The Snowflake herald., 1920-12-03
A NoN-PARTIsAN NEWSPAPER
Love and Jealousy
By WALTER J. DELANEY
ht, 1920. Western NewspapeT : -

(Copyright 1920, Western Newspaper Oni.
Jealousy was the bane of Elvlra
Deane's life, but it centered ltselI up
on one person solely. Her fance' AT.
thur Waltham, was truly deVoteu
lover. but before he had known III
vira he had been a pretty constant
visitor at the Randall home, just
across the street from that of Elvlra'
and that was enough to inject sentl
ment of suspicion and dislike as TO
the daughter of the house-Blanche'
To Elvira she was heartless 1irt'
BY others she was considered com
panionable rather than flirtatlous
She was a beautiful girl and loved
variety and excitement. Everybody
knew that she was engaged TO
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-
ioyment of life until she settled down
into wifehood Elvira was too sensi-
BILE to tell Arthur Waltham of the
secret pangs she had endured when
ever she saw him enter the Randall
home 1t 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 | were college
chums and l 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 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 wretchedness when, late in the
afternoon. she saw Waltham enter the
Randall home carrying suit case
cd
from the curtained window, and when
dinner was announced pleaded indis-
position and sat at her post, tor
turing jealousy gnawing 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 a hurrying figure arrayed in a
dress Blanche wore frequently, for
it was a favorite with her, and very
tasteful and becoming, indeed, as Ell
vira had to acknowledge, came to the
garage. was beseated beside Waltham
and away sped the machine.
"Oh, this is unbearablew 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 if for a long
drive and"-and there poor Elvira
broke down utterly and sobbed forth
her desoate 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 connnented as Elvira forced
herself to come downstairs at break
fast. but Elv1ra made some trivial al
lusion as to a 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. 1t wrenche6
EIvira's heart to see her lover pat
her shoulder with a reckless familiar.
ity that shocked her finer sensibili
ties.
With set lips and strongly deter
mined eyes Elvira went ont 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