Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1907-10-03
By REX e. BEACH.


relaxation since landing in the north
1t was well not to become a dull boy,
he unused. and as he chewed his cigar
he pictured, with an odd thrill. quite
unusual with him, that slender, gray
eyed girl, with her coiled mass of hair,
her ivory shoulders and merry smile,
He saw her float past TO the measure
of a two-step and caught himself re-
senting the thought of another mans
enjoyment of the girls charms even
for an instant.
"Hold on. Alec" he muttered
"You're too old a bird to lose your
head However, he was waiting for
her before the time for their next
dance. She seemed to have lost part
of her gayety.
whats the matter? Aren't you en-
joying yourselfg'
"Oh. yes she returned brightly.
s'I'm having a delightful time"
When he came for his third dance
she was more distract than ever. AS
he led her to a seat they passed a
group of women, among whom We're
Mrs. Champain and others whom he
knew to be wives of men prominent in
the town. He had seen someaof them
at tea in Judge Stillman's house and
therefore was astonished when they re-
turned his greeting, but ignored Helen.
She shrank slightly, and he realized
that there was something wrong. He
could not guess what Affairs of men
he could cope with, but the subtleties
of women were out of his realm.
what ais those people? Have they
offeudet youS'
8 Il don't know what it is. have
spoken to them. but they cut me.'
"Cut your be exclaimed.
yes" Her voice trembled, but she
held her head high. at seems as
though all the women in Nome were
here and in league to ignore me. 1t
dazes me. do not understand"
HAS anybody said anything to your"
ne inquired fercely. ANY man. I
mean n
No, no. The men are Kind. It's the
women
Come, we'll go home"
Indeed, we will not. y she said proud
iy. II shall stay and face 1t out
have done nothing to run away from,
and | intend to find out what is the
matter
When be had surrendered Ter, at the
beginning of the next dance, McNa-
mara sought for some acquaintance
whom he might question. Most of the
men in Nome either hated or feared
him, but he espied one that he thought
suited his purpose and led him into a
corner.
81 want you to answer a question.
No beating about the bush. Under
stand2 I'm blunt, and / want you to
be-"
eAlI right
Your wife has been entertained at
: Miss chester's house I've seen her
there. Tonight she refuses to speak
to the girl She cut her dead, and
want to know what it's about"
SLOW should ! know3"
IF You don't know. I'll ask you to
fnd ont"
The other shook his head amusedIy,
at which Mcnamara fared up.
Il say you WILL and you'll make
your wife apologize before she leaves
this hall, too, or you'll answer to me,
man to man. won't stand TO have a
girl like Miss Chester cold decked by
a bunch Of mining camp swelis. and
that goes as it lies" In his excitement
Mcnamara reverted to his western
idiom
The other did not reply at once, for 1t
is embarrassing to deal with a person
who disregards the conventions utterly,
and at the same time has the inclina-
ton and force to compel obedience.
The boss reputation had gone abroad.
"Well-er-I know about 1t In a gen
eral way, but of course I don't go much
IN such things. You'd better let it
drop.
go on
"There has been lot of talk among
the ladies about-well, er-the fact Is,
it's that young Glenister. Mrs. Cham
pan had the next stateroom to them
er-him-I should say-on the way up
from the States, and she saw things.
Now, as far as I'm concerned, g. girl
can do as she pleases, but Mrs. Cham
plan has her own ideas Of spropriety.
From what my wife could learn,
there's some truth in the story, too, so
you can't blame her"
With word Mcnamara could have
explained the gossip and made this
man put his wife right, forcing through
her an calculation Of the silly affair
In such way as to spare Helen's
feelings and cover the busy tongued
magpies with confusion. Yet he hesi-
tated. It is a wise skipper who trims
his sails to every breeze. He thanked
his informant and left him. Entering
the lobby. he saw the girl hurrying
toward him.
Take me away, quickl want to go
home.'
You've changed your mindw