The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-01-13
WooINc A HUSBAND.

, manifestations of that Indifference which
is sometimes the forerunner OF in.idelity
and always sign Of cooling passion, of
! the habit of possession and of the be-
ginning of the end of connubial romance
Mrs Dexter Thurlby was u. pretty. warm
hearted. loyal in thought and deed, sem
sible-eyen cunning with the harmless
, guile which women call wisdom-and she
knew that her husband was slipping away
from her They had been married five
years before he hurried away one morn
| ing without kissing her good-by OF
course, he forgot the pretty Formally
Formally? And why formality?'' she
| reflected, she watched him hurry across
the street for LiS car. 1T, this farewell
KISS was an event in the old days
And then she wondered how long il was
since it had ceased Ito matter with
him. Then she began to compare his
moods with those of the honeymoon days
and it occurred to her that he smiled less
| often, read more. frowned more frequent
ly. That evening she wore new and.
| she thought. most becoming gown to din
ner. He didn't notice it and she. for the
| first time, refrained from calling his at
! tention to il. Until now she had made a
| practice of opening the door for him her
self, of waiting at the window till he
| doomed, big and handsome, before the
| window, and then. with winsome,
Hello. Deck offering him her lips to
kiss. She quit that now, and let the
| maid answer his ring. OF course, she
vas tormenting herself. but she wanted
| to know. and her heart sank and shriv-
| eled when she observed that her changed
| methods didn't even attract his atten-
| ton.
| He had no business troubles, and she
felt sure he was faithful to her. He be-
| ban TO stay downtown at night-not all
| n;ght-but till past II o'clock. But he al
ways explained that he had taken client
| to the theater. He had always been gen.
] erous with matinee tickets. but she had
never thought till now that this was. per-
haps, his way of requiting her for some
| neglect. She began to worry about her
| locks, and spent more time over her
! toilet, but he didn't seem to notice.
Deck sch said at dinner one evening.
| II saw Howard Potter in the boulevard
this afternoon, and he stopped his sleigh
| and asked me to take a ride
| And did you?" asked her husband.
without putting down the evening paper.
Yes / did. He has such splendid
horses just couldn't resist
Glad you didn't resist. Horace is-an-
| other railroad wreck, L see"
Don't you think he, Mr.. Potter. IL q
nice fellow?''
Two killed and sixteen hurt-how? Oh.
yes" laying down the paper. Howard
| is one of the best of 'em. So you went
sleigh riding with him? Where did you
go?''
.Oh, away out past Lincoln park, and,
and
BY the way, Grace, / wish you'd tell
| that cook-what's her name-Judy? Well,
| tell Judy not to put molasses in the
beans. It's as bad as putting sugar in a
| salad
| And then the conversation lapsed
l. Loo -ftxxr toh Ch0
said:
BY the way. Deck, l asked Howard
er-Mr. Potter to dine with us on Wednes-
day. He hasn't been here more than
| twice since we were married, and l, OF
course, l had to be polite after
"All right! Glad to have him. Grace"
And Mr.. Thurlby went into the library to
| read and smoke. She looked her pretti-
est at that dinner. and Horace Potter.
always brilliant. shone radiantly beside
the prosaic Thurlby. He had the face of
a boy, but his hair was white above the
temples, and the tenderness of his voice
and the mirth of his low laugh were oddly
fascinating.
She met him a ...e matinee after that
and went to dinner with him, first tele-
rhoning her husband about the proposed
frolic.
"All right Grace, Got iti' answered
Thurlby Il wasn't coming home to din
ner, anyway. I've got to take Jenkins
the Denver Jinkins-to some show to-
night
But Dexter Thurlby I'D not read his
| newspaper at breakfast the next morn
ing and when he was going away he
kissed her very tenderly and held her
hand almost a minute, looking silently
into her eyes in the old way that had
once seemed so exquisitely eloquent TO
her After that Howard Potter became
a frequent visitor at e Thurlby house,
and Dexter seemed brighter and happier
when he was there
He's great company. isn't he, Grace?"
he asked her one night. And then: II
understand ,here's some talk of his mar
rying Miss StuyvesanI. Let's have lit
tie theater party and ask them?
But in the box at the MAY and at din
ner afterward Howard showed his prefer
ence for Mrs Thurlby and Dexter was
hard put at the task of entertaining the
Stuyvesant girl She was plainly jealous
of her married rival and Grace. fiattered
if not won, saw that her husband, too,
vas envious of the laughing, handsome,
reckless bachelor. whose wit made his
own wife laugh as she had not laughed
for years whose compliments brought TO
her eyes and cheeks the light and the
color of the wooing days that he him.
self had known with her
Grace looking in her glass at home that
night And so she had. He went no
more to theaters alone or with custom
ers" He stroked her hair OF evenings
when they were alone together. He did
not NOPE any more in the library. smok-
ing and reading but tuned his violin and
plaved the old airs 10 her accompani-
ment.
Oracle" he laughed one night. when
they had come home from the opera and
she was making a welsh-rarebit In the
dfning-room Il believe Howard is falling
in love with you. Honest and truly l
dol''
why. Deck she calculated. her big
eyes staring How can you say such
things
We'll. he is. I watched him tonight.
and pom my word. he never looked at
the stage at all. He never took his eyes
off you
And so she quit inviting him TO dinner.
and refused to go w. nm any more 10
the play or to drive. But year later,
when the cards came snd Grace Thurlby
knew that Howard and Miss Stuyvesant
were to be married. she sat down in her
little room and-cried,
The stupid mink she murmured 10
herself. she isn't worthy OF HIM John
II. Raftery-
Too Phiiosophic.
From the Washington STAR
It's terribly warm. said the person