Evening journal., 1907-03-11

element the showy outside life of theatre restaurant
hotel; the champagne atmosphere of the modern cara
vansary 1t was IN public restaurant that he had first
met her FIVE years ago-a dinner at Sherrys, where he
had FIRST listened those munous red lips FIRST been
dazzled by the coppery CLINT of her hair first looked
INTO those wide gray eyes and answered their appeal
for fattery She little more than child in years
he had realized that at the time-just tall slim
thing, with face that robbed him of his sleep. He
could smile now, grimly, remembering how he had
fought against the pquant spell of her precocty her
nascent grace of womanhood II not normal, he
had told HIMSELF for young girl in the butterfly days
OF lie to care seriously for shy reserved man like
himself already vcrgng upon forty and settling down
TO staid bachelor habits But Nora's family had smiled
approval upon the junior member of the established
house OF Marvin Mellish and clcvery manuuvred to
make his codrtship easy. He had not been blind
their diplomacy lie had simply allowed himself TO
be caioled. deluded hypnotzed into the belief that,
through some modern miracle, some special tspensa-
tion, Nora really loved him. Even now, after five
years there were hecting hours halcyon days, when
such belief ceased 70 seem absurd. Yet almost from
the FIRST the discrepancy in age had ransled in him,
hegettng vague suspicious morbid doubts symptoms OF
which he was slow TO guess the meaning Then, one
day he realized, with Of self-contempt that he
was eaoushe Mellish in his sober middle age, jeal-
of caow youths with the bloom of undergraduate
conce fresh upon hcm the argon of football in their
speech; jealous of every compliment murmured in her
ear jealous Of every strangers aattering glance That
the burden that he carried secretly the incubus
Of an underlined, uniustiied jealousy At times more
dehntc' images, ugly thoughts with ugly names, had
them into words even beneath his breath never mar
rowcd down his fears 20 a specific accusation Above
am, me had sought 20 hide his burden from Nora ner
self hides a physical deformity
Before the solid unprctentious building the cor
landmark of fashion and convivaiy 10 an earlier
generation, Mcllish paused uncertainty peerng blind
ishy with nearsiehtcd eyes, wondering whether sonne
where behind that broad expanse OF spouess window
Nora was still there; wondering, indeed II She had
been there at all
The warm, bright summer afternoon was passing,
and still Mcllish fingered staring Intellectually at the
doorway through which he had already ceased to e-
pect her TO appear. Suddenly beyy OF women came
out together two, four, yes, SIX of Them. He could
not their faces from across the street Mrs taver-
sham might bc there or She might not; but the lizard
green moire was unmstakable, even his poor eyes
showed that lie made a reckless plunge in front OF
delivery wagon and narrowly Stunned am automobile
because his thoughts like his gaze, fastened on
that group of the way, half hidden be
hind hansom cab Nora had told the truth after all,
he thought with a gladness that was almost pain But
as the automobile moved cut OF ms path he saw her
to his amazemcnt step into the waiting Ransom.
man sprang in after her. slender man. of medium
height whose face he could not see he other women
had dispersed melted vanished in thin airit scarcely
mattercd where, If they were not after ALL Mrs taver-
shams luncheon party lie arrived beside the cab;
he caught sdewse glimpse of the coppery hair, the
soft watcry simmer of the green moire:
step and he could have reached out his hand and
touched her The driver swuug his long flexible
HASH that snapped like spiteiul cracker within an
inch of Mellshs ear. The horse, yellow ROAM with
gaunt ungany legs, started ncrvousE, scrambng for
footlrold on the slippery asphalt then lurched sud-
denly forward and swept the woman and her COM
panion from his astounded around the corner and
At any other time had the question been laid i'm
partially before him. MIR Meish would have held that
a man who tried TO follow foot rapidly rercatng
hanson cab through the crowded OF New York
streets, during the busy rush OF Saturday afternoon,
was in a serious condition, bordering upon unacy. In
the present crisis he did pause to consider, but
simply gathered himself together and sprinted nmby
down the avenue forgetting for 10 be selt-con-
scious, his long thin legs flashing like the long thin
spokes of rapidly turning wheel his glasses threaten
ing to slip from the bridge of his long, thin his
near-sghted eyes sraining heplessly after the yellow
roan that fitted like thing of evil in and out through
the endless stream of landaus. motor cars omnibuses
and business wagons At Twenty-hfth Street the
mounted police. stationed there to regulate traffic,
waved the south bound stream Of vehicles westward
towards Broadway through the tag end Of city block
that forms the base of the Worth Monument triangle
As they swung in single file FIRST right then left again.
electric for a moment blocked the procession
Mellishs FIRST lucid thought to spring into one
Of the many vacant hansoms that waited along the
curb and bid him follow the yellow roam which this
time threatened seriously to elude him. He waved q
one spasmodcally with his long arm. Then as Il
promptly responded. he waved Il away again IT,
realized suddenly that he could not bring himself C
take stranger, unknown cab driver fa
into his confidence 20 bid him follow that ohe
hanson. No. he could not expose his jealousy 10
cab driver already he pictured the ronical curiost
in the fellows ewes Instead he swung himself on 4
Broadway open car, that for two blocks shot south
ward with such speed that he gained once more rapid
~ unon the fugitives. when az Iwcny-third Street h
suddenly lost sight Of them altogether He rose fror
the seat he had just taken in bewilderment of help
before he could decide to get Off and the next minute
n "M ~