Lewiston evening teller. [volume] (Lewiston, Idaho) 1903-1911, 1904-02-23
BY E. J. RkE

Some benevolent individual intro
duced them at the Pen and Pencil club.
Saunders afterward spoke of him as
1.-The hand of fate" But then he was
under the sway of the blind god and
or his eyesight.
1t was certainly a case of love at first
sight-on the part of Saunders. When
he looked down into the dark eyes
raised so frankly to his own, he gave
mp his heart Internationally. In all
his thirty-tive years nothing had sent
the blood rushing so riotously through
his veins as the firm, warm clasp of
her hand
But he was a quiet self controlled
fellow, with a composure born of years
of struggle up the uncertain literary
ladder So he did not hold the little
hand second longer than politeness
demanded. There was no trace of ca
gerness In his manner as he sat down
on the divan beside her and began to
talk as few men and fewer women had
heard him talk-brilliantly, with flash
es of wit and sarcasm relieving the un-
derlying earnestness of thought.
Cecil Travers was quite unconscious
of the metamorphosis she was produc-
ing. She only thought that this big,
blond man was not nearly as unap-
proachable as he looked. He was real.
ly charming. And, what was the more
remarkable, he did not talk about him.
self.
The girl found this an unusual expe-
rience. AS reader for one of the maya
zines and writer of short stories, she
had met many men of many minds.
Yet" as she said pathetically to her
self, 1.-The minds always seem to turn
inward How can they write about the
world around them when they are so
absorbed in selfY"
Her wonder grew when she discov-
cred that he, too, was an author. She
remembered now seeing his name
signed to several clever sketches. He
had never tried any with the Sympo-
stun. AS he talked the desire to read
some of his stories became overmas-
tering
| why don't you send something to
me at the Symposium" she asked at
length frankly.
He flushed up to the roots of his hair
as he said hesitatingly. Il have beer
busy about something else, but l will
some time"
1t was his first trace of awkward.
ness Cecil could not know that the
something else" was the novel which
was the work of many months and
which was even then seeking pub
Usher. Not even to her dared he trust
himself to speak of this child Of his
hopes. If the world gave 1t welcome,
ali, then! His thoughts were busy
weaving beautiful day dream, and
its central figure was this dark eyed
girl who was almost a stranger to him.
He awoke to realities with start.
Miss Travers, puzzled at his silence,
had risen and was holding out her
hand In goodby.
You will come to see me some time,
will you not, Mr.. Saunders?" she asked
with the frank smile that was her es-
pecial charm. 81 have enjoyed my
talk with you so very much that
would like to repeat it. l am always
at home on Tuesdays and Thursdays"
11tE tOAt was 81 wi SAht AN
blushed and stammered over his
thanks He called himself fool
minute afterward when he found him
self standing stupidity staring at the
doorway through which she had dis
appeared. But that did not prevent
his going home In strangely excited
and exhilarated mood. The glamour Of
his day dream seemed still around
him. And she, the lady of his dream
he loved her.
He whispered 1t to himself as he
strobe across the park, half fearfui
that the Pickering lamps and the sway
ing branches might guess his secret,
but In the silence of his room he said
il boldly and the confident ring of the
words seemed to echo the mad beating
of his heart
1t was inevitable that the next Thurs
day night should find him in the parlor
of Miss Travers' fat 1t was equally
inevitable that he should bend all his
energies to hide his love from the smil-
ing eyes of this girl, who treated him
with an air of bon camaraderie fata!
to sentiment.
1t is doubtful whether even ehcour-
agement would have wrung the secret
from his lips. The first JOY of loving
was past and in its place had come
food of self distrust, of self deprecia'
ton. To his tortured mind an I'M
bridgeable gulf of training and tradi-
lions seemed to sweep between them.
She had been the petted child of rich
parents, on whom had been lavished
the gifts of college education and
years of foreign travel. This attempt
at independence and self support had
been treated as her latest within and
humored accordingly. He had scram
bled from a common school education
into the pitfalls that beset the path OF
a newspaper reporter. Every upward
step had been bought at the price OF
hard work 1t was but short timt
since the problem of meeting his boaro