OCR Text |
Show ITBEL ft H Wkauttt m hjr Brand "WniTwciG ' IK ILLUSTRATIONS - -dMmn !l COPYRIGHT 1907 DY DOOB3rtXftU ' SYNOPSI8. Senator Morlcy Vernon's visit with hln (lancro was Intorruptoil liy n call from bin political boss at tlio fltato capital. Both tvKrpttod It, the vlrl mora than ho. ljccauso she liad arranjjed to attond a dliiniM1 that evening with him Hlio Raid fllio yearned for a national olllco for him. On Vcrnoii's desk In tho senate he found ft red roue, accompanied by a plea for auffrafto for women. He met the authoress, au-thoress, pretty MIhs Maria Oroeno of ChlcaRo. who proposed to convert him Into voting for house resolution No. 19. Miss flrcene secured Vomon's promlso to votn for tho suffraBe resolution. Ilo also aided hor by convincing othtira. Ho took a liking to tile fair suffragette. Miss Oreeno consulted with the ll)Utcnant-:ov-ernor. Vernon admitted to himself that the suffragette had stirred-a strango feeling feel-ing within him. Ho forgot to read his llanceo's letter. Vewion mado a great speech In favor of suffrage, aided by glances from Miss fircone. Tho resolution was mado a special order. Vernon was enthusiastic on the prospects for tho resolution. res-olution. He was much In Miss Qrecno's company. Vernon neglected thoughts of Amelia. Ho took Miss Oreeno driving nnd laid out plans for tho success of the resolution. reso-lution. Vernon's speech caused a great newspaper sensation. Ho waa being neglected neg-lected by Amelia, who had not answered his letter. Vernon Is "tipped olT" that his snffrngo resolution may not pass. As Miss Greeno wns duo the following morning morn-ing ho had no fears. Miss Oreeno arrived ar-rived ani'v. breakfasted with Vernon. Across the dining room entrenched behind be-hind women opponents of tho suffrngo resolution, he spied Amelia. Ilo started toward her. Sho treated him coldly nnd the women opponents of suffrage reproved re-proved hlrp for his part. Mrs. Hodgc-Lathrop Hodgc-Lathrop told 8enator Vernon that his conduct with Miss Oreeno had been hard upon Amelia. CHAPTER XIL Continued. Ho looked at his watch; It was half-pnst half-pnst nlno; tho senate would convono nt ton; tho resolution would not bo reached beforo half-past ten ut any rnto; and so ho determined to brnvo Mrs. Overman Hodgo-Lnthrop again. Ho turned back Into (ho lobby; there sho wns, hobnobbing with men; sho did not pass from group to group, after aft-er the manner of any other lobbyist, but by somo coercion he wished ho might bo master of, sho drow thorn unerringly un-erringly to hor Bide. Now she had Braidwood, tho loader of tho house, and chairman of tho steering committee, commit-tee, and Porter, tho leader of tho senate. sen-ate. Sho nppenred to bo giving them Instructions. Sho hnd sot hor committee on less Important gamo; tho ladles wore scattered scat-tered ovor tho rotundn, each talking to a llttlo set pf men. When Mrs. Overman Over-man Hodge-Latlirop saw Vornon coming, com-ing, sho turned from Braidwood and Porter nnd stood awaiting htm. Strangely enough Braidwood and Porter Por-ter stayed whero thoy wore, as if sho had put thorn there. And Vornon ro-llected ro-llected that ho had novcr known them, ns doubtless no ono olso had over known them, to dp such a thing ns that beforo. "Where's Amolla?" ho nskod beforo sho could speak. "I have sent her upstnirs," said Mrs. Overman Hodge-Lathrop, "poor child!" Vernon wondered why "poor child." "It's really too bad," Mrs. Overman Hodge-Lathrop continued. "What is too bad?" demandod Vornon. Vor-non. Ho had grown sulky. Mrs, Overman Hodgo-Lnthrop looked at him pityingly. "Morloy," sho said In a vast solemn tono thnt cumo slowly up from her grent titays, " I can mnko allowances; of course. I know somothlng of tho nature of mnn; I will admit that that Greene woman Is romnrknbly handsome, hand-some, and of hor clovorncsB thoro can bo no doubt I don't altogether blame you." Sho paused that Vornon might comprehend com-prehend to tho fullest her mnrvolous magnanimity, "But nt the snmo tlmo It has been hard on poor llttlo Amelia. I saw no othor way than to bring hor down. You must go to hor at onco," Sho turned toward Braidwood and Portor, still stnndlng whero sho had loft thorn. "When you have dono, I'll seo you with reforenco to this misornblo resolution; reso-lution; but that can wait till wo aro at tho capltol. This othor matter comes first, of course." Sho smiled with a fat sweetness. "And, Morloy," sho said, "order two cnrrlngos for us at ten o'clock. You may drive to the capltol with us." And she went away, Vornon ordorcd tho carriages; and In turning the whole mutter over In his mind ho ( cam to the conclusion that bo must dial with theso complications r. ono nt a time; Miss Greene, ns events now had shaped themselves, would huvo to wait until ho got ovor to the Stale House. CHAPTER XIII. Vernon found Amelia In ono of tho hotel parlors, seated on a sufn by a window. Sho was resting. her chin In hor hand nnd looking down into Capltol Cap-ltol avenue. "Amelia," ho said, bonding ovor hor. I 'What Is it? Tell me.' He Bat down beside her. and sought to engage ono of her hands In his own, but sho' withdrew It, and pressed it with the othor and tho handkerchief In both, to her Hps nnd chin. Vornon glanced about tho respectable parlors, maintained in instant readiness for anybody that might happen nlong with his llttlo comedy or his llttlo tragedy. Flung Himself Back on the Sofa Helplessly. Sho continued to look obdurately out of tho window. "Amelia," ho said, "aren't you going to speak to mo? Tell me what I have dono." Still there camo no answer. He Hung himself back on the sofa helplessly. help-lessly. "Well," ho said, "I don't know what It all moans. 1'vo tried to fnthom it in tho last hour, but It's too deep for mo; I glvo it up." Ho flung out his hands to lllustruto his abandonment. "God knows," ho suddenly exclaimed, ex-claimed, "I was only trying to do something worthy for your sakol" "Please don swear, Morley," Amolla Amo-lla said. Ho looked up swiftly. ".Well" ho began, explosively, but ho 'didn't continue Ho relapsed Into n moody sllenco. Ho strotched his logs out beforo him in an ungainly nttltudo, with his hands plunged deep in his trousers pock'ots. Then he knitted his brows and tried to think. "I ouppoBO," ho said, as if- he wero thinking nloud, "that rou expect some explanation, some apology." "Oh, not at all," sho said, lightly, In the most musical tono sho could command. "Very well," he said, "I wouldn't know whero to begin If you did. I'm sure I'm not nwaro of having " Sho began to hum softly, to herself, as It wore, some tuneless nir. He remembered re-membered that It was a way sho had when sho wns angry. It was Intended to show the last and utmost personal unconcern. In such circumstnnccs the tunowas apt to bo an Improvisation and was never, melodious. Sometimes it mudo hor easier to deal with, sometimes some-times harder; ho could never tell. "I don't exactly seo what wo aro here for," ho ventured, stealing a look at her. Sho had no roply. Ho fidgeted a moment and then began drumming with his fingers on tho arm of ho sofa. "Please don't do thnt," sho said. Ho Btopped suddonly. "If you would bo good enough, kind enough," ho said it sarcastically, "to Indicate to suggest, oven, what I am to do to say." "I'm sure i can't," sho said. "You camo. I presumed you lind something to say to me.'.' "Well, I hayo something to Bay to you," Vornon went on Impetuously. "Why didn't you answer my letters? Why have o'ou treated mo this way? Thnt's what I want to know." Ho leaned toward her. Ho was conscious con-scious of two emotions, two passions, struggling within him. ono of auger, almost hate, tho other of lovo, and strangely enough they hnd a striking similarity in their effect upon him. He felt liko reproaching, yet ho know thnt was not the-way, and ho mndo a desperate des-perate struggle to conquer himself. He tried to look Into her face, but sho only turned farther away from him. "I'vo spent the most miserable weok I ever knew, doomed to stny bore, uri- nblo to got away to go to you, and with this flght on my hands!" "You scorned to be having a fairly good time," tho girl said. "Now, A'molla, look here,", said Vornon, Vor-non, "Iet'B not act liko children nny longer; let's not havo anything so foolish fool-ish and llttlo between us." His tono mado his words a plea, but it plainly had no effect upon her, for sho did not answer. They sat there, then, In sllenco., "Why dfdh't you write?" Vernon do-mnnded do-mnnded after a llttlo while, Ho looked at hor, and sho straightened up and her eyes flashed. "Why didn't I wrlto!" sho . ox-clnlmod. ox-clnlmod. "What was I to wrlto, pray? Were not your letters full of this odious odi-ous Maria Burlaps Greeno? And as if that wero not enough, weren't tho papers pa-pers full of you two? And that speech oh, that Bpeoch that Portia nnd Helen, and 'I fill this cup to ono made up,' ah, it was sicltoningl" She flirted away again.' ' . ' j "But, darling," Voruon cried, "listou you misunderstood I meant nil that for you, didn't you understr.nd?" Sho stirred. ' j "Didn't you see? Why, dearest, I thought that when you read tho papers you'd bo tho proudest girl alive!" ' Hor Hp curled. "I read the papers," sho said, and then added, slgnillcantly, "this onco, anyway." "Well, you certainly don't Intend to hold mo responsible for what tho papers pa-pers say, do you?" Sho resumed her old attitude, her elbow el-bow on the nrm of tho sofn, her chin in her hand, and looked out tho win-dow. win-dow. And she began' to hum again. "And then," ho pressed on, "to como down here and not oven let me know; why you even called mo Mister Ver- ( I non, when I enme into the dining t . room." r j "Yes," sho exclaimed, suddenly 1 wheeling about, "I saw you come Into the dining room this morning!" Her eyes grew dark and Hashed. Ilo regretted, on tho Instant. "I saw you!" sho went on. " I saw , you rush up to that Murlu Burlaps Greene woman, and oh, it was hor- i rid!" "Her name isn't Burlaps, dear," said I Vernon. "How do you know her name, I'd liko to know!" She put her hnnds to k her fnce. He saw her tears. J "Amelia," he said, masterfully, "If you don't stop that! Listen we'vo t got to got down to business." jfl Sho hastily brushed the tears from J her eyes. Sho was humming orico more, nnd tupping the too of her boot on the carpet, though sho was not tap- j5 ping It in time to her tune. t "Why did you come down without f letting me know?" Vernon went on; : but still sho wns silent. u "You might nt least have given I me " I "Warning?" site said, with a keen inflection. & "Amolla!" he said, and his tono car- f ried a robuko. m "Well, I don't care!" sho cried. "It's all true! You couldn't stay for my dinner, but you could come down hero 4 and" 1 Sho covered her face with her hands J and burst suddenly Into tears.' Ver- ; non gazed at her In astonishment. "Why, dearest!" ho said, leaning ovf and trying to tako her in his f arms. She drew nway from him nnd f sobbed. Vernon glanced about tho room helplessly He pleaded with her, but sho would not lluton; neither would sho bo comforted, but continued. ! to sob. Vernon, In a man's anguish with a weeping woman, stood up. $ "Amelia! Amelia!" He bent over H hor and spoko flrmly. "You must not! Listen to mo! Wo must go over to" LJ Suddenly ho stood erect, and Jerked ' out ills watch. I "Heavens!" ho cried. "It's half-past 1 ten!" J Sho tried to control herself then, gt k and sitting up, began to' wipe hor oye3. j M (TO I3E CONTINUED.) ' S |