Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-03-24
| last ride, and fate owed them the compen-
| sation of beautiful afternoon.

last ride, and fate owed them the compen-
sation of beautiful afternoon.
The last ridei Warburton's mouth droop-
ed. Never again to ride with her! How the
thought frightened his heart! What tug 1t
was going to be to give her up! But SO 1t
must be. He could never face her graft
tude. He must disappear, like the good
fairies in the story books If he left now.
and She found out what he had done, she
would always think kindly of him, even
tenderly. At twilight, when she took out
haps thought or two would be given to
him. After what had happened-this con-
temptible masquerading and the crisis
through which her father had just passed
1t would be impossible for her to love him.
She would always regard him with suspi-
cion, as a witness of her innocent shame.
He recalled the two wooden plates in the
All. well, what mattered IT? After today
the abyss of eternity would yawn between
them. How he loved her! How he adored
the exquisite profile. the warm-tinted skin.
her! All, that last ridei
The girl was holding her head high be-
cause her heart was full. No more to ride
past her, bringing the odor of the grasses,
of the flowers, of the earth to tingie her
nostrils; no more to follow the hounds on
a winters day. with the pack baying pc
ers sweeping down the field; no more to
wander through the halls of her mothers
birthplace and her own! Like breath on
a mirror, all was gone. Why! what nad
she done to be flung down ruthlessly? she,
who had been brought up in idleness and
luxury, must turn her hands to a living!
Without being worldly, she knew the word
Once she appeared upon the stage sne
would lose caste among her kind. true,
they would tolerate her, but no longer
would her voice be heard or her word nave
weight.
Soon she would be tossed about on the
nd Swallowed Then would
come the haggling with managers, long
and tirescme journeys, gloomy notes
and Indifferent fare, curious people
who desired to see the one-time fash
fonable belle; her portraits would be
Autographed and hung in shop windows, IN
questionable resorts, and the privacy SO
loved by gentlewonen gone; and perhaps
there would be insults. And she was only
on the threshold of the twenties, the ra-
diant. blooming twenties!
During the long ride Cfor they covered
something like seven miles, not WORD was
spoken The girl was biding her time; the
man had nothing to voice. They were going
through the woods, when they came upon
clearing through which a narrow pr0oh
lott I'd or sailed down the incline She
refined in and raised her crop. He was puz,
zled So far as he could see he and the girl
were alone. The third person, for whom, ne
reasoned, he had brought the second plate
was nowhere in sight.
A fiat boulder lay at the side of the stream,
and she nodded toward it, Warburton
emptied the hamper and spread the cloth on
the stone. Then he laid out the salad the
sandwiches the olives, the almonds and two
silver telescope cups. All this time not
single word from either; Warburton, busted
with his task, did not lift his eyes to her.
The girl had laid her face against James
rose and two lonely tears trailed slowly
down her velvety cneeks. Presently he was
compelled to look at her and speak.
Everything is ready, miss" He spoke
buskily The sight of her tears gave him an
indescribable agony.
She dropped the bride reins, brushed her
eyes, and the sunshine of smile broke
through the troubled clouds.
Mr. Warburton" she said gently, ''let us
not play any more. 1 am too sad Let US
hang up the masks, for the comedy Is
DONE"
(To be concluded tomorrow.