New-York tribune., 1918-12-22

They looked at each other.
For the first time their relationsb;, -.
before him in all it's clearness Ths. ,.s. ~s.'o
previous to their conversation bad
submerged in his feelings now stood t.-..
sharply, in bold relief. Three years 49, '@
he had left his native town becaps. l.
discovered that his love for Anna verhl.-z
was futile. Her heart was given to And~..
Belkin. So he journeyed away to save b;.s
self, to forget, to heal his wound.
She, too, recalled what people b.a 90.
her, that Vilbushevitch had given m ~.
good position on account Of her and W.
left town She bushed.
He looked at her sharply, and asked .;.,
affected nonchalance: "How's Belkin ~
Tears came to her eyes.
"Killed"
"When? Where7"
"At Grodek, during the retreat fror, r.
licia7
"Ah-h"
Words failed him completely H. b.,
not cared for Belkin. Not only bec.r..
Belkin had been his successful rival in Ioro
Even before this he had not liked him ans
had looked upon him as a highly connected
fellow
After long silence, during which :.
seemed TO be given over to recollect;on,
vilbushevitch spoke again. "Killedv Ina
then, hurriedly, as if catching himself
How are you? Why did you Gomez
1t had become lonesome at homo e..
said, and monotonous. All her friends b,a
been taken to war. For some time she had
been Red Cross nurse, until it had be
come more than she could bear. She bsa
seen too much blood, too many wounds too
much death. So she had wandered forth
into the great world, to seek little res.
to gather new strength
He laughed. The great world gives n
new strength; it takes away the old. Now
she asked again how he was getting alOnp
what he was doing.
He did not care to answer her oues-
tions.
"No; I'd rather talk about my home
town. Tell me. ."
He began to ask after people and places
She answered gladly, speaking with enthu-
siasm. They were both happy to be back
again in their native village, discussing
old friends and rehearsing former years.
And he looked at her and thought that
she had changed but little But she had
become more beautiful than ever, and it
was, perhaps, the suffering of the last few
! years that had engraved in her eyes that
depth which they had lac ed before And
he felt that his love for her had merely
been sleeping.
Suddenly she spoke. "Why don't you
ask after your mother?"
'My mother? You know her, them"
"Of course. I made her acquaintance
just recently. 1t was from her that got
your address. Haven't you written to each
other at all %
No. He had not received letter from
his mother in long time. Her eyes had
become very weak and writing was very
difficult for her
Now she must tell him all she knew
about his mother. She spoke, and he
thought how little Anna had troubled to
inquire about him ali this time. Only
when she had resolved to journey to the
capital had she learned about him through
his mother.
He knew it was silly, but he could not
refrain from asking. "and before that you
made no inquiries about me at all?"
She replied with counter question;
"Did you make any inquiries about me?"
He lowered his head in embarrassment
Indeed, true. He had made none. But
he had had q reason. He had wished to
forget. She had made no inquiries about
Il 81
ed in him, because he was nothing to her.
He did not put it to her as buntly as
this. He merely said, "There is differ
ence"
She understood. "And you really want
ed to forget ?" she asked, coquettishly.
He said, awkwardly:
"And you never remembered me-
She laughed. No; she was not bad
as all that. For long time she had heard
news of him, made inquiries about him.
until the unfortunate war had broken out.
And how had he been freed from service?
His mother did not understand this point
clearly, either.
Vilbushevtch turned red He did not
wish Anna to know of his heart trouble,
even as he had not wished his mother to
know of it. So he mentioned an illness
Of which he had been cured long before.
Now he was completely well. He looked
upon her with glance that must have
convinced her of his sound health.
They conversed for a long time-abOut
conditions at the front and behind the
lines; about hard times and hunger and
the government.
1t was so pleasant to have her all to
himself. He had her as his guest for din
ner, helped her locate a room and to move
into it, and had her again as guest tcr
supper, after which they went to theatre.
He in exalted mood. Never hao
he been SO long together with her alone
He found it hard TO keep from telling her
of his painful experiences with the ocn-