaHic properties got 50
far askew that / substituted an empty ]
stage for Fountain Cokrt, Middle Temple,
! dark and dingy hd dpelessly impossible i;
trysting place with treat, gaunt wings :
ylowering at one Ill ssntinsla
moth-eaten black-clot apping uneasily
On the rear wall. Ug
It was draughty, terpolated Mrs. i
Weston, refectively. III
"Very draughty," a fitted Clayering. .
4 "And depressing" i
"Most depressing"
"And liable to interrl ptions. Ii,
"One of the stage n nds dropped q
,lock from the flies that came within six i,
inches of permanently interrupted my Il
errestrial career. 1,
"Why ever did youE choose such a /,
,laceg' asked Mrs. WeAton, bending a :
face towarN him. "Was
2ebecca SO unapprcachahSe eIsewhere?'' In
mo, but she had come Eup to the thea j,
re for her letters, and I was full of the II
lew discovery Of my owl unworthiness i
-and Fountain Court wasEso far off-and n
/ seemed Dissertation to arrange for the :
peaklng of the truth at the Star and Gar Il
er or the Savoy {,
"Couldn't you have gohle to the Ma
ional Gallery It was hansly." h
Eyes, handy, but not Il h-satisfying.
food Lord, Graciel'' said Clpyering, sud-
lenly; sitting up "don't J&ou realize
vas in loye-honest maddA Aning love Il
md I would have proposed pn the side II
Falk rather than waste in1esconsaltiIg a b
timetable? Think Of propbing In the il
ul gaze Of Botticelli Madodnais g
True -disconcerting, and Vnot fair to g
he girl. But why didn't you propose G.
n the theatre7n p
"Well, was an honest yossng idiot in Il
hose days. and wanted to tel her ~
.Rebecca?" fa
Don't interrupt. wanted 70 tell her IN
hat my play was lie, q mfan. back =
landed blow at woman lin my vanity q