The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1903-09-13
Copyright, 1903. by T. C. MoClure.)

-@AsN4 1917 Cered man Win the aS-
sSszAIzzzs77A gressive chin and de-
termined mouth She felt vaguely dis
appointed when she did not see him.
Insensibly. he became the touch Of TO
nance IN the dreary monOtony Of her
days-hve and a half out OF seven of
which were spent in Wall street, a place
where the advantages Of being a woman
are not glaringly apparent.
Often during the tagging afternoons Of
sumner. when business was dull and the
hands Of the clock approached five but
slowly, she would sit resting her face on
her hands and wondering about him.
y no was he2 Was he married or single
The noise Of the street below. dulled by
distance until il was as dreamy as the
humming Of bees at MONDAY droned
softly IN her ears sort Of living melody
and her thoughts defed Office hours and
went far afield in a fantastic search for
the reality about him, among the crowd
Of possibilities.
over and over she gave him a local hab-
itation and a name-but these changed
always with her mood. No name that
she could hit upon seemed 10 express his
personality, and she finally discarded
them all and thought Of him only as The
Man.
The weeks melted into months. but her
interest in him did not flag. Rather it
became ueener
" enough, IL was what might be termed
the n0n-essentials that bafied her.
About the man himself-his character and
what he would do in any given emergency
she felt the same assurance that she
did about herself
She had decided that he was lawyer.
though precisely why she thought so she
could not have told. Then one day she
cav him with a child, a girl Of ten, who
bore q certain feeting resemblance to
him.
He was married, then, An almost i'm
perceptibIe sigh escaped her. Then, as
the absurdity Of the matter dawned upon
her. she laughed softly TO herself. What
difference Josephine and Marie Louise
had never dampened her affection for Ma
poleoni She even began TO feel a mild
interest IN the lady.
Sometimes. for two OF three weeks at a
stretch, they would not encounter each
other II was after one Of these breaks
that. watching him as he entered the car
her interest and satisfaction at seeing him
again shone all unconsciously in her face,
and his glance was arrested by Il.
As the faint color touched her cheeks
under hts gaze he looked causally away.
For a moment he had thought her some
half-forgotten acquaintance from the well
come that he had surprised in her eyes.
but her quick annoyance as she returned
10 her reading forbade that idea.
She did not look toward him again, but
more than once his keen blue eyes rested
upon her as she sat there, slim and
straight. with masses Of pale brown hair
piled upon her small head. After this he.
FOO began 70 watch Of a morning. A
habit IS very easily formed
Then FOR weeks he disappeared. The
girl wondered anxiously what had become
OF him Had he gone abroad? Maybe he
was ul-or deadi At the thought she
shrank like one hurt, for he had become
IN 2. whimsical way. a part OF her life. he
had become as near and dear as only
IDEALS can he.
when he did appear one morning, tow
erfne above a crowd Of lesser men like a
god there was a new gravity In MS lace
which held her attention even oeIore she
noticed that he was in mourning.
THAT then was what these weeks Of abb
,.,,1e from, Fr1sfness meant Sickness and
suffering and death His vile undoubt-
e5fv from the sorrow and oppression that
he showed. The quick sympathy that she
felt lowered IN her soft. wide eyes as they
rested briefly upon his face. And he
reading that look, felt curious lhIllI
Long since he had begun TO regard her
with a sort Of tacit. silent friendship.
1.-THE little girl with her soul in her race,
se he once described her TO a friend, shak-
ing his head deprecatingly az the tnougnI
Of q woman like her having 10 Wresue
with the world she seeheo u nm -
EXQUISITE for the ups and downs OF such
a life.
He watched her surreptiuously now,
wondering idly who she was and Whether
he should ever meet her. There was
wav-he might follow her and bestow
quarter on the elevator boy and the thing
would be done But the coarseness OF
such methods repealed him. She seemed
the sort Of a woman who would resent
that kind Of thing.
Moreover. IN his heart Of hearts. ana IN
Rpite OF his bigness and Worloliness' ne