Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-01-06


move him; he had been faithful to that
memory of her. But he could not de-
stroy for her what he saw was her only
salvation. He sat back and folded his
arms.
"Then you are, indeed, blessed among
women" he said. rather quantity.
He left her in the lobby of her hotel
and, standing there, with his hat in
his hand, he told her that he had never
forgotten her, that he still cared, that
she could count on him always. She
thanked him gravely, her eyes on his
face as though she wanted to impress
| it on her mind afresh, or as though she
were storing up some memory for the
years to come. AS indeed she was.
She went back to Wesley. She put
on her pretty new dresses, her smart
hats. Mr.. Gibson might have drawn
her; she had the delicacy, the wistful-
ness that he gave his young women, the
same proud little tilt to her head. But
Mr. Gibson never saw her and Wesley
did not notice
Wesley's interests were extending.
He was much more than middleman
now; he was a director in Tommy'S
bank. in a new insurance company, a
Stockholder in the bicycle business, in
the automobile factory. Tommy was
carrying him up with him. And some
of Kirbys dreams were already coming
true Men were flying; still expert
mentally, but conquering the air. The
idea had become the fact.
They did not go away that Summer;
Wesley was too busy. And the heat
was terrific. 1t shimmered in visible
waves above the tracks of the street
cars and people dropped on the pave
ments as if they had been pole-aXed.
Even the nights brought no relief. The
tall brick house was breathleSs, torrid,
and Eddie was ill; he could not eat, and
in his fitful sleep he whimpered. Missile,
hanging over him like pale ghost, felt
both her strength and her endurance
failing, her nerves gradually getting the
better of her. Eddie's doctor, looking ct
her, prescribed bromideS she forgot to
take. She felt always as though there
was a tight band around her head.
The beginning of Eddie's GONZALES
cence found her collapsed. She drag
ged herself about the sizzling house. In
| the basement kitchen the stove had
rendered the room unbearable, and the
cook was sitting in the coal cellar fan
ming herself. Eddie was better, but pale
and languid.
Take your milk, darling"
st don't want any milk, muvver."
BY the end of the week she had
reached her limit. Her request that she
be allowed to take Eddie out of town
had met with no response from Wesley,
packing a bag for a week end party
somewhere. There began in her, with
his departure, a slow smoldering anger
and resentment that, unknown to her.
was growing throughout all of that aft
ernoon into the next day. Sitting over
| the child's bed she counted her money.
She must get away, take Eddie with
| her The house was crushing her, the
heat was driving her mad.
She had not enough money. She was
| his chattel, his creature. 1t was his
| house, his child, his wife, his carriage,
his horses. A furious hatred began to
shake her, and all that Sunday while
Eddie slept she sat and rocked, back
ward and forward, her eyes sunken
and her mouth set. Something Of Stella
that was in her, something common
and yet terrible, was rising to the sur
face.
And Wesley chose that night to at
tempt a reconciliation! He had had
hint of two lately. Tommy, about to
sail, had said something.
How old are you, Yves? Fifty?"
Forty three"
"Humph! You look older. Better
| try the domestic life for a while. No
use wearing out machine before its
time"
And behind those quiet words of
Tommys there had been a threat.
Tommy was carrying no dead wood.
Push your share or let go, that was
Tommy. Competition, speeding up,
drive, those were the new slogans. He
felt that he had coined them.
II was midnight when Wesley came
in, cheerful, cool, magnanimouS, and
braced to his resolution by three or
four highballs at the club. He noticed
nothing strange about Missile, sitting
rocking in the dim room.
Come into my room" he said 81
have something to say to you"
The hall was family redolent of
Scotch whisky as she followed him.
She was fully dressed, queerly apathetic.
And even then things might have been
different had Wesley not closed the
door behind her and tried to take her
in his arms. She backed of. He was
suddenly horrible to her, his mouth
loose, his legs apart to steady himself
She warned him off, but he came after
her. And then, with catlike gesture
that might have been Stella's, she
seized a poker from the fireplace and
struck him with it.
He fell down and lay still.
She stood on the pavement, hatless
and breathed the night air. She was
through. He would never take her back
Maybe she had killed him; we'll she
haQ warned MIN. linen she was dizzy,
and she began to tremble again. She
sat down on the doorstep; she thought
It must get back and get Eddie >
But she could not get up; she could
not move at all. Some time later she
heard movements within the house
slow, careful movements. She felt
that the door behind her was goine
to open, and that she must run
run fast and far But she could not
run. And the door did not open; she
! heard the bolt put on, and the SLOW
movements again; Yves going up the
staircase. She had not killed him.
Suddenly she knew that she had tt
get back into the house, back to Eddie
She was frantic; she rang the door
bell, hammered on the door. Above
she knew Wesley heard her, could ever
figure him, partially undressed, SITTING
on the side of his bed and listening
. She even thought she heard Eddie
But there was no movement, only aftel
time the bell ceased to ring. Wesle,
. had disconnected 1t. There was an ali
of finality about the bolted door, tn,
bell that did not ring. Wesley wa.
through, and he was telling her SO
She was beaten.
With that knowledge she quieted, he
! Colfax blood came to the surface. Sh,
moved away down the street toward he
: grandmother's house.