The San Angelo press. (San Angelo, Tex.) 1897-1907, 1904-07-07

From the window where the singer sat
slvory laugh hoated out The win
dow closed. and the voice accompanied
his music no more that night.
Next day at the office he stole many
furtive glances at Miss Dumont and
tried to decide whether he was in love
with her or with the voice he had
heard the night before. Already he
was beginning to think Of 1t ms The
Voice. mentally capitalizing the words.
Before the day WAS over he decided
that he was in love with Helen Du.
mont tn" graceful turn of her head
and the purity Of expression in her big
brown Dyes seemed to him worth all
the voices IN the world But In the
| evening The Voice again accompanied
| his violin playing. aud for nm hour he
was near to forgetting Miss Dumont.
This went on all through the spring,
| and Herman began to lose flesh under
| the strain of trying to decide whether
| he was In love with beautiful girl
! or beautiful voice. Time and again
he wrrstlcd unavailngly with the shy
ness which prevented him from get.
ting better acquainted with Helen Du-
mont. lie often met her on his way
home in the evening aud knew that
| she lived somewhere close. but he
could never quite get his courage up
| to the point OF asking permission to
cal GO '.cr.
! Tho" 80 made up his mind that he
! would 80" the owner Of The Voice. He
| knew ihnt she lived in the house next
| to the ulicr where he boarded. but
projecting hay window cut off the
view of this house from his window,
and he had no way Of knowing what
room the owner of The Voice occupied.
one evening In June he made his
opportunity. At the end Of Il waltz
song which lie had been playing he
softly laid down his violin and stepped
on to the next fire escape balcony. He
was long armed ana athletic. SO ii
was with little difficulty that he work
ed his way along from one fire escape
to another until he had rounded the
point of the bay window. The bright
moonlight made him easily visible on
the fire escape and he knew that he
stood nm excellent chance of being
shot for burglar, but physical danger
was not half so terrifying rs the pros
pcct Of continuing longer with his love
divided between a voice and IA woman
As he reached the point of the bay
window he peeped cautiously around
1t. He saw girl leaning ont of Il win
dow, and he instantly dnrted back. The
girl was Helen DumOnt. He had not
known she lived SO close to him. and
he hoped she had not seen him. He re-
solved To wait where he was until the
girl with The Voice should come back
to her window. He had to wait only Il
few moments before he heard The Voice
hummng the refrain of the waltz song
which he had been playing n few min
utes before. Again prcping cautiously
around the wall. he again saw only
Helen DumOnt. She saw him and
laughed that sweet, silvory laugh he
had heard before.
1t struck him suddenly and very
forcibly that he was n fool. II big Ger
man. musical, sentimental fool The
owner of the voice was Helen Dumont.
Therefore he must he twice aS much in
love with Helen aS he had thought ii
possible to love II woman. Very quiet
~ he made his way back To his own
balcony and picked mp his violin again.
If, stupid fool that he was, he could
not speak r'r himself, he could make
his instrument speak for him. The
Voice was silent. but he did not care.
He knew that she must understand.
AS II finale he played composition of
his own only in time To escape epithetS
hurled ut him from half II dozen near
by houses
And, once having told his love with
the violin. he had less difficulty than
he anticipated when he called on Hell,
en- Dumont the following evening and
proposed i'm due form
Mr.. ana Mrs Herman Muller live in
one of New York prctticst suburbs, in
cottage where violin music ana sing,
ing can disturb no neighbours The wife
is just ms happy MS woman can be
who takes vast pride I'm her husbands
talent and stupidity, She is even
proudcr of his stupidity than of his
talent IIcrman-well he has never
got over falling in love with his wife
twice, II thing possible only to stupid
lty like this.
Letter TO ii, o, Mason