Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1903-10-30
SHORT STORY FOR
EVENING HOURS
SAW 1T IN The AGONY COLUMN

Neither of them-that Is TO say,
neither Dick Beresford nor Olive Bias.
sett-quite understood how the disa-
.greement which had led to the break
ing on of the engagement had come
about. but then ii so frequently hap.
pens that people who are fond of each
other quarrel about nothing at all and
wonder how they could have behaved
so foOlishly. Anyhow. the misunder.
standing had arisen, and a certain gold
ring, purchased by Dick only six weeks
previously, had been returned to him
by registered post, with cold little
letter that well nigh drove him to the
verge of despair.
Another man in the circumstances
would have refused to accept his congo
and would have gone straight to hif
swcethearts house and demanded =
reconciliation on the spot. But Die.
Beresford was not as other men. Pride
was his predominant fault, even as /.
was the fault OF the girl he loved, and
pride rose up in his path and barred
lall return, unless Olive made the fire..
Ioyertur"s ir the direction of reunion
Thus did 1t come about that two PEG.
Ir;e were made intensely miserable,
land doubtless would have remained so
but for the intervention of an cXtruor'
Idinary incident which the lines thal
follow will ondeavUr to describe.
one cvcr!ng, some six months aftcr
the cancelling of the engagement, Of.
! i've sat with her teaCup in her hand,
looking intensely woebegonc. Her
mother. who was the only other OCcu.
pant Of the tea table, regarded her
with an anxious expression.
You look miserable, DEAR" she
said softly.
Il am miserable" replied the girl.
There was a short pause, and then
Mrs. Bassett observed:
Ever since you sent young Beres.
ford away you have been anything but
yourself"
Olive laughed bitterly.
Il wish | were anybody but myself, "
she made answer. putting down her cup
with an abrupt gesture, and better
still. wish | We're dead"
| olive"
Mother. It Is the truth. I've moth.
ing left to live for. and the days seem
to me like weeks"
1T Is your own fault. You dismissed
poor young Beresford in a moment Of
temper, and now you are sorry for it,
Sorry or not, II was as much his
doing as mine. lie had no rght-pos,
.itively no right to use the words he
did"
Il think you were both in the wrong,
and il you were sensible you would
write him nice little note suggesting
a reconciliation"
81 wCald sooner be burned alive
first"
The girls cheeks famed. and she
stamped the floor with her small feet
so passIonately that Mrs. Bassett
looked up in alarm.
IL love Dick now as ! have always
loved him" she said presently, but do
you thinl: could ever humilate my,
self to do what you advise? It's out OF
Ithe question"
Suppose he came back to you of his
own accord. how them
Olive shook her head decisively.
you don't know him as ! do. mother
mine" she replied quickly. "He used
to say that we were a well.matchet
pair, for both Of us We're as proud as
LuCifer And so We are. Each OF US
wants the other to speak first, and sc
were at deadlock for ever and ever.
In my younger days" returned Mrs
Bassett, men were different. II {
man loved woman he put his pride II
his pocket and did not pause to con
slider who should be the first to apollo
gize for fancied grievance. But tina
was thirty years ago" she added will
a smile, and times have changed"
Olive made no comment on this re
Election. She was thinking of the hap
py days which she had enjoyed will
Dick-of the long, delightful evening"
at the theater, of the pleasant Sunda!
afternoons, of the myriad joyous hour
that go TO make up the courtship OF ;
man and a maid, and for a moment he
eyes grew soft with happiness. Blu
soon the duh reality forced its wa,
back into her brain, and she sighe,
heavily.
That same afternoon Dick Beresfor'
was lounging in the smokeroom Of hi
club, feeling intensely depressed. Al
ready he had had recourse to severa
WHISTLES and sodas to revive hi
dropping spirits, but these adjuncts t
= gayety did not produce the desired Ell
feet.
The stuff they sell at this clu
grows worse and worse" he remarke
, IxwesmErmRuDture