Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1909-05-25
CHAPTER w.

OI1Al EIb ".
The hours of Christmas day rolled on,
bringing. the world over, to lonely hearts
the retrospective pangs that no amount
of scofing can wholly choke down.
Brighton. Paris, Nice are the means
sought by the prosperous, who have need
to smother such memories. A novel by
the fire, with a masculine pipe or a
feminine cup of tea, supply a second
class train to the land Of .forgetfuiness
The third is often an investment of all
available cash or family valuables in al
coholic oblivion. But there are hours
of darkness when all such attempts to
cheat the inner self fail. Hours when
the spirit must stand and face its own
shattered past its desolate future-hours
when dead hands reach out from grave
damp, and touch the heart and chiller
still, comes the breath from shattered
ideals, and now hopeless seif-possibili-
ties.
Ii was into some such valley of shad-
ows that Miss Thorne had gone down
during that long afternoon spent in her
state-room.
The clatter Of the lunch hour in the
pantry had eliminated and subsidized, the
afternoon had early darkened, and the
stewardess, after several futile messages
that tea was ready in the saloon, had
brought it in, and set 1t on the trunk be-
side her, but still Miss Thorne sat star
ing at the white wooden partition where
selection from her wardrobe swayed to
and fro with the ships motion. 1t could
hardly be called thinking, this vivid reali-
ration that possessed her mind of all her
own losses and disillusions: the kindly
old father; the digniieu, ample home life
Of which sne bad been the head; the
brothers older than herself and settled in
| their own homes, who. without much
community of interest had formed a
friendly background to he: life: and the
central figure, the good-looking. cheerful
lover, always so humbly devoted to her
self. always holding before her eyes the
prosperous. married life ahead Of them.
It was strange to remember now how she
had grown to lean on his self-confident
decision, and 10 accept his coloring Of
| the schemes for their future.
1t was not more than a month or two
| since such had been her surroundings,
and now they were more scattered than
the leaves which had seen them go. Her
| father was dead. her home broken up.
Brothers anu their wives had shown a
| perfunctory interest and kindness which
/ had sometimes seemed shade worse
than open Indifference. Offers of q home
had not been wanting. but there was not
/ one in which she would not have known
her presence to be more tolerated than
| desired. But brothers and their wives
/ would have mattered little If the central
figure of the play could have kept his
part OF hero.
At FIRST there had been ardent sympa-
| thy and every self-forgetful effort 10
| soothe her sorrow. until the girl was
| filed with remorse at not having better
appreciated such devotion. Then came
longer intervals between meetings. a de-
pressed dwelling on the difficulties of the
future, and the postponement Of the mar
rage. Then there were journeys on the
Flea of business. and letters full Of the
disadvantages Of long engagements, until
In one binding fash Of comprehension
Miss Thorne had seen what IL al meant
She sat down AZ once and wrote . letter
which brought back perfect composition
in the way Of sorrowful acouiescencs
In her decision, and pathetic remuneration
OF all claims,
i she was OF the sort In whom con
tempt kills ali affection. and her sister
ir-law considered that, in what followed
she showed q great deal OF womaniy
feeling. Boldly and gravely she mad,
known the breaking OF Of her engage