Los Angeles herald., 1905-10-01

one luOk IL HdLu VI OtiNil ~ 'h~AS N
together they walked UP the steps.
Edna and Willis were Injured to this
fcndness of hers, which was incessant
and at times almost distressing. Even
in the latter case it must be borne with,
however, for they had easily guessed
that she was holding up their splendia
conjugal triumph against the baleful
creed which the fates had taught her,
creed in one article, recorded on her
left temple, by her husband, the night
before he died.
Willis went up alone to his room, to
rub away the dust and cinders. A
sudden question popping out upon him
had set his wits shifting twenty ways
at. once for an answer.
"Id just like TO know" he began,
looking severely at the clock, though
without the least concern as to what
time it was. Then, positively, speak
ing in confidence to all outdoors, II
know six things that it particularly
isn't
After this the varied brushing and
scraping went on for. time undis-
turbed. Even this task he put through
steadily and with beautiful display
of order. An inveterate determination
not to be blocked or impeded, not to
suffer his small or great designs to be
tampered with, was the chief fixture
L. toI around which
everything else was arranged. In ac-
cordance with this he spoke out his
conclusions as he reached them as IL
he insisted OH recording actual prog
ress. even through a mental wilderness.
1t was thus that he broke out third
| time.
"Do?" he stormed softly. "Do? Any
thing in heaven and earth, except ask
her,
| Afterward he had an impulse that
made him jump for his coat. He took
out a letter and ran hastily through it.
"It hadn't begun when she wrote this
anyhow" he said. $50 it's not three
uays old yet" And from this on he
was silent.
At half-past o'clock they were all
at the table; Edna dumb, Grace vigil
liant. Willis absent and vague, Mrs
Galbraith in an immense flow of spirits.
persistent, steaithy watch kept be-
meath the yellow eyelids found one
| thing Immediately clear, husband anu
wife side bv side and never word or
| look going from one to the other
Had Edna told, then? Edna certainly
had not. She had insisted that it would
make no visible difference; and what
ever her limitations were she had an
| infinite power of making people believe
what she said. And yet, behind his alb
straction the mans capacities wepe evil
IDENTIFY all on the alert, ready to spring.
Point blank in the face of this Grace
| tried the experiment of dragging the
conversation bodily with her till she
could say:
"Why are people so ready to write
letters? Hattie Grant wrote to all her
friends at Christmas to say how dread
fully vulgar and silly Frank Hammond
was; and the next June she had to turn
around and write how happy she was
because she and Frank were going to
be married"
Willis smiled pleasantly
"That was rather good, wasn't it? The
| friends had the pleasure of comparing
the two letters-and Hattie had the
pleasure of wondering whether Frank
had ever loved another"
This was all on the surface. Willis
Hare had never let the public in upon
his personal views concerning matri-
money, either I'm general or particular.
Mrs. Galbraith took the tail of his re-
mark and made the most of it. And
| Grace had to wait for another chance
till her aunt's vivacity had subsided.
But Willis was still more absent as
he turned from the vapid sounds with
cut and gave himself rather to the
throbbing search within. Mrs. Gal
braith's animation had waned Grace
was left with a stalled subject on her
hands when suddenly the mans in
finite stream of guesses landed him
in the most undreamed of corner His
teeth clamped down through his under
liz, as his thought pumped into
conclusion which instantly asserted
itself as perfect. To make sure he
began to talk vividly of the lake froth-
ing round the platform, and especially
of the folly of trusting such a lake
with a sail, even in it's sanest mo-
ments.
"By George, there goes boat over
nowv' he said, rising and going to the
window. mo, it isn't, though; the
fellow let the sheet go just in time.
Not a bad trick, that!' And he sub
sided. The maneuver had given him