The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1905-02-25
A HITCH

's-s-s- ! -s-s-ss II
Eva Darlington, the bride elect.
was a beauty.
Eva's soft blue eyes and bright
nttle ways wrought dire destruction
IN the ranks of the stronger sex.
but she appeared quite unconscious
OF her power or Indifferent to it.
10 all intents and purposes she had
promised to marry Charlie Mel.
thorpe. His will was her law and to
please him the chief object of her
life. In short, his programme SEEM
ed in fair way to be carried out.
Her total submission delighted
him, and he took every advantage
OF 1t. 1t was not in him to show
generosity to woman or indeed to
anything he thought weaker than
himself. He was the sort of man
who is brutal to his dogs and horses
and overbearing to his servants.
who, in short, tyrannizes whenever
he can do so without fear of retalia-
ton. His nature asserted itself in
his dealings with the woman he
loved, and he took the keenest pos
slble pleasure in trading on her for
bearance, taxing her endurance to
the utmost and showing off her
plant will and obedient temper tc
the world at large. 1t waoall part
OF the system that could not fail.
Charlie went on giving his petty
arrogance full play until, as was on
ly to be expected, things came to a
crisis. The wonder was they had
not done so long before.
On the occasion of Lady Brown
Jones' ball he went the length of
torbidding his fiancee to dance round
dances with any one but himself,
and, though she received his COM
mands without a murmur, her soul
rose in passionate revolt against his
tyranny. This last test that he had
devised seemed to her the worst of
all. AS matter of fact, she had
submitted patiently to far harder
ones, but we all know the female ca
pacity for swallowing a camel and
straining at gnat, and Eva was no
less inconsistent than the rest of
her sex. The gnat stuck in her
throat and obstinately refused to
be dislodged. There always must be
last straw, and this was it.
When the ball was half over, Lord
Dolly put in an appearance, and at
that moment Eva happened to be
sitting quite alone. Charlie had left
her for a minute or two to speak to
a friend, and she was looking visit
fully at the maze Of couples that re-
volved before her. Lord Dolly
made straight for her.
"Not dancing, Miss Carrington!
Luck for me, by Jove! Ripping
waltz, this. Have turn ?"
He stuck out his elbow inviting
", but Eva turned away, biting her
lip.
"No, thank you," she answered in
low tone. 81 can't dance with
you, Lord Dolly"
"Can't?" echoed his lordship.
Flows that? What's up? Not i'll,
are you? Nor cross with me, eh ?"
Eva shook her head.
"No, | am not i'll or cross, but
but have promised Charlie to waltz
only with him. He doesn't like to
see me waltz with other men,"
Lord Dolly choked down the
forcible Bdt inelegant remark, clear
ed his throat violently and ran his
fingers through his hair. The two
latter proceedings were signs OF Sc
we're mental disturbance.
There was slight pause.
"And he dances so awfully bad
ly," Eva went on, with queer lit
tie catch in her breath. 'He can't
waltz a bit-not little wee bit. He
holds you all wrong"
Her voice quivered and broke on
the last word, and she looked up at
the man at her side with great tear
full eyes, like forgetmenots drowned
in dew.
That look finished it. Lord Dolly
was only man.
''Beastly shamep he said hurried
ly. "Come with me. Nice and quiet
out on the veranda. A fellow can
talk there, don't you know. Come
along"
And Eva went.
Charlie -Nelthorpe was bristing
with outraged pride and wounded
Golf nsteam when he went to paw his