THE, SUNDAY FICTION MAGAZINE, APRIL 22, 1917
The Strai
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G
irl mi the CrooHed B&ftln
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A a moment wnvn
D'Aubrey's attention
was claimed by the
waiter, June relaxed.
She did not try to
analyze her concern
for his opinion, bat
she realized that she
had " suddenly be
come very miserable.
By Jtianita. HameL
IT DID not take June long to learn that
she had been correct in her supposi
tion that' Hargraves would be Been
and recognized as he left her room.
D'Aubrey made no mention of the fact,
tint tm AA-fAMa i : i ,i i
enough for June to understand. He ap
peared to be strangely preoccupied when
he met him, and as the evening wore on
he became aware of a noticeable cool
ness in his attitude. To her his manner
was Indicative of distrust. A more ex-
. iicneucw gin inu sne wouia nave tact
, fully guided the conversation around to
.-. the point of an explanation, and so, too,
would Jane have attempted to do had it'
; not been for the resentment she felt that
D'Aubrey should regard her with sus-
V In so distraught a frame of mind
.was she that she scarcely saw or com
prehended the show they attended. After
ward when he suggested dinner at the
IItaly Cafe she readily assented.
, She had decided that if she could do
so Without placing herself in a concilia
tory position she would, explain Bar
graves visit and his presence in her
room, She was not sure that It was a
matter of any concern to D'Aubrey; per
haps It was not this that ailed him. It
.would be indelicate, to say the least. If
she boldly approached the subject, she
felt, so she awaited an opportunity.
But the dinner, drew to a close without
the desired opportunity presenting itself,
jahd June's heart grew heavier. la her
efforts to show no sign of the uneasi
ness that was "hers she had been un
usually frivolous, but in a moment when
D'Aubrey's" attention was claimed by the
waiter she relaxed. - She did not try
to analyze, her concern for D'Aubrey's
opinion; she only realized that she had
suddenly become, very miserable. She
seemed incapable of surmounting the
barrier that had been erected.
At the door of her home D'Aubrey left
her abruptly instead of lingering for the
usual chat and. pressure of hands. At
times when they had stood thus and he
had leaned close as though about to kiss
her June's heart had fluttered violently,
and now it took all of her womanly re
straint to leave him and give no Indica
tion of the desire which predominated
her every thought, - -
How i she yearned to feel his arms
about her and his kisses on her unre
sisting Hps! To have beard from him
the words that -Hargraves had-uttered
would have made her esthetically happy.
But he did not think of love or mar
riage; she was conscious only of an ach-
tag. yeaVnlng feeling which his tender
ness alone would have banished. With
. an attitude of indifference that matched
his own she bade D'Aubrey adieu. That
night her pillow was wet with her tears.
- ' . .
June - had at "last solved the living
problem. She .found that she could get
more work than she could do. By the
time Dolores dress was completed she
was besieged by different members ' of
the Highlights company to "come to
their assistance," as one of the girls ex
pressed herself. June was the medium
through which they could obtain "clothes
that were different," which is the desire
of nearly every woman's heart, and the
price for practically the same garment
which the shops were offering was not
so -exorbitant. But her work was not
confined to those who were forced to
economize.
She was given a commission by one
of the principals 6f the company to du-
" plicate a certain lace, and frilled chiffon
negligee, the original price of which that
, individual could have well afforded. The
money which June estimated would be
required for the buying of materials and
the making of the garment was given
. her. By making her purchases at a store
where she was allowed a modiste's dis
count she was enabled to make a neat
little sum on the undertaking. Her ex
penses were smaller than they would
' have been had she been- employed away
., from ; home ' and . her income ' averaged
- far more than her work in the chorus
would have brought her. Her savings
were mounting as the busy days sped
by. But with all of this June was not
.happy.' '- '
D'Aubrey had telephoned dallyj as
: had been his custom, for - a time. - But .
. . always his business , was pressing; he
" did; not suggest an appointment. Then
came the day when he announced that It
was ; necessary- for him to leave Kfew
. York for a time. Hla presence was re-
. quired in 1 Oklahoma, where the head
quarters of the oil company of which he
was a stockholder and the chief New
York representative was locate
On the occasion of his last call mere
had been more tenderness and concern
in his voice and in his words than there
had been since the night when June had
last seen him, and his attitude had
caused her such mental anguish.
"Oood-by, little girl," he had said.
"Don't forget me while I am gone. As
soon as I return we are going to have
a long talk. I have much to say. It may
be surprising to you and I hope pleas
ing." When she bent over her work again
she had smiled through her tears as she
speculated on the meaning of his words.
But the memories of pleasantries and
tender words are fragile things. Short
lived are they in a world of doubts and
fears.
June received but one short letter.
It told of delayed arrival and a trying
Journey. Then followed a silence that
was filled with anxious days of expecta
tion and nights of wakefulness and tears.
Her Hps ceased to curve in a smile at
the memory of some act of solicitude or
unconscious word that had given her a
thrill of pleasure because it bad seemed
to indicate that he cared.
She would vow to herself that .It
mattered not, and toss her -ftead as"
though the action dismissed all thought
of him. She found a measure of for
getfulneas in her work. The days grew
into weeKs ana with the improvement-in
her financial condition came the yearn
ing for her father and the home in
Louisiana. While in such a mood she
wrote a letter the letter she had long
intended writing but had delayed be
cause she could not send good tidings.
She reckoned the months that had
elapsed, months that must have been
filled with anxiety for . her father. She
realized that she had been Incapable of
-fully comprehending until now. In a
fever of subpense she awaited the mes
sage of forgiveness.
On her return home from an after
noon In the shops one day June found
the expected letter awaiting her. When
: she read its contents she bow,ed her bead
and sobbed with remorse.
A few moments later she called
Hilda on the phone.
"I'm going home,' she announced.
"Come over and help me pack my trunk."
As she made her preparations she
thought of D'Aubrey's words to her.
What would he say what would he do
when he learned that she had departed
with no word of farewell? Perhaps he
had not been sincere In his statements?
Perhaps be would never so much as
learn of her departure? June's heart
-was filled with bitterness, her mind with
one Intent to forget! ;
(To be continued next week)
ICopyrisht, 11T, by J. KeeleyJ