The daily Alaskan., 1909-10-19
ONE AUGUST NIGHT
She Was Told the Story of the
 Lady of ShaIOtt.
Rv NReINIA LEILA MENTz.

! [Coryrleht. 1909, by Associated Literary
 Press.l
 1 It had been an unusually oppressive
 day even for August. Every one
 seemed sleepy or sleeping. Cobblers slept with half mended boots in their
 laps; Italian women slept at their fruit stands with sleeping babies at their breasts; horses rotted consclentously along in front of sleeping drivers.
 In the department store where An toua Wheaton worked the day had
 been difficult. especially behind the
 stuny corner where she measured out
 ribbons. And. oh. what a godsend the loud sounding bell at 6 had been! Most
 of the girls iu the store were city bred,
 and they accepted the conditions of
 August phiIosophlacuy, but Antona ! Wheaton had come from a fresh little country town in the west, and as she leaned from her boarding house win dow-the third floor hall room. back few minutes before going down to | dinner 1t seemed Co her that she was 1 locked in a place of torment from
 which no escape was possible.
 They dincd at [ in Mrs, Browns | boarding house. In the half hour that 1 Autona had been home she had taken a sponge bath, brushed her silky, flax en hair and changed her black alpaca dress for a simple white muslin. As she leaned out of the window from the open space beside the storage house ] in the rear she could see the dust ! carts roll down the streets The whlsk- ! ing of their big rotary brooms remind. | ed the country bred girl of large tur- key gobblcrs sweeping the earth with dlsdaiufuI. proud wings. The open space faced the west. and, resting her 1 little oval cheeks In her hands, Antona could see that the sun was doing It's . best to set with some sort of rightful beauty. even iu this homcly downtown section.
 "Wherc the quiet coIored end of evening smiles
 Antona was speaking to .erself in
 reprehensibIe fashion that was grow Ing on her, trying to recall some verses
 which Francis Logan had quoted to | her one sunset time down on the Bat | tery. She had rancicd she could re-
 member them, they were so simple and ! lovely.
 Just then Mrs. Browns cracked din ner bell rang.
 Across the long, narrow table Fran ! cis Logan glanced at AntOna with
 something like a lump born of a big, protective instinct rising fin his throat Every vcstIge of fresh country rose bloom had fed from the girls sweet face. and iu the intervals when she rancIed she was not observed the young fellows alert eye noticed that black lashcs rested heavily against her cheek as would those of one who Is . overweary.
 Ant0na's weGriness struck home per haps because of contrast. Francis him
 self was more than usually happy that
 night.
 ! The big importing house where he was employed had that very morning sent a note to his desk informing him that his salary had been increased some $lO a month. His dear mother ! over in Dcv0nshirc, had just written him that a relative had left her an un- expected little legacy. Altogether the
 world was going well with Francis To- gan.
 You look pleased, MT. Logan" ob- served Mrs. Brown from her accus- toned seat at the head ot the table. "Ah. ! remember-this is your favor, ite soup"'
 For five years now young Logan had been an inmate Of Mrs. Browns estab- lishmeut without having ever changed his seat at table or his room. Natural Iy Mrs. Brown sought to ingratiate her self with him.
 "Why. my dear" she had exclaimed once to Antona In a burst of enthusi- asm, "he knows all the poets by heart. ! He secs only the best plays, even though it may be from gallery seats. . He knows an the finest pictures up in the Metror.'l,sG He has what they call an .g.s,r' taste too. My lands, you should bear him notice the sunset
 at the end of 8 narrow city street or a . tiny flower out in the park or'-
 "Ycs, ! kuow," said Antona lmpul- slyely, for once coming out of her re- serve. "Uc's pure goId-that's what ho ] isw
 Huh. GoldT" Mrs. Brown had re- torted disdainfully. None O your pretty. soft yellow stun for him. He's good. solid, practical steel, if any one asked me. Don't you forget it, Miss Wheaton. And if you could be fortu- nate enough to tie up to him"- Mrs. Brown had broken or abruptly at a Gash from Miss Wheaton's eye. One dared not presume too far with Miss Wheaton. in spite of the silky, IaXcn Er. and the childish dlmples, as wawr of the young men in the de- ! pGwweut store had found out.
 If only they could be a little more