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Show j ) -1 r - . r . - ; . . . - - ?- ' l : ; i i ! 'Ty i r r ar-r ar-r , r It . . o t rrow , ' . 1 ' i very t . t. :'i '- : r. " m a: - ." T' : t s r : ' i, t"..? f :t :- of a, t .la ur.: -t:i: i let..- n t:.-: ', h- burned th-ir.-:ves Into V. rr.::.J, He Cou-tt cf a r.J-.!rel '-' f-'-rss- vTas marrwl. CYru::.: he fra-ter.'. fra-ter.'. 1 to love her fcuanJ. E'Jt It was evidently not wi heut ra!?a Cat she vvrote: "1 am alone!" fne must care for tlm, that was beyond be-yond doubt, but tne was not to be won like an ordinary girl, l.ke TruJt, for instance. in-stance. Poor Trudl! Well, never mind, trnt e 'ilr was over. lie 1 . J lunched hurrlpd'.y. then he found that he ts not shaved well enouuti, ran home again, and fur ths econd time made a very careful toliette and was Jj-t ready when a friend called, who talkei about the day's race until he thought that he would never stop, lie baruiy listened to him, answered carelessly and kept on looking at his watch. The friend noticed it at last and departed. He rus-hed to a fioribt to buy a bouquet of violets, which Helon lovtd, but could get rone, and so hud to ba satisfied with La France roses. When he entered Helen's boudoir it waa 1iiBi5. She looked charmingly English, like a picture by Burns Jones. Her furniture fur-niture was by Ashbee, and on the table was, of course, aa open volume of Dante. Gabriel Rosettl's poems, the beauties o which she had always tried to explain to him. but which, bo had. never beea able to understand. Today Helen was. however, reading an ordinary newspaper, in which she was o absorbed that she did not hear him come In until he stood behind her chair and touched her hand with the rosea. "How, you scared me!" she cried. It was ilka a greeting from another world. Ha stammered some excuse and looked rather sheepish. Ha had imagined their meeting different; had half expected that she should have th-own her arma around his neck with soii.e words like these: "Oh. my darling! At last I dare tell you how I love youl" That waa trhs way beautiful women used to speak In the novels nov-els he bod read. , . Helen could not tear herself from the paper. "May I ask what Interests yon ao much In the paperf.t the Baron asked, rather Impatiently. .' . "Oh, Jt is a story of a young girl who has cut her artery and has been found dead. It seems that aha had bad an unhappy un-happy love affair." "Terrible!" aaid the Baron, with an effort. ef-fort. "But why do you read emch things?" "You . are right," replied Helen, and moved her chair closer to his. "Let us talk of something else. But la it not strange, though, that a person can commit com-mit suicide for love? , Would you think of doing so?" Her eyes looked Into- his In such a strange manner that It made him .quite confused. "Helen." ha whispered. "Helen." "What doea that mean?" ehe asked, with a coquetthsh amlle. "I only ajked you if you could ever think of killing yourself. - "Please, do atop." the Baron groaned; "You are elmply terrible today. I understand, under-stand, of course, that these things interest inter-est you as an author; they may give you a plot for a melodrama but I am not at all Interested In suicides. I love living women, not dead." "Who knows but that, some girl may have committed aulclde for your sake. You are quite a handsome man. you have aristocratic handa and an elegant figure. But of course you have a good tailor." , "la that really all you see in me? Tou are real wicked today." "Oh. no! I am not, but I could easily understand that a young girl might fall furiously in love with you" "How about a yoking wife?" Helen laughed. "I am four years older than you are." 'That meana nothing." "And besides, wa hardly know each other. I know nothing about you. That is, of course, what everybody else knows. I know that you have spent a small fortune on different girls during the last few years, and that your stern father has called a halt and cut down your allowance." allow-ance." "Do not let us speak of that. Those girls were bad women, who cared only for my money. Not one of them baa had a heart." "Poor Baron!" "There was only one, the last poor TrudL She really did Jove me, but I got tired of her." "Oh, you must tell me all about that." .'There ia very little to tell. It waa a very simple affair. 1 met her a couple of times In the street, and then I spoke to her. She waa only 17 and knew nothing of the world. We made a few trips out of the city on. Sundays, but she always had to be home befpre 10 in the evening, as her mother waa waiting for her. In the fall, when It was too cold to go out of the city, she came to me, but at last she became tiresome. She ran after me everywhere, and was so jealous that she. made my Ufa unbearable. She was even Jealous of you; Helen." "But she had no reason." "Oh, you know ehe did have reason. Since I met you I have been as one bewitched. be-witched. I know no longer what I do. Can you not give me just & little encouragement." en-couragement." "But when your what Is her name? When your Trudl Is so jealous !" "I told her we must part last night; that It is all over between us." "You have dona that?" "So even you are going to scold, me. Really I do not know where I have you but tell me, why did you write, '1 am aloner " "Oh. It was Just an impulse." " "That I cannot believe." "Then I will be frank with you I believed be-lieved I was In love with you." "You only believed! Helen!" "Yes, yesterday and even today, but since you are here, since I have seen you and especially since you have told ma of Trudl" . . "What is the matter. Helen T" "Do you do you think that also the dead are Jealous?" "I do not understand you." "Let me finish, a terrible thought has struck me." "Because you have been reading that foolish story in the paper." He took the paper and was about to throw it Into the fire when he saw a short notice. His evea opened wide and ha trembled and turned pale. "FTefldle." Helen cried and threw her arms around his neck, but he tore himself him-self looe. He was nearly fainting with emotion. Helen wanted to ring the bell, but the servants could not sea him in this condition. condi-tion. She ran Into another room for water. wa-ter. When aha came back the Baron had fled. |
