The Lambertville record., 1926-12-30


seen her In right clothes; just house
dresses and apron things. There, be
side me, was one Of the prettiest
girls I'd ever seen in my life She
was dressed all in black mourning
for her uncle-aud 1t set off her fair
skin. II made her red hair look like
autumn leaves, kinda flaming aud yet
soft. I'd mostly seen that hair bun
died up in dusting cap. Well, |
guess | gawked at her before rose
TO my feet, and Polly was confused,
too, and kept looking away from me
1--WE can't say anything private
here she said. Maybe you'd better
come to my room
81 told her | guessed that would be
all right, for I'd said ! was her hus-
band when | came In.
"'Oh, she says, did your Then
it's all right. Come along.
1--WE went up and she opened the
door and | went into her ROOM
Claude's pipe went out. There was
silence in the room us he filed It, but
Claude did not feel it. He had for
gotten that he was telling the story to
Ned He had forgotten everything
that belonged to himself in the pres
ent. He was back In the past, seeing
the shy, awkward Claude Dabbs on
the threshold of thai girls room. He
remembered that already it looked
different from the rest of the house.
She had flowers in a vase on the
rough, cheap, pine dressing table.
She had spread clean towels on that,
on the bureau and on her trunk, dis
cardng the dirty-looking scarfs that
had adorned them. They had been
too SHY to look at each other. lie had
stared out of the window.
Every time Dabbs brought his eyes
around to her, he caught her looking
at him, and finally she laughed,
II was wonderful, that laugh. II
made him feel young again. He had
been feeling like an old man, with II
weight of sorrow and care on his
shoulders, but that girls laugh had
made him feel his own age Her
laugh was young and spiced with
deviltry. Back of 1t all was the new
strange feeling the girl gave him
He saw himself solemnly giving her
the papers He watched her while
she put them carefully away In II bag
and counted out the rest of the
money There had been a moments
Hwkwardness over that, he remem-
bered He had made an involuntary
movement of his hand, to give II back
to her, but she as inyoluntarily,
thrust 1t back ut him. Then he
laughed, folded II up and put 1t away.
But he did not go. He had known
that he shorNl h"t he 9""i" not "a
1Ivsr, =. =, ., e,a.s--
awkwardly enough at first.
Then suddenly they were no longer
the Claude and Polly of the boarding
house days. but two young things who
had lots to say to each other, and en-
joyed saying 1t,
She told Claude OF her plans. She
meant to travel and study and see
everything. She was fond OF reading
Indeed, she had read and planned in
u
for a girl, a servant girl, too. but he
noted that she did not ask about his
plans. Every time their conversation
touched his life, present or future,
she changed the subject. Then he
knew that she meant him TO under
stand she would have nothing to do
with him after tonight After tonight,
Claude would not see her; after to.
night she would he away enjoying
things, out in the freedom OF the
world, with money, and she would
have no use for him no use ut All
II had eaten into the young CAudes
consciousness that she was going to
use him as shield until she met some
one she really cared for Then she
would drop him, and his name. After
tonight" echoed and re-echoed in his
mind, and he forgot that he had no
right to expect anything else, for he
had taken her money Jealousy grad
ually took possession of him He
watched her talk and smile II struck
nine. Ills train had gone,
lie did not go merely sat watching
her, lie had known. even then. that
she saw what she had done to him,
and II had gone to her hend. He had
been one of the "huarderS'' in the ola
days, one for whom she must fetch
and carry. Now he was Mt her mercy
He began to think Of lots Of things
Il at proved she had not been MS in
different to him in those old boarding
house days as she had pretended.
Even before the money came. Polly
Johnston. the man-haler had soft
spot for one man-Claude Dabhs. All
unconsciously she had let him see
that Claude had wondered afterward
II II was not a conscious use of her
new-found power. He began to be
lIeve that 1t was not entirely by acci
dent that she had made him come to
her for the money, instead of having
the lawyer pay him. He had never
until then, guessed that the girl liked
him-that way. Rut now she told him
more than she meant, or knew, and
when she realized this, she pulled
herself up and began telling him that
the lawyer had arranged for her to
go to France. She would go as
young widow, TO people who would
help her: let her see everything and
do everything she wanted to do,
He remembered how the other,
younger Claude. after listening TO her
silently for awhile, had blurted out:
"When are you coming back?'
''Never !"
"How about me?" the young Claude
had asked. and realized as he said II
that Il was fools question.
And the girl had laughed.
''Oh, after tonight you won't count"
She had dared to say II, actually
dared to look him In the eyes and
say 1t.
as that so?" the boy had snapped.
and he had never been angrler in his /
life. Rebellion seethed within him.
And yet, he remembered, he had not
hated haE.