Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-05-20
Without aChanCe

THE minute Cleo heard the door
L close. on Carey Phelps, she gave
way to the emotion that was sccthing
in her.
She sank into q chair and with i'm
potent little fists pounded on the arm
of it until her strength was exhausted.
She buried her face in a satin pillow
10 stinc her Sobs. and all the while she
realized that she could never quite bury
this evening.
1t was all over. Her dream had been
very short and. Of course. she would
never see Carey Phelps again. Iiut
she had carried it off. she hadn't let
him suspect how she felt. And to think
that 1t was Bob Ellsworth. man she
had never thought of seriously. who
had brought her this unhaprincss.
She recalled the moment when every
thing had gone black before her and
wrthcd in helpless agony. How had
Carey Phelps think of her: And then
that moment when she had opened her
eyes to consciousness and found hcr-
self in his arms Again that burning
flush crept up into her face as she
remembered everything. and afterward
had come her struggle to hide her emo
tion from him. She had fclt desperate.
trapped. and her one desire had been
10 get rid of him before she shricked
aloud.
Gradually the first paroyysm Of her
grief died away and size became Quictcr
She had cried herself out. and she felt
tired. beaten. but her brain was clear
end It went on thinking maddcningly.
or course. she was too upset emotion
ally to realize that she was "yaggerat-
ing everything honclCsSly Her mam-
ory Of the things Dick had said to her.
and the freshcr memory Of Roh's words
tonight. had filled her with self -loath- =
ing. and she was sure that in the cycs
Of Carey Phelps she must appear friv-
olous and not worth knowing.
Bob's rushing ont of the room tenn
pcstuously like that would give Carey
the idea that she had in some way
been unfair In her treatment of him.
The whole thing was miserable tan
gle. and she had finished the matter by
fainting away for no reason at all.
After time she dragged herself to
her room, undrcssed and crcpt into bed
where she finally dropped into AN ex-
hausted sleep.
! As for Carey. he had left the Ridge
field apartment in a somewhat puzzled
frame of mind. When he had called
Cleo on the telephone that morning
| there had been glad response in her
voice. he had been certain that She
wanted to see him. He had been ey =
ultant because he had taken the first
step and that he YVES succeeding SO
well.
Tonight. everything was different
She had dismissed him, and as far as
he could see. she had sent him away
without caring whether he returned or
not, , OF course, that wasn't truc the
truth of the matter was, the girl was
clever. She worked subtly. aud II,
doubt there was some very good rca .
son for the way sh" had acted tonight
/ There was possibility that she wantr~
ito piQue him. 10 roUS" his interest
through IN assumed Indifference. But
that faint, Surely there had been NJ
trick about that. He had held hcr
in his arms directly under tho light
and it would have been impossible I,
deceive him.
How Carey would hav" excited IL Ii
had known the truth. II he had knowr
how much Cleo had already idcalizcc
him. If he had not been 50 sure o
his own idea of her, if he had not beer
blinded by his prejudice, he would no
have been 80 ready TO believe that al
lnrtiticc of some kind lay behind every
thing she did and said.
As it was. Cleo hadn't the ghost o
a chance. She was condemned with
out hearing.