Abbeville progress. (Abbeville, Vermilion Parish, La.) 1913-1944, 1913-10-25

ong, dim reach OF hill beyond. l's
characteristic OF San
Francisco streets-struck upon her
with a sense OF grip
ing. bleak dreariness. She could look
along the two lines of sidewalk tllI
they were lost in the gradual milky
of the fog, and at intervals
see a figure, faint and dreamlike, ell
Their emerging from space In slow APP
proach. or melting into 1t In phantas-
NAL withdrawal
II was n melancholy, depressing
vista. She had not reached the top OF
the long hill before she decided that |
she would walk no farther. Walking |
WAS only bearable when there was |
something to see. But she dld not
know what else to do or where TO go
Indecision was not usually feature OF
her character. To-day, however. the
unaccustomed strain OF temptation ana
worry seemed to have weakened her
resourcefulness and resolution. Inc
one point on which she felt deter
mined was that she would not go
home.
The advancing front Of a oar, loom
ing suddenly through the mist. decid-
ed her. She hailed 1t, climbed on
board, and san into seat on the In
side. There was no one else there. IL
smelt Of dampness, Of wet woolens
and rubber overshoes, and its closed
windows. filmed with fog. showed
semicircular streaks across them
where passengers had rubbed them
! clean to look out The conductor, an
! unkempt man. with IN unshaven chin
and dirty collar. siOuched In for her
fare. extending a grimy paw toward
her. AS he took the money al
punched the tag, he hummed a tune
to himself, seeming to convey in that
harmless act a sighting opinion OF
his passenger. Berry looked at MIN
severely, which made him hum still
louder. and lounge indifferently out
to the back platform, where he leaned
on the brake and spat scornfuiiy into
the street.
Berry felt that sitting there was
worse than walking. There was nc
one to look at, there was nothing &C
be seen from the windows. The cal
dipped over the edge of an Incline
slid with an even, Swimming swiftnes'
down the face Of the hill. and then
with a series of small jouncings
, crossed the rails of another line. NO
knowing or caring where she was, sh'
signaled the conductor to stop, an
3 alighted. She looked round her TO
= an uncertain moment, and then recoe
e nized the locality. She was close Z
5 the old Union Street plaza on whic
+ the Greek Church fronted. Here i
the days before her marriage, Whe
I she and Hazel had been known a
e the pretty Iverson girls" she ma
/. been wont to come on sunny Sunda
o mornings and sit on the benches wit
d such beaux as frightened the mono
y ony Of that unaspiring period.
l. She felt tired now and thought
e would not be a bad idea to cross
II the plaza and rest there for spac
o She was warmly dressed and III
r clothes would not be hurt by the dam
Threading her way down the stree
u she came out on the opening whel
q the little park lies like an unroilt
green cloth round which the shabb
y, gray city crowds.
T. She sank down on the first emp
IS bench, and looking round she ga
ut other dark shapes, having vagu
Is huddled appearance. lounging
o bunched-up attitude on the ad1ace
le seats. They seemed preoccupied.
b struck her that they. like herse
ID were plunged In meditation on mi
n. tiers which they had sought this dar
nj seclusion silently to ponder. The on
be region of activity in the dim. 81
op scene was where some boys we
playing under the faintly-dehned o
as line of a large willow tree. Tn
er we're bending close to the ground
In the performance of a game over Will
Its periods Of quietness fell to be brok
III, by sudden disrupting cries. As Der
q took her seat their imp-!ike shaI
dark and without detail. danced abb
under the tree In what appeared
tastic ecstasy, while their cries bro
through the woolly thickness OF
air with an intimate clearness stran
ly at variance with the remote Ell
Of their figures.
The fact that no one noticed her,
could clearly see her. affected her
II seemed to have done the other ot
pants Of the benches. She rela-
from her alert sprightliness OF pt
! and sank against the back Of the g
y in the Impress of unobserved .ndif
ence. Sitting thus. her eyes on
b ground, she heard. at first unheed
u then with a growing sense of at
ton. footsteps approaching on
gravel walk. They were the sh
quick footsteps Of a woman. BE
looked up and saw woman, Il
darker than the atmosphere, emert
~ from the surrounding grayness. al
N she we're slowly rising to the sur
N through water.
I Her form detached itself gradu
n from the fog, the effect OF delibera
" being due to the fact that she
dressed In gray. a long. loose
and a round hat with film Of
about II. She would have bee
study In monochrome but for
color in the cheek turned to Be
glowing, rose-tinted cheek
which the damp had called a
brighter than any rouge. Berry lo'
q, a. with reluctant admiration,