The Seattle star. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1899-1947, 1920-11-03

Imagine the scene Frank. white
hot with the cry OF a man wound
ed TO death bursting from him.
10 explain. lie catche. her wrists
and tears them from his shoulders
once. twies. thrice he sways her
this way and that-the stage man.
ager win show you how-and
throws her from him TO the floor a
huddied. crushed. meaning thing.
Never, he cries. win he look upon
her face again. and rushes from the
house thru the staring groups of
astoniahed guests.
And, now, because n In the Thing
instead OF the Play. the audience
must stroll out into the real lobby
OF tho world and nl1rry. die. grow
gray. rich. poor. happy or sad dur
ing the intermisHion Of 20 years
which must procede the rising Of the
curtain again.
Mrs. Barry Inherited the shop and
tho house. At IS she could have
bented many an is-yearold al a
beauty show on points and general
results Only few people remem-
bcred her wedding comedy, but she
made OF IL no secret She did not
pack II in lavender or moth balls.
nor did she Heil IL 10 a magazine.
One day q middleaged. money.
making lawyer. who bought his legal
cap and ink Of her. asked her across
the counter TO marry him
I'm really much obliged 20 you. =
said Helen. ehecrfuily, but I mar.
riad another man 20 years ago. He
was more . goose than man, but
think I love him yet ! have
never seen him since about half an
hour after the ceremony. Was IL
copying Ink that YOU wanted or jus,
writing fluidy-
The lawyer bowed over the counter
with oid-tlfne grace and left q re
spectful kiss on tho back Of her
hand. Helen sighed Parting nalutes
however romantic, may be overdone
Here she was at IS. beautiful and
admired. and all that che seemed "a
have got from her lovers were re
proaches and adieus. Worse stlIl, In
the last one she had Loot customer
too.
Business ianguinhed, and she huns
out a Room TO Let card. Two iarg.
rooms on the third floor were pre-
pared for desirable tenants. Room
ers came. and went rcgretfufiy. 10,
the house OF AIRS. Barry was tn.
abode OF neatnees. comfort anc
taste.
One day came RaSnonsi. the violin
isf- and engaged tho front room
above The discord ard clattel
uptown offended his nice ear: 30 4
friend had sent him to this oasis Ia
the desert OF noise.
Rarnonti. with his stiri youthful
face. his dark syebrown. his short
pointed. foreign. brown beard, hi,
distinguished head Of gray hair. and
his artists tsmperament--reve
In hS light gay and synpa thetis
manner~-was a welcome tenant In
the old house near Abingdon square
Helen lived on the floor above the
store The architecture OF IL wa.
singular and quaint. The hail wal
large and almost square. Up one
aide OF II. and then across the end
OF II assembled an open stairway "a
the floor above. This hall space She
had furnished as a sitting room anc
office combined There she kept her
desk and wrote her business letters
and there she sat of evenings by Z
warm fire and a bright red light and
scwed or read Rzmonu found The
atmosphere so agreeable that he
spent much time there. describing tc
Mrs. Barry the wonders OF Paris
where he had studied with a par.
ticulariy notorious and noisy fiddler
Next comes lodxer No. .. a hand
some. melancholy man In the early
eos. with n brown. mysterious beard
and strangely pleading. haunting
eyes He. too. found the society OF
Helen desirable thing. With the
eyes OF Romeo and Othcllo's tongue
he charmed her with tales OF dis
tant chimes and wooed her by re
spectfui ifnuendo.
From the first Helen felt q marvel
Gus and compelling thrill in the
| presence of this man. His voice
somehow took her swiftly back 70
the days Of her youths romance
| This feeling grew. and she gave way
| TO II. and IL led her to an instructive
belief that he had been factor in
that romance And then with q
woman's reasoning toh, yes. they do,
somctimesl abe ieaped over common
syllogisms and theory, and logic. and
was sure that her husband had come
back to her. For she saw IN his eyes
| love. which no woman cnn mistake,
and a thousand tons of regret and
remorse, which aroused pity. which
Is perllously near 10 love requited
| which In the sine qua non In the
house that Jack built
But she made no sign. A husband
who steps around the corner for 20
years and then drops In again
should not expect TO find his slippers
laid out too conveniently near nor a
match ready lighted for his cigar.
There must be expiation. explana,
ton, and possibly execration. A lit
tie purgatory, and then. maybe, II he
were properly humble. he might be
trusted with harp and crown. And
so she made no sign that she knew
or suspected
| And my friend. tho reporter
could see nothing funny in this Sent
out on an assignment to write up a
roaring. hilarious, brilliant joshine
story of--but | will not knock a
brother-let us go on with the story
One evening Ramonti stopped in