Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1906-12-07

d lAlA a III NV 4pAAC W 80
The drawing room, but turned into the
library adjoining. From where l seated
myself | could see part of the draw
ing room-saw the others leaving, saw
Langdon lingering, ignoring the inn
patient gIanCes OF his wife, while he
talked on and on with Miss Eliersiy.
Her face was full toward me; she was
not aware thai / was looking at hef,
[ am sure, for she did not once lit
hor eyes. AS / sat studying her, every
ching else was rowde out or my
mind. She was indeed wonderful-too
wonderful and fine n fragile, III
seemed to me at that moment, for one
so plain and rough as /. Incredible,
thought /, that she IS the child or
such a pair as Ellersly and his wife
but again, has she any less In common
with them Than she'd have With n
other pair Of human creatures?" Her
slender white arms. her slender white
shoulders, the bloom on her skin, the
graceful, careless way her hair grew
round her forehead and at the nape
Of her neck, the rather naughty express
sion Of her small face softened into
sweetness and ven tenderness, now
that she was talking a. her ease with
one whom she regarded as her own
kind but he isn't!" l protested to my
SELF. "Langdon-Gone of these men
none of these women. is fit to associate
With her. They can't appreciate her.
h belongs to me who can" And /
had Z mad impulse then and there to
seize her and bear her a~way-home-
to the horne she could make for me out
Of h / would shower upon her.
At last Langdon rose. 1t irritated me
70 see her color under that indiffer-
ent fascinating smile of his, 1t irritated
ne to note that he held her hand all
the time he was saying good-by, and
he fact hat he held 1t as if he'd
rs lief not be holding il hardly
,essencd my longing to rush in
md knock him down. What he did was
all in the way OF perfect good manners,
End would have Jared m one not SUI
persensitiye. like me-and like his wife.
[ saw that she, too, was frowning. She
looked beautiful that evening, in spite
Of her too great breadth for her height
~-her stoutness was not altogether a
defect when snc was wearing evening
dress. While she seemed friendly and
smiling to Miss Ellersly, / saw. wheth-
er others saw ii or not. that she quiv-
cred with apprehension at his mildly
lirtatiou3 ways. He acted toward any
and every attractive woman as if he
we're free and We're regarding her as a
possibility. and didn't mind if she fiat
tered herself that he regarded her as a
probability.
"A eli 1AAtliNs*o Sol "a va liS IsiiEI
,ly, after the Langdons had disap-
peared, left the drawing room by the
same door. Still aimlessly wandering.
she drifted into thealibrary by the hall
door. As / rose. she lifted her eyes.
saw me, and drove away the frown of
annoyance which came over her face
ike the faintest haze. In fact. ii may
nave existed only in my ina gination.
She opened a large. quare silver box
nm the table tn0E ont a ripl ret Iphtpd
1t and holding it, with the smoke lazily
curling up from 1t, between the long
slender first and second fingers of her
white hand, stood idly turning n
leaves of a magazine. / threw my cigar
INTO the fireplace. The light sound as
it struck made her jump, and l saw
that. underneath her surface of perfect
calm. she was in a nervous state full
as tense rs my own.
You smoker" said /.
Sometimes she replied. 1T is
soothing and diStracting. / don't know
how it is with others. but when l
smoke. my mind is quite empty"
TITS q nasty nabit-smoklng," said /.
DO you think so?" said she. with
the slightest lift 10 her tone and her
eyebrows.
Especially for a woman" 1 went on,
because I could think of nothing else
to say, and would not, at any cost, let
his conversation, SO hard to begin. die
out.
You are one of those men who have
one code for themselves and another for
women she replied.
I'm 4 man." said l.. All s2en have
the two codes"
Not an said she after a pause.
"All men of decent IDEAS said | with
emphasis.
Really - said shc. in q tone that ir-
vitated me by suggesting that what
said was both absurd and u%nimport-
ant.
1T is the first time I've ever seen a
respectable IN smoke / went on,
powerlesS TO change h subject. though
conscious / was getting tedious. I've
read OF such things, but | didn't be-
Iieve."
THAT il Interesting. said she, her
tone suggesting the reverse
"Ive offended you by saying frank
~ what / think. said :. "of course,
its one of my business.
"Oh no., replied she carelesSly. I'm
not in the least offended. Prejudices
always interest me.
I saw Ellersly ana his wife in the
drawing room. pretending to ak to
each other. / understood that they
were leaving me alone with her DELHI
erately, and / began to suspect she was
III the plot. L SlfllSu, ana MY CUufdSS
and self-possession returned as sum-
lnarily as they fled.
'rm glad of this chance to get bet
ter acquainted with you. said |. i've
wanted It ever since | first saw you
AS put this TO her directly, she
dropped her eyes and murmured some
thing she probably WISHED me To think
vaguely pleasant.
.'You are the first ona | ever
knew i went on, with whom il was
hard for me to get ON any sort OF
terms. | suppose it's my fault. | don't
know this game yet. But III learn II,
IL you'll be a little patient; n when
do, | think I'll be able to keep up my
end"
She looked at mes-just looked.
couldn't begin TO guess what was going
ON iii that gracefully poised head oI
hers.
"Wil you try 20 be friends with me!'
said l with directness.
she continued TO look az me in tina
same steady, puzzling Way.
- WIN. you 4 =cSaasea
II nave no choice" said she slowly.