The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1921-10-01

b-ain strain he had felt in the old
wears. his poor head three laps be-
hind in the effort to keep pace with
CGta's talk. If anything, Cora had
-pecder I'D since he had seen and
heard her last and II anything. ne
WAS slower and less alert. lie tound
him aelf missing whole topics as she
rushed over them, and not yet fully
crashing what she had said about
topic before last. Morley Smith had
a feeling that very soon his head
was going to begin aching fright
fully. He could see himself finally
ushered from the door an absolute
mental wreck, collapsed, inane. while
Cora continued TO talk eagerly. He
could see himself to,terinG down the
hrownstone steps. played out and
done up.
"AH-aw-" he mutterrd once or
twice, but II was in vain. Cora did
not pause. She sped on. He felt
that his eyes were becoming glazed
that he could not even try tn keep
up with her thoughts. He gave up
entirely and just let her talk and
talk. She was having a grand time.
as il she had not had an OppHrtu-
nifty such as this for many long days.
Morley Smith drew protecting
robe Of inattention around him and
jrst let her talk. He knew Cora. He
/ knew she would talk on like this
for hours. She had always been like
this. She had
Slowly. in his quiet ret"c. OF In
attention. his own mind grow less
numb and hogan to function nor
mally again. The first real thought
was that Cora must have seen a
beauty doctor. because she used tn
have a small mole just at the edge
! Of her nose. His second was that
she actually seemed younger than
when he had seen her last. Wonder
rul person, Cora! Talk. talk. talk
for years, as she was talking now,
and grow younger. How could a
person manage it? You'd think
, don't you know. that So much talk
Issuing from u mouth day after day
and year after year, would wear the
mouth larger and larger. like a
stream issuing from cave. but, BY
JOve. Cora's mouth was smaller
The eternal stream Of Cora's talk
flowed over and around Morley
Smith without pause. He had never
heard Cora pour forth 30 many
words. She had never been such q
flood. He felt like a drowning man,
except that he felt already drowned
utterly submerged and numb and
dead In the flood.
! Smaller. Yes. actually smaller
than 1t used to be. Maybe, he
thought, mouths were like that. Per
haps. don't YOU know, they grew
smaller the more you used ofem. Then
he noticed her eyes. They certainly
we're bluer than they had hecn.- a
brighter blue. But perhaps he did
not remember AZ clearly as he mag
ined he did. At any rate he was
glad Cora had begun talking at the
old rate. don't you know! BY Jove.
yes, what? Suppose she had cam
oufiaged herself with silence! I say!
He might have been grasped by his
old liking for her and have proposed
marriage before he knew she was
the same old talker that had numbed
and frightened him years before.
Same old Cora! Same outspoken,
dear old thing!
II say!" he said to himself. pro-
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! submerged him. Il say! I'm
lucky chap, what? Feeling bit
soft and all that sort OF thing when
came, she might have nabbed me
Off, what?"
Behind him there was rustic OF
soft silk and he turned his head. In
an instant he was on his feet. There
was O break in Cora's talk, as II she
had closed the sluice suddenly. and
the woman who had just entered the
room came forward. her face smiling
and pleasure in every softly traced
wrinklet-if the prettily rounded
lines OF a face may be called wrink-
let's. Certainly they were not wr!n-
kles.
well, Morley Smith" she ex-
claimed and put her hand In his.
"But-but I say. Cora. you dear
old thing!" he stammered.
For this was Cora, the Cora he
had known. The other must be her
daughter. az like the Cora he had
known as could be, but-as he now
saw-not like her at all. Not quite
the same nose, not quite the same
eyes, not as tall. Not nearly as
queenly.
You remember you used to call
me that" the woman asked. pleased.
She spoke slowly and as II choos-
Ing her words. 1t was as II It was
difficult for her to speak. The girl,
however, had begun again. She was
explaining how Morley Smith had
come and how she had not known
him at all, but thought che must
know him because he seemed to
know her.
"Yes, dear" the woman Cora said.
rather YEARLY.
The girl Cora was not to be stop
ned by anything so slight as that,
however. She talked on. rushingly.
She knew now. she said. how she
had come to think she knew him. It
was that old photograph she had
seen once or twice, and she had met
so many people And so on. and
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