The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1911-05-12
~~(~~>
Ole
AlabaSter
Hand
1t Was the Cause Of a Very
Ludicrous Mistake
BY ClariSsa Mackie
Copyright by American Press Asso-
BY Clarissa Mackie
Copyright by American Press AssS
citation. 1911.

1t was quiet residential street, ana
1t stretched away from the glittering
thoroughfare like a dimly lighted tun-
mel. The long blocks were composed
of rather old fashioned red brick
dwellings, the more pretentious faced
with brownstone.
Lucien Braddock had chosen Blank
street as the shortest cut to his apart
ments In the Circle hotel, which held
itself exclusively apart from the ave-
nues, where trains roared above and
below the ground and electric cars
whizzed on the surface between the
two.
On this particular night Lucien
traversed the street with unaccustom-
ed haste. The rain fell with slanting.
singing steadiness. The drops drum
med on his umbrella and battered
against the smooth surface of his mack
intosh. Once or twice he poked his
head out from under the umbrella to
take a survey of his surroundings.
On the second occasion he saw 1t and
stopped short in his tracks to stare up
at lighted parlor window.
Lucien Braddock had heard OF beau
tiful hands, he had read In novels of
marble brows" and "alabaster hands
and arms" but In the course Of his
prosaic existence he had never come
across these marks of feminine lowell
ness. He had seen pretty hands.
Some were white, and others were
tanned with summer sunshine. but
never had he seen n woman's hand
that might be likened to tho alabaster
ones of his novel reading days.
Now he saw It,
1t was white as snow or marble or
the alabaster of his novels; perfect In
shape, with small fingers, tapering to
point. For an instant no saw the
whole hand; then the woman's other
hand was lifted, and the shade was
drawn to the sill of the window.
For the first time since he had paus-
ed before the window Braddock be-
came aware that he was violating all
the rules OF politeness. Never before
had he stared into n window In this
manner. and now he turned hastily
and resumed his way through the pelt-
Ing rain with mingled shame and Gu
riosity.
The recollection of the white hand
he had seen impressed him strangely.
1t had looked so dead white, so lifeless,
sc rigid, as compared to the careless
grace of the woman's other arm as she
reached up to pull down the shade.
His mind pictured dozen situations
that might account for the peculiar
whlteness of the hand. The one which
found most favor with him was that
the beautiful hand was paralyzed and
quite bloodless.
When he arrived ut his hotel he dis
| missed the subject from his mind and
| went about his evening engagements
| with his customary vigorous interest.
| Every night as he passed through
l Blank street his eyes Involuntary
turned toward the block where stood
| the house that Interested him. It was
some timo before he could locate the
particular house, because 1t was mere
ly by the mellow lighting of the room
or the figure OF the woman who ha'
stood there that he might hope to rec
ogniZe the place once more.
Then came another evening, when b,
was snunterlng homeward with pleas
\ ant anticipation of the excellent dinner
1 that would await his arrival home
| there flashed on his view the same pic
1 ture that he had seen once before on
that rainy night. The same woman
stood there holding back the rose col
| ored curtains with that dead white
hand.
Once more Lucien Braddock paused
| and stared up ut the picture. This
| time he gazed at the woman's head
framed In its mist of dark hair. Her
4 face was In shadow, but he fancied
1 that she must be beautiful. and as she
4 did not stir from her position nor
| make any attempt to pull down the
| shade, he was suddenly smitten with
\ sense of his own rudeness, and, with
| an involuntary removal of his hat, he
passed on.
Then 1t was that low, amused
| laugh broke the silence of the street.
Lucien stopped and looked around. He
/ could have sworn that the laugh came
1 from the vestibule Of the house. The
front door was slightly aJar. and
| through the glass panel a red light
| shot down upon the sidewalk. With
| a shrug OF the shoulders and an I'M
comfortable feeling he went on. He
/ resolved that he would not let curiosi-
l ty again tempt him down the length OF
Blank street He would walk one
more block and traverse another street.
Weeks passed. and Braddock had
4 quite forgotten the incident of the wo-
man with the alabaster hand. Bust
ness affairs of unusual importance oc-
4 cupied his attention to the exclusion
/ Of amusements, and he found life filled
( to the brim with action.
When the strain was removed, on the
evening Of the very day on which he
bad won the case which was to make
him famous among lawyers. he rode
home on the electric car and from
force of habit dropped off at the cor
ner of Blank street.
He had gone half its length when BIZ
was conscious Of some disturbance II
one of the staid red brick dwellings
\ a bright Hight fllckered against the
windows. and Il maidservant stood OF
the porch screaming Historically.