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Show DEFEATED f EDWARD QRONfiON. (Corttskt.) When tlie chairman at tha Inspection Inspec-tion beard announced the closing of tho noils. Alnsworth, who stood Jusl within the rail, was conscious of a yiiclc thrill of anxiety and doubt. Ills reason told him tbahla plurality of a year twfore wns an earnent of success, i but Ms Instinct warned htm of fall. re. He relit his cigar and leaned against the railing with studied euro-iHunes. euro-iHunes. !le wished to keep his face exprcsslnnlcs during the count. Ill-rectly Ill-rectly opposite him stood the Turn-many Turn-many cnptnln, and he knew that the Tammany Inspectors were watching klnt ns tlioy prepared their tally klKts. lie cimlU supplest uny Mien f exiiltntlon if he won; hi iiiciint to Nteel liluipolr against visible iIImip-potnlmcnt iIImip-potnlmcnt If he lost. For htm the result re-sult In this one district would tell ihn story of tlu election. The room wiim tense with excite-tnent excite-tnent a1 the formalities pcescrllied by law were compiled with. The candidate wntched the opening of tht nunl ballot lUtleKSly. lie knew that ho wan beaten. At the club Ii6um he pukhril his wuy through Hie crowd. "It Is nil over," he wild. District captains reported nl Inter-vrIb. Inter-vrIb. somo by telephone, notaa In pw- j win, handing over thrlr slips wlthbrlet comment. "It was simply h 1 In the Klght-eenth," Klght-eenth," announced one as he gsv tha secretury his report. The telephone ranc asnln, and the ecretary tnrned to Alnsworlh. "Tour wife wants to apeak to ,vo." Alnswurth (poke luto the transmitter. transmit-ter. "We will postpone eur winter In Albany," Al-bany," he snld. "The people don't appreciate us?' Too light tone and the Jest were for tho.o who stood nruuntl him. The run-clldnte run-clldnte knew that no ntoumpllon of nircle.-wnrw would deceive the wunun at the other end of the wire. Alnswoi-lh resumed hit eat on thr edge of the table. "You were going to take her with jonV" nsked the leader. Alnsworth nodded. "Too bad," said the-lender, relapslnc Into nllunccv Presently It was certain that the state had been saved by the unexpected unexpect-ed magnitude of rural majorities. The Btrects were quiet as Altisworth wnlkcd home. He listened curiously to his own foot-falls, nnd noted ns If for the firnt time familiar bulldlnss and shop windows. Ills wife met him In tho hallway. "Dearest, poor dearest l" she said, with' her arras around htm. Tliey went Into his study and sat down ut his table-, pushing an accumulation accumu-lation ot papers from him dlstasto-fully. dlstasto-fully. His wife tat opposite, watch-lnc watch-lnc 1dm. "WellJ" she said presently. 'I'm Just simply beaten," he answered. an-swered. "That's all." "Iladly?" Tretty badly. I don't kiiow Just how much. It doesn't mnku any difference." dif-ference." There was n lone silence. Hi noticed no-ticed a wfntful look In her eyes, and came across to her. Hhe aratled rather curiously, he' thought and stopped him with a tender ten-der hand over his mouth. "Unsh'rt "But you win." "How blind yoo are I" "Wind" "Tea. Shall t tell ydu tat trntb?" Slifl walked away from htm a little, till looking at bin and aralMue carl-osty. carl-osty. "Then itsteu." she eald. "If It were aat for ybr disappointment, I should he clad, clad, glad I What do T care for a wtnter In Albany, or anywhere, when I nm not a part of your llfoT Oh, you don't know how I have prayed to kvep from wishing, hoping, that you would lose I I wanted to have you wla, because your heart was bound np In It: but I oh, I only wnnted you ! I am n foolish woman, perhaps, but I was Jealous of your other Itfe." Hbe was robbing passionately as Atnsworth caught her In his arms. "Deareat," ho aald humbly, "I never knew!" "No, yon never knew." "And you cared no much?" "I) I caroT Oh, my husbandl" Tha silence which followed was broken by the sound of bare, tiny feet In the hallway. A curtain was parted doubtfully, and a amull voice cautiously cau-tiously announced: "I got Unesome, muvver. I'm a-comln' In I" And then a Jojous "Oh, therc'a my papa I" Seated on a beloved but unfamiliar km, a curly head netitllng against the defeated candidate's waistcoat, nu anxious anx-ious inquiry followed: "llaa you got to go In JuM " minute, min-ute, papnf "No, darling. Why?" "1 was 'frald you had to. I've been wtrhln I'd seo you, eer m long!" Half an hour Inter the door-hell rnng, though It was long puKt midnight. mid-night. The child was faxt iislccp In Alnsworth'H urms. "I saw your light ns I was turning In," snld tho vInltor, "nnd, hue us It Is, I ould not keep from coming to tell you how wo nil feci nbout your detent. de-tent. It Is Him ply a shnme." The cumlldntu stured blankly. "Oh," he snld, after u little, "you are speaking of the election, I had fvjjcottcn nUjtbout It!" |