Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1903-01-23
THE VERMONT PHOENIX BE

/ listen to what that fat idiot of a wo
man said" he groaned. so that's
the SOFT of gossip. is it, Send round
the society editor, indeed. Damn
the, society editor! If he'd only
broken his neck before he got there!
And where did she get it, | wonder?
What right has any one to imagine it!
Why. Evelyn and | have been pals
since she was six! I'm her older
brother. Half a dozen men have
shown her a hundred times more at
tertion since she came out. I've
scarcely been with her this season
It's some damnable plot ard that
society man is in it,"
There is panacea at the Press
club labeled Special" and when the
steward bore away the decanter the
managing editor had recovered suffi'
cientlv to at least remember that he
ought to go to bed. The sun was
shining high in full glory of an Oc'
tober morning when he arose, several
hours before his usual time, for tho
sleep with which he was usually bles'
sed refused to be caught for more
than a few minutes at time.
He thought it all over on the edge
of his bed. and the memory of the
previous night came back to him like
a hideous dream. from which he had
hoped to wake. He forgot to curse
the society editor and Mrs. Vail, and
he thought only of Evelyn. OF course
she had seen it: that was a foregone
| cOnclusiOn-fOr the East Kensington
papers were among the first sent
out-and having seen it. what woulc
she think What would her people
think-his paper too. His face
burned as a hundred weird coniec'
lures chased each other through his
troubled brain. One thing was certain.
1t was hopeless now. He remem-
bered her Coming out party year
ago. and his sudden realization that
the little girl whose big brother he
had been pleased to call himself for
wears had grown to be woman. He
recalled his struggle Of the mast few
months and he laughed bitterly as he
realized that the question was no
longer TO be debated: it had settled
itself for all time True enough. 1t
was her money which barred the way
and kept him silent before. yet he
could see her. be with her and forget
his life of weary grind in building air
castles. But now In all his %
| wears OF existence lHf mdldSlHS cur
tor had never before felt quite so mis-.
cradle
He dressed himself absently but
with mechanical care. and went out
The beauty of the day Jared upon
him. and he felt conscious of desire
| to see the blue of the sky give way to
lead and the sunshine to a drilling
rain. He scarcely acknowledged the
| IN pf tho whom he
knew and more than one turned in
passing to look back wonderinglyl
| Once or twice he asked himself where
he was going, but the vision of her
face. which kept coming and going
through his mind with a dreamy sad
ness. turned his thoughts to smoke
and he wandered aimlessly on like q,
man who is lost in desert.
He had been walking for several
hours before the quiet of the streets
reminded him that he was in the sub
urbs. He stopped on a corner, drove
his hands deep into his pockets and
looked at the pavement trying to bring
back his scattered ideas. Thus he
stood staring down at the cement
until the man in the corner grocery
left his post at the front door and
called his wife to see what she could
make of the strange man across the
way But the grocer's wife had
mean opinion of her lord, as one whose
ideas were unworthy her serious
consideration. and, unluckily for her
she refused to leave her work in the
| kitchen until it was too late. The
butchers buxom spouse next door had
the pleasure of telling her the story
later in the day, with elaborate color
ings looking to the construction OF
a dark mystery.
You forget, I think. that I am no
longer a school girl. I'll put the
paper down when I'm ready"
The managing editor stood irreso-
lutely silent for a moment. and then
turned on his heel, walked to the win
dow. and looked out.
Its on the eighth page at the top
of the society column" he said. with
the air of man who defies his fate.
There was a rustic of turning pa
per. a few seconds of awful silence
it seemed half an hour to the man
watching the street-and then tho
printed pages fluttered to the floor.
The managing editor turned and met
her eyes. She was actually smiling.
SIS that all?" she said, quietly.