The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1908-05-29
Playing with Fire
S9eeeesEEEeGseeseeeeeeeepS

lie lunched at his club, and drove to
Cavendish square I'm the afternoon. A
footman Informed him that Mrs. Now
bray was at home, and he was shown
into the drawing room and left to his
own reflections. After an interval of
about five minutes she came In.
The three years which had passed
since he had seen her had scarcely
changed her at ALL He noted the small
head perfectly poised, with its crown of
fair hair, the slightly tilted chin, and
the gray eyes that had fingered in his
memory ever since she had dismissed
him. Now he saw them light up with
pleasure at the sight Of him. She smiled
radIantly.
"Geoff! - she said, "ls 1t possble?"
Its more than possible, It's an dc
tual fact" he replied. II got back to
England week ago"
She looked at him with her head on
one side.
You're not changed" she pro.
nounced, after a pause Of Inspection.
"You are" he answered
Am |? In what way?"
'In very important one. When I
left you you were Il girl now you're
married woman"
"a change for the better" she laugh
ed lightly,
"Of course! Especially when your
husband Is so celebrated a man"
"Oh, celebrity has its penalties" she
answered, smiling. You see, my has
band Is so immersed In his work and
has 30 many scientific meetings ito at
tend that see very little of him. At
times / am tempted to wish that he
was not quite so distinguished"
"An ill-natured friend" he said,
cheerfully, Uniformed me this morning
that you Crept under the lens of his
microscope in order to attract his at
tentlon."
"lIorrid! Who was It? Well, in a
way suppose | did. At least, took
n lively interest In all his dolngs. | |
had made up my mind to marry him.
and found the lnfusorla the best way
Of accomplishing my purpose. You see
Niim frank"
"Very frank. And now that you have
accomplished 1t, | suppose you are
quite happy"
mot quite One can't he quite happy |
I'm this world, can one? You see, a |
scientific man can't be always looking
down the microscope at one object So
after time he took me Off the Slide
and began looking at the othcr--nru-
SOrla."
kitty! You don't mean---w
She broke into a ripple of laughter.
"Iou absurd boy" she cried. How
could you think =! Rut you don't
know the professor He is older than
| am, of course. And | don't suppose
he had ever looked at a woman before
well, before | put myself under the
lens, And now that lie has actually
married one Of us-has gone through
the ceremony. so to speak, am sure
hO NNhHANNAN NlAal liN tltS utllt illN ulllN
by the sex for the rest of his days. No.
He has gone back to the other kind of
lnfusoria-horrId little things with
wggly tails, He finds them more at.
You see how frank am."
''fhen be franker STILL" he replied.
"and tell me why you married hm?"
well, It was kind OF experiment"
she admitted. Il wanted to know how
1t felt to be the wife of celebrated
man; and besides fell In love with
him"
"And was there nothing?" he asked.
In slightly lowered tone. mo thought
no memory of---f'
"ofg"
'Well, OF me2' he said, bending down
4 little toward her and looking keenly
INTO her eyes.
She hlushed a little. ,
None at all" she answered, hurried,
v. Don't be foolish, Geoff. All that
10Y and girl nonsense was over ever so
ong ago" Ii
lie Strengthened himself. /
"oh. well he said, morosely. "I'm