The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1910-11-03
THE DEAD LEVEL.
~ LOUISE tlLNEY.

ished adding with lightning speed and proceeded 10
.'sen 70 the younger girl who had been vAinly talk
ing to her the last iive 1ainutcs
MsdEs snapped nsr irritstion.
asrs s. y 81 ss and I'm not
- &c you enjoyed inot that believe You really
Emily. who must have been nearly th,rtv ro.. de-
season two 81 style began pntsinr Il On WITH
out even pat 1t her unadorned abundant dark
= Madxe continued her plaint you act Z hundred
Emily. u didn't adore you would give you up to
are 70 snub the other girls though you're perfectly
sweet IN manner. / intend to pull YOU out OF your
Your hero worship chila and s r. e sun
PEI, per Win me, I'm getting y in ny rooms nowts
And shuts YOU away from other people
s amy nor see anybody T. YOU have friends
you thought YOU could get rid OF some other way
Emily flushed and laughed little Il do--lke YOU.
Madse. but I'm not very friendly, suppose. Wons
YOU come with me and see whether my inyi-
y can't to- night--rm going out with Bobby Peters
to supper and after that to the theater And after
I'm awfuiiy In love with him. and am siad 10 say
50 70 you right ont. even II enough
Of YOU somebody ought to teii YOU that yoa ought
70 be ashamed OF the way You treat John Trenton.
Emily stared Nobody had ever talked In this way
to her but the girl went ON after they had reached
the street
He's been eating his heart out for you Tor eixht
and everything but you've crushed the courage out
of him for long suppose he has even stoned
right if Sadie Morgan succeeds N vettinr him ~.
mn sne's irving, ! assure YOU Did YOU notice
lovely wife she's about fourteen Years ,han
he-iust the right age 10 appeal 10 man who's tired
dead level of business and LOOKING ~rerv dav
at a woman he can't ret what Won eat s~atrs, MIR,
Well ell here's ere where turn on; doodby."
dazed, Was all this true? Had ii been eight years
him for the last time because he really thanrha she
did not cares Was the office becoming a habit. And
house dress and began 10 prepare her lone.
AS she ate her meal with little apuefte she won.
dered what made her depressed uneomforta ble VA
gueiy miserahie
She sat thinking her tea cooling Could i, be- pas-
sble that that little goose OF sadie--whs sadio
would make him miserabIe.~-a s,lnnant marcanarw
rosebud Of thing, Ana then sne knew that She
hurt Of it swept across her heart sha Remembered
that almost year passed since he had come to
used to his steady aneeton that she had ceased =,
knew s,. when When |. probably had ceased
married him years ago--oh yes al lirst Il was
not live with mo.hsr-n-aw sh. naa seen other ss
families made mixera Bile that was And then H. MAJ
disagreed even on poiiticsand espeeali1 an r.'r
Jon. That IL. she had found fault with his ideas
dishes and though what = fool she was p Dark had
fallen and the lamp was lit; she drew the curtains
hat
for She laughed bitterly vi herself Here she was
tweiffy-nns past acting ike cir, axnertinu \ hav
lovert Well John certainly was ,,o. euninr ysra1.
ably he was taking tina, flp nathnw ~ a. Al. aoYna
where She went into the bedroom lighted tne ra.
mirror and looked al herself q. she NH an
soft but rather worn and old fashioned
I'd dress he had once liked 20 much Rld,euI,ns her.
as she did so she let down her .hsck darE h.sr
rcwound II softly and becnnlinYy about her haaa
Il about the temples II unk ave Years fr
her age
Back In the sitting room she took her chair close
to the HIGHT and picked IN some sewing hut the
stitches would not 70 in straight: she tried IL rea
but the story she picked up seemed name ana tire.
came TO herwhat III she should call him M over INA
phone In the hall and ask him to come "a see hsrs
Could she She never had done so-she had An o,d.
fashioned dislike Tor woman.s making any aavanr.
even the most trusted OF friends Perhaps ne wonis
not want 10 come hut would feel that ne had t-ap,l
she would see that and i, would hurt q hundred times
worse than never seeing him again ~ All Ma ara
could mott
BY i o'clock she had made herself SO miserable