El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-09-14
BY Herbert Jameson.

~ THE evening of his wife's de-
but in what, if anticipatory par
~ agraphs were to be believed,
would be the greatest success of her
career, Maurice Arlington complained
of having developed a raging tooth
ache.
at is quite impossible for me to turn
out he interjected between his spasms
of pain. q should simply be misera-
BILE if went. But you'll get on without
me all right, know
A shade of disappointment crossed
Eleanor Arlington's face. Against her
inclination she had read her husbands
mind. and this was the reading. The
toothache he was suffering from was
not acute, and would probably yield at
once to the slightest RECOMMENDATION
he was ready to adopt it. He was
brooding over the pain with secret sat
isfaction. because it furnished an eX-
cuse for his absence this evening from
the scene of her possible triumph.
When she was dressed for the thea
ter. Eleanor went to the chemist her
self to get the toothache remedy She
could have deputed servant, but there
were still ten minutes TO spare before
the motor was DUE and something told
her that Maurice might appreciate the
act more when he knew that she had
gone herself.
Nothing else that you require, Mrs.
Arlington" asked the chemist.
NO, thank you. Oh, yes, while I'm
here, I'd better-have you something
that will poison mice efficiently and
without pain? A band of them have
begun to infest my dressing room at
the theater"
The chemist mentioned the name of
something warranted to strike the
immediate death knen of any mouse
that passed its tongue across it.
"A Iiquid?' asked Mrs Arlington
Yes. You soak bread in it and put
it on the floor near their holes. You
shouldn't have live mouse in the place
tomorrow
She left the shop with two bottles
in her hand and sought again her hus-
bands room
Hello, Nell. Thought you had gone"
Did you want me to go without your
good wishes for tonight? There, we
mustn't grow sentimental. Sentimental
ism's played out. Well, here's the bot
tie of toothache mixture. You pour a
tablespoonful of it, If I remember right
ly, into a similar quantity of water, and
Swallow it, eh? You're quite sure
about that?'
"Oh. perfectly. There's a little laud-
anum in it-not enough to hurt you,
you know-and il Soothes all the
nerves. There's the motor screening.
must fly. Don't you wait up for me-
It may be past midnighf If there are
many recalls
Recalls, Her last words to him, and
it rang irritably in his ears. Did not
his wife live for recalls?
Of course in any other woman il
would not have mattered, but Eleanor
was his wife. He had married her
with the intention of weaving her from
the stage. Her solemn warning-given
before marriage-thaf the thing was
impossible, he had laughing1y disre-
garded. Let the claims of ministering
to his needs, the needs of a possible
heir, and of answering the calls of So
ciety to which marriage with him
would introduce her, make thems elves
felt, and all dramatic considerations
would go by the board.
She had tremendously disappointed
him.
He was proud of HIS courage in refus-
ing to cOuntenance tonight's appear
ance by his presence. True, it might
have been more courageous had he
omitted all mention of toothache and
major cause, but as it was, he had done
a brave thing in absenting himself The
play was said, in advance paragraphs,
to resemble 1.-The Second Mrs Tanque-
ray" and to Guido that play in SINGER
ETY. and power Personally he hated to
be made to think in a theater.
In her dressing room at the World
theater sat Eleanor Arlington, robed
to play her part. The orchestra was
tuning up; in another minute the over
allure was timed to commence. She felt
a little nervous tonight
The orchestra had started. In anoth-
er five minutes her test would come.
She turned to her dresser.
rs there an illustrated paper about
Misunderstanding to beguile the time ?"
The dresser looked vainIy around.
Il don't see, madam"
''Ah, give me that bottle, No. not the
scent bottle. The one wrapped in paper
I brought in with me- It's an extermi-
nator for mice, warranted to take in
slant effect"
I'm glad of that, madam"
Now run and get me a small chunk
of bread, Minnie. No matter if it's
stale, as long as it's crumbs. I'll set
the bait for those gentry whilst I'm
waiting. IL Will save time afterwards -
The dresser went out
Eleanor slipped off her gloves; she
had to make her entry in outdoor
dress. She smiled to herself as she
reached for the bottle, broke the seal
which the chemist had made, and began
taking off the paper. On the eve of a
critical moment in her career she was
busying herself laying poison for mice.
Yet the trivial occupation gave infinite
relief and she knew that the great
ones of the earth would not have de-
spised her for indulging in it.
Now the paper was off, and her eyes
fell on the label on the bottle.
The dresser was two minutes away
no longer She returned to find the
dressing room empty. Assuming that
| Mrs Arlington had gone out into the
wings or been called to the stage ear
| lier than she had expected, she laid the
bread on the table, and began to make
| the room tidy