The San Francisco call., 1905-01-21

Imagine him, under sufficient provoca-
| tion. informing her that there were
| just as good fish to be found in the
sea as had ever been caught; aye, and
| finding them, tool She WINGED as If
something she regarded as wholly hers
were slipping away from her.
Moreover, suppose she should break
her engagement because of the uncer-
tainty as to whether he was her final
CHOICE and the future should bring no
other. What then?
She frowned in bewilderment For
the first time, she realized with a gasp,
just how big lottery marriage really
is. She had heard that trite phrase
many times, but it had never seemed
significant before. Now she felt as IL 1t
were lottery in which to a million
tickets there was but one prize, and
she owned the tenth of a ticket.
With a sudden swish the rain washed
smoothly down over the outside of the
window pane as If the surcharged sky
could no longer control itself Kath-
crime turned her head impatiently She
had no sympathy for any perplexities
save her own.
Again she held the little bejeweled
ring up before her with the tips of two
fingers and gazed at it solemnly, but it
seemed to have lost all meaning. 1t
was no longer ring ordered by Jack
and designed especially for her. 1t
had the any man to any woman
look that always got upon her nerves.
She stared at 1t long and fixedly and
then jumped to her feet and dashed
across the room impulsively, sitting
down at the writing desk between the
windows.
With nervous haste she pulled some
paper from a pigeonhole, took up
the pen and dipped 1t deep in the ink
as one always does in moments of in
tense feeling. Then she pushed the
pen back and forth across the paper
in those long, scratching strides that
ern woman and the sound was as a
balm to her nerves.
You'll laugh and call it nonsense"
she wrote. "but Jack, I'm not sure!
And, of course, I must be sure,
mustn't I? Sure beyond any doubt,
beyond any possible man that may
come toward me out of the future.
And so I'm sending back the ring"
She was interrupted by a commo-
ton in the street. where two rival
foghorns seemed at first to be vying
with each other. A moment later her
dazed ears disentangled the sounds
and she made out from the fearful din
the one word "Uxtra! Uxtra!" She
pushed up the window and leaned out.
Dreadful smash-up on th'll!" roar
ed the bigger of the paper boys, hold
ing up a black-lettered sheet inviting
ly, and Katherine nodded her head in
vigorous assent and flew down to the
door, her heart beats keeping time
with her footsteps. Accident on the
"L," and Jack always went UP and
down that way! 1t must have hap
pened, too, at just about the hour he
would have been going downtown, to
be in print now.
She fairly snatched the paper from
the boys hands. not even waiting to
close the door as her eyes clutched at
the print ravenously. A moment later
she was at the telephone.
John 031, quick. Centrall" And a
second later the thin, strident voice of
the office boy was in her ears. "Is
Mr.. Langley there?" And the answer
came, Nav, hasn't been down to-
day." She leaned Imply against the
telephone and there q moment later
the maid found her.
"Mr. Langley, Miss"
"Yes, what OF him 7" She turned
toward the maid with staring expec-
tant eyes and the latter looked baclS at
her in amazement.
Hes In the drawing-room. He
wants to see you," she stammered out.
ment she stood still trying to realize
queer choked laugh she ran lightly up
carded ring kissed it rapturously and
put 1t on her finger.
Copyright, 1905, by T. @. McClure.)