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Show : BY WILL SEAT. ate one night, or T7 rather early one jfi Kfev Morning, Mr. and EiK&V "'lrs' L)arony were on IwfOl lnclr v"';y linnie from WE WBrJ ttn rDtert'1innient of QBg ,n' London season f HR "Trill him to drive Jl on,'' said Mrs. Da- C rony, as the carriage Beared the house. "Drive on?" What $ do you mean? Where-"' exclaimed her husband ' Oh, anywhere! U vr drove on, you know, wo might arrive at the roar mi lN on the other Hide of silence. That iff isn't my idea I've road It somewhere, There's a roar on the other side of silence' What I rood said that II cur cos- Pars w,?ro fine enough w should beat if , the grass growing and tho millions Gfj. or Insects moving, nnd pounds like yiljy- that, I am In a mood for Bounds at this moment. I don't know if you're ofD- aware of the fact that you have not oj uttered one syllable for the last half hour. I enjoyed myself tonlcht Wht 3o:r, became of you? I never saw von. Jefeat Lady Dalo s a charming hostess How can you lie so speechless so quiet?: NT). You're always that now sometimes I wonder I've no means of knowing. you know but driving home from , parties its abnormal! Not more than' scorn three syllables dropped from your i the"! lips since we entered the carriage. : lh I've counted them? The contrast! Just think of it it's appalling from i idiDt tho buzz of all the talk I mean to d IV this'!' 'W ? ? ? 9 f t o iy "Ah! that's better,' she said, pro-' !rri vokingly jC U The carriage drew up. In alllgbllng wfaJci Mrs Darony's hand rested a moment nri on her husband's arm. She glanced 53j upward, and something In his face ap- ; parently touched hor with compunc- Jcdj- tlon : too "Why do you mind?" sho murmured, ! hut her petulant mouth softened. S) In iho hall she turned at the foot of I cerer ,lie stairs- and- wlth a glance, al her I j8 husband who appeared to be obliv- ;E,j ious of her advanced to a door and ' pushed It open into a room whose am ple proportions were beyond what is I D' usually associated even with a spa- Clous library But there was no doubt as to Its rightful designation The room held, in fact, a wealth of books, j ... immense lamp, 01 wondrous de sign, hung from the celling and burnt with a hint of decreasing oil, and the red embers of a dying Are gave no I welcoming flicker A small table, set! with light refreshments and shining1 silver, stood at an angle of the (ire- place and went far to mitigate the gloom of the great apartment Darony experienced an odd surprise at his wife's presence She had varied her usual rouilne. All through the sea-V sea-V son on their late return from testlvi- ties she had swept straight upstairs, and her Utile dry "goodnight" had ft not been soft as the silken rustle of 9 her dress S "It's chillv tonight. 1 am cold," said S Mrs Darony, with a shiver. The 'hzo month was July, but a week's sunless-K sunless-K . necs and rains had left but little of summer in the air. She looked at her husband as though hor remark explained ex-plained her unusual proceeding Of i S course, it explained nothing He appeared ap-peared to be waitiug her pleasure, and jj mk 6Qe revealed a trace of embarrassment embarrass-ment under his Kar.e. Suddenly she W dropped her eyes on the little table's iflll Bupply. "I will have a cup of coffee. Make me a cup. Why does one go to th se boring parties?" Sin uik lasiM'd h'T clonk and hgan unwinding from her throat a long ' lacoy scarf Her husband still looked puzzled as he said: "Keep your wraps on. You've probably prob-ably taken cold. The raging draughts one Is subject to at these crushes! How It is we're not all in our graves I don't know! Tho fire's beyond my doetorirg, but we'll soon hae that all right. Sit down!" He looked ahout at the chairs as : ho spoke and pushed tho most com-: com-: fortable toward her. He then rang ' and gae the order, slowly pacing the room while the sonant accomplished his task. On tho departure of that nr mnary to tho cheerful sound of crackling wood, Darony began handl-j handl-j ly making the coffee. He was one of those men who U6e their hands with pleasure even In trivial matters mat-ters These members were finely formed, nervously veined nnd quick in J movement; hands, one could seo at a glance, with the powpr of manipulation, manipula-tion, that beautiful art coming only with the quick-witted brain "Coffee's a bad thing at this hour of the night, or rather morning, ' said Darony, languidly, leaning back in his lnnntfl f1 Vl O t r n-HVl lite? l-,no l.lcrc MrtCO. ed and his eyes fixed in watchful scrutiny scru-tiny of the little blue flame. "You're not likely to sleep a wink after It." "I don't want to sleep," said his wife, getting up and moving restlessly. restless-ly. "What a dreary room!" "You've made a mistake in your substantive," observed her husband, Slowly, watching her with a gleam of humor in his ees. "You meant our drive home, didn't you? You appeared to find It more than usually dreary tonight There's nothing the matter with this room It's rather large, of course, but it has always been a fa orlte of mine. If ou wero less a stranger to it you would like it bet ter the books, for Instance." His wife gavo a little laugh "Oh, the books' Ah, yes of course! I like the books, but then the books arc not the room , happily for me they are detachable!" de-tachable!" As she epoko she took up Balfour's "Soundation of Belief" from the table at her side and turned the leaves. The edge of her mischievous smile was still on her lips. Darony crushed in his hand the envelope of a Dote ho had opened and with irritated energy pitched It into the fire. A little later he handed her the coffee, placing it beside her on a bedazzled little moth-er-o'-pearl stool, whose firm four- leggedness was at grotesque variance with tho diminutive proportions. "We wore talking Just now about pleasing ourselves. For the future will I you please me In one single matter? I nave a grave dislike to Fordyce. That Is old news. You have already known that for long You were talking nnd dancing with him tonight. I don't want to be worrying, but at the risk of what will again appear to you an j absurd request, 1 must ask you to re-j j fuse h.m dances I must go further i than that; 1 must forbid it. Docs this sound tyrannical? I suppose so! If ! ou will not obey me, I sail bo forced to give you more particulars, more; reasons. Don't force me," he added huskily "You " He moved abruptly away. A similar discussion had arisen between them, and on that occasion she had. flushed angrily, declaring she was perfectly capable of managing her ow-n affairs She remained now absolutely Still. Darony Da-rony ended a solemn preamble round the room by stopping directly before I her. She looked up, and their eyes ; met in conflicting gate A color wavered In her face. j "Oh, you need uot trouble about the I particulars. Very likely you're right. I didn't like him altogether tonight." I She recovered herself for a final shot. I which she delivered without tho lea?t touch of temper. "He's like all these j agreeable men . he has neither backbone, back-bone, nor conscience, nor heart." j "Oh. I say," laughed her husband. j with a relieved heart beat, "that's rather sweeping on the agreeable typo, don't you think? Besides, 6ince the reverse of the adjective agreeable is the one I have reason to believe you apply to me, that leaves an inference, do you see0 Sho had turned from him at 6uch ap angle that nothing of her face wal presented to his view but the cheek and oar. Those were rosy red. "I don't know what you mean," she said slowly, with a musical uote in her voice "I am 6ure you are most she suddenly faced him, with a half mischievous, mis-chievous, wholly enchanting smile "most estimable." "Oh, preserve us'" cried Darony. "Estimable!" His puzzled eyes searched search-ed her face while he talked "Estimable. "Estima-ble. There's a sound about it 1 don't care for! It has Its limitations, don't I slowly toward the door She was I trembling a little and her voice sound-! sound-! ed odd. j "Oh, by the way. Teddle Lyulf sent me these flowers. It's all settled bo- ! tween him and Maud Milson. They, ! seem to think I've had a hand In It. i They are very happy." "Ah! thank you!" she murmured, i looking awav from him at the hang- : Ing lamp "What Ib the matter with the lamp0 I Don't you think you had better light I j thoBo candles0 We shall be in dark-1 nes soon." 'By the way," said her husband, "It must be noarly daylight," and, going to the windows, he opened the blinds, , letting In the pallid rays of dawn. "What made you do that. You know well enough there s nothing more unbecoming un-becoming than a ball dress by dav- light'" Her husband had moved to tho fire and surveyed her, from his post on the rug, with a look which conveyed the idea that it had just then broken ' on his intelligence what Bhe wore It gold thread?" dropping her head side-1 wayR bird-fashion Prettier'' Oh, I should eay not!" He had watched with an amused j smile this little exhibition "A hall dress, however, can be per-1 fectly becoming by daylight. You may take that as a fael " She turned with a little movement uncertain to define as pleasure or) displeasure, and, in so doing, her bouquet bou-quet she had laid It on the couch beside her caught with the moving fold of her dress and fell to the ground. She hastily lifted It. "Ah! you poor things," she exclaimed ex-claimed with her head bent over the drooping beauty of Us magnificent roses, "dissipation doesn't suit flowers!" flow-ers!" With that she went to the far end of tho room where a Venetian goblet gleamed on one of the cabinets. From It she poured water Into a big bronze bowl. As she stood there arranging nnd loosening the flowers she made, with tho brocade of her dress shlm- "HAVENT I Jl'ST SAID'" you think so? There are some kind of men, you know, who are the best follow 6 from the bare fact that they cannot be anything else They aro classed as esiimable at least a dull world puts them in that category If there's anything unfair in this life of ours it is that that 6ort of virtue should be accounted to one's merit. According to that basis of judgment, being bad because you can't be anything any-thing else oueht not to be accounted to oneV credit. But It is. though I'm aware, to Bay so begs the question. Estimable! It's a dry-as-dust sort of word, but a man must not be too fastidious when his wife is complimentary." compli-mentary." He paused With his gaze still riveted riv-eted upon her. there passed into his face a sudden passionate change, and enmine up to her he said, in a low, hurried voice: "Never mind! Say it again' Yes; Baj it again' dive me another smile I don't got one too often! Never! I Never! I am your husband that does j not always occur to you'" He laughed a short, hard laugh, and moved back to his post on the rug. A quick color Hooded his wife s face at I this outburst. She rose and went may be doubtful, even after this 11-1 luuiinating moment, if ho could have; described her gown In words any I more lucid than that the material's ! surface was silvery, with an undercurrent under-current of faint blue. What he could have described better would have been the pose of her little head, the way tho wonderful hair turned up from the nape of the neck, strayed back here and there in a tendril curl, th:m that mouth of hers, tho curving lips stealing one's remembrance to la Lulni Madona, contradicted by the hrowe level and determined, over eyes ' that were limpid, subtle, animated, dreamy, tender or defiant, as the soul , whereof the were the mirror prompt" i ed "Yes," she said, rising and moving away a paco or two to give the full I sweep to hor train and turning her head aslant over her shoulder, as though to survey her radiance, but in ; reality keeping her eyes fixed on her j husband's face "I assure you it's worth looking' at! As you see it Is pale blue brocade sm-! sm-! broldered in silver thread I couldn't ; afford gold. I might perhaps have liked it better. I don't know. Do you . think it would have be n prettier mering in the half light, a picture whereof her husband on the hearth j rug watching her was, through all the, torment of his soul, perfectly aware j Suddenly she turned to him and said "You have never asked me, by tho way, who gave me those flowers. You never ask me who gives me flowers!" She paused and smiled a little Would It take too. long' Do I got too many All the same, it's your duty to ask'" ! And she frowned delightfully, Darony laughed. He had taken out a cigar "It Hoenis to me sometimes my duty Is a somewhat complicated affair. Who, then0' His even voice betrayed no feeling as he surveyed with Interest In-terest the lighted end of his cigar. "Ah!" she said, capriciously, "if you ask me things I tell you first to ask me, I shall please myself about answering." He laughed again She was delicious deli-cious as she stood there, making her demure little speech in a studied little lit-tle voice, with her eyes dropped and the dimple showing In her eh'"k "You are perfectly right. I should if I were you You're not behind tho rest of us; you know the facility we I all have for pleasing ourselves " A long pause followed, and Darony smoked on meditatively. He moved at last and, taking a turn about the room, stopped behind the couch whereon his wife had seated herself. He stood there some moments in silence, si-lence, watching her fingers Idly tracing trac-ing the pattern of the damask Then he bent over and laid bis hand on hers. It remained beneath his with no movement to detach Itself while he spoke "They think they are, you mean," said her husband, dryly. "You mean it won't last, I suppose, what a tone you take You might be j a 8ynlc about about marriage." "Very likely," said Darony, indifferently, indiffer-ently, as he strolled up to the picture on the wall near the window and surveyed sur-veyed it with interest. In reality he had no more Idea of what he was looking look-ing at than he had tha.t the trees in the square, on which he presently turned his gaz, were trees His wife was speaking, a burrjlng spot of color In eithor cheek Her breath was coming com-ing in pantlnc; vehemence. cried "A fearful mistake! Let me go away; I must! I must! I have never made you " If happy was the word which refused re-fused itself utterance, owing to the sob in her throat, It was a great concession. con-cession. A ;pell of extraordinary stillness followed, broken at last by tho low j sweep of her dress as she made her way to the door. Her husband sprang forward, and catching up her cloak reached the door before her, placing himself against It. "Put this on, if you please," he said, quietly dropping the cloak over her shoulders; "passages are chilly at this unearthly 'hour. No' don't go. Stay a moment. I have something to say. Sit down." She hesitated with a furtive look at the doorway he was blocking she wa6 now perfectly controlled but obeyed so far as to step a few paces back "I am leaving for Greenland whaling whal-ing In three days. I have been debating debat-ing doing so of late. Tonight settles 1L" His voice was even, but bis face was pale, and he watched her hungrily. "Indeed!" The little word dropped i 1 ..... .1 ,11 ,. n-ltV, tk n I . t UUl ItlilgUlUll, VII 11 lUU an Ul i;" politely attentive to news of insufficient insuffi-cient Interest. "You've been there before, be-fore, If 1 remember In jour happy bachelor days. You like adventures among icebergs, don't you? Such an odd thing to like' I prefer a much warmer climate, I shall probably go to the Himalaya Mountain. I wish to climb something difficult and dangerous. danger-ous. Are there guidebooks to the Himalayas, Hi-malayas, do you know? Please make Inquiries Book 6hops are so tedious they never havo what you want!" It was not apparent that her husband hus-band heard. It 60 hl6 gravity was not lightened "There Is somthlng more," he said. "It is important. It is vital that is, as regards myself." She did not speak, but she became distinctly paler. "Oh!" he said with a laugh, "there's no cause for alarm, I assure you! It's merely tho statement state-ment of a fact I think it duo to you to know. Before we were married I remember you liked some of the sonnets son-nets Shakespeare s 1 mean. There's a first-rate lino In one I wonder will you understand? 'Love is not love which alters when it alternation finds.' " i A vivid color leapt Into Mrs. Dar ony's face. She had apparently un- !9ng derstood. KsAftw "What do you mean?" she asked PsSC? sharply, trying to rally her defiance. Eri "I never read poetry now, and I ab- &5lyi hor quotations. If you have anything iB&lsN important to say, be kind enough to Kfcwjjg say In plain English!" Hls "I plain English? Ah! that's easy! I moan I love you BtSll. I mean noth- EyPfil ing but that. Is that plain enough $$jBi English?" There was a stifled, momentous PS pause The flames in the oddly tiled ifeW hearth danced. Darony stood motion- F'Sa less, staring at the firelight There was nothing more to be said; fr'3??!! sho must take the Initiative now. He Kifl heard her move slowly, Blowly, to- L.': 't' ward tne door The chill of failure crept over him, when suddenly the fislE! trailing sound of her dress ceased, and .0' I there was silence so absolute that he t' .-1 thought ho heard her breathe Her f right hand was against her left 8de. .' :V? and tho other over It, as though to V 'ty- steady her nerve; then she turned and t I H moved toward him. He might have I I been nnrvAil (n ctnno Ton faaf,.i I . I seconds and she was quite beside him f I so near her sleeve touched his coat. P H She lifted her head and Bmlled right f - into his eyes; a Bmlle that swept his I soul out Into the light of one of those i star points of paradise that pierce at f Intervals the gloom of life and pre- L I vision tho adaptability of our hearts H for that glow of rapture classed un- I der our earthly words as heaven. f Slowly the tears came, her heart's r . penitential pearls, With a deep note of appeal in her voice, she was the f. first to break the enchanted moment, 1 "Don't go to the Artie 8eas!" I "The Artie Seas!" Baid Darony, dim- f She was in his arms, murmuring I softly: "Why should you forglvo me? I ' There's no reason no reason!" hid- ' ing her face against him. The Arctic Seas! Could the glorified world contain so frigid a zone In its l, 1 1 j geography? "Dearest, don't weep! This is practically prac-tically our wedding day. The other ! well, the other missed the mark 1 somehow. We've both been through the mill, and that's a fact! Let me bear your voice Say It's all over l the torment, I mean that you're not going to harden your heart against me any more1 that you're going to glvo I me a little of the love that is my aue. She flung herself suddenly from him. "I won't say any Buch a thing!" she P cried, as she stole him a look through I wet eyes, with the mischief dimple J I rioting in her cheek. "I don't like you j in the very least! Why should I? 1 That's exactly why I married you. I always said I would never marry any man I really cared for. Men are so easily spoilt! There's nothing like J being unhappily married for keeping a man from deteriorating. The happy j ones are so stupid and vain." I This assertion sho made across the length of the room she had put between be-tween thom. The involved logic of her statement, however, did not appear ap-pear to give her husband' the smallest 1 shadow of alarm. Going up to her he. caught her, but as he bent to ktsa her sho stopped him with her linger on his lips. "No; you must not;" she said, be- . tween laughing, and crying, and blushing, blush-ing, "Haven't I just said?" ; Here he took his kiss. "What dear- j est? What did you say? 1 rather fancy, now I come to think of It, you were good enougn to observe something some-thing or other!" |