Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1903-01-28


whether she expected company, and
she had granted a certain reasonable,
ness 10 the question, for there was
twice as much meat on the table as
was necessary; also it was the first
OF the month and their prenuptial fig.
ures on the cost of living had been
more than doubled. while the prenup-
tlal earning capacity had in no way
increased
So, though this first manifestation
OF spirit of criticism cut her two.
month old wifcliness, it was passed
over, for John was very loving toward
her. She was duly sorry about her
extravaganza. and. with pat on the
cheek, told him she would try to fig
ure more closely
But this morning they had eaten in
silence. She could not speak for she
was on the verge of tears. Neither
did he speak, except to say that she
did not understand, but would when
she had thought it over
Now she had thought it over and
almost decided that she had never in
the two years of their acquaintance,
known the real John. She almost
reached the conclusion that he had de-
ceived her, that he was not the sunny,
open-faced boy he seemed. but
brute who could not control his own
temper. and who took pleasure in
coldly and cruelty showing it to her
So she cried in the coy little front
room of the little house in the sub,
urbs. and the torn collar on the dresser
in their room was to her mute eyi.
dence Of his true self.
The truth of the tragedy was this:
The collar he had tried to put on that
morning was frayed and saw-toothed
old and useless. He had scratched his
neck. and he had said, not altogether
pleasantly, that it should never have
gone to the laundry and then, vintic.
lively, she thought, he had deliberate.
ly torn it in two
All it meant to her was the loss of
her ideal, and that was everything.
And then he had not seemed to see
how she felt. The words in her mind
We're, "Now we know that he never
could know and never could under.
stand
It looked that way, and helplessIv
he also realized it. though perhaps it |
should have been, Did not under.
stand'
He had quoted the words himself |
as he left her but he quoted them
verbatim. with the proper pronouns, |
and then was sorry they had come to I
his mind
All the way to the city it worried |
him. Why had she not answered him |
when he had spoken to her mmedi
ately after the collar episode? 1t had |
always brought an answer-that
hearty, kindly, "What's the trouble.
Mrs. John?' his pet name these two
months. Then he said: III she's 60
ing to set huffy and quiet about moth
ing, all right"
But as he thought it over perhaps
he had not been exactly affable at
the table. He had kissed her good |
by, however and her response wa.
OF the passive, dutiful variety. 1t made
him blue to think about it.
At the office he found that he had
10 recheck all his additions. and the
second bookkeeper was spared the
usual "iollying." BY Q O'Clock he
found that he was shading every fis.
ire he made
Ihere was one page in last years
cash book similarly disfgured. the dav
after she had accepted him So he
stopped work and sharpened his pen
eli. BY the time he had used mn
two inches of it and the neat pile Of
red shavlngs had grown to masnifcent
proportions. his brow vas less cloudad
ana he reached to We side of his desl,