Ralph Henry Barbour

“ At the box-office the line had dwindled to a scant half-dozen persons, and Carson could easily have redeemed his tickets. But he had abandoned the idea. He was going to see the play, and not alone. Late comers scuttled through the ticket-gate, the foyer showed empty beyond the doors and Carson knew that the curtain was up. The woman with the black eyes, seemingly unaware of his regard; drew a tiny watch from be- neath her cloak, glanced at it, walked to the edge of the steps and looked down the street. When she turned again Carson was beside her, hat in hand. ”

“ A long line wound across the lobby and back again. It would be a matter of ten or fifteen minutes to dispose of his tickets by taking his place at the end of that slow-moving coil. There were the speculators, he thought, as he drew aside at the top of the steps, but he disliked trafficking with them. Better to stand the small loss, or—why not? Why not see the show now that he was here? To be sure, he had small relish, as a rule, for solitary theatre-going, but tonight anything seemed preferable to that over-decorated and steam-scented hotel room. ”

“ There he turned to her questioningly.
“A hansom, please,” she answered.
He gave the order and returned to her side. It was still snowing and had grown colder.
“I want to thank you for your kindness,” he said. “It was good of you.”
“I wonder if you think that?” she asked, her black eyes trying to read his face.
“I usually mean what I say,” he answered simply.
“I believe you do,” she replied. “Is that my carriage?”
He led her down the steps, across the slushy sidewalk, and helped her into the hansom. Then he looked at her again inquiringly, smiling gravely. She shook her head. ”

“ Her total lack of embarrassment under circumstances which would have sent many women into mild hysterics suggested unflattering conclusions. Yet he had only to look at her face to be certain of the injustice of them. If her rings were to be believed, she was married; and there was that about her which gave support to this belief. But married or unmarried, she was charming, and he blessed Jack Maitland for his delinquency. The curtain fell at last, and she turned to him with a smile as the lights flared up. ”

“ Carson, drawing on his gloves, turned southward and strode briskly. The cold, moist air felt good against his face, and he was deaf to the soft blandishments of the hansom-drivers who steered their clumsy craft up to the curb along the block. By the time he had reached the second corner his resentment against Maitland, who had failed him at the last moment, had vanished. After all, an evening in Jack’s company would not have been especially enlivening; a man who is still in the first year of matrimony is scarcely an ideal companion for a bachelor, he reflected ”

“ You hold deceit to be the greatest of all the deadly sins, and sincerity the most exalted of the virtues. You detest hypocrisy above everything. You are a stanch friend and a bitter enemy. I doubt if you are very domestic; I think you like action better than ease; had you been a man you would have led other men. ”

“ I have two tickets here. At the last moment my friend failed me. I hate to go to the theatre alone. You find yourself, I fancy, in much the same predicament. Surely it isn’t intended that we shall miss our enjoyment merely because of the inconsiderate behavior of our friends? ”