Middletown transcript., 1905-06-03

"When James comes hOme-there lie
is now Oh, James, please come mp here.
Are yon going arc u I'd to Gertrude's 10
| dinner?'
EYES," said James, appearing at the
door. Hello, Ethel, wish | was going
to stay home with you-wouldn't have
to exert myself then" He stopped to
yawn irrepressibly. "They always have
these dances last too long. like it well
enough until midnight, and then | want
to 60 home. This dancing until three
o'clock in the morning makes me feel
wretched. What do you want with me,
Anna? Say it quick and let me CO."
II want to know if you'll leave this
letter at Harland's on your way"
Yes, all right. Here, give it to me.
What's the use of putting on that Polite
ness Of James?' Slam on the blotter.
There, that'll do"
"You won't forget it p
''No, I'll not forget it, said James.
He went off, to call upstairs after a
while
"Where in the thunder are my gloves,
Anna ~
Look on the table. Have YOU my
Ietter?'
Eyes, | have it. The gloves aren't
there"
Perhaps you left them in the coy
corner in the hail."
"No, l didn't"
Look under the pillows
"All right, I've got them
He was gone at last. If Annals heart
had begun to fail her in those last min
utes. it was too late now. The deed was
done-her letter to Harland had gone
the crude, smarting impulse had had its
| way.
She was so brightly composed at dinner,
SO cheerfully conversational, that even
| the watchful mother tried to believe that
the girl was happy once more, alth ough
some inner sense puzzled over what could
still be wrong. And dinner time passed,
and the evening began. Ethel had gone
into the library to write to Jack Mr.
Lane had gone upstairs with headache,
and Anna herself dropped into the cush-
Toned and canopied corner in the hall,
safe from inspection by the maternal eye.
She felt chill coming over her now,
| after the fever of her unused passion was
spent. There was a tenseness Of expec-
taton that made her lean forward, listen
ing, her head upon her slender hand.
Expectation OF what? The canopy
Swallowed her dropping face, framed in
its falling hair, the long lashes making
shadows on her cheeks. The pink lamp
sent rosy glow over the folds of her
| pearl-gray gown. But the chill grew.
She began to realize that she would not
see Harand-not that night, perhaps not
at any other time. He would be very
kind to her, but he would never be her
lover again. Unerring was the cleaving
knowledge of the truth as Ethel had
spoken it.
Like people who imagine themselves
dead, yet able to weep in luxurious sym
pathy with the survivors, Anna had felt
that she could have the mercIess pleasure
Of repudiating Harland while still enjoy
ing his loved presence-but now the
truth struck home. II the woman whom
he had asked to be his wife could write
him such note, he would not come.
He was no light-o' love, cratic, irrespon-
sible boy, like Jack, but very self-re-
specting man, with a strong will and
certain sternness Of dignity about him
when Ills honor was questioned. There
was CLEAN in his eye which had scared
Anna not unpeasantly once or twice.
She had been proud Of that very spirit III
him, and had felt her own rise nnwont-
eddy to meet it.
Oh, she was proud Of him, and that
was why it had been SO bitter morti-
fcation not to have him with her at
the dance He was head and shoulders
above those other men And they had
pshought her sighted. Sighted! Why,
she knew lie was longing to be with her
every minute of the time. She knew
that If lie decided what was right for
him to do, lie paid her the compliment of
thinking that she would understand,
Her womanhood still cried out defantly:
"He should have kept his word to me, no
matter what the cost - Yet her woman
hood cried out for his dear presence then,
that minute, whatever the cost of that,
no matter what had been said or done.
And now he would not come. Ii his
promised wife could write him a letter
like that, lie would not come. Oh, if she
had not sent it A wild, unreasoning
frenzy possessed her. Take back as she
might her written words, she could not
give him back the dear image Of his trust
ing girl-lover-that was gone forever.
Yet if he did not come tonight, she
would die
She lay further under the Turkish
canopy as her mother passed up the stair
way. Itgrew nearly nine o'clock. She
had had wild, insistent hope, despite all
her knowledge Of him, that he might
come, She buried her head now in the
pillows, that her burning eyes might have
little rest. Something stiff ratified out
from under her hand; she took it up and
looked at it, at first mechanically, and
then III startled incredibly. 1t was,
sealed letter, and on the light-blue enve-
lope was written in her OWL handwrit-
ing:
HARLAND LLOYD, ESQ.
Politeness of james.
1t had never gone-nc, it had never
gone. Everything was as it had been
before-tlIat was the lightning flash from
tile heavens James had dropped the
letter looking for his gloves. Everything
aeas as it had been before. Anna rose with