The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1904-09-11
CHAPTER II.
The Adventure Of Annabel.


as a surgeon. Only ne hated the words
he uttered. hated the blunt honesty
which forced them from his lips. Oppo-
site. his pupil stood with bowed head
and clasped hands.
You have the temperament he
said You haTe the IDEAS. Your first
treatment OF Z subject is always cor
rect always suggestive. But of what
avail is this2 You have no execution,
20 finish You lack only that mechani-
cal knach OF expression which is the
least important part OF an artist
equipment but which remains a tedl-
Gus and absolute necessity. We have
both tried hard II develop it-you and !
and we have failed. 1t is better to
face the truth.'
Much better" she agreed. 'Oh.
much better"
Personally" he went on, I must
confess TO great disappointment. l
looked upon YOU from the very hrst
a. the most promising Of my pupils. l
overlooked The mechanical imperfec-
items Of your work. the utter lack OF
finish. the crUCeness Of your drawing.
/ said TO myself, this VIII come. 1t
seems that l was mistaken. You can
not draw. Your fingers are even now
as stiff as schoolgirls. You v5ll never
be able 10 lIaw. You have ideas. You
are an artist by the divine right of
birth. but whatever form Of expression
may come 10 you at some future time
il VIII not be painting. Take my ad-
vice. Burn your palette and your easel
Give up your lonely hours Of work here.
Look somewhere else in life. Depend
upon IL. -heTe is q place for you-walt-
ing Here you only waste your time.
She was silent and in the gloom Of
the dimly lit apartment he could not
see her face. He drew a little breath Of
relief The worst was over now. He
continued tenderly, almost affection
ateiy.
After all. there are great things left
in the world for you. Painting is only
one slender branch Of the great tree.
Tonight all this may seem hard and
cruel Tomorrow you viii feel like
freed woman. Tomorrow 1 shall come
and talk To you again-Of other things.
A man % Infinite tact and kindness,
be spoke his message and went The
girl. with 4 little moan, crossed the
room and threw open the window.
She looked stea dfastly out. Paris,
always beautiful even in the darkness,
glietered away TO the horizon. The
lights Of the Champs Elysees and the
Place de la COncOrde, suggestive. bril-
liant. seductive, shOne like an army Of
frefies against the deep cool back
ground Of the night. She stood there
with white set face and nervOusly
cicnched fingers The echo of those
kindly words seemed still to ring in her
ears. She was crushed with a sense of
her own terrible impOtency. A failure,
She must write herself down a
failure. At her age, with her
ambitions. with her artistic tempera-
mcnt and creative instincts, she was
yet TO be denied all coherent means Of
expression. She was TO fall back among
the ruck. a young woman of talent,
content perhaps to earn a scanty living
by painting Christmas cards, or teach
ing at a Kindergarten. Her finger nails
dug into her flesh II was the bitterest
moment OF her life. She flung herself
back into the bare little room, cold,
empty, cOmfOrtless. In mOmentary
fury she seized and tore in pieces the
study which remained upon the easel
The pieces fell 70 the ground in little
white shower. 1t was the END, she told
herself, fiercely. And then, as she stood
there with the fragments Of the torn
canvas at her feet some even caught
upon her skirt, the door was thrown
open. and a little girl entered, hum
ming a little tune
The newcomer stopped short upon
the threshold.
Anna, What tragedy has happened,
little sister? No little lights, no supper.
no coffee-and. above all. no Mr.. Court
law. How dreary it all looks. Never
mind. Come and help me pack. I'm
of to England"
"Annabel, are you mad? To En-
land. You are Joking, Of course. But
come in, dear I win light the stove.
and there shall be some coffee pres
emily"
Coffee BAH"
The newcomer picked her way across
the floor with daintily uplifted skirts.
and subsided into a deck chair of
stretched canvas.
4 viii not rob you Of your coffee,
most dutiful Of sisters" she exclaimed.
Il have had adventures-oh. more than
one, I can assure you. It has been a
marvellous day-and l am going to
England"
Anna looked at her sister gravely.
Even in her painting smock and with
her disarranged hair. the likeness be-
tween the two girls was marvellous
The adventures ] do not doubt, An
mabel" she said. They seem TO come
10 you as naturally as disappointment
to other people But TO England
What has happened. then?"
Already the terror OF a few hours
ago seemed 70 have passed away from
the girl who leaned back so lazily in
her chair, watching the tip of her
patent shoe swing backward and for
ward She could even think Of what
had happened. Very soon she would
be able TO forget it.
Happened, Oh, many things" she
declared indOiently. The most impor-
tant is that I have a new admirer."
The wonderful likeness between the
two girls was never less noticeable
than at that moment Anna stood look
ing down upon her sister with grave
perturbed face. Annabel lounged in her
chair with a sort Of insolent abandon
in her pose, and wide-open eyes which
F. never fiinched or dropped. One realized
indeed then where the differences. lay;
the tender curves about Annals mouth
transformed into hard. sharp lines in
Annabel's; the eyes Of one truthful
and frank. the others more beautiful
but with less xpression-windows LIT
with dazzling light but through which
one saW-nOthing.
a new admirer. Annsbel? But what
has that 70 co with your going TO Eng
land2"
Everything, He is Sir John Fer
I'inghali-very stupid, very respect
able. very e1otistical But after ali
what does that natter He IS very
much taken with me. He tries hard to