Los Angeles herald., 1907-03-10
Copyright. 1906, BY Thomas II. Mckee.

N XCEPTING for Mellish and the two women
waiting ahead of him at the ticket window,
the lobby of the theatre was deserted 1t
~ lacked only twenty minutes to three, when he
glanced once more impatently at his watch
Behind the drawn curtains OF the auditorium rppes
of laughter scattering voleys of applause told that
the usual Saturday matinee audience was getting its
usual enjoyment out of the latest popular play, still
running to full houses when other theatres had al
ready begun to close for the summer The man in the
boxofce the telephone the irritating deliber
alton of his answers being plainly audible from with
out He had nothing left for tonight nearer than the
nineteenth row. No, nor for next Tuesday either
large theatre parties Thursday? He might do better
for Thursday. Hold the wire, please,
1t seemed Mellish hardly worth his while to wait
He knew from experience that it unwise to offer
Nora tickets for the nineteenth row. she would rather
never the play at all The women ahead of him
evidently shared his Encouragement The younger enc
bewaing the necessity of exchanging her tickets
for some evening next week. in place of tonight Such
good tickets too! 1t like Harry to forget and
make appointment with business friend My dear,
during business hours Harry simply doesn't remember
that exist"
Menish sighed invountarily, and careworn lines
vealed themselves his thin face He wished that he
shared the ability of this unknown Harry, the ability
of the uniaginative, tranquil husband to shut
domestic cares behind him when he stepped out over
his threshold in the morning. He wished that just
for busy harassed day he might forget that there
was such person as Nora in existence He knew that
it would be better for his peace of mind better for
his business interests if Noras face did not hover
often between him and the letters he wrote the sales
ought-Nora with her small, red, mutinous mouth,
her aureoe of hair like spun copper her childike ap
peal her wide gray eyes, avidous of admiration. He
wondered vaguely whether other men, outwardly hap
PLY married. had their joy cankered by gnawing
picions intangible doubts, nsdious microbes, that
found lodgmen in the brain, and thrived and bred
fever of unrest.
The wife of the absent-mnded Harry having at last
won attention from the box office, and accepted under
protest an exchange for the third in the balcony
made way for Mellish With the spasmodic brusque-
ness of natural tmidy he demanded the tickets she
had Just surrendered, and somewhat to his SURPRISE
obtained them. They splendid seats, nine
from the stage, the middle aisle the sort of seats
that Nora always expected him to get 1t charac
teristic of Nora always to expect the best of every
thing and usually to end by getting it. Equally char
aceristic was her pretty mperiousness, which for
time had almost blinded him to her inborn selhshness
From the theatre Mellish turned down Madison
Avenue to Twenty-sixth Street and thence westward
along the northern boundary of Madison Square, not
because it shorter way to his home, but in obe-
dience to sudden unreasoning impulse to pass the
restaurant where his wife had told him she would be
unchng At this late hour it quite possible that
he had missed her; yet Nora one who loved to
nger lunch table, forgetful of the fight of
time. There still a chance that he might catch
a glimpse of her through the windows the Fifth
Avenue side, have the luck to meet her just
coming out in all the pride of her raiment. He
knew already how extremely well it became her. 1t
had come home from the dressmaker's only the night
before and had put her in gracious mood for the
whole evening. She had donned it for his pri