Evening star., 1912-07-14
CHAPTER u-Continued.

and wait so long and patiently. and then
to have your chance and fail; more ter
nble even than never to have your
chance at ALL
He was silent for a little time. Gym
thia was looking another way. seeing
nothing, lost in her somber thoughts,
quite unconscious of his scrutiny, now
more close and keen than any he had
previously accorded her.
Crittenden missed nothing. raking her
from her inconspicuous but becoming hat
to tho tips Of the small shoes that were
just beginning to exhibit ineffaceable
signs OF wear He saw that her neat
ness, whicn had impressed him long be
fore he had spoken to her. was the neat
ness Of extreme poverty making the pest
of souvenirs of days of affiuence Ihe
materials of her skirt and shirt waist
were of the best, but worn threadbare-
almost He could reconstruct mentally
the particulars of the daily struggle that
alone served to keep her presentable; the
| constant welding Of the brush, the darn
ing and mending, the scrubbings with
naphtha, the DRESSINGS with an iron sur
heptitiously heated over a gas jet when
the landlady was absent. And he could
see other signs which her prettiness
served well nigh wholly to disguise: the
lines that wearing care had furroWed In
guishable, but still to be detected by the
solicitous eye, and the surfaces once
rounded, that privation had gently hol-
lowed out.
Something else. hidden from the eye,
but very real for all that. told him that
the days of even such Spartan existence
were numbered for her; that she was
perilously near the verge OF the preci-
pice.
He took thought hurriedly. covering his
-l$I, o<1 0ft tol L
as to the conference of which he was
dimly dubious.
"Well, yes But I'm not going to
fall. In fact, don't see how 1 can. with
the opportunity I'm offered Well
both win-you with your chance and /
with mine Confidence is half the bat
She said nothing. He added a banality
or two go
Something certainly must be contrived
for her, and that quickly. The corner
at which, he suspected; their ways would
part, was altogether too near to leave
him time to consider ways and means.
He must manage somehow to stick be-
side her for a little longer. There was
one way -
Once conceived, the notion took shape
and color rapidly, and began to seem
most desirable in his understanding. II
only he could induce her to consent: II
only she were SO worn down and weary
suasion. -
In his pocket he had nearly SIS, the
balance of $50 realized by the hypothe-
cation Of his watch ten days ago. And
there remained his cigarette case: 1t
would bring in enough to tide him over
at a pinch. Or. failing that-over on 9Th
avenue hs could see corner Of the ia
cade OF the only club that now main
tained his name on its membership
roster; his credit was still good there
ho 4n1 ,,otr nj (NH fnr do <,r
two-though he would rather starve than
face the eyes of those who once had
made him welcome there. the stares, the
sights. and none too covert sneers Of
those who ran with the pack contemptu-
Gus Of hira who was crippled and down.
- But. if needs be. he could stand 1t.
for a little while. at least
Il say" he broke off, suddenly. with
all the elation in his voice that becomes
one who has happily CHANGED upon an
His change Of tone brought the
thoughts of the girl back to him. Sur
prised. she turned to look at him steadily.
"Why- she began, doubtful.
Wait till you hear" he interrupted.
scheme. 1t isn't every day one strikes
streak Of pay luck as l have today. Hon
estly, it looks good to me; there really
isn't any question about my ability to
get away with 1t. And. naturally,
a fellow can't celebrate properly all by
his lonesome. Can hep
His open, friendly and frank smile left
her little foothold for resentment. Gym
thia could not but smile family in re-
turn. But she shook her head
"Really-'
''Oh. now!" he protested with a very
winning, boyish impatience. Don't say
no till you think it over. Remember,
we're in much the same boat-at least
m IN hn
lieve we are: and we both would be the
better for little change. We need to
get out Of this-this heat and misery,
and all that-and play like sane people
and-forget. But there's no forgetting.
and no good playing, when you've no one
to talk to and play with. That's no fun
at all. Why not come with me. just for
this afternoon-some place where one can
see the sky, where there's clean sand
underfoot instead of dusty pavements.
listen to and clean air to breathe? Please
don't shake your head like that. 1t isn't
as II we were utter strangers; people who
lunch at the same restaurant every day
for couple of months ought to know
one another. even II they don't. Come
along! Let's pretend we're old friends
with nothing to discuss, no memories to
dissect, nothing to do but take a day off
from the fret and worry of things. Do
say yes-it'll be aWfully good of you!"
She withheld her decision only a min
ute, while she regarded him openly with
clear, thoughtful eyes. Strongly the sug-
gestion tempted. She wanted to accept.
She needed to go. badly. And why not?
Only the habits Of convention stood
between her and a few hours Of happi
ness-or II not happiness. at least forget
fulness. And what was convention to
such as they. hapless wanderers. astray
in the battling maze of things?
Six years of existence in European PEN
sions had not left her without balance
Of experience In which to weigh men:
and he who stood before her, awaiting
her answer with his face glowing with
that she would consent, deceived her
greatly II he were not sound and worthy
Of the little trust and tolerance he asked.
Nor had those years left her wanting in
self-knowledge; she was q woman Of
twenty-five, and could care for herself.
cept this boon the gods offered her?
Crittenden read the answer In her eyes
before she could utter It,
You will? That's fine Of you!"
Watt She checked him, but with
reassuring smile. ''One question
Name it,
"Can you-afford this, Mr.. Crittenden?" ?"
"Of course l can. I'm a good distance
from the end OF my tether. really;
could hold on for months yet, If I had
to. But l won't have to. In day or
two I'll be independent"
Then one condition; the one you your
self suggested. We're to pretend we've
known one another since ever SO long;
we'u have no questions to ask. no memo
ries to dissect-as you said-no plans for
the future. Today must be q day apart
a day that somehow mysteriously man.
aged to slip in between yesterday and
tomorrow. and so will slip out. leaving no