The Meeker herald., 1910-12-10
4 FACE IN
the CROWD.
The Story Of a Pretty Lite Love
Romance.
D. KEITH GORDON.

After awhile she came to look for
him when the train stopped 1t the Fir
ty-third street station in the morning
the tall. broad shouIdered man With tho
aggressive chin and determined mouth.
She felt vaguely disappointed when
she did not see him.
lnsensibly he became the touch Of
romspce in the dreary monotony Of her
days. ave and 4 half out Of seven Of
which were spent In Wall street. .
place where the advantages Of being
woman are not Rlaringly apparent.
Often during the tagging afternoons
Of summer. when business was dull
and the hands of the clock approached
+ but slowly. she would sit resting on
her face on her hands and wondering
about him. Who was her What was
he3 was he married or slngle7
The noise Of the street below. dulled
by distance until II was a. dreamy a.
the humming Of bees at MONDAY.
droned softly in her ears sort Of liv-
ing melody. and her thoughts det,ed
once hours and went far aneld In N
fantastic search for the reality about
HIM among the crowd Of possibilities.
Over and over she gave him lOcai
habitation and name. but these
changed always with her mood. No
name that she could bit upon seemed
to express bis personality. and she
finally discarded them all and thought
Of him only n The Man.
The weeks melted into months. but
her Interest 10 him did not Dag. Rath.
er 1t became deeper ~ time went on.
Curiousiy enough. It was what might
b termed the nonessentials that baf-
ned her. About the man himself-his
character and what he. would do In
any given emergency-she felt the
same assurance that she did about her.
self.
She had decided that he was q law.
yer. though precisely why she thought
70 she could not have told. Then one
day she saw him with q child. q girl
Of ten. who bore certain deeting 70.
semblance to him.
He was married. theni An almost
imperceptibie sigh escaped her. Then.
n the absurdity Of the matter dawned
upon her. she laughed softly to her.
self What differsnce2 Josephine and
Marie IAliss had never dampened her
affection for Napolson. She even be-
gan to feel mild interest IN the lady.
Sometimes. for two Or thres weeks
At stretch. they would not encounter
each other. Il was after one el thess
breaks that. watching him a. b. en-
tered the car. bar interest and salts
faction NJ seeing him again shone all
unc0nsciously In her face. and his
glance was arrested BY It
Az the faint color touched her cheeks
under bis gaze he looked casually
away. For moment he had thought
her some half forgotten acquaintance
from the welcome that he had sur
prised In her eyes. but her quick au-
noyauce a. she returned to her reading
forbade that idea.
She did not look toward him again.
but more than once his keen blue eyes
rested upon her ~ she sat there, slim
and straight, with masses of pale
brown hair piled upon her small head.
After this be. too. began to watch Of
morning. A habit 10 very easily
formed!
Then for weeks he disappeared. The
girl wondered anxiously what had be-
come Of him, Had be gone abroad?
Mayhap he was ili-or dead! At the
thought she shrank like one hurt. for
he had become. In a whimsical way.
part Of her life. He had become AZ
near and dear as only ideals can be-
When he did appear one morning.
above crowd of lesser men
like . god. there was q new gravity In
bis face which held her attention even
before she noticed that be was In
mourning.
That. then. was what these weeks
Of absence from business meant-sick-
ness and suffering and death. His
wife undoubtedly. from the sorrow and
oppression that be showed. The quick
sympathy that she felt lowered In her
soft. wide eyes a. they rested briefly
upon his face. And he. reading that
look. felt q curious thrill.
Long since he had begun to regard
her with a sort Of tacit. silent friend.
ship. the little girl with her soul In
her face" a. he once described her to
friend. shaking his head deprecatingIy
at the thought Of . woman like her
having to wrestle with the world. She
seemel to him too exquisite for the
Ups and downs Of such a life.
He watched her surrentittO,,alv NOW
wondering Idly who she was and
whether he should ever meet her.
There was way-he might follow her
and bestOw quarter on the elevator
boy. and the thing would be done. But
the conrseness Of such methods re
PEELED him. She seemed the sort Of
woman who would resent that kind Of
thing.
Moreover. In bis heart Of hearts and
In anita NJ h1u bJumnnu av.A -oelAlena.-