Repository: UIHistories Project: Illio - 1896 [PAGE 82]

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"I'm ping to patent the process," replied Hereford. He was begin i n g t > < doubt its beinur well done, and lie returned to business without explanations. It was the fate of Miss Gonad's manuscript to receive especially prompt attention m the sieele oilice. 11ereford, not old enough always to discriminate in himself t>et\w en man and editor, hud a presentiment that the story would he a\ailahle,and h, promised himself to meet Miss Conrad in the capacity of edit r to aeeept it. lie felt sure that she was clever enough to appreciate I > ight ideas

for self-protection. I nfortunately. one of the man> «p test ions u hieh enter into editorial considera tions could not be answered in the atlirmative. Hereford was sorry, for he liked the storv cordially. Its refusal put a new aspect, too, on his hit of diplomacy. As a man. it seemed to him very shabby t<» acknowledge his personality only to return the story; as an editor, it would be churlish to return it without the hearty personal commendation it deserved. W h e n e v e r Hereford's mind was disturbed by the conflict between man and editor the statf knew it by the ingenuity lie showed in devising outside e r r a n d s for .lames. It was Mondav before .lames resumed his regular routine. Hereford had

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decided t<» represent himself a second time with the communication that Hereford was unexpectedly and unavoidably busy again, but meant to write in regard to the manuscript. u It would tit 'tarnal well s o m e w h e r e , " he c o m m e n t e d to Charnley, as he finalIv laid it aside in his desk. M I suppose s o . " said Charnley, who had read it twice, and liked it: " but, for the life of me, Hereford, I can't see why you want to scare up such a tribe of undiscovered virtues in the thing when we can't possibly use i t . " N 0 h , using it's out of t h e q u e s t i o n , " Hereford a n s w e r e d , and then interests remote from Miss Conrad and her storv claimed his attention until noon. Hereford lunched that day at a little French restaurant olf Washington Square. As he started back to the oilice through t h e dingy side streets, w h e r e one is surprised to meet one's friends, he suddenly caught sight of Miss Conrad. She stood as if bewitched, staring at a tumble-down old house with an elaborate wroughtiron staircase leading tip to it. Tall old rusted lamp-frames stood on either Bide, looking as if they had held no lamps for centuries. Tin* whole place breathed decadence, and, by the memory of Miss Conrad's story, romance. She had hinged her little mystery to this house. He knew that her description had seemed familiar, and he felt a contempt for himself when he t h o u g h t bow many times he had passed it without recognizing its possibilities, even since he had read the story. While he watched h e r she gave h e r head a little abrupt shake of disappointment and turned from the house, and they were face to face. 44 n That's the place in your story, said Hereford, impetuously. u "Oh," she answered, I'm so sorry about it. I passed it once long ago, audit haunted me as a place that had something to tell; and 1 could never get it out of my mind until I wrote that little thing I left for Mr. Hereford, and since then it has seemed to haunt me in the opposite way. Did you ever have that happen to you? Everything that I had been remembering as clearly as if it stood before me 114