The L'Anse sentinel., 1919-05-02

huu-IetuTneu. Eacn tlme ncr tele
phone rang, 1t was his voice she ex
pected to hear. She began to read q
meaning into his silence. She could
think of nothing else than the strange
coincidence that had brought their
lives again close. Or was it coinci
dence? That idea sent her thoughts
far zfield.
She was thinking too much of him
for pence Of mind, those days of wait.
ing. bat the return of the old lover
had made a wonderful break In heI
life. Her eyes were brighter; hel
smile was less forced. She spent most
Of her days at the sewing machine. A
lot of ince was whipped onto lingerie
frocks OF pale colors. She was q dis
ciple of an Eastern esthete. "Women,'
he had said. SHOULD buy lace, not by
the yard, but by the mile."
As her fingers worked among the
laces and soft mulls. her mind roved
down avenues that should have been
closed to her, wife. She would have
protested, had anyone accused her OF
fnfidelity in those days, yet day by day
she was straying farther from her hus
bands side. She convinced herself
that Toms gibes and ill-humor were
getting harder to endure.
1t was inevitable that the woman of
harem training should relive the Law
renee days. The enmity of those two
men. both her lovers, was pregnant
with romantic suggestion. The drama
OF desert and river centered now in the
story of Gerty Hardin. Rickard, who
had never married! The deduction,
once unveiled, lost all It's shyness. And
every one saw that he disliked her hus-
band!
She knew now that she had never
loved Tom. She had turned to him In
those days Of pride when Richards
anger still held him aloof. How many
times had she gone over those unreal
hOursl Who could have known that
his anger would last? That hour In
the honeysuckles; his kisses! None Of
Hartiin's rougher kisses had swept her
memory of her exquisite delight-de-
iirious as was her JOY, there was room
for triumph She had seen herself
cienr Of the noisy boarding house. Her.
self, Gerty Holmes. the wife Of pro-
fessor; able to have the things she
crnved. to have them openly; no longer
having to scheme for them.
It was through Richards eyes that
she had seen the shortcomings of the
college boarding house. She had ac-
CURED q keen consciousness of those
Iuixzicnl eyes. When they had isolated
her, Mt last, appealing to her sympa-
thy or amusement, separating her
from all those boisterous students, her
dream Of bliss had begun.
In those days, she had seen Hardin
through the eyes Of the young instruc-
Tor. younger by several years than his
pupil. Her thud of disappointed anger, \
Of dislike. when the face of Hardin
pcered through the leafy screen! To
have waited, prayed for that moment,
and to have 1t spoiled like that There
had been days when she had wept be-
cause she had not shown her anger
How could she know that everything
would end there; end. just beginning
Her clearinghouse training had
Taught her to be civil. 1t was still
rivd to her, her anxiety her tremu-
ousness-with Hardin talking forever
n . play he had just seen; Rickard
growing sitter, angrier, refusing to
ock ut those lips still warm with his
Kissesi
And the next day, still angry with
Ter. All, the puzzled desolation of
Isoss weeks before she had salved her
,prt; with pride. and then with love
Those days Of misery before she could |
,euvince herself that she had been In |
ore with love, not with her fleeing
orcri Hardin wns there, eager to be |
,oticed. That affair. she could see
Now. had lacked finesse.
Richard had certainly loved her. or
rhy had he never married? Why had
10 lefl 80 abruptly his boarding house
n midterm? Doesn't jealousy confess
wet Some day. he would tell her
rhnt n hideous mistake hers had
eesi She ought not to hive rushed
TO that marriage. She knew now II
ID always been the other. But life
Tns not finished. yeti
The date set for her summer
vfdowhood" had come. but she lin
ss-A vssiouA u.asonS sulendid and