Nebraska Newspapers

    I, THE KING 1
By WAY LAND WELLS WILLIAMS.
(CopyriffbC. 3924.)
' - _—J
{Continued From tatanlir.)
“What I've done is this," he went
tin, with some difficulty. "I’ve put
aside the safest investments, ltalf
of them are bonds, and the stock are
public utilities and things that won’t
fluctuate much. They bring It, all
totd, an income of something like
twelve thousand a year. I.ater on,
when things recover, they’ll bring
more, hut not much.- Probably no'
more than fifteen thousand, at the
best. Well, these securities I'm plan
ning to settle on you, absolutely, with
out condition.
"I'm not pretending, Mary, that It's
much. I know it's a pretty poor ful
fUlment of our marriage contract. It's
—I . . . it's hard to say anything
without implying that you married
mo for money, which of course you
didn't; but our marriage gives you
certain rights in my money. Yc«t
happiness and—and salvation lie in
things that a big income gives, as
mine lies in other things. On what I
propose leaving you, you can’t have
all those things. You can have
safety and a certain amount of ease;
a fl9t in New York and a trip abroad
now and then and perhaps a car and
chauffeur, but that's about ull. And,
> Mary, if it isn't enough, l want you
to sue so. Truthfully, because I've
no right to buy my salvation at the
expense of yours. I don't say I'll give
up niy whole plan if you object, but
I'll consider it, and perhaps modify
it. At any rate l shan't consider it
settled without knowing how you
feel-'’
He stopped. The soft bright little
room whs dead quiet; tlie new chintzes
gave forth a light pleasant odor; a
fragmentary whistling drifted in from
rile crew's quarters. Mary looked at
the end of her elgaret. flicked the ash
off It and then suddenly pounded it
out on a small brass tray. She
leaned forward in her chair toward
Kit. her arms resting on the table.
“Then—you don’t want me?” she
said.
VIII.
The words were like a two-edged
knife ln a finely woven texture, the
texture of Kit's talk and all that lay
behind it. The whole prayerfully de
vised pattern lay inshreds between
them.
“Why," he said, and felt his heart
give a curious flutter, "why. I haven't
considered that, Mary. I’ve been tak
ing <t pretty selfish point of view all
along, but ‘that's really one thing I
haven't allowed myself to think
fcbout.”
•“What?” Her question was blind,
ducnli. like a stupid child’s.
"Why, whether I want you to—to
share this exile with me. I thought
your freedom was the best I could
olfier you—and the least.”
Phe flicked her hand impatiently.
**!n^5n't go on like that."
"Like what'.”'
' “tn that . . . impersonal way."
He stifled a laugh, not having been
aware of impersonality, exactly. But
Mary was deadly serious.
".Don't tell me," she went on,
*nd deep feeling suddenly vibrated In
her voice, “that when you've found
yourself at last—come to see the
world from your right point of view
—I've got no place in it?"
“Place?” he stammered. “Why,
you'll always have a place—"
“You don't suppose," Mary broke
in,.“that I haven't known you weren't
.yourself, ail this year? Kver since
before we were married? It's lieen
plain as a pikestaff. It was as if you
we he in a trance. It was for what
you'd he when you came out of it—
nn<J to help you out, if possible—that
I married you."
“That was dear of you," said Kit
fatuously. He was alive now with
hope and excitement, but Mary had
ttW lead and was talking on, with
cvaF growing tire.
•“Of course, I haven’t been able to
lift a finger to help you out. Perhaps
that gives you some.rigbt to shove me
uside. but not all—oh, not nil, when
I've watched for It and wanted it so!
And now that it's come, you don't
think I don't appreciate it, do you?
TThJ, it's superb. Giving all you're
gmng up, Just for a conviction—it's
the most magnificent tiling I ever
saw. And in spite of all this, not to
be with you, not to mean one con
flBJk ded tiling—"
,\Iary!" lie cut in sharply. “Do you
mean you want to go to Dimchuri h
with me?”
She looked at him as one would
look at a perfect fool, and spoke as
if at the height of an argument. “But
of course I want to go to Dimchurch
With you! Kamchatka, if you like;”
“Really?" he pursued in wonder
“Give up New York? Restaurants?
Music?"
"Why, yes:"
"This—society thing'.’"
"Why, of course. That's nothing
but a game. As soon as I found I
could play it I began to lose interest
in it.”
"And you’re interested in me?"
“Well, I believe so;"
“Ah, but you aren't sure.” he said,
sinking back ,n hls chair, remem
bering something. This was just
a generous impulse on her part, beau
tiful but transient; he must not take
advantage of it.
"What do you mean? Mary fol
lowed him. up. "Can't I I* Inter
ested in anything but cafes and Schu
mann if I want to? Is It so absurd
to be interested in one's own hus
band?'*
"Why, no. The point Is, T killed
all that In you. How could It have
been otherwise, the way I carried on?
That, was why you took It that way,
when VI came into if.”
"VI? Did she come into it, after
all?"
,“I mean, when I did that funny
, thing, and asked you to get her away.
You were dear about it, perfectly fine,
but—"
"Oh. God’," said Mary, thumping
the table. "I see! I see it now. You
were worried because I wasn't jealous
of VI! Was that it?"
"Weil—”
"Jealous!" cried Mary, her eyes
flashing with a kind of angry amuse
ment. ‘'Jealous! As If I didn’t hope
and pray that VI would get you, from
the very start! As though—oh, l
don't know. I couldn’t help but hate
her, of course, and hate the Idea; and
yet I knew that if she once drugged
you down It would do the trick. It
COtlldn't have failed—with you."
"What trick?"
"Why. give you a big Jolt, shake
yciu out of the trance. What you
needed, youi so careful and orderly
and refined every minute, was onp
large, wholesome humiliation. I
thought VI would give It to you—not
consciously, oh no. hut that you'd
wake up and see afterward. I'd lose
you for a while, yes, but I knew
thore'd be something different, and
better. In your place."
"Well, of all the—"
"It didn't even need that, it seems
•—a simple drunken orgy was enough
T'd thought of that too. Often and
•lUn this winter, when n mans been
carried feet first out of a dame, I ve
thought, ‘Oh. If that could only hap
pen to Kit Newell. Just once
"Jlut why should you lippa for such
a thing? It might have meant
"ft never could have meant but one
♦ htW with you. W lie t do you t hln I
you are a kind of Nero? Jla! A
man that keeps a bottle of Indelible
Ink In his top bureau drawer, to mark
his collars with the minute he buys
them, and marks them, too—he isn't
the kind of man that’s likely to go
very far on the Primrose Path."
"Well, I'll he darned!" said Kit, his
jaw dropping.
"Vi!" went on Mary angrily. "Why,
I fairly jumped with Joy when you
said you might be in love with her.
Your telling me like that—everything
In first-rate order. l.ook here: do
you suppose you'd have breathed such
a thing to me. If you'd really loved
her? Pooh! How can a man be such
a fool about himself?”
There was something about her in
dignation that struck him as supreme
!y funny: there was really so little
to be indignant about now. He threw
his head back in one burst of laugh
ter that pricked her anger like a bub
ble; then he got up, drew her by her
hands out of her chair and kissed her
soundly on the mouth. "There!" he
said, patting her shoulders approving
ly. "You're the most wonderful
woman God ever made."
"I’m not." said Mary, for some
reason holding on to her indignation.
"Just a little plain horse sense," a
little—’’
"Ah, of course you talk nonsense.
But for the grace of God I might
have gone straight to the devil under
your treatment . . . Well, perhaps
not. Anyway, God was gracious, so
we'll call you right.—You haven't
kissed me.”
"I don't want to—"
"Vou—’’
"—because I like to think about
doing It. If you knew how long I’ve
. . . There, oh. Lord, my hair. My,
you did give me a turn! I was just
afraid you didn't like me any more."
She stood facing him, her shoul
ders limp in his hands, her head
thrown liack a little, smiling delicious
ly. "Is this real?" she breathed. “Does
it* come this way, so,—so normally?
I didn't think "
"Don't think!"
"No. Only, can it last?"
"It'll last,” said Kit. "like indelible
ink;” and they giggled helplessly.
"Oh,” said Mary, looking up, “1
want a house on a select residential
street, with two cement things lead
ing to the garage behind. And a
front parlor, too small for the grand
piano, so that the neighbors'll say
were living above our station. And
the works of Schumann, five volumes,
on top of it. I'll play In the evening,
anil you’ll he so bored, and go to
sleep, and pretend you haven’t. Then
In summer we’ll go out for a ride
In the Ford—can we go a Ford?"
“I think so."
"And a maid? Just one?"
"Why, yes. After all, your for
tune—”
"What?’’
"Our fortune—will be twelve thou
sand a year. One doesn't exactly
starve on that, you know."
"Doesn't one?” said Mary, looking
at. him. “Are you sure? I've starved
on twelve hundred, which was what
Father allowed me, and I’ve starved
on eighty thousand. T think I've
starved every minute of my life, till
now."
"It's late,” said Kit, "nearly eleven.
Hadn't we better join those people?"
"I suppose so," sad Mary. "Do we
have to go? What a here!”
"l.ook here, let’s pretend it’s n
game, one last game. let’s pretend
we’re a rich lady and gentleman en
tertaining a party of fashionable
friends—Viscountesses and such—on
our yacht. And they've gone ashore
to dance. And we'll go over in a
launch and dance with them for a
while, and then bring them hack and
sit around eating sandwiches In a
chintz saloon till all hours, talking
like rich, fashionable people. It’ll be
so nice afterward, when v.c find jt
isn't true!”
"Ail right." said Mary, responding
"Let’s he very bored and calm and
witty, like people on the stage, alt
gardenias and spats—only it Isn’t the
time of day for spats, is it? So cyni
cal and worldly—oh, couldn’t we have
some one almost compromised?
Y'achte are splendid for that!'
The words brought something hack !
to Kit. He looked around the bright i
little room and sighed. “Poor old!
yacht. My mother used to lie so sn k 1
on her. She always thought slje'd
get over it, but she never did."
"Dear yaelit." said Mary softly, fol
lowing his thought. "I suppose she'll
have to go?"
“Wo certainly couldn't run hot
and I doubt if we could even k*o(,
her. Better sell her, if we can get
a good price." •
"Yes. Wo'il get another some time,
when you've made your Works pa\
again. Only . . . the old days, some
now. Your mother and father, and
their friends—It was nice, wasn't it’’
Plenty of money, but no hurry, no
Jazz, no cheapness. Will dnys like
that ever come back, do you think?"
"I don’t think I can bring them,
at least not tonight. But some things
are pretty nice as they are. seems
to me. Come on, dee.,-, the launch
La waiting."
They went up Into the dark, end
descended a small flight of steps lead
ing obscurely Into a bobbing boat. A
man half rose from his s*at, touched
his cap and bent over the engine,
and they sat down In the forward
cockpit. The launch cast off. the
yacht moved slowly away, the yellow'
lights (lowing from her ports and
skylights. Kit and Mary watched her,
their hands joined in the darkness.
The launch gave a sneeze and
plunged forward anil about, humming
comfortably. The harbor yawned in
front, broken by the dim forms of
anchored boats, slim and shipshape.
black or white, teetering with the
waves or vastly immovable. J.ights
swung from their mastheads and glit
tered from their hulls. Afar on shore
gleamed a chain of whiter points;
from behind these, fugitive!}', at the
will of the breeze, came a soft mooing
of brass horns. A ship’s bell clanged.
The water, black and choppy, was
riddled with moving high light". Oc
casionally launches darted about,
chugging feverishly and blowing
sirens; waves divided from their
sterns, deflecting channels of light
that, swept smoothly out at an ex
paneling angle. Soon the> broke, scat
tered. coalesced with other lights, sub
sided. The expanse was a welter of
struggle between living light and dead
darkness; to look at it was like look
ing at chaos. Mary and Kit sat
blinking and speechless before it, but
their craft, guided by the unseen man
it the wheel, plunged steadily through
It Mud carried them safely to the
lu tiding.
iThe Knd.)
Dance Hall Law Sought.
Mpsrlal Dispatch »o The nm«rti Bee.
York, Neb., Dec. 14.—Mayor Colton
of York aud the member* of the city
council have under consideration an
ordinance to control il^1 fuildlc dance
halls of the city. '
THE NEBBS . BLIND JUSTICE. Directed for The Oroah^Bce by Sol Hess
/TOUR .HONOR. I P\CKED
SATURDAY ( *VH»S MAN UP ON MA\N
' OiinwPU STREET GOVNG HO MUXS
- RUDOLPH ^ HOUR AND I GAVE
WEBS V wiM A T\CXET. HE SA\D HE
WAS \WA$> GOING "VO GET
ARRESTED Ky °06,
FOR FAST
DRWiNG
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I had a VERV VfrAPORTANT ENGAGEMENT
WTHTHEPRES\OENT OF MW BANK AND WAS
LATE AND WHEN THiS OFFICER ROLLED
along Side or m car moo would twnk
Vhe was herdwg cattle -Mou'D Think
—? he WAS TAUONG to A BaniOt (
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/MR NEBB. VM GO'NG TO PROPOSE TO^
THE MASOR AnO ThE C'Ty COUNCIL TO \
MARE AN APPROPRIATION mo SEmD OOP]
OFFICERS To A Finishing SCmooi So
They can talk RESPECTFully To Ol)R
lain offenders . in the meantime
STEP OVER To The Clerk AnD 7 AM A
fine of as dollars And costs and
IF MOD EVER GO TEARING Through
OoR STREETS AT HO MILES An H0uP
h again moo'D better have the
president and ThE 3an/
I -MJITH sou IF MO j come J
( to this Court
Copyright,!#^ iyrint Ball
f I'M SUPPOSEO TO BE IK RESPECTFUL \
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A ** A * II^SX U. S. Patent Office PAGE OF COLORS IN THE SUNDAY BEE tCoorriKht i»24i
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JERRY ON THE JOB THANKS FOR THE REMINDER. Drawn for The Omaha Bee by Hobar.
tCooyriffht 19241
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