Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1922-03-16

! carved from cherry stones
| First In the foreground the cool.
| collared vision of Mr. Danziger. draw
| ing unto himself from the center Of
| the table great mass OF ths vari-
! coloreG chips. In silhouette she could
see her parent shutting a fresh deck
of cards. dealing them five times
around with aaoitiike motion. across
1 the tabletop. Then her gaze returned
and fingered upon the figure beside
| him. in godiIke calm opening the fan
| OF his cards ever so slightly. discard
]. ing. tossing his Offering OF chips
| lightly 10 the center OF the table. and
! every so often and with great fire.
! quency scooptng In the center loot OF
/ them.
Watching that vaudeville of sight
i without sound, the imperturbable
! breadth of his back, the imperturbable
line Of his profile. the muscles which
rose on the backs Of his hands with
each scooping-in. lights dlekered FOR
| 4 moment in Miss Lefisovitrh's eyes
then burned quietly in their depths
| like altar candles.
Suddenly, as she watched. chin
cupped in palm. head dropped into the
/ bunch of her shoulders, she leaned
forward. gripping the edge of the
| divan leaned closer, her quick breath,
/ too light TO flutter leaf, coming
| through her open lips. Passed quar-
| ter-hour. half, an hour, and still she
sat there immobile her hypnotized
| eyes on the mirror. Two spots of
color came out round and burning on
either cheek am. one heat wave raced
another through her body.
With the great effort of pulling her
strength together, she rose finally, but
trembled and grasped at the balcony
rail for support. Then, after last
interval, she tiptoed down brief car
peted staircase to the near door of the
| Lounge, lifted a fold of heavy brown
!. portiere, and slipped into it; stood
/ there an additional quarter-hour, her
hand at her throat.
Reaching out from that fold, she
might have brushed her fathers sleeve.
/ A waiter pussy-footed through the
! >
| moment. and with a deerlike bound
that landed her even farther than her
gauge, Miss Lefkovitch lit beside the
! card table, her small tight fingers
closing over Mr.. Danziger's relaxed
/ wrist The white face or a playing
card flashed upward for second and,
| wrenching it from his surprised fin
CHI da ha,. b of.l
waving 1t.
Il got you Got you! / saw him,
i pa. Saw him work it five times. Saw
him, pa Saw him every time" She
leaped toward her father, waving the
card higher above her head, the
tremOlo OF hysteria in her voice.
always under his cuff he worked
1.-THE far side. Look for yourselves
and see what else he's got there.
Here's the ace, pa. l done want it.
] Take it. Take it. Take it!''
In the sudden upheayal Of chairs
scraping backward and a great tangie
of arms flung across the table for the
wrist she had released. Mr.. Danziger
tugged free for the moment, made
/ Sluc luuse from the tdDic, Ills uuuci
4 jaw shot forward and his cuff
wrenched open.
"She-devil.' he cried. "She-deviI
1 lie'' Lunged again, but a sudden
group closed about him, muffiing out
his speech. and with the soft thud OF
/ graphing bodies in her ears, breathy
oaths, feet scraping against soft car
/ pets, chairs overturning, gurglings, she
fed trembling up the two decks, sObs
tumbling one over the other from her
dry lips.
/ In the Identical quiet Of the top
deck, mo0n-wa shed, Gibraltar rising
closer and blacker and hunch-backed
in the pale night, Mrs. Lefkovitch lay
mufied in sleep and steamer-rug,
her mouth open to the taste of salt
and her hand across her heart, as il
hurt lay there.
/. Beside the steamer-chair in hud-
die, Miss Lefkovitch buried her head
deep into the sag Of her mothers
skirt.
I Mrs. Lefkovitch woke with start.
Sleepy, her perceptions rose and fell.
'Who--who's that? Aaron?'
"N-no, mama"
"Esther-Athat you? Is that you
come back?v
"Yes, mama"
whats the matter baby; why
child, you look"
"No. no, mama, nothlng'S Don't get
excited
But Esther, what"
"Nothing, mama, nothing! forgot
and came back"
"Forgot?"
'"The key-ring, mama; the silver
key-ring. Give me!'
(THE END
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