The San Juan County index. (Aztec, N.M.) 1890-19??, 1902-12-19

Il was past mldnight-long past Il,
men who sat in the wineroom Of the
little all night cafe did rot know Il
and did not care.
One drank necessarily and mechan-
ically from a brown bottle, but his
eyes were bright and clear-and hard,
with the steely hardness Of him who
laughs and hides a wound. The other
wreathed himself in great white
clouds Of smoke. fitting his chin now
n then to blow a thin white stream
upwards through his teeth and half
closed lips, with an artistic precision,
az though the process involved his
entire and concentrated thought.
Il wonder how long II will take"
spoke the FIRST, holding his glass aloft
to let the light shine through. They
say it kills-this stun I'm drinking.
BAH It might-a fool. Il doesn't
even dun my senses. They say a
drunken man is happy, He sings; he
cries or laughs-and then he sleeps,
like some besotted beast. / cannot do
these things. I can see nothing but
her dead face-and feel that she Is
gone; that my heart is gone-my
soul-everything. And yet ! live and
ache. / move about just as used
to do. Men speak to me as usual.
They do not see the change" He
~laughed-you would have sworn It
was some merry iibe. IT'S funny,
Gregory. isn't II.
His companion paused to flick the
ash from his cigar before replying.
I'm a way it's funny. yes" he IN
swered. There is a comical side to
everything, even this. A grim humor,
I'll grant, but humor nevertheless.
Your wife is dead. You want her
back-and God won't let you have
her. You've always had your way
with your wealth and that magnih-
cent brain Of yours. which whisky
cannot dull; with your magnetism,
your strength and that beauty a god
might envy. And now you're thwart-
ed for the first time-that's what
hurts you, Edward. You have had all
things, always, and now one Is taken
away. You think your heart is dead.
II isn't. It's sound and well and
capable OF many loves. But a new
experience has come into your life
defeat. You will never be quite the
same again, Tor resignation -surren-
der-works a mighty change in such
as you. But the humor Of It all lies
in your ~babbling OF a broken heart.
Yes. It is funny"
The other nan sat motionless with
the glass stu raised. Not a muscle
quiyered. but his yes we're fixed on
the speaker with a strange intensity.
my God!" broke out the n ad-
d. essed as Edward. Il wonder II
you are right. ] wonder why
I sat here quietly and let
you tell me this. It must be
true-something within me must
have told me that-or I'D have chok-
ed the words down your throat" He
hesltated a moment, b%ewildered.
What can you know OF human
hearts; OF love or grief-you. to
whom all men and women are but so
much flesh and blood? You analyze
them as a chemist divides some sub
stance into elementary parts-or dis
rect them by a sort OF mental sur
gerry. We have always been comrades
after a fashion. Gregory. but | eve
understood you like other men,"
NO" said the other sadly, that
has been my curse-to mask my real
self from all the world. I've been a
sort Of emotional detective. I've pried
into the hearts Of men and women,
10 see them beat for others-never
for myself. Since childhood I have
craved for love and understanding.
Never has Il come. They said: He
IS a strange boy; so different from
the rest. / felt myself an outcast
and began to shun my former play
mates-ashamed, / knew not why. /