Omaha daily bee., 1912-03-25

ter in which she had refused to send Mrs.
Morrison away. insisting that she could
see no reason why she should not rent the
spare room while he was CINE. That had
been three weeks ago-and not one word
had he written her sincel just the two
checks with the Drank sheets OF paper.
1t was the first time she had deliber-
ately refused to obey him-anc he was
furnishing her with silence. And to n
sensitive, Imaginative mind-nothing can
be more cruel than silence. There was
nothing he could have written over which
she would have anguished more. For
whatever he might write-at least she
could mediate over H.
And was this silence TO continue? Was
tits the way he was TO force her to
submission? Was she to receive next
weeks check with blank sheet Of
paper-and the week after that? Was
ne going to keep this up until she wrote
that she would do as he wished? Or
what was more appalling still-was he
never going 70 write her again-was he
never coming back?
Before night Helen had worked herself
into a state OF feverish anxiety. II
was her nature that when she brooded
long enough over anything. she lost all
sense Of proportion. The thing about
which she was worrying became dis
torted and exaggerated and assumed an
Importance out of all reason. So now
she brooded over this blank sheet Of
paper until the fear Of II ohsessed her.
she studied every pen stroke on the
envelope and the check. trying to get
some idea Of his mood from his writing.
But he always wrote in a bold free hand
and the writing on this envelope was the
same as on any other.
on, II he was only not so far away-if
she only dared try to reach him by
phone. She took down the telephone
book to look UP the rate to San Fran
cisco. 1t was not listed, but 1t would
be at least so. for Kansas City was
SIS She would call up Central-she
wanted to know exactly. Perhaps there
would be some specIalu night rate.
Central connected her with '1nforma-
ton" and Information" with long dis
lance" and Tong distance" with the
chief operator. And he Informed her
CURLY that. you can't telephone to San
Francisco or any part in caiifcrnia-"
She hung up the receiver with a sense
Of shock so It was impossible to reach
him by phone. Now he seemed farther
away than ever. Yet even II she could
she would not have dared to telephone.
Only once had, she called him up on
'.long dlstance"-the time she was visit
l.. - -. FaL
not written for days. But he had bean
furious and had roared at her never to
do such 8 foolish. cxtrayagant thing
again.
But even though she would not have
teiephoned the fact that she could not
that there were no wires, that whatever
her need shs could not reach him that
way-gave her desperate sense Of his
remoteness.
That blank sheet Of paper. seemed to
menace her with a future desolate and
destitute. She was consumed by the
fear that unless she did something at
once to make things right he would
never return And this fear weakened
her into all her old abjectness. An her
plans for independents and for trying
20 face life alone, II It came to that, fell
from her.
She was dashed on by the feverish
desire to do something"--She could no
longer await developments. She felt that
her whole future and winifred's was in
the balance, and that In some way she
must act-end act quickly.
This feverish urgency to action at
such moments Is something almost every
woman has felt IL only she can say I'll
do the right thing-she thinks she can
bring back to her the man sire loves.
But Il is a most pitiful delusion-for nine