| OCR Text |
I 1 A copyrighted by the authors pub company kendall waiting tor a car wondered somewhat anxiously 1 he should find miss at home everyone appeared to be out enjoying the first spring weather the sidewalks were thronged and bicycles and biles darted audaciously among se dater vehicles As he boarded his car kendall glanced up arapahoe street the spire of st elizabeth s pointed to lawless azure but creeping up behind the he noted a rim of gray three hours later he stood again by the mining exchange shone bluely through whirling snowflakes disgruntled chaffi eura urged wheezing autos over slippery streets and grumbling shivering men and ft omen hurried to catch outgoing cars kendall aglow with happiness braced himself against the storm as a young god might he bad found miss kinsolving at home he had found her in her prettiest gown and most charm ing mood when he plead for the hundredth time perhaps that she say when she would marry him she had cot put him off but had set an early date and now he was trying to de vise an excuse for calling again that evening his car but he could not enter till a determined storm buffeted worn an had superintended the loading of her wheel kendall was fastidious finical his friends called him A lady perched on bicycle or steering a horseless car ariage through crowded streets offend ed his sense of fitness he recalled the effort it had cost him to prevail upon miss kinsolving to confine her to old fashioned means of lion and contentedly that he mused was the begin ding of my success until then our en ga gement even was a flimsy affair I 1 hal never myself the more determined marion never would have been ready to marry me the thin man sitting opposite ken dall looked across the evening trib une and addressed bis portly wife here s a stor yette by a local writer marion kinsolving he observed the paper gives her a puff says it is a distinctly clever study of emotions it isn t true to life the man wins the game his sweetheart determines to have an automobile and he dissuades her kendall was interested marion he knew was mildly literary had she made copy of hima he opened the tribune hastily when he reached home the clever study was a photograph kendall scarcely read he lived again the scene when he reached the point where marion figuring as miriam kingsley advised him in biting tones to seek a sweet heart with ideas as ultra as his own kendall felt his jaw setting into bit ter disappointed lines but when in the next sentence george wendell s jaw did likewise he was angry enough to thrust the paper into tre fire but he went on as eager as if he did not know the end the girl having de dared her intention to comport her self on all occasions precisely as she chose rose to leave the room passing her lover she deigned to glance down at him and the wretchedness in his face startled her she wavered then sank to a hassock that hassock how often had kendall begged to privilege of nitting on it so close to malron hat he kendall drew forth the tr bune as he seated himself bes de her could watch the tempting play of ex pres slon la her eyes the anger died in the girls face the man remained unmoved tears misted her eyes even yet kendall wondered at his obduracy her pret ty head drooped and rested on the of his chair where the glow from pink shaded candles made so site a sheen upon it that wendell melted and touched it caressingly how did marion know that her hair re fleeted the lighta and why at least could ohp not have colored the shades blue or yellow when his counterpart had won the day and was rapturously happy ken dal started up crushed the paper in totals to pocket and set out for M ss alnio Kl nio lvang soshe aree chiro f courageous she cried blithely to brave this storm there s a roaring fire in the library let us sit there I 1 wall build air castles and ou shall pit foundations under them kenalll drew forth the tribune aa aie seated himself beside her how could you mariona he ased reproachfully Is nothing sacred to oua she laughed gaily quarrels not gasn wasn t it lovely that they ac cepter if whenever you venture to disagree with me I 1 am going to write you up and have you printed bit his lip perhaps you enjoy shouting our heart history from the house top I 1 would have cut my tongue out before I 1 would have told all that to my best friend so would I 1 agreed miss ing cheerfully kendall stared confiding in a friend she contin aed Is quite d efferent from publish ing a bit of fiction Fiction 7 Is not this as faithful an account as ani could to be sure if it conform to human nature it would be valueless as fiction I 1 find portrayed a type of lovers quarrels such as thousands have indulged la what matter whether you and I 1 have done soa ah type said kendall say that to inquiring friends such a striking dissimilarity even in names marion kinsolving miriam kingsley frank kendall george wendell why people can t help but recognize us I 1 rank ou are positively foolish you are no more likely to be lecog nihed as george wendell than you would be as bartholomew huxtable possibly not without ohp names there is evidence enough to convict us I 1 am engaged to miss kinsolving and I 1 detest automobiles miss kinsolving taboos automobiles though most ot her friends affect them she wrote this story and in it her double is ed by the identical argument I 1 used voiced by an hero who re berbles me strongly enough to be my twin some one is sure to note the coincidence and presently eve one we know will be collecting evidence to corroborate the cusp cion frank do you really think we will be recognized 7 I 1 wish I 1 had a doubt of it returned kendall gloomily there was silence in the room miss kinsolving was so obviously agitated that kendall felt half mollified we must disarm suspicion she said at length there Is just one way unless faltering slightly you wish to break our engagement marion what a suggestion then to morrow you and I 1 must go about town in a horseless carriage george wendell induced his fiancee to abandon it ou and I 1 take up the sport it will be clear that you are not georga wendell there Is too much snow said kendall grimly there won t be on the pavements to morrow afternoon I 1 m so sorry frank penitently whispered miss Kinso hing when they returned the following day from a de spin through the crisp indig orating air her cheeks wera glowing her hair was fluffed by the breeze but her eyes were serious I 1 don t care ever to ride in an automobile again do you know manon returned kendall you never in your life were lovelier |
