The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1924-02-29
! FRIDAY, FEBRUARY, 20, 1922
Scmswds Ja 5aak G1z5n sssas ID ssnee 'ni& y
Ck) 7BlLACK OxENG
n GERTRUDE HTHERTON &I6u
Published with Associated First National
Watch version produced BY Frank
Lloyd with corlnns Griffith Countess Zsttlany.
Copyright Anterior
h GERJRuDE XTHERTON


certrud. Anterior '''~'
lighted BY electricity. but the gas
remained in her own suite. and the
room was lit by faint yellow flames
struggling through the ground.
glass globes at four-sids brackets.
The light from the Goals was
stronger. and a. It fell on her bony
austere old face with its project.
ing beak, Clavering reflected that
she needed only Q broomstick. He
really loved her, but q trained fac.
ulty works - tmDersonally a. q
camera.
He smoked in silence and Mrs.
Oglethorpe stared into tho fr4.
She. too, was fond of her cigar, bit
tonight she had shaken her head
as Hawkins had offered the box,
after passing the coffee. Her face
no longer looked sardonic. but re.
Taxed and sad. Clavering regarded
her with uneasy sympathy. Would
1t be possible to divert her mind?
Lady Jane" he began.
Il wish you would call me Jane
tonight, I wouldn't feel 20 intol
erably DID,"
"Of course I'll cali you Jane. but
YOUTH never be old. What skeleton
have. you been exhuming?" He
was In for It and might az we'll give
her Q lead. Z
ITS Mary Ogden" she said ab.
ruptly and harshly. ,4.
"Oh-I wondered how you felt
about It You certainly have been
splendid" -
What else could DOT She was
the most Intimate friend Of. my
youth, the only woman I ever had
any real affection for. had al.
ready seen her and recognized her.
I Suppose she has told you that I
went there and that she treated me
likeaAui 4Rtruddng stranger. But I
knew she must have some good
reason for it-possibly that she
was here on some secret political
mission and had sworn to preserve
her incognito. I knew che had
been mixed up In politics moro
than ONCE. I thought l was going
mad when saw her. but never
suspected the truth. The light was
dim and I took for granted th9a
some one of those beauty experts
had made a mask for her, or ripped
her skin Off hardly knew what
to think, so I concluded not t.
think about It at all. and succeed
ed fairly, we'll In dismissing II
from. my mind. was deeply. hurt
at her lack OF confidence In me.
but I dismissed that. too. After all
it was. her right. do al I choose.
why, shouldn't she? And remem.
bered that she always did"
Here Clavering stirred upeasily.
when she came to me here lasE
Tuesday and told me tho whole
truth | felt as il I were listening
to new chapter out q: the Bible.
but on the whole was rather
pleased. than otherwise. ! had
never been jealous OF her wnen
we were young. for was married
before she came out, and she was
so lovely to look at that I was
rather grateful to her than other.
wise. After her marriage used
to. meet her every few years In
Europe upyto some three or four
years before the outbreak Of the
war. and IT often made me fs,l
melancholy as saw her beauty
going :. :. until there was moth
Ing left but her style and her hair.
But nothing else was to be, expect
ed. Time is brute to all women.
-. So. while she sat here in
this room so radiantly beautiful
and so exquisitely and becomingly
dressed. and leaning toward me
with that old pleading expression y
rsr1embeFsd !, SO well: when she
Wantsd,, Something and knew ex,
aclly hdE to so to work to get it:
and looking not a day over. thirty
we'll, while she was here I felt
young again myself anu I loved her
as much as ever ana felt It d privi.
lege TO look at her. I arranged .
luncheon promptly to meet several
Of her old friends and put q stop
to the clacking that was going, on
I had been called up eight times
that morning. e.-a. could have
boxed your ears, but OF course Il
was a natural enough thing to do.
and you had no suspicion. Well. 40
soon. az she had gone I wrote to
twelve women. giving them = bare
sketch OF the truth. and sent the
notes of In the motor. And then
I went ana looked at myself in the
glass" T.. 80
She paused, and Clavering rose
involuntarily and put his hand on,
her shoulder.
Never mind, Jane" he said
awkwardly. what does It matterf
You are you and there's only one
Of the kind. After all It's only ono
more, miracle Of Science. You
could do It yourself II you liked"
II? Hal! With twenty.thres
grandchildren. may be q fool but
I'm not . damn fool. 40 James used
to say. What good would II do nj
to look forty? had some iookI
left ut that age but with no use for
them as women, 80. "a have less
now. But Mary was always lucky
"a daughter Of the gods. It's just
like her damned luck to have that
discovery, made in her time and
while she is still young enough to