Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1904-05-19

There was candle in a silver stick
on the fireplace shelf, lighted it.
The walls were full of pictures, Over
the white columned mantelShelt huns
a pastel-the work of master. II
was the woman whose photograph
had seen in the dead room" of my
newspaper-the Hon. Mrs. Stanley.
What impressed me more than any
thing else was what | had felt when
had first seen the picture. The girl
was tired-very tired of it all, and her
heavy hair was burden to her.
1t was while leaned on the mantel.
shelf that heard scraping on the
gravel outdoors My driver coming
back for me-" thought. But a second
later the candle was out and left upon
the shelf, and was tiptoeing TO the
glass doors of the conservatory.
AS pushed open the glass slides the
vestibule door banged loudly. With
its swinging gust of cold air found
its way to my legs, while stole creep
ing to the shelter of some potted rho.
dodendrons.
Presently | could hear wheels reCed.
ing. and with the flare of a match-came
the sound of two voices, mans and a
woman's. | made out the woman S
voice first.
Il am half frozen, and it was all fol
nothing" she said. There were some
indistinct words from her companion,
and by the cracking knew he was
down upon the hearth. lighting the
sticks that l had seen piled up in the
fireplace.
After that | could hear the man talk
ing the most His tones were all in q
Icrescendo of pleading, the low words
of the woman being lost each time by
his deep. interrupting murmur. Only
, once her voice arose sharply into dis
tinctness.
Never, Never" she said. Their
for a time there was nothing but the
cracking of the sticks.
" Then all of a sudden the girl-she
was only a girl--came into the draw
ing room from the hall with a candle
She walked straight to the piano and
. opened it. Even through the moisture
blurred glass l could see she had been
crying. 1t was the girl of the pastel
She leaned forward upon the music
rest while her shoulders quivered the
way girls do when they are sobbne
and trying to fight it down
III.
I'm naturally soft hearted about
women, and it took all my reason To
keep me from plunging out of the con.
servatory and asking her if there
wasn't something | could do. | did
crawl closer to the glass. and wonder
why the Hon. Stanley didn't come
in from tlnkering with the fire in the
hall. He had come back after doing
something shady, fancied, and they
had been having it out.
She hadn't been satisfied with his
, eXplanation-and he was sulking il
while she was unhappy at the piano
He came in while | was thinking about
it-and he wasn't the Hon. Stanley
, Torrington at all. Not that I'd seen
the Hon. Stanley before, and could
have, and could have recognized him
But there was something in this man !
face that let me know at once he
wasn't the husband. There wasn't
, the trace of anger or even impatience
| in it-Only agony.
You could see that he didn't know
! exactly what to do. He went up to the
piano and bent over the sobbing girl
Then he Strengthened up and walked
/ to the mantelshelf where the pastel
girl was looking down upon both OF
!, them with the same unhappy halt
. smile and the masses of hair that were
. too heavy for her slender neck.
. After while she sat up. She was
/ quite calm now. The man seemed tc
be trying to catch her glance, but her
, eyes never met his fairly. Then he
spoke.
I'VE shouldn't have come" he said
Il told YOU it would be useless"
20, We've had that out" said the
. girl
, And even dangerous" the mar
went On.
The girl shivered.
, I'm cold" she said The young fel
: low turned on his heel and went out
= into the hall. When he came back he
, had a carriage cloak in his eyes. Hel
, lips moved and then twitched lneffect
: ualiy. Then she said distinctly:
, Dick, l wish he would never come
back. When the young fellow sait
, nothing she began to cry again.
, 4 man is always clumsy when q
, woman is crying. He touched her OF
: the shoulder as he might have done
1 another man.
Don't do that" he said. Don't DE-
! that"
) I couldn't stand it, heard her say
And after the letter he sent"
we shouldn't have come" thu
young fellow repeated. Anyway. tn,
: letter said alone"
/, The girl turned on him fercely
: When she arose from the piano sh,
4olf