Tombstone epitaph., 1917-11-18

around. and marched back into his
own cubbyhole.
You needn't telephone. Miss
Beach," said Rodney curtly. And.
without another word. he put on his
het and overcOat. walked straight over
to the club and told the man at the
cigar counter to get him a ticket for
tonight's performance Of THE Girl
Upstairs"
1t was after five. and he decided he
might as well dine here. So he went
up to the lounge. armed himself with
an evening paper. and dropped into a
big leather chair.
But all his carefully contrived en-
vironment hadn't the power. II seemtd,
TO shift the current of his thoughts.
| They went on dwelling on the be-
havior Of Miss Beach and young
Craig. which really got queerer the
more one thought about it. &.
lie flung down his paper and went
into the adjoining room. The large
round table nearest the door was pre-
einpted by a group of men he knew,
and he came up with the intention OF
dropping into the one vacant chair.
But just before the first OF them caught
a glimpse Of him his ear picked up the
phrase 1.-THE Girl Upstairs" And
then q lawyer in the group looked up
and recognized him. Hello. Aid
rich." he said. and the fash Of
silence that followed had a galvanic
quality. The others began urging him
to sit down. but he said he was look
ing for somebody. and walked away
down the room and out the farther
door.
He knew now that he was afraid.
Yet the thing he was afraid Of refused
to come out into the open where he
could see ii and know what it was.
He still believed that he didn't know
what it was when he walked past the
framed photographs in the lobby Of
the theater without looking at them
and stopped at the box office to ex-
change his seat. well down in front.
for one near the back Of the theater.
But when the sextette made their
first entrance upon the stage, he knew
that he had known for q good many
hours.
He never stirred from his seat dur
ing either of the intermissions. But
along in the third act he got up and
went out.
The knout that fiogged his soul had
score OF lashes, each with the sting
Of its own peculiar venom. Everybody
who knew him. his closer friends and
his casual acquaintances as well. must
have known. for weeks. of this dis.
grace. His friends had been sorry fol-
his acQuaintances had grinned over
II with Just pleasurable salt OF
pity. DO you know Aldrich? Well
his wife's in the chorus at the Globe
theater. And he doesn't know it, pool
devil"
The northwest wind which had beer
blowing icily since shutdown, had in
creased in violence to.a gale. But ht
strobe out of the lobby and into the
street unaware of 1t.
, He found the stage door and pulled
ii open. An intermittent roar Of hand
, clapping, increasing and diminishing
, with the rapid rise and fall of thu
. curtain. told him that the perform
, ance was just over.
A doorman stopped him and aske;
him what he wanted.
II want to see Mrs. Aldrich," b,
said. Mrs. Rodney Aldrich."
, mo such person here" said tn
, man. and Rodney. in his rage. simpl!
, assumed that he was lying. 1t didn'
occur to him that Rose would hav,
taken another name.
He stood there q moment, debatin,
I whether TO attempt to force an en-
, trance against the doorman's unmis
taxable intention to stop him, and de
cided to wait instead.
The decision wasn't due to common
, sense. but to a wish not to dissipatl
: his rage on people that didn't mat
!, ter. He wanted it intact for Rose.
He went back to the alley. bracet
himself in the angle Of brick pier
:, and waited. He neither stamped hi
feet nor failed his arms about 10 driv'
off the cold. He just stood still witt
. the patience of his immemorial ances
tor. waiting. unconscious of the laps
Of time. unconscious Of the figure
y that presently began struggling out o
the narrow door that were not she.