Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-10-06
Evening Star S
Daily Story
cINDERS
BY LAURA KIRKMAN.


her slipper.
1t had been a CHASTITY meal indeed.
The quarrel had come before tIey
had finished soup, and frigid ST
lence had reigned all through the
meal. Helen had sat with one hand
clinched under the table, afraid that
the tears would como from sheer
nervous tension
In which case, suppose, he would
have thought ! was sorry" she re-
Elected 81 sorry for what was not
my fault at all AS if / were TO
blame because Bridget happened to
forget to iron one of his shirts
For it was over so trivial mat
ter as shirt-trivial to Helen's mind
at least-that the quarrel had arisen.
John that morning, being in a hurry,
had put on a newly Numbered shirt
without giving it close inspection.
Downtown he had met a wealthy
business friend and had invited him
TO lunch. At the end of the luncheon,
following his friends eyes, he dis
covered thai the front of his shirt
was unironedl
I'm delighted to have McGrath
think we have our clothes wet
washedl'' he had told Helen, sarcasti-
cally, over the SOUP
Then had begun the quarrel
Helen's defense of her housewifely
efficiency-John's insinuation that a
little less time spent at card parties
and a little more at home was not a
bad thing for the general running of
the house
He was horrid-just horridl" she
told herself, making a quick dab at
her eyes with her handkerchief. For
now the tears were coming freely.
Then she sat up, petrified: John
was stepping through the door-com-
ing toward herl If he discovered
her crying he would think she was
sorry.
She sat up stiffly. If he could have
seen her eyes, there in the darkness,
he would not have thought her ex
actly melting in penitence.
He halted before her. do you
know where my old fishing boots
are?'' he asked briefly.
Then he was going away for the
night with the men-he was going
fishing or spearing, or something! So
ne was tired of her He was looking
back longingly at his bachelor daysl
She tried to make her tone convey
that she Didn't care.
"Oh. in the closet under the stairs -
she threw out
When he had gone in again, she
leaned forward and buried her face
She did care-care horribly. She re-
membered when he had thrown the
old boots into the closet and said that
sports would never again hold any at
traction for him That was a week
after their marriage.
She was still sitting with buried
Aa~a ha~, cd, lr.I
again on the porch. He didn't come
close this time, however. He stood
near the door and called to her.
II say! They're not there
Helen's fingers gripped the arms OF
her chair. Would she have to go in
and find them for him; go in there in
the full glare of the light?
Before she had decided, the mans
voice came again, this time bit sar-
oastically:
Perhaps Bridget has put them
somewhere"
His tone said plainly: "She seems
to be running the house,
Like an iceberg, Helen arose from
her chair and sailed toward him.
She passed him with silence that
must have been chilly. Like a cold
blast, she blew along the hall to the
closet under the stairs. She found
the boots where she supposed they
would be. She picked them up gin
gerly. Leaving him to dust them,
she set them down on the hall floor
and started back to the veranda-
But she was intercepted. In the
doorway stood John, obviously
blocking the way so that she
couldn't pass. He had seen her red
eyes!
"Heleni" he said in a low voice
as she stood frigidly before him
waiting for him to step aside.
She made no answer.
"TIelen!" he said again. Then, as
she still remained silent, put out
his hand and caught her arm.
"Shall we make up?" he asked with
boyish appeal Come! L can see
you want to, Helen!'
He had said just the wrong thing:
That he could see she wanted to. She
sprang away from him, furious. Then
he thought she was appealing to hin;
with tears; thought she was plead
ing for his forgiveness.
Her tone trembled as she hurled
back her answer:
Make up? No! A thousand times,
mol II have cinder in my eye. |
fear you have mistaken their redness
for signs of deep grief"
He let her pass now He stood
back, as angry as she. With heavy
tramp he swung down the hall after
the boots.
Helen sat out on the porch till he
had gone; then she went in. She
went up to her room and flung her
self on the bed. She did not attempt
to light the gas, or to undress; she
was too wretched.
For a full hour she lay there, then,
suddenly, she sat up. She leaned for
urH In HQr listened
What was that sound?-a latch key?
1t surely was a latch key. And
John was the only person who had
one. Then he had not gone off with
the men, after all He had not found
sports more delectable than home!
With beating heart, she tiptoed to
the top of the stairs and listened. He
had gone into the library. In a mo-
ment the light fiared up. Was he
reading? she wondered.
But she did not care much what he
was doing. The main thing was that
he was there! He had come homei
She gathered up her skirts and started
down those stairs with noisy heels.
She found him sitting on the library
couch with his head in his hands. At
her entrance he looked up fleetingly.
then sank his head more dejectedly in
bis palms.
She flew to him. She raised his face.
with happy heart, she noted that his
eyes. too, were red
"John,' she cried. ooh, joint You
want to make up, tool
But he shook his head.
MOI he denied swiftly "Its--it's
Just q cinder in my eyei'
Then he kissed her.
OF Course