Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-11-22
VII
my only books are woman's looks,
And fnllYta all theT'Ye taught me.

The Sunday which Colonel Frayne and his
daughter spent at Hefryville was In every
way ideal II the sun had ever shone be-
fore in all its glory. / had not been con-
scious of its wondrous beauty; II other
autumn days had been as clear and brae-
ing, / must have remained cooped up In
nay library and missed their invigoratfng
impulse. Scarcely breath Of wind stirred
the crimson and brown foliage massed upon
the hillsides, and vet the atmosphere was
invigorating-exhil NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. 10
the point of eXaltation.
Never shall forget the sense OF serenity
which pervaded our valley as barbara
Frayne and l viewed it in the wondrous
light of that glorious afternoon. Nature,
relaxed and dreamy seemed waiting with
a deep, indra wn breath of joyous content
ment for her well-beloved sleep. There was
nothing ominous to me In the trancenke
calm, and / am glad there was not Tor
any premonition of the future would sim
ply have deprived me of an inspiring mem
Dry without fore-arming me against the
coming of events.
1t was difficult to recognize my breezy
comrade of the preceding days in the quiet.
womanly girl who became my guest at
Hefryvflle. Yet the two personalities were
not irreconcilable Barbara Frayne was
a natural being who shared natures moods
and responded to It's influence. She was
living protest against conventions CRATE
full relief from the tyranny of consistency
There is an aching dizziness about people
who are always themselves-or always their
best selves, or always their true selves
One could never be sure that Barbara was
her best self-her possibilities We're too
iimitless for prophecy. One could not
swear that she was ever her true Self-She
was too rnany-sided for single point OF
view. But one always knew that she was
genuine, matter in what guise the witch
appeared. 1 think 1 understood this in
stinctively, for l experienced no surprise
7 1e1,1 OF Hafr 1In
the quiet, thoughtful companionship of
matured woman
There was little need to entertain Colonel
Frayne. Once in my library, he was an
chored; for my books, though few in num-
Der, appealed to his particular interest, and
he resisted all our efforts to drag him out
of-doors. At another time l would have
taken pleasure in exhibiting my treasures
to him in person, but his daughters de-
light in our scenery led me far aield, and
we spent the day exploring the neighbor-
hood of which l knew almost as little as
my guest. Indeed, I had to confess that
had never investigated it's beauties until
that day.
Aren't you ashamed to admit it?" she
exclaimed, as we reached the crest of a
hill from which the country could be seen
rolling for miles below us in all the soft
toned colors of an oriental tapestry
Il am glad l have waited until now"
| replied; but she did not ask my reason
and | doubted if she heard the answer for
men crossing field below us, the sunlight
flashing from the polished barrels of their
guns and she suddenly turned to me- hel
face flushing with indignation.
How can men kill anything such day
rs thisr' she exclaimed They must be
worse than brutal Even beasts don't xii
one another for mere sport
| shook my head assentngly.
And yet some of the gentlest and most
sensitive of men are sportsmen,' 1 sug
sested.
They must be brutal at heart" she as
serted
Not necessarily" I answered. 1.-THE mat
ter is much more complex than that
don't think it's complex" she replied
Men shoot harmless animals for sport be-
cause they are essentially brutal, and can't
or don't want to live it down Isn't that
the whole truth?'
Il hardly think so.' I answered, smiling
ly.
We'll, I've heard plenty of reasons for
Inc Inc eom i and never one excuse" she
maintained: But then, perhaps, as Mr.. Gil
bert says, have no reasoning powers
He was teasing you.'' 1 suggested
Indeed he wasn't" she asserted HE
ties. l wouldn't like to be a lawyer" she
continued, musingly. Would you?''
u don't think 1 should" 1 admitted
mere is certain fascination in matching
your mind against another's in actual con-
fict, and the law affords about the onIv
opportunities for this but
But think of bounding a human being
to death! Everybody has a horror Of an
executloner, but the lawyer who provides
the victim is highly respected, and has no
need of black mask. Is that another
complexity?"
l made no answer. for recognized the
dangerous tendency of the conversations
but after a few moments silence she con.
tinued as though / had replied.
dare say you are right" she admitted
refiectively. 'Deake Gilbert isn't essen
TALLY brutal He wouldn't Intentionally
hurt any ones feelings, suppose; and yet
and yet he will murder a woman like Alice
Emory"
Her puzzled tone lent startling bitterness
to the words
You mustn't say that!' 1 burst out. i'm
pulsively. 1T isn't right or fair
She started at the sudden attack, and
her cheeks crimsoned.
Perhaps l should not have spoken so
forcibly," l began, for / was a bit alarmed
at my own vehemence But I could not
bear hear you say such a thing, because"
please don't apologize" she interrupted.
You make me feel more guilty. OF course,
I ought not to have said anything of the
sort I'm very, very sorry But 1t all seems
SO strange and contradictory to me / can't
reconcile myself to the situation Perhaps
some day l may understand. But now
everything seems cruelty wrong. You see,
Alice Emory is one of my best friends
Let me tell you about her. Some years
ago"
PLEASE stopr
The words were almost cry of distress,
and the girl drew back in surprise and
alarm
I'VE must not speak of this matter now.
Miss Frayne" I continued, more calmly,
land when tell you why you may never
want to speak to me again; and l am
solely to blame, for should have told you
at once that I am the foreman OF the
Emory jury"
You are on the jury'
u,htc1 yy2C a n
credulity and dismay.
only temporarily" I protested. II ten
dered my resignation to Mr., Gilbert yester-
day, and l go TO Melton to confirm 1t to-
morrow But have been accepted as
Juror, and until am released / have no
right to hear anything about the case"
"Why didn't you tell me?' she whispered,
and then suddenly paused.
IT should have done SO. admitted.
..Oh, you Couldn't" she gasped note OF
teary laughter in her voice. IL said 1u-
rors were-were half idiots!
'"rhe half Of me which is not idiot en-
ables me to resign responded lightly;
but even as I spoke her face assumed an
expression of the deepest gravity.
"Oh, you mustn't she protested, earn
estly. "You mustn't resign"
81 have practically done so already" !
replied, conciusively.
"You must not! You must not, indeed!
zin earpeStly into nv