The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1905-06-08
The Quarrel
By KEITH GORDON
Copyright, 1906, b. Frances Wilson

| 1Qere were TWO SlQeS 10 Tue question:,
of course. There always are two sides.
He, being man, saw only the mascu-
line side, while she, being every inch
woman, could see only the feminine as
pect Of the matter that rose between
them like wall.
According to his reasoning, the great
pearl that beamed softly on the third
finger Of her left hand-his gift-was
the solemn, final expression Of his
faith, his choice. It was the official seal
affixed to his avowed belief that she
was the supreme woman.
In his deeper, finer moments he would
relive the moment when he had put 1t
there, when the splendor Of his own
destiny had sobered and steadied him
till his whole being had gone out in the
wordless prayer, God grant that I may
make her happy"
From that moment she was the fixed
star Of his life. Indeed, she scarcely
seemed to him separate entity. but
rather the finest part Of himself. And
|
was dashing and debonair, and the
armament Of his life was strewn with
stars of lesser magnitude, mere pin
heads beside her, but in the aggregate
by no means without interest and beau
ty. That they were feminine stars goes
without saying, and If there were mo-
ments when they shone and twinkled
for his especial benefit how could be
do less than to acknowledge the CON-
pliment?
To him it seemed no more than a
laughing byplay, the light graceful
variation Of the grand love theme of
his life. But the fixed star saw it diff
ferently-saw it with eyes that deepen
ed and darkened with tragedy which,
after few weeks Of smoldering, burst
into the fame Of anger.
Never, perhaps, had she appeared to
him so superb, SO obviously queen Of
the world, as at that moment when she
had faced him, white with scorn, and
accused him in plain, brutal, everyday
EngnSQ or Deln2 QlrI
At first sheer amazement held him
silent But from the torrent Of words
that rushed from her lips he was soon
in possession Of the sum Of his Of
fenses-his attentions to Miss Lincoln,
his evident enjoyment Of the society Of
Mrs. Colin Stuart, not to mention Bet
ty Pell and Lucia Armitage!
As Van Pelt listened to the cutting
words Of his fiancee his first amazement
gradually CONCEALED into something
else. He had paid some attentions to
Miss Lincoln, who was a visitor and
friend Of his sister, and Mrs. Stuart
had asked him for a dinner or so, and,
as for Betty and Lucia, he never miss
ed a chance to join them. Had they
not been comrades since the days when
their nurses wheeled their perambu-
lators to the park side by side?
And, though he had frequently en-
countered Flavia under these circum-
stances, no hint of his possible displeas-
ure had ever occurred to him. She
was she not the only one, so near, so
much a part Of himself, that there was
no more need for explanation than
there was to his own soul? So at these
encounters his eyes had leaped to meet
hers without self consciousness and
without apology.
At first her confidence met his
nobly. Then little gnawing doubts
crept in. She would have liked him to
protest, for, alas, she was but wom-
an! And sometimes the high, white
place Of his soul, where he kept her
enthroned, made her shiver and long
to be petted and scolded. And in
place Of that he made her a goddess,
supposedly with the power Of reading
hearts.
"You have-quite fnished?'
His cool, drawling voice filled her
first pause with an icy suayity, and the
steel Of his eyes met the fire Of hers
unfinchingly. Involuntarily she caught
her breath. He not only showed no
inclination to explain, to exculpate
himself, but he had the look Of man
who has received a mortal wound,
whose deepest feelings have been
mercilessly scoffed at, jeered at, tram
pied in the mire
At the words her heart turned to
ice. Truth to tell, her outbursts had
nothing more serious than the quick
resentment Of warm hearted, high
spirited woman at a fancied neglect
from the man she adored. A pair OF
open arms and eyes that loved back,
begging for tolerance and forgiveness
that was what she wanted and ex-
pected. But this man with the hard
glance and the incisive, cold voice
what had she done?
Despite her terror, the world old bat
tie between pride and love was raging
in her heart, and it was pride that won.
"Finished?" she queried bitterly,
with an infection that conveyed that
if she ceased it was by no means be-
cause she had reached the end Of the
list. eve will call it so at least" And
with the words she drew off the ring