Smyrna times., 1886-03-03

tlu2ln9 through all MS veins as ne
walked to her house through the blaz.
ing noon. He remembered that unde-
fined look in her eyes, that deepening
cu.or on her cheek. Nature, in his
luxurinnt. whitehead mood, seemed
so 'deuly to show him the promise of
rich free bounteously lavish gifts At
lust at last She had starved him
lit erto; goaded him, pressed him
hlrd; allowed him to slip into depths
from which the better half of his soul
rtco;led; cursed him with q tempera-
ment in which binding folies could,
and circumstances, rise like blood
red cloud before the vision. But if now
sh. turned toward him in her rich cap
Iic' if she gave him this boon
The transition from the glaze of the
street to the cool darkness of the little
4 -awin9-room was dazzling for mo-
ment He saw Bertha, q wealth in
white garments, rise, and he felt the
fugitive touch of her hand. There was
some one else in the room. A man.
Miss E lworth turned to offer an intro
duction Penfeld's pupils had adjusted
themselves by this time. He saw dis
tncSly who the man was. An almost
imperceptible suspension of expression
sho we'd him that the other gave him a
chance to ignore former acquaintance
if he chose. Penfeld did not avail him.
self of the chance.
Mr. Ives and I have met before, he
said.
He understood the whole situation,
intuitively, at once. There is a look in
a woman's face when she is surprised in
tine presence of the man she loves which
no man, the moro if he loves her HIM
self, mistakes. That dual consciousness,
always so prominent in Penfeld. made
him wonder, feetingly, at his own
calmness.
Il did not expect to meet you here, "
he said.
Il have been here two months" Ives
replied.
Penfeld remained every moment of
the time that a conventional call re-
quired, and he and Ives talked during
the interval. Bertha Ellworth, as he
finally got up, put out a tremulous
hand. She had nothing to blame her.
self for. If her inexperience had mis-
taken for one brief moment-a feeting
emotion for the coming of the king
other women have gone through that
same episode as many times without
pangs of conscience. But Bertha Ell.
worths soul was of finer fibre. Penfield
walked straight through the broad
sleeping streets of the moonlit town out
into the burning country. Over the
hot fields one reached the cliffs from
the clefts of the white rocks one saw the
sea. There Penfield stood some littlt
time with unseeing eyes that fixed the
rippled cobalt blue, against which the
sunlight struck in diamond sparks,
then suddenly threw up both arms and
dashed himself face downward on the
ground.
From such mad frenzies of rebellion
against fate it is our won't to turn with
all the disapproval of q sanctified re.
spectability. If a man has any strength
of character he accepts the inevitable
like & man. This is our verdict followed
by shutting of the lips with an ex-
preston which one may designate as
the 'personally-saved " one. But if q
man has not your strength of mind and
character, OH, my brother, what then
Penfield, torn, rent asunder, cheated,
as 1t appeared to his blinded senses,
by that luKuriaUt noon Which had
seemed to promise all things, and now
glared on with a horrible meretricioua
indifference to his despair, raised his
cllnched hands to heaven, like Lucifer,
the fallen star. Life had been against
him from the first He had stumbled,
he had sinned, he had tried to redeem
himself, he had done what he could, he
had prayed, hoped, had faith q golden
vision had flashed across his sight tc
lure him on, he had loved, and now she
had been snatched from him-fascinated
drawn away, by the man to whose
magnanimity he owed everything-th
very breath he was now able to breathe
free under the vault of the sky And
that man had everything already. In.
tegrity, purity of life, success, all-com
pelllng charm. Do you think thai
thought made the cross easier2 Nay, 6
thousand times harder You turn with
horror from the man 1 draw make
him no better than he was.
The flush noon wore itself. through
softening gradations of palpitatinl
light, into slumberous afternoon. The
sun went down, reddish globe the
dew formed, the stars came out, the sei
Tapped the rocks with a regular, break
ing motion.
When the daylight was nearly Ron,
PenGeld got up and walked back ovel
the refreshed fields. He stumbled
slightly at times, as one may who il
dazed.
He had to cross the railroad track a,
he got back to the town. As lie an
preached the slightly depressed em
bankment horse and buggy appeared
nearing it at the same time. Thouel
1t was now almost dark, Penfield recog
nized the silhouette Of Arthur Ives Il
the driver. Ives, he knew from wha
ne had told him that afternoon, had hi
temporary quarters Mt the other side o
the town. Some one passing evidentl
spoke to him, for the horse was sud
denly reiued in.
A second later a sharp, shrielIin
whistle rang through the gloom. TIL
evening express was coming. I've
horse plunged, reared, dashed forward
Taken off his guard, with his rein han
relaxed and his head turned TO his inter
iocutor, Ives made an Intellectual effoi
to check the animal. At that very ms
ment the headlight Of the locomotiI