The Red Cloud chief., 1907-01-11

W. ~ w. ~
numberless pleasant. unnecessary
thinrs that color tlle pa SIM l.
scapc and oil the wheels Of lie. i
was powcr-power made man t.,
ch) &c bindings of ones DoJSS. az
quiet harmony of ones ~sugr)uAuin
the gratifying de.ereICc OF ones Wv.
pcaGents-thcse -ere the visible. tlr
OF 'rard signs. the thing she had for.
Cot,en.
Crossing the room slowly. he lifted
ana looked at the Gihie"cnt plpers on
the desk. They hal Il substantial feel
in an Importance, an air OF value.
They were Ike the solemn keys to }
many vcYcd problems. BcsiCe the "a
IcrS were Il heap of letters neatly l"-
RANGED and as yet uno. cnCl. lie turn
ed them over one by one. They were
all tl.cl; ana interesting TO look ut.
He smiled as h. recalled his own
scanty ma.l-enyelopes long and busy
or narrow and thin. unwe,cOme manu-
scripts or very welcome checks. IIav.
Ing sorted the letters. he hesitatcl. 1t
was his life task to opcl them, but Ne
had never in his life opened an envcl-
opc al dressed to another man.
He stood uncertain, weighing them
In his hand. Then all at once Il loJ.
of attention and surprise crossed his
face. and he raised his head. Some
II hui Enthusiastically paused outsiGe
the door which Grcelilg had lc t aiIr.
There was Il moment of apparent
doubt, then Il stir of skirts, Il qu.cE.
uncertain knock. and the intruder ell
tere1.
For II couple Of seconds she stood in
the doorway; then as LoGer made no
cG'ort II > eak she moved into the
room. She had apparently but just re-
turned from some entertainment, for.
though she had drawn off her long
gloves, she was still wearing an even
ing cloak of lace and fur.
That she was ChilcJte's wife Lolcr
instinct.yeiy realized the moment she
entered the room. But Il discDncg"tinr
confusion of ideas was all that FOL.
lowed the knowledge. lie stood 10y thc
desk. silent and awkward. trying TO tit
his expectations to his knowledge.
Then. faced by the hopc.eSsncSS of the
task. he turned abruptly and looked ut
her AGAIN.
She had taken of her cloak and was
stdnding by the fire. The compulsion
of moving through life alone had set
It's seal upon her in Il certain self pos
session. Il certain confidence of pose,
yet her figure rs LOder then saw il,
backgrounded by the dark books and
] pnN.na1 I'm nuln hl1n had n Sl1upngt mn
of youthfulness that seemed II contra
diction. The remembrance of Chill
cotc'S epithets cold ana 'unsympa-
thetic" came pack to him with some
thing like establishment. He felt no
uncertainty, ne dread of discovery and
humiliation in her presence as he had
felt In the maids, yet there was some
thing in her face that made him inf
uitely more uncomfortable, Il look he
could find no name for, a friendliness
that studiOusly covered another feel
ing. whether question, diStrust or ac-
tual dislike he could not say. With a
strange sensation of awkwardness he
sorted Chilcote's letters, waiting for
her 10 speak.
As If divining his thought she turn
ed toward him. I'm afraid | rather
intrude," she said. "lf you are busy
His sense of courtesy was ouchcd
He had begun life with a high opinion
OF women, and the words shook up an
echo Of the old sentiment.
Don't think that" he said hastily.
II was only looking through-my let
tiers. You mustn't rate yourself below
letters He was conscious that his
lone was hurried, that his words were
Il little jagged, but Eve did not appear
to notice. Unlike Greening, h took
the new manner without surprise. Shc
had known Chilcote for six years.
II dined with the Fraides tonight
she said. MIR. Fraide sent you a mes
sage"
Unconsciously Loder smiled. There
was humOr i'm the thought of IA mes
sage to him from the great Fraide. Tc
hide his amusement he wheeled one OF
the big lounge chairs forward.
Indeed" he said. won't you si'
down."
They were near together now, and
he saw her face more fully. Again hi
was taken aback. Chilcote had spoken
of her rs successful and intelligent
but never as beautiful. Yet her beauty
:. was a rare and uncommon TACT. He
hair was ~black-not n glossy black, bu
the dusky black that Is softer than an
: brown-her eyes were large and Of
peculiarly pure blue, and her eyelashe
=, were black, beautifully curved and O
. n,npIynI In thi.l.nusS