Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1905-09-27
III MATINEE md AFTER

iefeI crowd SWaNeQ HlInef anu CliICllel
n the greasy pavement before drop
curtain of impenetrable fog. Then came
momentary lifting of the vaporous bar
rier. and With cOat-collars up and COW
| aled mouths the various groups pressed
| stoicalIY fOrWard-for second Wraiths
weirdIy indefinite, then suddenly invisi-
BE, engulfed in the mysterious beyond
! Phantom vehicles emerging from the
gloom glided noiselessly away with the
occupants of boxes and stalls, and the
street settled into silence.
rs that you, Jack?" an anxious voice
demanded pantingly as a fragrant odor
diffused itself into the murky atmosphere
and a glowing point of light advanced
slowly toward the speaker
at is not-Jack, Sue," the owner of
the cigar said quietly. 'Have you lost
your party?"
''You, Edward? How very lucky! /
ran back for my fan, and didn't find it
Just at once Jack must have thought [
was in the other carriage. and naturally
they concluded he was waiting for me-"
Naturally"
His tone was colorless, but her quick
glance at him was inquiring, and fingered
thoughtfully.
"What are we to do in this appalling
darkness" she asked, shivering. Gould
we get somewhere for tea p
Il will try to unearth a conveyance if
you Will remain here until | return
Don't move away or | may miss YOU
He went a few steps, paused irreso-
:utely at the sound of her. cough, and
slipping out of his fur lined coat re-
| turned with it over his arm.
You are much too lightly clad-as
usual" he observed CURLY. Put this
on. Nonsense" as she protested; you
don't particularly want an attack of
pneumonia, [ suppose"
As he strobe eff into the fog she drew
the garment more closely about her 1t
reached almost to her feet, and she
looked down at herself with an inscru-
table smile as she nestled into its warm
folds.
Despite the chill atmosphere, the gen
eral discomfort, she fell into reverie as
she leaned idly against the theater door
waiting, and when the waiting was over
it was to the uppermost thought of those
that had possessed her that She present
~ gave utterance.
How quaint for YOU and me to be
driving about together in a hansom"
''Very'-dryly eve conform most
scrupulously to the dictates of the fash
ionable world. We neither 90 out to-
gether nor stay in together; we see as
little of each other as possible. We are
model couple
1T might be-better-if we were not. .
There was something unwonted in her
tone, IN the whitening Of her lips, and
the restlessnesS of the small bare hands
almost hidden in the big sleeves of his
coat.
He looked at her curiously
did you enjoy the piece?'
The piece? Oh, yes, as well as most
pieces" Her voice was weary. Il did
not see you there"
No, [ stood most of the time-almost
under your box. Do you think in the
long run the heroine came to love the
fussy photographer with whom she con-
soled herself?"
No. He was a refuge, that was ALL
She spoke of him as good little man. !"
well don't quite see-''
She wouldn't even have thought of
his stature if she had loved him.
''Wouldn't she?" inquired the man,
whose six feet two of length was but i'll
accommodated in the half of a hanson
cab, and a faint smile fitted across his
face.
NO, and she certainly would not have
troubled to correct herself if she had
CHANGED to refer to him in such terms.''
Il don't follow your argument, Sue
"She would be so sure of herself. of
his dignity, and her own recognition OF
it under all circumstances that she
would not be always on guard against
forgetting railways Jealous lest some
outsider should ignore it."
And" her companion pursued with
slow delberation, "do you-since you are
such a student of human nature-sup-
pose she confded entirely in her good
little man; told him how near she had
come to wrecking her life?"
i Possibly probably. If so it is certain
he wept over her woes and quite failed
to see she had been wrong, because, of
course, in his eyes it was unthinkable
she could be, Had he not been little"
| "Well-had lie not-?''
e it would have depended on the
measure of his greatness whether she
told him or not"
"Sue"-he turned on her with an alb
rupt change of subject-"why did you
marry me?"
''Why-?"
Let me have the reason, once for all
|
be the consequences what they may. The
question comes between me and my
work, between me and my every thought,
and can find no answer to it. You
don't spend money like other women of
your Glasgow care nothing, apparent
~, tor the luxuries it places within your
reach
"You think it was for your wealth!
You think that!"
But what then, what else, since it is
certain you do not, and never did, love
me?"
"And if it were true! Did you not
need my title-my connections-to-
to-?''
"Burnish my plebeian gold and cloak
my obscure origin? % he concluded as she
broke off sobbingly. Us that what you
would say? Has the result justified the
accusation, Sue? Have | made use of
these things, altered my life in any