The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-01-06
THE EVENING STORY
Fate's vagaries.
CBy Mabel Chase England.)


left the office and started briskly
along Broadway. The walk home in
the evening, after the close conflne-
ment of the day. formed always
definite and recurrent enjoyment. AS
she went happily. along, her cheeks
came conscious of some one, a man,
just g. little behind and evidently
keeping pace with her. She hurried
her steps nervously, but moment
later heard his voice at her side.
Good evening"
She turned swiftly, looking up at
him, and a wave of angry disappoint-
ment swept over her.
AREN'T you making mistake pa
she asked, coldly.
| The young man returned her gaze
confusedly.
'T Thought was Just a mistake
Forgive me-" He lifted his hat and
was gone.
Helen walked on bIind1y, her heart
IN a tumult of bitter reSentm ent.
Again and again, in her walks to and
from her work. she had met the man
who had just accosted her, and there
had somehow come to exist between
them an imperceptible and unac-
knowledged, but none the less real,
recognition. Unconsciously she had
| woven many dreams about him, had
| imagined how they might sometime
meet-She was SO sure he would find
a way, some day, to meet her and
come into her life. And now he had
actually spoken to her on the street.
Her cheeks burned. How could he
have done it? 1t was such a foolish
excuse, too, to pretend to have mis-
taken her for some one else. Well,
| 1t was over now. That ended it,
In the days that followed she saw
him rarely, and when by chance they
met he looked past her with a set
gaze and an air of absolute aloofness.
She imagined, as time went on, that
things were not going well with him.
| He seemed thinner, more careworn,
each time he crossed her path. In
4 her ready sympathy she began to
| forget her indignation at what he had
done and to think of him even more
| than before.
One wet, bleak evening toward the
end Of November she boarded a car
for home and dropped into seat near
the door. Looking idly down the row
of faces on the other side she gave a
sudden start He was there. down
sorbed in thought and apparently had
i not seen her. Her heart contracted
with pity as she noticed the pallor and
WEAKNESS of his face and the dark
circles under the gray eyes. Surely he
must be in trouble. There was some
| thing SO desolate and hopeless in his
look, so boyishly appealing in his
whole attitude. When at the next
corner the man beside him got off
she rose resolutely, and walking down
the car dropped into the vacant seat
beside him.
| GOOD evening" she said, smiling
| up at him
He turned toward her startled, and
first a look of amazement. then of
gratitude, leaped into his eyes.
"Oh,' he exclaimed, chow good of
you-how unbelieveably good of you'll"
81 wanted to apologize for my
harshness that night you--you spoke
to me-" she explained. flushing
slightly. 81 don't know why, but I
imagined-' She stopped. confused.
| It knew what you thought he said
eagerly; "but I knew, too, that I
could never explain, never make you
understand. You see. it was this
way''-he paused a moment, search
| ing desperately for words that would
convince her of his truthfulness-
things were going rather badly with
me, and I had no one to talk to, no
one to whom I could go for even the
comfort OF just a little human COM
partnership. 1 used to get desperate.
I had met you so often in my walks
and had come to watch for you. It
was the only thing that kept me up,
seconds when I could look into your
| eyes as I passed. Probably you
weren't even conscious of it, or of me,
| but I liked to imagine you were, that
you recognized me when we met And
then that night, such longing came
over me to speak to you, to tell you
| that L Oh, 1 was a foo1i How
could you understand? And when
| you turned toward me with such hurt
| and anger in your eyes stumbled
out some foolish excuse and left you.
Probably you don't understand, even
yet; but you see it was just that I
was longing for companionship, SYM
pathy, anything
stood in her eyes and glistened in her
| lashes
His eyes darkened as he watched
her. After a moment he turned his
head deliberately away from her
"And are things better now she
"Better?' He laughed mirthlessly.
."They. are-fnished, I think. The
fight is over
| TELL me-" she commanded
| "Well. it's just this way. am a
lawyer. and when I graduated every
one cried New York, New York at
me. There is no future here they
said; go to New York. New York
! is the place to get ahead And be-
lieved it. came here and rented an
Office I had been given letters to
one or two influential people, who all
promised to do what they could and
| send things my way when the chance
came. But. somehow, things haven't
cOIne dlu TIC Lew Itl1e cdSeS I've naQ
have in most instances failed to pay
up. I hate to tell such a hard luck
story" he ended, but these are hard
facts. It can all be put in one word,
l suppose. I'm a failure"
4 "You are nothing of the kind" con-
itradicted Helen Indignantly. Now
I don't let's talk any more about it.
This is my street, and I want you to
come home with me to dinner"
! - Really, do you?" he breathed,
i with such a look of joy and gratitude
THAT Helen's eyes filled again as he
ifell into step beside her.
my name is Archauld.' he smiled,
las he handed her his card
"And / am Helen Winslow. Isn't
tit odd" she laughed; "I had forgot