The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1906-05-08

n ukslc play dCli Cob. n iuluA- n
hussy!" cried Katti There is NO
room for jealousy of such thing as
that; there is room only for pity and
contempt. A princess can only ig-
more such creatures. can only behave
as though she did not know that they
existed"
The actress, VINO was no early riser,
lay upon her sofa, in demi-toilette
of soft nuns veiling;-a faint odor OF
heliotrope perfumed the room.
The bell rang, and the servant an
nounced that lady desired to see
Madame.
Her name?" the actress asked. i'm
periously.
1.-THE lady declined to give her
name, but bade me say that her busi'
ness with Madame was of impof'
tance."
The actress thrust the letter she
had been reading into her bosom.
you may admit her." she said; and
then soliloquized complacently:
Some stage-struck fool. no doubt,
who wants me to help her with the
managers. All, well, well see. What
a thing it is to be good-natured!"
And then the door opened again,
and the Princess entered.
pray be seated, madam said the
actress, pointing with cneenly cour-
tesy to chair; and the Princess per-
ceived that she had not yet been rec
ognized.
She sat down as she was bidden->
albeit she felt that it was strange
thing for her to be doing-and looked
her rival up and down with searching
eyes.
Not beautiful woman, she reflect.
ed. nor yet young woman. Not q
woman whose natural charms could
fearlessly face the daylight without
the support of art. Her complexion
certainly owed much to the powder
pun. and possibly something to the
rouge-pot. 1t might even be suspected
that her hair was dyed. Yet she had
eyes that were eloquent and fascinat-
ing; character declared itself in her
mobile mouth; the grace Of her move
ments had charm that was none
the less sure because 1t was indefin-
able. Though her features might not
follow the classic rules of beauty,
this woman was emphatically a rival
to be afraid Of.
There was music in her voice, too,
even when she merely said:
Il understood. madam, that you had
important business with me-"
The Princess rose to her feet again
before replying.
''You do not know who | am?" she
asked; and as she spoke she flung back
the shabby cape and removed the old
fashioned hat that formed her slight
disguise
Then the actress saw who was her
visitor, and sprang to her feet in her
astonishment, and the two rivals
faced each other. The fire of jeal,
ousy flashed in both their eyes; but,
for awhile, both Of them were. too EN-
barrassed to- find words.
1t was the actress who spoke first,
Your royal highness does me an
unexpected honor" she said. bitterly,
and in tones that fcreshadowed a
whole avalanche Of angry words to
follow.
AS she spoke, she moved towards
the piano and stationed herself in
front Of a soldiers photograph, as
though there were need for her to
guard it. The Princess was visibly
perturbed. She felt that she was in
the presence of woman of stronger
character and stronger passions than
herself. and that her birth was but a
poor substitute for these things in
this hour of battle.
Il don't know" she stammered. Il
suppose did wrong to come"
'Wrong?" came the scornful an
swer. accompanied by magnificent
gesture OF contempt Nothing that
a princess may do is wrong. Your
highness thought that she would like
to gloat over the unhappy rival whose
lover aho means 10 fake frn.. l,c,.