THE AWAKENING.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 5, Issue 161, 31 March 1916, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE AWAKENING.

By H. E. COWAN

Complete Short Story

(From "Spare Moments.'';

When they parted he had fallen at her feet and kissed the hem of her dress. How ridiculous a demonstra* tion it appearac. 1 to him to-day, and yet he dreaded to meet her again. She had treated him atrociously he had considered at the time. She had amused! herself with him, and then given him his conge. She was a married woman, and he had been a boy. He recalled every incident of the farewell. A youthful passion it may have been, but —he could 1 not dispute it even now —it was a passion that left its mark. There had been a conservatory opening out of the roo.ns she occupied. It was in the conservatory that he nad made himself the most absurd—there, for a moment at the p'ano, at which she had seated herself indifferently, and where he had knelt to her like ;i lover of the good oly-fashioned days. She hai strolled along, sniffing at the flowers, saying cruel filings.to him in lier new and careless voice, and he hau followed her wistfully like a whipped dog, pleading to be reradmjttec l to favour A spray of fern that she ha J dropped had been captured by him passionately - she had touched it n their last moments together, one shrugged her shoulders with a snees, and his eyes filled at her cruel y. "What do you suppose there is mi boy like you to fascinate a woman lik<; me 9 " she had asked. It was the hardest thing she could have said, and he remembered that ht had broken down altogether. Good Heavens, how preposterous he hadjxe -how wrongly he had gone to work always being pathetic and reproachful. However, it was over. He Aaa "found balm for his wound in six months," for he had married, and forgotten her existence entirely until it was recalled to him by the sight of he name in the visitors' list. Now the recollect'ons rushed back a him, and while he laughed at hjs former self as a fool, he was conscious of a strange tremor at the prospect o seeing her once more. rr,..„i,. J He loved his wife sincerely. Twel months ago he could have contemplated meeting Mrs. Jernyngham without moving But he had been married a year The time had not «§sened his love, but it had naturaUy d'speUec^tht romance. After ail, to be in love with a woman is a greater safeguard against others than to i ove - mse if was bound l to acknowledge to Himself that he was frightened at thethoug of seeing Mrs. Jernyngham again, lie had a/a matter of fact avoided thj Casino since he knew she was DI He P put down his paper and looked across at Nellie reading a no e . nrpttv she was, how trustful! wnat would she say, could she divine his present mood? Sinless as it «m, J Wi The novel dropped to Mrs. Maxwell'*

are you thinking about, darlg^Sls«® l lLri he ;s/?t3" 1 s v oU \fe do when you're 'put out. I do look charming in this hock admit that-but you weren t thmkm, Ko 'tt„ obeyed a sudden impulse. 3sr»S®££ iTllXvVSrlddeeply for another girl than yourself.' ... « Y es.' : "I remember, 6a d Nel • jf&faSß; «ndv ns a pruse between them. She .. the one to break it. « It _it's quite all over, Jack? bhe , i nnt ,t e dare not, attempt to—- !^ d » aVc mSried-jou »-o«16 s,mnlv have to bow and pass on. Besides, ft Jour own account, she was-wdl, S h, didn't care for you any more. Wh> rt;.We are Icaviog Dieppe> «>o ™ J »' week; as a matter ot fact, I dare say T shall never come across nei. 1 Mr to* however was not satisfS For one -ang, she wanted to remain longer tUn they had at first proposed, and for another, she ° 'j.cctL on principle to her husband being nervouse of a recontre with any woman in the wide, wide world. •'Come for a walk," she said, "and don't be such a stupid boy. One wouh. think vou were in love with her now, S hear vou talk. You'll make me iea'ousAnd she made a mirthless iretence at a laugh which would have deceived no living soul but a husband. »(jt-t readv, I'm going to put on my i.„+ qnd l if vou're very good you sha.l come and watch me lose all our rnonev m She fid never been more bowit.-hinj! or coquettish in their courtship than she was during that e\ening. Ij more plainly than the man himself she re°&<*> ftat she had a rival-though it St be only a memory-and she put forth all her forces to annihilate lie . Ktifnl. doubtless? Jm* would never have been captured by « weman who was not good looking. And . woman of the world also? JacK hate, school girls! ~ Afnv. W ol' N contemplating her reflection comcapable of holding my own against thlady. I really do!" I! The wrong horse came in again, and

again, undeterred by ill-fortune, she drew a ticket from the bowl. As she lifted her head she felt her husband beside Ler give a galvanic start. The next instant, following the direction of his gaze, she knew the woman. "Plain," sho meditated; "evidently fallen off! Now 1 wonder if she has charm of manner enough to make him lose sight of that, or if I dare venture on an heroic course?" "Don't you think we've played this idiotic game long enough?" said Jack in a strained voice. " Let us go on to the terrace." So he could not even trust himself in the same room with her, couldn't he? It was too bad; really, it was humiliating. "You go, dearest," replied Mrs. Maxwell, sweetly. "I know you hate to be here, and I am much too infatuated to leave myself. Go and smoke your cigar in peace and the fresh air, and come back for mo when you've finished it. I shall Le perfectly safe, and I mean to 'break the bank.' " Jack departed' obediently, and out of the tail of her eye hi? wife watched the other woman take note of it. "Now, will she follow him or not?" she asked herself. "Not just yet, I suppose—it would be too marked. Patienza 1" It was ten minutes later when Mrs. Jernyngham sauntered carelessly from her place at the table out through tli3 glass door, and Mrs. Maxwell clasped her hand in her lap with sudden nervousness. Had she been rash and foolhardy? There was moonlight outside, and the lapping of waves. Fatal adjuncts in such a matter! In the moonlight, too, the creature's appearance would be softened and refined. She had made a mistake, perhaps—she had placed him in a temptation she would 1 have avoided. Should she join him—rescue him, while there was still time? No, she would not, she would stand her chance. Moonlight or no moonlight, she would risk it. Two francs more and the devjl take the hind-most!

They cme face to face she had' planned it so —and her Slight gesture of surmise was perfect. "Mr. Maxwell—you? Is it possible? "How do you do, Mrs. Jernyngham? I "* He was going to say he was pleased to meet her, but decided not to. . "I did not know you were in Dieppe. Have you been here long?" "I have been here, with my wife, about a month," he answered. "With your wife? Really?' She gave a faint smile —a smile he rememberedl very well. "So you are married —am Ito congratulate you?" "Thank you," he said; "you are very kind. Your husband is " "He's dead; so don't inquire about his health. You were always making blunders of that sort." She laughed. "I used to correct you in that fashion long ago, didn't I? You see. I haven t changed l . I to'd you you'd marry you didn't believe me then!" " Ah, but you were right. "Of course I was right. Shall we sit down —or won't your wife let you. 1 say, are you henpecked? You used to be the sort of boy who'd be henpecked. Perhaps you've improved since those days." "Perhaps I have. There are two chair: " . . " Thanks. Do you know this is very funny to me, to meet you in the capacity of a married man? Do you remember how you used to vow that r.ever, never, never" —she broke off and' burst into laughter again. And shall I own to something I fter you were gone—sometimes when I was inclined to be sentimental —I used to half bolie\c you." She leaned forward, and fixed iier eyes on him in just the manner lie used to tind so irresistible. Somehow it seemed less distracting now. The eyes had' not altered, perhaps, but her face was older, and that expression looked out ot place on it. There was even a sadness to him in beholding the change tnat time had wrought in her. The woman whose memory had thrilled him so was gone. He had thought about her so mudi, and now she did not exist. It was pathetic, and —what was more painful still this wreck of Nora Jernyngliam could not join with him in mourning for her. He wept alone. "You are not glad to see me. she said. He was not; he was sorry. His veiy soul was full of regret, of sympathy. But he could not tell her so, and he iistened for ten minutes courteously to her distressful provocations, her disheartening pleasantries. Then he rose. She would not make a conquest of him again, she knew it perfectly; lie had secapeo) from her chariot wheels for all time. "Then I suppose this is the last time you will be likely to see me?" she said, shaking hands in good-bye. " I supposo so," he answered. But to himself he said that the last time he had ever seen her had been nine years a^o. Mrs. Maxwell looked up inquiringly as he returned to her. _ t "Amused yourself, i.earestbuo said innocently. "I shall be amused to-morrow, replied Maxwell, " when I can laugh at myself. To-night, somehow, I cannot. ' 'And Mrs. Maxwell, understanding, was content.