The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-07-05

She was striving to suppress an hys-
terical sob.
For goodness sake, Alice, don't let's
have scene" said Mr.. Chanler coldly.
''All right. l won't ask you to look after
anything if you don't want to. 1t does
mt seem any use to ask you, anyway
you don't look after things. | had
imagined you cared a little for my
comfort, but it seems that / was mis-
taken. 1t makes no difference. I'll try
and not expect anything of you any
more-after this
| She had left the room-he could hear
her steps going down the long uncar-
peted floor of the apartment.
Was she crying? Well, she ought to
cry,
She did not come back. He sat down
by the lamp in the large, comfortable
| Morris chair and took up a book and
| lighted his pipe He felt dreary and
lalone-without companionship or SYM
| pathy. Alice was very sweet, very
| lovely, but after all she was a toy girl
and one cannot always feel like play
ing with a toy. He had curious, lead
ell sense of lOss-life stretched out be-
fore him as a sort of hard, money
making pathway. He had given her
| twice as much money as she had asked
skimp a little himself to do it-because
he hated to think he had to limit her
in any way; he could work for her, but
at the suggestion of her doing the least
| thing for him He had never thought
that she would be so willful, so per-
Versely unkind. He didn't mind about
the shirt-what was that, anyway? But
she didn't care enough for him to want
| to member-Alice didn't care.
So long he sat there; yet she did not
come back. So long he sat there yet
she did not come. 1t was not like heI
to hold out like this. After their little
quarrels she always came creeping back
to him, with her soft arms ready to
meet around his neck-sweet Alice, with
hair so brown, She must be hurt in
deed, if she did not come back again
to be smiled at. after he had frowned
But he was hurt. too. Something that
had been beautiful seemed broken.
II So long he sat there; still she did not
come. AT last he got up, and pipe il
hand walked half reluctantly through
the hall. looking in at the different
rooms for her. She wasn't in any Of
them. "Alicer' he called. but she die
not answer There were sounds in tn,
kitchen: he went on there, wondering.
Alice was bending over an ironing
board-an ironing board on which wa.
stretched an extraordinarily limp anC
woeful looking shirt. She was appar
emily having difficulty with her iron
for the shirt chung to it when she trieC
to lift it off: when it did come off h,
saw. as she did, the black. scorchin;
marks of ii on that London-made DO
som. The tired, frightened face tina
met his was so helplessly dear,
Il tried to wash it for you'll tried s.
whispered between her tears, with hi
arms around her, neither chums. no
man and wife, just lovers-.'I wante
to work my fingers off for you'll want
ed to, Leighton, | thought I'd bring
to you so beautiful and shining and stif
and you'd say-and now I've spoiled
i forever I've stayed away from you a
1 this evening when / wanted to be wit
i you so much-and you've thought
! you've thought-and it's ruined fol
4 evert'
J "Oh, l don't mind that at ALL"
averred stoutly-he knew that he ha
to say il. though he felt a pang wher
ever he thought of that shirt. Il don
care how many things you forget
j he knew he had to say that, too, an
was glad to- He realized, as he Ia
Fl never done before. that a man mu'
3 be very tender with his wife when 81
Il was like Alice-Alice, who chung
q him now
oh, to her il was no matter how 81
! was hurt, by her act or by his, so lor
as she had him to go to for REFUGEE +
u must always be her refuge eve
4 against himself Though a thousar
: shirts walked in Tapping, fantastic pr
= cession through the future years, neve
! never-ske whispered it in sweet. con
q forted observation-disclosures should one e
. cape her again.
Yet perhaps it was not in the hea
of mortal man to understand the sis
of relief that claimed her after h
d fresh conjunction the next mornin
= when the garment that had been II
u pride of her Leighton'e heart disa]
n peared forever, burned and blackene
! with the janitor's boy. 1t was a sig
Z of relief at the disappearance of a vi
= ible source of evil.
After all. it was only the shirt tn;
had been damaged
Copyrighted.