The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1924-04-06
TODA YES SHORT STORY
Miss Mallory's Way

Miss Mallory sat looking into her
mirror. 1t was an uncompromising-
ly clear sheet of glass, placed at an
angle where the light from two
windows fell directly upon the face
Of the reflected woman. Miss NAL
lory tried no consclusions with ma
ture; she did not flatter herself nor
palliate the inevitable. If there was
a new line in her face, new gray
hair, new sag, she wanted to know
it was there. True, she did what
she could to keep up an appearance
of youth before the world, but to
herself she dmitter of no subter-
fpge. She knew herself as nobody
else in the world knew her and
though she was, at her worst, charm
ingly graceful and attractive she was
far in excess of these when she APP
peared in public
There was no cream or powder or
rouge upon Miss Mallory's face now.
Her face was just as 1t had come fresh
from a generous bathing wit soap and
water, and it looked winsomes enough to
lead one to suspect that she was not
within 20 years of her age. She might
have fooled any one to think her 20
instead of 45. She had fooled Stephen
Bard.
This was what was troubling her.
She had met Stephen at debutante
dance where the chaperons had TAX
en- a hand. She had gone with the
Bennett girls and had let herself go
again in the joy of the occasion and
had danced as much as anybody. A
pink dress had added further to the
illusion of her youthfulness. She
bad, indeed, scarcely looked older
than the Bennett girls themselves.
And Stephen Bard had foolishly
fallen in love with her.
Since then she had not been able
to right hreself in his eyes. He fol-
lowed her admiringly, blindly.. Some
one must have told him that she was
old enough to be his mohter, and yet
again it was possible nobody had.
Two or three times she had been
tempted to tell him herself, but the
look in his clear, boyish eyes had
stayed her endeavor, She hated to
shatter the dream she saw in his
face; better to strike him damag-
ing blow.
Yet the thing was becoming seri-
GUS, and Miss Mallory realized that
sic uc1u IHC price VI SOUL III ,neE
hands. To kill Stephens happiness
meant to MAIN him for life. He
was sensitive, as all dark, slender
close-lipped men are; he was young 4;
he had had a wonderfully undis-
turbed life. She could not give him
his first wound.
Leaving her mirror, Miss Mallory
walked about her room trying to
think. Yet upon reflection it seemed
that she had studied every possible
way of getting out of Stephens life
and shutting the door behind her
without leaving him hopelessly alone
and bereft. ~,
She had tried to get him interested
in other girls. Her house was large,
her means plentiful, and she had
entertained again and again, hoping
that some debutante would draw his
regard from her, But Stephen con-
tinued to stand four-square to his love.
Now, pacing the room, Miss NAL
lory came face to face with a pic
ture on hte wall. 1t was a minia-
ture of a. child's head. Her little
second cousin, Sidney, whom she had
not seen since the picture was painted I
They were staying with her that sum
mer and she had well known artist
make tn eminature because the child
looked SO much, it was said, as she
had looked at the same age. She took
the picture in her hands, studing it,
considering. Since that long ago time
Sidney's parents had died and the girl