The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1900-06-22
CHAPTER V.
MALcoM ATTEMPTS TO RETURN H MINI

SAAh 0C WCAI w W SSC Tue pICSl-
dent and consulted with him as to GER
tain details. and then for the next three
days he gave himself up to his task
of getting together the great mass of
material he had accumulated while
abroad.
1t was the fourth evening Of his re-
turn that he saw the lights in the Gill
bert house across the campus as even
ing set in. The house had been shut
up and dark.
"She is home again." was his first
thought. He was unable to work well
that evening. The next day he con-
tinued, but the evident nearness of
Dorothy made him restless to see her.
Once she came out on the porch, and
he readily recognized her ever at that
distance.
That evening he did not pretend to
himself that he could do anything
worth doing on his report and resolved
to go and return the miniature without
more than a year now. He vas under
promise to give it back. AS we'll now
as any time.
He rang the bell with a tremor at
heart that instantly bounded into fever
when Dorothy herself opened the door,
He stood there in the light of the
porch, and his trepidation did not
hinder his observing that Dorothy look
ed very pale and ever as if she had
been crying.
won't you come in. Mr.. Kirk? I
am very glad to see you" said Dorothy.
She spoke so easily, so kindly, that he
recovered his self possession at one
and went into the parlor and sat down,
wondering at the commonplace de-
tails of his meeting with the II wo-
man in all the world to him.
you will excuse me for coming so
soon after your r%eturn?" he said SIM
ply.
Certainly replied Dorothy, smil-
ing. would you like to see father?"
NO." said Malcolm Kirk. Il came
to see you" 1t was so evidently true
that Dorothy could say nothing for a
moment. There was an awkward 81.
lence. She broke it by saying:
81 have read your pamphlet describ-
ing the life of the people on the CONT.
nent in the cities. l thank you, not fol
the pleasure, but for the pain it gave
me-"
He looked at her gratefully. He In
derstood exactly what she meant. The
opening had been made for talk along
' the lines of his deepest life, and be
fore he knew just how it had beer
brought about he was telling her som
of the experiences of his year abroad
things he had told to no one else an(
. had not even been able to put into hi:
report. All the time he felt the NINA
/, ture in his pocket. But he seemed tt
! fight against the knowledge that b,
s must give it up.
AS for Dorothy, she experienced
, feeling of eXllilaration in her talk will
this man. She was sick Of the empt.
nothings she had been hearing all sum
mer. The recent experience Of he
fathers failure also had excited her
There was much in everything tina
q attract her at the present moment.
q 1t must have beer nearly an hou
q that they had been talking, she ask
ing questions and he replying, and ey
cry minute grew increasingly full Q
r interest to her, when he suddenly stor
n ped as he had done that evening
year before and asked, would you
do you feel as if you could play som
thing?"
q He was simply battling for time, an
g he was in a condition where he coul
not run the risk of speaking somethin
o he ought not. The longer he staid til
deeper he knew his heart longed f,
Dorothy Gilbert. He felt that Will
she was playing he might measure h
Is duty and his inclination better.
h She was never able to tell herse
why she played as she did. She bega
with the old German Lorelei, &c
e weiss nicht was soil es bedeuten, das
q ich so traurig bin CT know not how
. is that am so sad"), and then befol
" she could control her fingers or h,
thought she had passed on to IL
- Traumerei, which Kirk had asked Ii
le to play before.
re When she finished, she hardly kne
y her Own feelings. When she turnt
n about, he was standing, and he ha
m the miniature in his hand.
81 promised to return it when | can
back" He spoke with great simple
ty and. as his fashion always wa
looked straight in her face like a mf
who Is not ashamed or afraid. ~
~ one but myself has seen it. The kee
In. ing of it has not
,tf He hardly dared to trust himself
say what lay within his heart.
truth he knew well enough that
would be n far different nan for t
rest of his days if he could only ha
ION this for his wife, but at tn
moment he felt as if such a POSSIBLE
was too remote for even thought.
lay He had walked to the mantel a
I'D was about to put the miniature doy
are in the place where it had been VIII
Ime a sound in the library startled the
ate both. 1t was a sound as of some o
t rs falling heavily.
"Father!! Dorothy exclaimed in t
!, ror. She raj into the hall, but swift
:. shas