Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-08-25
XIV.

II was late in the afternoon of the fol-
low day before Mary found an oppor-
turt' 90 go to Harriet Cheever- She had
definitely concluded in the taca of the
gossip which was reaching her ears, that
Their was but one course for her to pursue
If she intended to protec; hers she must
hc secure in Harriet's friendship she must
convince her of her innocence. No easy
matter apparently in view Of the dal!caCy
OF the situation and the cloud of mis-
und ,rstaudIng which env"lopei 1t. The
opProhrium OF such scandal was too
heavy In bear alone. and Mary began to
realize that II was growing Into a scandal
There is nothing that are 50 slow TO
realize as til, unpleasant consequences of
our own actions. absorbed only in the In
tcuti4ns which prompted them and secure
often in their innocence. w are amazed at
the distorted events into which they have
shar.d themselves. like the visions of a
dSurdared brain. Mary. who's c0nsidera-
ton for the lesser Couv '0tiUnolIttes OF So
Cje;y was not weighted by false proper
tiOus. Chaf"i a little uni r the necessity
of explanations and could not sc any Just
or arposite reason for the ripple of excite
inert that had resulted from 50 simple an
action.
It was q Grrarv afternoon and the ava-
nues. win6-swept by an earlier gust. werH
leaves which had been torn from budding
trees. Overhead the sky was darkenlng
with heavy clouds. fring'd at tn" edges
with the white drift % approaching ram.
Il b'Can, indeed. to fall in great drops as
Mary reached the Cheevrr house. II stood
on "a conspicuous corner. and its proper
tons were such as 10 permit cnmpar N
with the palaces Of the rev rich, but it had
the grave ol'dity AMI uuoStentatous Dig
nifty Of an ancient and assured fortune.
Contrary 10 custom Mary had to wait
quite a Will" at the door before an anxious
eyed footman opened il. and she was at
once aware that the who'll atmasphsr" Of
The house was changed. The man admitted
her with evid, mt hes 'tatinn, and only went
tO INQUIRE If Mrs Ch"nver would see her at
Mary's urgent request. Master Archie was
still very Ill, he told her. and Mr. Cheever
was away.
Mary was lift 10 wait long while in the
deserted drawing room. which had not ben
lighted and was full of long, encrna aching
shadows. The house was profoundly Still.
and she sat where she could command
long vista of the drawing rooms and the
ballroom beyond; the quiet taste ana the
abundant wealth which had furnished all
of them was patent at a glance. ThHra
was none Of the display of Mrs Writings
house nor of the unused gaud ness which
Marv had noticed in the new houses which
she had visited: there was an atmosphere
here of artistic refinement and of the long
usage of Inherited opportunities. Some
thing Of the same feeling Of envy which
she had experienced so long agO-it seemed
ages now-in Nav Hadding's studio came
over her here: this a home. these sur
rOundngs werr secure lasting. genuine.
not even domestic infeliCity could rob Har-
rist VI these OF the possessions that her
wealth and her station assured to her;
nothing that Cheever could do could make
her an outcast. a waif. A baggari Mary.
who seldom wept-th" discipline of an I'M
happy life dries up the fountain Of super
fetal emOtiOn-felt two hot tears fall on her
4 l,r.,- l.a,. God
and she brushed them hastily away and
rose AT the rustic of Mrs. Cheever's skirts
on the staircase
Harriet came quickly across the room
holding out both hands "Oh. Mary, she
exclaimed softly. he is so ill-so ill.,
At the sight of her white face and her
evident appeal for sympathy Mary forgot
her errand and her own complications and
last night, Harriet" she said simply; "of
course he will be better soon
Harriet shook her head doubtfully; she
had been under a great stress for the last
twenty-four hours and showed the loss of
sleep and the anxiety. Il do not know
she whispered. as though she feared that
even her own voice could penetrate through
the great house to the s!ckroom. Il feel
there and they will not let me-touch him."
a sob choked her. las If 1 didn't know what
TO do for him-my own child! The doctors
are Up there nOw-they sent me away while
-WEll+ they examined llln- 'il, Mai
she hid her face on her friends arm. ooh,
Mary if anything happans-I-I shall de-
Mary drew her into the circle Of her arms.
and gently stroked her hair. She knew the
value of silent sympathy: it flashed upon
her rs sadly homogeneous that she had en-
WED her a moment before. After all. she
reflected. riches are only comparative and
Indebtedness exists everywhere She tried
to soothe and reassure the weeping mother,
but all the while she felt her own futility
In the face of this foreshadowed bereave
ment. if bereavement it was to be:
Harriet chung to her; she. too. had been
drifting without sympathy. conscious and
sharply conscious that the boys father had
gone away at moment when any other
father would have put business aside 10
stay with his child. If Cheever's heartless-
ness added another pang to her anguish,
however. she did not speak of 1t; she had
learned long ago to engulf his actions and
his shortcomings In a cloak of silence which
choked off gossip and curiosity and armed
her with an impanetrable reticence. But
several events REQUIRED to Mary's mind
with a clearness which awoke her abhor-
rencr of Cheevers callousness.
How long has Archie been so?" she
asked gently.
Harriet half withdrew from her arms and
tried TO Quel her own unusual emotion.
'For two days" she said in dull voice,
"but the crisis came this morning-they
don't know whether he can-it's pneumonia
-and-and-there is a complication she
put her hands to her head and tried to ad-
lust her ruined halr, a mere mecnanlCaI
movement that yet relieved the tension;
she was struggling to command herself.
The doctors tell me that l must be cheer
ful," she looked at Mary with a wan smile.
'I am so with him-poor darltng-l have
been laughins-rancy it. Mary. laughing
before him today. and once-hiS mind wan
dered-" she stopped with a hard little sob;
.'it almost drove me crazy-l couldn't bear
20 hear him-and he looks so beautiful
with the fever In his eyes and his cheeks
40 pink You wouldn't think him so i'll
Mary laid her hand over hers sympa-
thet!cally Has no one been with you but
the nurses Harriet" she asked gently;
mo other women, ! mean. she added
quickly lest she should be misunderstood.
Mrs Cheevcr shook her head with a sad
smile II couldn't have them-Molly came
and Mrs Lane and even Christine-but
couldn't bear 1t
Mary looked at her with gentle eyes
"May | stay" she asked quietly.
~ wish you WOULD don't seem to feel
toward YOU like that" Harriet faltered
.'you understand-and you don't talk so
oh Mary 1t is so like chattering-so-"
abe broke off helplessly.
II will stay-let me just sit here or up
stairs. and when you need me l can be sure
10 b., here Mary said at once; II think
AZ will be better-for today
Mrs Cheever looked at her sadly: she was
pitiflIlly changed even the round contour
or her face had fallen into hollow curves,