Rocky Ford enterprise. (Rocky Ford, Colo.) 1887-1950, 1913-07-25
always smoked in this room and read

always smoked in this room and read
the papers. and presently he picked
them up from the table and began to
look them over. The conversation
languished, became spasmodic, and
finally died away. Berry, leaning back
on the cushions. tried several times
to revive it, but her husband from
among the spread sheets of the eve
ming press answered her with the In
articulate sounds OF mental preoccu-
patton, and sometimes with no sound
at all, till she abandoned the attempt
and leaned back under the canopy in
silence that was not by any means
the somnolent quietude Of after-dinner
torpor.
The clock hands were pointing to
half-past nine when a ring at the bell
was followed by the appearance of the
Chinaman at the dpor, stating that the
expressman had come with Mr.. Ryan's
valises. Dominick threw down his pa
pers and left the room. AS Berry sat
silent, she could hear the express
mans gruff deep voice In the hall and
the thuds of the valises as he thumped
them down at the stair-head. Domi-
nick answered him and there were a
few more remarks. followed by the re-
treating sound of the mans heavy
feet on the stairs and the bang of the
hall door. She sat looking at the clock,
waiting for her husband to return, and
then as he did not come and the hall
seemed singularly quiet she leaned
forward and sent an exploring glance
down its dim length. Dominick was
not there, but square of light fell
out from an open doorway of his room.
"Dominick," she called, what are
you doing?"
He came to the door of the room in
his shirtsleeves, a tall figure looking
lean and powerful in this closer-fitting
and lighter garb.
I'm unpacking my things, and then
I'm going to bed"
"Oh!" she answered with a falling
infection, leaning forward. with her
elbows planted on her knees, craning
her neck to see more plainly down the
narrow passageway. Its only half
past nine; why do you want to go to
bed SO early?"
I'm tired, and 1t will take me some
time to get these things put away"
Can l help your" she asked with
out moving.
mo. thanks. There's nothing much
to bother about. Good night, Berry,"
and he stepped back into the room
and shut the door.
Berry sat as he had left her for
space, and then drew back upon the
divan and leaned against the mound
of pillows. She made the movement
charity and slowly, her face lset in n
| rigidity of thought to which her body
seemed fixed and obedient. She sat
thus for an hour without moving. her
eyes staring before her. two straight
| lines folded in the skin between her
brows.
So he was still angry. angry and I'M
forgiving. That was the way she read
his behavior. The GOODNESS that he ex-
haled-that penetrated even her un-
sensitive outer shell-she took to be
the GOODNESS of unappeased indigna-
ton. He had never before been Just
like this. There was something OF
acquired forbearance and patience
about him-a cultivated thing. not a
spontaneous outward indication of an
inner condition of being-which was
new to her observation. He was not
sulky or cross; he was simply with
drawn from her and trying to hide 1t
under a manner of careful. guarded
civility. II was different from any
state she had yet seen him in, but 1t
never crossed her mind that 1t might
be caused by the influence of another
woman.
He was still angry-that was what
Berry thought; and sitting on the d.
van under the canopy with its fiercely-
poised lances she meditated on the
subject His winning back was far
from accomplished. He was not as
easy" as she had always thought. A
feeling of respect for him entered into
her musings, feeling that was novel.
| for In her regard for her husband
there had previously been a careless,
sighting tolerance which was not far
| removed from contempt. But II he
had pride enough to keep her thus
coldly at arms length, to Withstand
her attempts at forgiveness and recon-
ciliation, he was more of a man than
she thought, and she had harder
task to handle than she had guessed.
She did not melt into anything like
self.pity at the futility of her efforts.
which, had Dominick known of them.
would have seemed to him extremely
pathetic. That they had not succeed
ed gave her a new impetus of force
and purpose. made her think. and
scheme with hard. cool resolution.
To make up" and gain ascendency
over Dominick. Independent and proud
ly Indifferent, was much more worth
while than to bully Dominick. patient.
enduring and ruled by a sense of duty.