The World and the Door Page: 414
This prose (fiction) is part of the collection entitled: O. Henry Project and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Austin History Center, Austin Public Library.
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TIHE \\WO)1,I) AND) TItE DOOR
now ind then, and see t gme of bau chll
and Xw r stiff collar and h \ :t policetm,1n
jumping into the sea
we rush around to
her house and )r-
po ,se. It's nicer to be
rej ted b M rs. Co-
I;nt haIll it is (, ]) e
dlro wncd. And they
s. 1rmvning is a de-
lighiful sensation."
" l nv like her
here?" aslkcd Alcr-
ri nt. t
Noit an w ihere", .
comfortalblc sigh.
" She's the nl whitc
wm( anl in 1 . Ia a
T'he rest range frim
a tilliled dun to the
color of n 1-lat piano
key. She's been here
a \c:y . ('Imnes firom
-w ll, i-ou kn. w i8 l
how a womn can
talk- askl 'cm to, sav .
say ' r''W s foo.)t' :r
'cut's cradle .' Some- C. i:f
times wou'd lhink she i -
was from )Oshkosh,
and 'a in from Jduck-
sonvillc, F lorila, and
the next d:t from.
'Cape ('d.'
turned lcitr inm.
"Al well, she
looks it; but her
talk's translucent ';
enough. But that's
woman. I suppose if
the ISphinx w' r to
begin t:dlking she'd
merely si: '( good- " / m / s .r
ness me:! more \iS-itors coming for dinner, and nnthin, to
c;tt but the sand w\\hich is hcr.' i ut you
won't think about that w tn NoT mett her,
Mlcrriam . You'll prnlposc to cir, too."
To make a hard storv sof, Mlrrilm did t
meet her and propose to her. IHIt found her
to, be a wN,man in bla:k- with hair the coloring on \hen
1'
l. , i ,/ md ' ,/ '
Ive w as created. Ietr words
though, were trunslucent, as
iilbb had said. She
spk l , vaguely, of
friends in California
and sme of the loXm tr
pr ishes in Louisiana.
The troplical climate
and ind1olent life
suited her: she had
thought of having an
ran grii m 11)lter n
l I'tPu , all in all,
c-harmed her.
ship of tihe 11 rhi nx
lasted three /mths,
iilhugh he did not
know that he was
courting her. tle
lt's usingl2 her as anl
;antidote fti rem] rsi .
until Ite found, too
late, that he had ac-
Iluired the habit.
During that time he
had receive d n news
from home. \adc
did not knIotw where
he was; aid he was
n t sure of Wude's
exact atdlress, and
was afraid to write.
He thotlht he had
better let mnatte'rs rest
as they wcrc fur a
()11( lfterno ll he
and Mrs. ('nant
hired two lnies and
rmle out alond, the
mountain trail as far
a, the littlchcold river
that camc tumbling
do\vn the foothills.
There they stopped
for a drink, and Mer-
is piece-hc proposed, as Bibbrim spoke hi
ltudl prpil'hesicd.
Mlrs. ('nant g;tacv him one glance of bril-
liant tende i rness, and then her face t1,k on
such a strille, hagard lhok that Mcrriun
w as shaken out of his intoxication and back
to his senses.II I----- I
I I - " - I I I ~ I I Il
of a lrunze turkey's wing, and mysterio us,
rcmembering ees thutt-well, that looked as
if she miht have been a trained nurse look-
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Henry, O., 1862-1910. The World and the Door, prose (fiction), August 1907; New York. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth139400/m1/4/: accessed June 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Austin History Center, Austin Public Library.