The Washington herald., 1914-07-26


room fire. on Friday evening in No
vember. when they heard a ring at the
front door. They both started, anc
showed symptoms of nervous disturb
ance. Then they heard voices in tht
lobbv-the servants voice and another
voice-and a movement of steps ovel
the encaustic tiles toward the door o.
the drawing-room.
And Miss Morfe calculated:
Really
In the ordinary course it is not con-
sidered outrageous to enter a drawing
room-even at o'clock at night-with
the permission and encouragement oi
the servant in charge. But the case oi
the Morfes was peculiar.
Mr.. Morfe was bachelor aged forty
two, and looked older Mary Morfe
was a spinster aged thirty-eight. and
looked thirty-seven. Brother and Sis
ter had kept house together for twenty
years. They were passionately and pro-
foundly attached to each other-and
did not know it. Moreover, they were
very firmly fixed in their habits.
Now one of these habits was never to
entertain company on Friday night. Fri
day night was their night of solemn
privacy The explanation of this habit
offers a proof OF the sentimental rela-
tions between them.
Mr. Morfe was an accountant. In
deed, he was the accountant in Burs-
ley, and perhaps he knew more secrets
of the ledgers of the principal earthen-
ware manufacturers than some of the
manufacturers did themselves. But he
did not live for accountancy. At 5
o'clock every evening he was capable of
absolutely forgetting accountancy. He
lived for music. He was organist at
St. Luke's Church (with an industrious
understudy-for he did not always rise
for breakfast on Sundays and, more
important, he was conductor of the
Bursley Orphans Glee> and Madrigal
Club. And herein lay the origin of
those Friday nights. A glee and madri-
gal club naturally comprises women as
well as men, and the women are apt to
be youngish, prettyish and somewhat
fond of music. Further, the conductor
ship of choir involves many and vari-
Gus social encounters. Now Mary
Morfe was jealous. Though Richard
Morfe ruled his choir with whips,
though his satiric tongue was scorpion
to the choir, though he never looked
twice at any woman, though she was
always saying that she wished he would
marry, Mary Morfe was jealous. 1t
was Mary Morfe who had created the
institution OF the Friday night, and she
had created it in order to prove. SYM
bolically and>spectacularly, to herself, to
him, and to the world, that he and she
lived for each other alone.
And yet a caller!
It's a woman" murmured Mary.
And it was a woman. It was Miss
Eva Harracles, one of the principal con-
traltos in the Glee and Madrigal Club.
She entered, richly blushing, and ex-
cusably a little nervous and awkward.
She was a tall, full-blooded, agreeable
creature of fewer than thirty years,
dark, almost handsome, with fine lips
and eyes, and an effective large hat and
a good muff; in every physical way
marked contrast to the thin, prim, des-
sicated brother and sister
Richard Morfe flushed family. Mary
Morfe grew more pallid.
Il really must apologize for coming
in like this" said Eva, as she shook
hands cordially with Mary Morfe.
She knew Mary very well indeed.
For Mary was the librarian" of the
Glee and Madrigal; Mary never missed
a rehearsal, though she cared no more
for music than she cared for the ma
tional debt
Not at ALL" said Mary. I'VE were
only reading; you aren't disturbing US
in the least" Which, though polite, was
lie.
And Eva Harracles sat down be-
tween them. And brother and sister
abandoned their literature
q can't stop" she said, glancing at
the clock Immediately in front of her
ewes. Il must catch the last car for Sill
verhays-"
You've got twenty minutes yet" said
Mr. Morfe
Because" said Eva, Il don't want
that walk from Turnhill to Silverhays
on a dark night like this"
NO should think not indeedP said
Mary Morfe.
You've got full twenty minutes"
Nh Morfe repeated. The clock showed
three minutes past 9.
The electric cars to and from the
town of Turnhill were rumbling past
the very door of the Morfes' every FIVE
minutes, and would continue to do so
till midnight. But Silverhays is a min
ing village of couple of miles beyond
TrIrnhill and the service hetweer