Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1904-07-08

THE mistress went out, sir, about
ten minutes ago. and said she'd be
back in half an hour
Edmund returned to the sitting room,
and lay back in the low armchair by
the fire in gloomy meditation. He had
been uneasy in his mind all day, for
the night before he and Lefty had
quarreled, and it was because this had
been fretting him and he was wistful
of making his peace with her that he
had contrived TO get home so much
earlier than usual. And now she was
out
The fact that this CHANGED to be his
birthday gave keener edge to his suf-
ferings and made her absence, when
he came yearning for reconciliation, so
much the more inexcusable. He sat,
hunched in the armchair, brooding I'M
til he began to see a sinister signifi-
canoe in her not being there to well
come him; it became as clear to him
again as If it had been last night that
he had been justified in the complaints
he had made, and that her indignation
had been assumed simply to blind him.
The facts in connection with that
quarrel were. chiefly, these: Ednund's
one particular friend in Watford was
Alfred Hilbert and Letty's one partic-
ular was Nelly Hilbert, his wife. Once
a week the Dolbys went round the cor
ner and spent an evening with the Hill
berts, and once a week the Hilberts
came round the corner and spent an
evening with the Dolbys. Moreover,
they frequently dropped in on each
other informally; the wives OCCASION
ally shopped together, the husbands
took Sunday strolls together, and their
friendlinesS would have been abso-
lutely ideal but for one Earring circum-
stance.
There had been a time when Alfred
Hilbert was desperately in love with
Lefty. Twice she had rejected him,
when Edmund made her acquaintance
and they fell in love with each other
at sight
Alfred resigned himself to the newt
able so completely that, few months
later, being a breezy young man whose
heart was too well seasoned to break
easily, he transferred his affections to
Nelly, who was already Letty's dearest
friend and had remained so ever since.
Edmund knew all about this from
the beginning. Alfred treated it as
jest. After they were all married he
would speak of his past infatuation
openly at their weekly meetings. and
laugh about it, never seeming to real
ize that nobody enjoyed the joke but
himself.
He was that sort of a man. Instead
of growing Injured to his facetious de-
scriptiOnS of his extinct passion, Ed
mund more and more resented them,
even rebuking Lefty now and then. as
II she were to blame for having been
passiyely responsible for Alfreds fas-
cinatiOn.
Last night. after the Hilberts were
gone, he had rebuked her with unrea-
sonable irritation, for he was of nat
uraly Jealous temperament, and had
gradually persuaded himself that AL
fredf was much too attentive to his
t"AANs gnu lAtlL ACllS lOWdEu
him was unnecessarily gracious. He
told her so in no measured terms, mag
nifying his grievances and saying more
than he meant, as an angry man will.
Lefty was disposed at the outset to
answer him laughingly, but her flip
pancy exasperated him. Finally, he so
lost control of herself that his prepos-
ferrous hints and innuendoes stung and
insulted her. Her cold dignity was I'M
abated by breakfast time this morning.
and, as he could not humble himself
and surrender, he had gone off to the
city sullenly, without kissing her.
Away from her he remembered all
her sweetness and was ashamed that
his jealousy could so outrageously be-
fool him. He yearned to be with her
thinking of tender things he would say
to her; he would even ask her to for
give him; and only to imagine how she
would lean her head upon his breast
and cry brought tears to his eyes.
He had pictured it all wildly; he had
FASTENED home to fulfill his happy i'm
aginings-and she was out.
IF she had sent, me a telegram ask
ing me to come home it would have
been nothing astonishing" he NUT
tured, bitterly, "but, instead of that,
she isn't even waiting for me when I
do come"
There was piece Of crumpled paper
lying in the fender He had noticed 1T
idly. directly he sat down, and now,
suddenly, seeing there was writing on
it, he picked it up, Strengthened it out,
and read it:
Have got the tickets. Be at my
Office not later than 7, and we will go.
Till death and after, Alfred"
He sat stunned, rereading it mechan-
ically, as if it meant nothing to him.
Gradually the words seemed to burn
into his brain. Here, then, was full
and dreadful confirmation of his worst
suspicious. He had not been mistaken
last night in thinking there was some
secret understanding between them.
Here was their secret flashed bewil-
deringly before him.
He started to his feet and snatched
his watch from his pocket A quarter
past 6. There was a bare possibility
that he might even yet be in time to in
tereept them, and he must make the
most Of that
As he passed the Hilberts' door a
vaguely forlorn hope tempted him
aside, and he knocked till the servant
opened it,
rs Mr. Hilbert here?~ he demanded.
no. sir"
Where is Mrs. HiIbert:'
In the drawing room. sir"
Il want. to speak to her. Don't
trouble. ! WILL 90 to her" lie stepped