The herald., 1920-12-16
Love and Jealousy
By WALTER J. DELANEY


on one person solely. Her tance, Ar
thur Wultham, was a truly devoted
lover, but before he had known FL
yira he had been pretty constant
visitor at the Randall home, just
across the street from that Of Elvira,
and that was enough to inject senu-
meut Of suspicion and dislike as 10
the daughter of the hOuSe-Blanche.
To Elyira she was heartleSS tlirt.
BY others she was considered com
panionahle rather than tlirtatious.
She was a beautiful girl and loved
variety and excitement. Everybody
knew that she was engaged to a
wealthy New Yorker, away in Europe,
and the young men who danced at
tendance upon the exaCting beauty
were well aware Of this fact, but the
charm Of her company was worth the
seeking, even transiently.
As to Blanche herself. she had
frankly told her intimate girl friends
that she was bent upon the full en-
joymeut of life until she settled down
into wifehood. Elvira was too sensi-
BILE 10 tell Arthur Waltham of the
secret pangS she had endured when
ever she saw him enter the Randall
home. II was possible that Blanche
suspected her jealousy and took GER
tain delight in showing her supremacy
over men in general Only once had
Waltham alluded to the circumstance
of his being a good deal at the Rand
all home.
Burton Randall and I were college
chumS and | count him as my dear
est friend" he told Elvira. Lately
we have been rehearsing a little com
edy we are to present before the
alumni down at old Chester. so we
spend a good deal of time together"
That satisfied Elvira for the time
being, but when she would see Walt
ham and Blanche in the garden Of
the Randall home her soul would
expand with resentment. He always
spent Thursday evening with Elvira,
and she counted the hours until Sun
day arrived, when she would have
him with her again. One particular
Friday was a day OF morbid anxiety
and Indebtedness when, late in the
afternoon. she saw Waltham enter the
Randall home carrying a suit case.
In a morbid mood Elvira watched
from the curtained window, and when
dinner was announced pleaded indis-
position and sat at her post, a tor
turing jealousy nawing at her heart.
She aroused TO a new token Of inter
est as Waltham came out into the
garden about dusk and opened the
doors of the garage. He turned on
the lights. worked about the automo-
bile and then hOnked the horn. At
once q hurrying figure arrayed In q
dress Blanche wore frequently, for
II was a favorite with her, and very
tasteful and becoming, indeed. as FL
vira had TO acknowledge, came to the
garage. was beseated beside Waltham
and away sped the machine.
"Oh, this is unbearable" quavered
Elvira. "If Arthur was all he pre-
tends to be to me, he would have
told me something about this. He
placed a suitcase In the car, Blanche
carried her wraps as II for q long
drive and"-and there poor Elvira
broke down utterly and sobbed forth
her desolate misery for an hour or
more.
All kinds Of foolish notions filled
her mind. She even imagined an elope-
ment as the hours wore on, and she
never removed her glance from the
house opposite.
"You look wearied, quite ILL.," her
mother commented as Elvira forced
herself to come downstairs at break
fast, but Elvira made some trivial al
fusion as to q bad headache, and
eating little and talking less, immedi-
ately retired to her room TO renew
her miserable vigil.
About ten O'clock in the morning
the Randall automobile circled from
the street into the garage. The figure
in that hateful. familiar dress went
at once into the house. It wrenched
Elvira's heart to see her lover pat
her shoulder with reckless familiar
ity that shocked her finer sensibili-
ties.
With set lips and strongly deter
mined eyes Elvira went out into the
garden and seated herself on a rus
tic bench facing the home where
waltham seemed to be so welcome a
visitor. Two thoughts were In her
mind-to ask her parents to allow
her to visit q relative at a distance
for a prolonged period. to write Walt
ham that his brazen perfidy had
placed q forever irremovable barrier
against all the future.
The door Of the house opposite
opened. Arthur Waltham came down
the steps, sprightly, smillng-faced. As
he cast a glance at the home of his
dear one he must have caught sight
of the figure on the garden bench
Elvira shrank and shivered as he
crossed the road, quickly leaped the
hedge and was at her side.
"a complete SUGGEST he cried
buoyantly. 1--WE got word, Burton and
I, to come down to the alumni jam.
boree too late yesterday for me to
get an explanation to you. Our lit.
tie act, with him the heroine Of our
little sketch, arrayed in his sister,