The Richmond palladium. (Richmond, Ind.) 1906-1907, 1907-03-03
Copyright. 1906. BY Thomas H. Mckee.


" XCEPTING for Mellish and the two women
IL waiting ahead of him at the ticket window.
~ the lobby of the theatre deserted. 1t
IL lacked only twenty minutes three when he
glanced once more impatiently at his watch.
Behind the drawn curtains OF the auditorium ripPies
of laughter scattering volleys of applause told that
the usual Saturday matinee audience was getting its
running to- full houses when other theatres had al
ready begun close for the summer The man in the
alton of his answers being plainly audible from with
out He had nothing left for tonight than the
Wednesday, the house was practically sold out two
large theatre parties Thursday He might do better
It seemed to Melsh hardly worth his while to wait
He knew from experience that it was unwse to offer
Nora tickets the nineteenth she would rather
never see the play at all. The women ahead of him
evidently shared his disbursement The younger one
for soule evening week, in place of tonight Such
goo sekets, tool 1t was SO like Harry to forget and
max n appointment with business friend My dear,
during business hours Harry simply doesn't remember
that cxstv
Meish sighed involuntarily and eareworn lines re-
veaed themselves his thin face He wished that he
shared the ability of this unknown Harry, the ability
domestic cares behind him when he stepped out over
his threshold in the morning He wished that Just
M ,oa o ss oasp Nora in
be for M fac. OF n not aser fs so
often between him and the letters he wrote the sale:
he made, the contracts that demanded undivided .s
her aureole of hair like spun copper her ehdnke aP
peal, her wide gray eyes, avidious OF admiration He
wondered vaguely whether other men, outwardy hap
PLY married, had their joy cankered by gnawing sus
pcons, intangible doubts insidous as microbes that
found Judgment in the brain and thrived and bred
a fever of unrest.
The wife of the absent minded Harry. having at last
won attention from the box Office and accepted under
protest exchange for the third row in the balcony
made way for Mesh. With the spasmodic brusque-
ness of natural timdity he demanded the tickets she
had just surrendered and somewhat to his surprise
obtained them. They splendid seats nine rows
from the stage the middle aisle; the sort of seats
that Nora always expected him to get 1t charac-
teristc of Nora always expect the best Of every
thing and usually to end by getting it. Equally char
scteristc was her pretty imperiousness. which for
time had almost blinded him to her Unborn sehshness
From the theatre Melish turned down Madison
Avenue to Twenty-sxth Street. and thence westward
along the northern boundary of Madison Square, not
because it shorter way to his home but IN obe-
dence sudden, unreasonng impulse to pass the
restaurant where his wife had told him she would be
lunching At this late hour it quite possible that
he had missed her; yet Nora was one who loved to
finger lunch table forgetful of the flight OF
time There was still chance that he might catch
q glimpse of her through the windows on the Fifth
Avenue side even have the luck to meet her Just
coming out, in all the pride of her raiment He
knew already how extremely we'll it became her 1t
had come home from the dressmakers only the night
before, and had put her in gracious mood for the
whole evening. She had donrcd it for his pri-