Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1907-06-01
THE PLUM TREE
(continued from last week.

You misunderstood me, she said,
pale and with flashing eyes, and in
such a struggle with her emotions
that she could say no more
II had not seen that only her pride
and her vanity were engaged in the
Struggle. AID her heart not at all,
think ] should have abandoned my
comfortable selfdeception that my
own pride bOrbade discussion with
her. As it was, / was able to say:
Don't try TO spare me, Carlotta, I'm
glad you had the courage and the
good sense not to let us both drift
into irrevocable folly | thank you"
] opened the door into the hall Let
us talk no more about It. We could
say to each other only the things
that sting or the things that stab
Let MS be friends You must give
me your friendship, at least" ] took
her hand.
She looked strangely at me "You
want me to humble myself, TO crawl
at your feet and beg your pardon.
said she between her teeth. But
shaD't." She snatcbed away her hand
and threw back her head
Il wish nothing but what lie best for
us both" said !. But let MS not
talk of it now--when neither of us is
cain"
lyon don't care for mel" she
cried
DO You love me?" | rejoined.
Her eyes shifted waited for her
reply, and when it did come, ! said:
Let us 20 to breakfast
"I1l not go in just now" she an
swered, in a quiet tone a sudden and
strange shift from that of the mo
ment before. And she let me take her
hand. echoing my good by, and made
no further attempt to detain me.
That was gloomy breakfast de-
spite my efforts TO make my own
seeming good-humor permeate to the
others Mrs. Ramsay hid a somber
face behind the coffee-urn; Ed ate fu-
riously, noisily. choking every now
and then. He drove me to the sta
ton; his whole body was probably as
damp from his emotions as were his
eyes and his big friendly hand The
train got under way; drew long
breath. | was free.
But somehow freedom did not taste
an / had anticipated Though / re-
minded myself that | had acted as
any man with pride and self-respect
would have acted in such delicate
circumstances, and though knew that
20
than ! was with her. this end of our
engagement seemed even more humil.
fating to me than its beginning had
seemed Ii was one more instance
OF that wretched fatality which has
pursued me through life. which has
made every one of my triumphs come
to me in mourning robes and with a
gruesome face. In the glitterng ar
ray of prizes" that tempts man to
make beast and fool of himself
in the gladiatoral show called Life,
the sorriest, the most ironic, is the
grand prize Victory
The parlor car was crowded: its
only untaken seat was in the smok-
ing compartment which had four 9TH
er occupants. deep in game of
poker Three of them were types OF
commonplace, prosperous Americans:
the fourth could not be easily classed,
and. therefore, interested me-espe-
cially as | was in the mood to well
come anything that would crowd to
the background my far from agree
able thoughts.
The others called him Doe" or
woodruff. AS they played. they
drank from TASKS produced by each
in turn. Doc drank with the others,
and deeper than any of them They
talked more and more. he less and
less, until finally he Interrupted their
noisy volubility only when the game
compelled | saw that he was one
Of those men upon whom amiable con-
veTsation or liquor or any other relax
ing force has the reverse of the usual
effect. Instead of relaxing. he drew
himself together and concentrated
more obstinately upon his game.
Luck, so far as the cards controlled
II, was rather against him. and the
other three players took turns at au-
dacious and by no means unskillful
play ! was soon admiring the way
he sized up and met each In turn.
Prudence did not make him timid.
He advanced and retreated, "bmffed"
and held aloof, with acuteness and
daring.
AT station perhaps so miles from
Chicago, the other three left-and Doc
had $500 OF their money.
l dropped into the seat opposite him
lit was by the window-aud amused
myself watching him, while waiting
for a chance to talk to him; for
saw that he was a superior person.
and, in those days, when | was in
conspicuous and so was not compell-
ed constantly to be on guard, / never
missed a chance to benefit by such
: exchanges of ideas
He was apparently about 40 years
old, TO strike a balance between the
youth of eyes, mouth, and contour, and