Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-01-13

theater. Sam Langster had been
there, Jack Reeves, Bert Hasselton.
They had spread the news through
out the club that Billy Lane was en-
gagged. They had thronged around
him with congratulations.
Billy was very popular. Everybody
liked Billy, because of his exuberance
his buoyant enthusiasm, his unfail-
ing good-fellowship. They had wished
him well! They had wished him a
long life and a merry one; they had
drunk to his eternal happiness. More
of the fellows had come, shoals OF
them. Billy had never been so happy
in his life. This was the greatest day
in all his years! He had secured, to
be his wife, the best, and the sweet
! est, and the most beautiful girl in all
| the world. the girl whom he meant to
shield and protect from every harsh
wind, so long as their lives should
last! All day he had been in state
of exaltation which in itself was akin
to intoxication, and now that eXalta-
ton had been raised to it's tenth de-
gree by all his effervescent friends.
Only Tommy Tinkle had been absent,
and Billy had waited for him, just a
few minutes, and had drunk again
and again in response to all those
friendly toasts. He had not for one
minute forgotten that he had an en-
gagement with the Stuarts! He had
finally torn himself away from the
jolly company, though not without
some rudeness, and, when he was out
side in the air, he had congratulated
himself aloud on having gotten away
He must be little late. There'd
probably be no time to dress. He
mad looked at his watch, swaying
with blinking eyes. 1t had been diff
fcult for him to properly focus his
gaze. His watch couldn't be right!
He had stumbled into his car; and
there he was. with the ring in his
hand, Tavy's ring, and the door closed
against him, and, inside, some one
sobbing! He rang the bell; he knock
ed on the door; but no one came!
Yes, some one was sobbing. 1t
was Tavy! She was young. She could
still sob, she could still shed tears,
she could still bury her head upon a
loving shoulder and find comfort
there.
For long, long time, Jean Stuart
sat on the couch and held her daugh-
ter in her arms, held her there until
after she heard the shuffling footsteps
in the hall move away, and the ele-
vator stop. and shoot downward; !;
held her there until the mist of the
night came in chill at the open win
dow. She felt the chill upon her flesh,
which had fastened upon her heart!
She kissed the tear-stained face, at
last, and rose, quietly, firmly, stead
lily. She helped Tavy to her feet
and, with an arm around her, drew
her toward the dainty little deft ana
white room. There were the pretty
dresses to take off, and all the pretty
hnery to put away, and many, many
things to lock, far, far from sight in
the hidden recesses of a heart which
was already crowded with the useless
lumber of broken hopes and shatter-
ed dreams.
But what of Tavy? From her
stupefaction she had awakened to a
frantic sense of humiliation. How
could Billy have put this shame upon
her! lie had covered her with dis
grace before her mother, before her
self, before him! 1t had been much
as If her fresh and pretty gown of
delicate chiffon had been suddenly
drenched in a muddy stream. That
blow to her pride was one from
which she would never quite recover.
That first establishment had taken
from her forever some of her delicacy,
it had thrust her rudely into the most
loathsome sordidness of life. and she
would never again have quite her
same degree of self-respect. How
could he have done this thing to her!
She would never forget that british
distortion of his face, that swinish
animal which had stood swaying be-
fore her in so gross q caricature of
Billy! How dared he! Resentment
rose fast in her and became anger.
She was furious with him! She loath-
ed him! She despised herself for
ever having turned to one of such
bestial capabilities a pure and wor-
shipful alteration! Why, she had
looked upon him as some wondrous
being only one step lower than the
archangels, a perfect and flawless
creature of splendid grandeur! She
laughed bitterly. How foolish she
had been not to have seen through
him to this creature of base clay! 1t
had not seemed possible that there
Oh, why had he destroyed her idealsi
Why! She had been so happy, SO
proud in his love, and in her own!
1t had seemed so wonderful to nestle
there in his arms, in that quiet mo-
ment after their first transports, and
look forward into the heaven of the
future to where they two should walk,
side by side, toward q rosy
sunset of perfect peace and happi-
ness; and now it was gone, all, all
gone, and there remained nothing but
blackness!
1t was then that the pent-up misery
broke within her, and the tears welled
up to her eyes and the sobs to her
throat, and she felt about her the
comforting arms of the mother who
had not found any word, amid all the
bitterness of her crushed heart. to
speak her own mortal hurt or give
one crumb of comfort.