Mexico weekly ledger., 1922-01-05
CHAPTER I'M.

Royal blO0Ulu went SlFdiBnL LEULu
Nina to the tea table, which was al
most deserted now. Harriet say him
coming, and she knew what hour had
come. She stood up as he reached
her. and they measured each other
narrowly, with unsmiling eyes.
There was reason for her paleness
today, and for the faint violet shadows
about her beautiful eyes. Harriet had
lain awake deep into the hight. toss
ing and feyerish, She had always
thought that he must come back for
years the fear had haunted her at
every street crossing. at every ring Of
Linda's doofbelI. At first II had been
but a shivering apprehension Of his
claims, an anticipation of what he
might expect or want from her. Then
came a saner time. when she told her
self that she was ar Independent hu-
man being as well as he. that she
might meet his argument with argu-
ment, and his threat with threat
But for the past year or two her
1~essening thoughts Of him had taken
new form. Harriet had hoped that
when they met again she might be in
a position to punish Royal Blondin, to
look down at him from heights that
even his audacity might not scale.
That time, she told herself In the
fever of the night. had not yet come.
Her pitiful achievements, her beauty,
her French and Spanish, her sober
book reading, and her little affecta-
tons Of fine linen and careful speech,
all seemed to crumple to nothing. She
seemed again to be the furious, help
less, seyenteen-yearOid Harriet of
the Watertown days, her armor inef-
fectual against that a and self
confident presence.
She had forced herself to unbind
the wrappings, to look at the old
wound. She had gone in spirit to that
old. shabby parior to which Linda and
Fred had carried Josephine's crib late
every night, and where sheet music
had cascaded from the upright plano
She saw. with the young husband and
wife, a fiery, tumble-head girl Of hf.
teen or sixteen, who helped with her
sisters cooking and homework, who
adored the baby, who planned q future
on the stage. or as a great painter, OF
as a great writer-the means mat
tered not SO much that the end wal
fame and wealth and happiness foI
Harriet.
Fred had brought Royal BlondIn II
to supper q night, and Royal had
laughed with the others at the spirited
little waitress who delivered herself o.
tremendous decisions while she cam
and went with plates, and forgot Il
take Off her checked blue apron whez
she finally slipped into her place.
The man had been q dereiict then
as now. But he was nine years olde
than Harriet Field. he had had th'
same delightful voice. the same pen
etrattng eyes. He had brought poetry
mnsic, art. into the sordid little pario
Of the WATERFOWL apartment; he ha,
helped Harriet to tame and hous
those soaring ambitions. She Eel
again those kisses that had walked tn
tittie-gifi heart into passionate won
anhoOd; she shut her eyes and presses
hes hand tight against them. 80 youny
$50 happy--se couadentt-psnngin
headlcng Into that saaFing bfaeknes
And now Royal Biondln was 1bae
again. and she was not ready fSE HIN
She could NOT score now. But b
could hurt her irreparably II b
would. Isabelle was al indlfferek
mother, and an ~incorngible firt, br
at the FIRST word, at the first initial
there would be no arguing. no weigh
Ing Of the old blame ana responsible
ityi II there was the faintast ciou
Of doubt, that would be en0ughi
Harriet had shaken back her man