Omaha daily bee., 1919-07-23
THE
WOMAN IN BLACK
Bu EDMUND CLERIHEW BENTLEY
pyright. 1s1s. by the Century company.

her on the following afternoon, he
made no attempt to excuse, himself.
This was formal challenge.
While she celebrated the rites of
tea, and for some little time there
after, she joined with such natural
ease in his slightly fevered CONVEX
sation on matters of the day that
he began to hope she had changed
what he could not doubt had been
her resolve, to corner him and speak
to him gravely. She was to all ap-
pearances careless now, smiling 50
that he recalled, not for the first
time since that night at the opera,
what was written long ago of 2
princess of Brunswick: Her mouth
has 10000 charms that touch the
SOUL She made a tour of the beau
tiful room where she had received
him, singing out this treasure o.
that from the spoils of hundred
bric-a-brac shops, laughing over her
quests, discoveries and bargainings
And when he asked if she would
delight him again with favorite
piece of his which he had heard her
play at another house, she consented
at once.
She played with perfection of
execution and feeling that moved
him now as it had moved him before
You are a musician born," he said
quietly when she had finished, and
the last tremor of the music had
passed away. Il knew that before
l first heard you play
Il have played a great deal ever
since | can remember. 1t has been
a great comfort to me-" she said SIM
ply, and half-turned to him smiling.
When did you first detect music
in me? Oh, of course! l was at
the opera. But that wouldn't prove
much, would it," :.
NO." he said, abstractedly, his
sense still busy with the music that
had just ended. 81 think | knew
it the first time I saw you" Then
understanding of his own words
came to him, and turned him rigid.
For the first time the past had been
invoked.
There was a short silence. Mrs.
Henderson looked at Trent, then
hastily looked away. Color began
to rise in her cheeks, and she pursed
her lips as if for whistling. Then
with defiant gesture of the Shout
ders which he remembered, she rose
suddenly from the piano and placed
herself in a chair opposite to him.
That speech of yours will do as
well as anything" she began slowly,
looking at the point of her shoe,
to bring us to what I wanted to
say. | asked you here today on
purpose, Mr.. Trent, because l
couldn't bear it any longer. Ever
since the day you left me at White
Gables l have been saying to my
self that it didn't matter what you
thought of me in that affair; that
you were certainly not the kind OF
man to speak to others of what you
believed about me, after what You
had told me of your reasons for
,suppressing your manuscript |
asked myself how it could matter
But all the time, of course, ! knew
it did matter. 1t mattered horribly
Because what you thought was not
true" She raised her eyes and met
his gaze calmly. Trent, with CON-
p1etely expressionless face, returned
her look.
"Since I began to know YOU" he
said, Il have ceased to think it,"
Thank you," said Mrs. Mander-
son; and blushed suddenly and
deeply. Then, playing with glove,
she added: But l want you to knew
what was true"
81 did not know if I should ever
see you again." she went on in
lower voice, but l felt that if l did
| must speak to you about this. |
thought it would not be hard to do
so, because you seemed to me an
understanding person, and besides,
woman who has been married isn't
expected to have the same sort of
difficulty as young girl in speak
ing about such things when it is
necessary. And then we did meet
again, md I discovered that it was
very d ficult indeed. You made it
difficult"
How" he asked quietly.
II don't know" said the lady. "But
yes-I do know" 1t was just be-
cause you treated me exactly as if
you had never thought or imagined
of that sort about me. |
had always supposed that if l saw
Won aoain Vol, would firm on me