The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1912-08-19

the bedroom Y ndow, drew the curtain
and looked out.
The day promised little in the way
of cheering influences Fog hung
heavy in the air, a gray veil depend
ing from a gray haze Of sky. That
portion Of her neighbor's garden which
the window commanded was drenCned
with it, the flowers dropping MOSTLY
as if it weighed on them like a heavy
substance under the pressure OF which
they bent and dripped. The stretch
of wall that she could see cleaned
with dampness. A corner of stone, on
which a drop regularly formed, hung
and then fell, held her eyes for few
notwithstanding moments. Then she
turned away, muttering 10 herself:
Good Lord, what a day."
She was at her lunch when the tele-
phone bell rang. She dropped her
napkin and ran to the instrument
which was in the hall. She did not
know what she expected-or rather
she did not expect anything in par
ticular-but she was in that state Of
feverish tension when she seemed the
focus of portentous happenings, the
point upon which events Of sinister
menace might, at any moment, bear
down. Bill Cannon might be calling
her up, for what purpose she could not
guess, only for something that would
be disagreeable and perturbing.
1t was, however, her husbands voice
that answered her. He spoke quickly,
as if in a hurry, telling her that he
would not be home to dinner, as a
college friend of his from New York
had just arrived and he would dine
and go to the theater with him that
evening. Berny's ear, ready to dis
cover, in the most alien subjects, mat
ter bearing on her husbands interest
in Rose Cannon, listened intently for
the mans name. AS Dominick did
not give il she asked for it, and to
her strained and waiting attention il
seemed to come with an intentional
indistinctness.
What is his name?" she called
again, her voice hard and high. q
didn't catch it."
1t was repeated and for the second
time she did not hear it. Before she
could demand it once more, Domi
hicks "Good-by" hummed along the
wire and the connection was cut.
She did not want any more lunch
I and went into the parlor, where she
sat down on the cushioned window
seat and looked out on the vaporous
transparencies of the fog. She had
walked with the sense Of. weight and
apprehension heavy on her. As she
dressed she had thought of the inter
view of yesterday with anger and also
with something as much like fear as
she was capable of feeling. She real
| lied the folly of the rage she haC
shown, the folly and the futility of it
and she realized the danger Of al
! open declaration of war with the
fierce and INSCRIPTIONS old man who
was her adversary. This, with hel
customary bold courage, she now tried
to push from her mind. After all, he
couldn't kill her, and that was abou
the only way he could get rid of her
Even Bill Cannon would hardly dare
in the present day in San Francisco
|
The thought caused slight, sarcastic
smile to touch her lips. Fortunatel!
for her, the lawless days of Californi;
were passed.
! With the curtains caught between
her f1nger-tips, her figure bent FORWARD
and motionless, she looked out int
the street as if she saw something
there of absorbing interest. But sh'
saw nothing. All her mental activit.
was bent on the problem of Domi
hicks telephone message. She did no
believe it. She was in that stat
where trifles light as air all point on
way, and to have Dominick stay GU
to dinner with sudden and unexpect
ed friend from New York" was NOR
than trife. She assured herself wit
slow, cold reiteration that he s.dir
ing with Rose Cannon in the big hous
on California Street If they Wake
together on Sunday mornings, VIII