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Show To the Land of Content MBanssaHsassaBBBSHMSMnBaMM By RICHARD BARKER SHELTON .X Illll I ! IIIIIIIIWIHII Ill llll I1III IISIIWIIIIIM1IW (Copyright, 1910, by Associated Lttcrnry Press.) Tho winter twilight was falling. Outsldo It was dull and gray and somber, som-ber, but within the big, luxurious room where Itobcrt Wald paced restlessly to nnd frb, tho soft lights and the flickering flro on tho henrth and tho familiar backs of tho many volumos on tho well-filled shelves rnado a warmth nnd cozlncsB all tho more pronounced pro-nounced 'bocaUHo of tho dreary day without But for all tho ovldencos of creaturo comfort about him Wald was strnngo-ly strnngo-ly distraught. On tho open desk In ono corner of tho room lay pons and paper and Ink and In the wasto basket beside It woro several crumpled llttlo balls notos ho had begun and then Irritably destroyed, to begin all over again. Ho paused In front of the flickering flro for a moment nnd with his hands behind his bnck stood Btarlng fixedly at tho leaping Homos, his brows furrowed fur-rowed lb deop nnd evidently unpleasant unpleas-ant thought. Then, with a shrug of his shoulders, Indicative, seemingly, of his determination to begin tho most unpleasant taiik, ho caught up a half-burned half-burned cigar from an nsh-tray on tho table, flicked tho ashes from it. lighted light-ed It and turned slowly to that open desk In tho comer nnd its waiting contents. But oven as ho took up tho pon a whir of wheels sounded on tho pavement pave-ment without. Ho stopped to tho window Just as a carriage drowup to tho curb and a smart footman, springing spring-ing from tho box, held open tho door, while a trim, fur-clad flguro steppod from within, crossod tho curb and ran lightly up tho stops. Wald followed that flguro with hungry hun-gry oyos. Then a door opened and closed; light footstops pattered up tho 11 sr "Mr. Wald Left a Note for Me?" stairs in tho hnll; tho carriage rattled off through tho gray dusk or thp win-tor win-tor twilight nnd Wald, with sot teeth and narrowed eyes, turned again to the desk. Ho drow up a chair, picked up the pon again and dipped It Into tho bronze Ink well; but after that ho sat ror a long tlmo Irresolute staring llxedly at tho desk. . Then, upstnlrs, ho heard a voice, a low, pleasantly modulated volco, talking talk-ing to ono or tho mnlds. He shut his teeth nnd resolutely pullod one or tho blank sheets or paper toward him. "My dear Ruth," ho wrote. "Tho crash has como. They havo wiped mo out. Norcross and tho crowd ho has with him havo been too much ror mo. Everything is gone. "I don't enre so muah ror myseir. I nm not yet an old man and I havo my two hands, ns clear a head and .as much onergy and enthusiasm as over. Indeed, I bolleve In somo ways I shall wolcomo tho struggle. Thoy can embarrass em-barrass mo temporarily, but they can't down mo. "But I nm rrlghtrully sorry for you. I know what position and power have meant to you that they woro as tho vory breath pf life to you. I realized how much happier you have been since wenlth and n certain amount of prestige have como to us. I dread to think what tho curtailing of theso must mean to you. "I have managed to savo out of the ruin and leavo to you In your name tho house here, tho place at Cedar-hurst Cedar-hurst and what will bo, 1 fear, a pitifully piti-fully Inadequate Income for you. It was tho host 1 could do. You nro to keep up what semblance of your happy hap-py days you can with It. By tho time you read this I shall be on my way wjst to start afresh. I cau't live here on this money. I havo managedcto hold back from the wrock, for that Is not my wny. It would causo endless com- Inept. I should feol I -was sheltering , behind your skirts. With you it will be different. I owo you this much at y least. Yours always, ' "BOB." Ho read tho brief noto through, was rather Inclined to add to m It a few things of a bit moro personal nature, but upon second thought decided to let It stand as it was. Ho folded tho noto, placed It In an cnvolopo, addressed It to his wlfo and rang n bell on tho tabic. "Edward," he Bald, when tho butler answered . his summons, "give this note to Mrs. Wald at half-post soven. Not boforo understand?" Then, ad tho man Bllpped noiselessly noiseless-ly out of tho room, Wald donned his cont and hat and went stolidly down tho front stopB to tho wlntory street. Ruth Walt, standing at tho head of the stairs, had heard those brief Instructions In-structions to Edward. No aooner was tho front door closed bohlnd her husband hus-band than sho summoned Edward to her. "Mr. Wald loft a noto for mo?" she asked. Somehow sho felt somo vague- & premonition that troublo Impended.- 't , "It was to bo delivered at half-past' seven, ma'am," said the Imperturbable Imperturb-able Edward. "Bring It to me now," sho commanded. com-manded. Alono In her room abovo tho stairs sho road it, gosped and road It again. Then sho called for tho carriage and hor wraps. Ten minutes later she was bowling along tho cheerless atroots, covered j now with n flno, powdery snow which was sifting down, toward tho station, ', Arrived thoro, sho sent back the carriage, car-riage, looked up on a tlmo tablo tha schedule of western trains and' took I up hor vigil at tho gates a half hour 1 before tho departure of each and wait- J ed thero until tho g'ates wcro closed I as tho train Btarted. It was not until nine o'clock that I sho saw her husband coming through I I tho wldo center arch to Uic train Bhod. J L Sho hurried away fromf tho"'gato and" " - : I from a dletnuco watched him show his I ticket, pass through tho gato and i down tho platform. Then Bhe, too, I passed down tho platform and boarded 1 ono of the ordlnnry coaches, I Tho train had pullod out into tho 1 cold night. Tho city was behind and I In tho whlto, open country, whoro I lights were growing moro and moro i Infrequent, tho train was gathering . ! Bpecd. I Robert Wald sat stolidly" In his sec- i tlon of ono or tho sleepers, his fnco a closo to tho frosty window pane, B watching tho whlto landscnpo slip I pant I Ruth had read his note by thlB tlmo, n ho reflected. Sho had probably wopt I over It perfunctorily nnd then called I up Hastings, tho attorney, to soo what provision had been made for hor. Ho smiled to himself ns ho fancied her relief when sho found It waB so amplo. Some ono had sat down besldo him f without so much ns asking leavo. I Wald turned, stared In unbeller, and then sat up very straight. "Ruth I " ho cried. 1 Silently hor hand was slipped Into 9 his own, Just as it hi'd been wont to 1 do in thoBo old, old dayB tho days of ' I tho first struggles, whon thoy had sit together In tho shadows of evening, eve-ning, building nlr castles together and-droamlng and-droamlng great dreams. "Whero aro you going?" he stammered stam-mered at length, Inanely. "Whoro nro you going?" sho asked j very quietly, J "Me? I don't know. West somo-whore. somo-whore. I'm going to start ovor, I'm " Sho smiled and her fingers tightened tight-ened about his own. "Then thnt is whero I am going. WeBt somewhere,' to start all over with you." "You cant," ho said, almost harshly. "U moans" "Don't I know what It means?" sho asked. "Work, work, fight and struggle, strug-gle, Just as it was In thoso glorious days before. And In tho evenings we'll dream our dreams and build our' air castles all over again. Oh. Rob-ort, Rob-ort, you silly, silly, boy, you thought It was what wo got that I cared for; but you wero wrong. It was tho struggle that was the real fun tho fight against odds, close together, oh, bo very closo together In those days, Bob, dear, you and I." " In tho back of tho car two grinning porters watched a couple in a certain section and nudged each other delightedly. delight-edly. "One o dem yera spoony middle-aged middle-aged honoymoonB," said the first. "Uh-huh," assented Number Two. I "Oughter fall fer good fat tips, de oltj. I boy had." j |