Evening star., 1913-12-17

most amazing things, and then clicked
off into silence. 1t rang up every two
or three days, sometimes in the morning
and sometimes in the evening.
At first Billy was annoyed; later he be-
came resigned. and then interested, so
that at last he found himself listening
eagerly for the telephone bell, and he
cursed certain male friends who called
him up and aroused vain expectations
He had relinquished the joke theory. 1t
did not seem probable that any one would
persist In a. joke for six weeks when
there was no satisfaction to be gained.
The owner Of the voice told him that she
had wanted to know him and could find
no other way. Billy began to believe her.
but he was not a vain man, and he won-
dered. He knew that these things hap
pened to matinee idols and popular con-
cert pianists. but he had never been any
thing more noted than the captain of a
college foot bali team four years before.
At the end of three months Billy was
In love. During some thirty-odd telephone
interviews he had discovered nothing con-
corning the unknown that she had cared
enough for him to make him care ten
times as much for her. Sometimes he
wrestled worldly with central and
found that her calls had come from one
of the hotels on the avenue or a pay
station on the upper west side, but his
knowledge did not help him at all. He
felt that his position was ludicrous. She
knew how he looked, knew where he
lived. knew everything about him. He
knew her voice-and that was all. He
grew nervous and restless. He often
flushed and started when a woman
touched him in a crowd or he met the
eyes of some girl passing along the
street.
II saw you today" she told him once
as he stood glaring helplessly into the
receiver. You came out of your club and
hot1
o clock
Just about that" said Billy, with "a a
miserable laugh. Where were your
Crossing the avenue half block
above"
will you be there tomorrow at the
same hour?'
She gave the negative he expected
''You know l can't
81 know you won't" he said, bitterly.
Their interviews had of late lost the
more impersonal tone that had existed
in the beginning. There had been
time when the theaters, current events,
and even the weather had furnished
topic for conversation. Billy put such
subjects aside now with angry lmpa-
tience. He argued hotly for his rights,
and at times there was something that
sounded like tears in the voice at the
other end of the wire.
Then the affair came to crisis sud
denly one day in early winter, almost a
year after that first night when Billy
had waited in vain for his unknown
guest.
She had laughingly reproached him
for not recognizing her in passing.
1T was on Broadway" she said. The
girl was very pretty
MY cousin" said Billy, bluntly.
She was too pretty for a cousin. L
hated her"
Il hate her. too-at times | hate
everybody these days, because they're
everywhere and you're nowhere.
"Of coursec because I'm nobody-No-
body of Nowhere"
,.Will YOU ever be Somebody of Some
where?'
NO, never"
DO you mean that?' he asked. ear
nestly.
Every letter of it, SO please don't
argue
4 can't" he said. hopelessly. You're
too unreasonable and illogical.
I'm not trying to be logical. IN fol-
lowing my own instincts. I'll try to eX-
plain those, but you won't understand,
because you're man. Five years ago
when you were in college | saw you for
the first time. Some one told me your
name and-and things about you. After
that ] saw you a number of times IN dill
ferent places. j wanted to know you,
but / couldn't think of any way until
one night this wicked old telephone
tempted me. l was afraid at first and
lnouSHl ana lhouSHt anu SoiiSioSiS
Just what chance there was OF my ever
meeting you in the natural course OF
events. I decided that there was about
one chance in a hundred SO j rang up
your phone number and forfeited that
chance But ringing you up was an ad-
mission and 1 can't deny what il i'm
piled. All, Billy. can't you understand?
I've made advances which only man
can make with any decency, and con-
sidering everything I shall never, never
meet you face to face and say 1hls
| is L.
.'You will said Billy suddenly.
| You'll meet me tomorrow at Dawson's
Art Galleries"
Not tomorrow, ever.
IT have something to tell you.
"You must tell everything over the
wire. I can't meet you.