Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-02-22

spirit of depression, she struggled fiercely
against it and showed him only the cheer
lest ingle-nooks of her many chambered
emotions.
"See, it's almost like spring again." she
cried joyously, as she leaned over his chair
and watched the morning sunlight, misty
and golden on the city housetops.
The window curtains Swayed and tapped
in the humid breeze; the clatter of feet on
the asphalt, the rumble of wheels and the
puff and whir of passing automobiles came
up to them from the street below.
1T seems good to be alive" she MUIR
INJURED pensiveiy. as she slipped down on
the floor and sat in the muffled sunlight,
leaning against his knees. There was
neither timidity nor self-conscousness in
her attitude, as she sat there companions
ably, comfortably, with her thoughts far
away.
For long time Durkin looked down at
glnting here and there with it's touch of
reddish gold. He could see the quiet pulse
beating in the curved ivory of her throat
She grew conscious of his eyes resting on
her, in time and turned her face solemnly
up to him. He held it there, with the oval
of her chin caught in the hollow of his
hand.
Frank, there's something I'm going to
ask You, for the twentieth time"
She knew what it was even before he
spoke. But She did not stop him, for this
new note of quiet tenderness in his voice
had taken her by surprise
Frank, can't you-won't you marry me,
now?"
She shook her head mournfully
"Isn't it enough that I'm near you and
can help you, and that we can both still
go and come as we want toy
mo, l get only the little fragments Of
your life. and l want all of it. If you can't
me to demand it as to try to nail that sun
beam down to the floor there. But tell me,
has there ever been another?"
mo, never, JIM she cried. There was
who could
happy-and SO miserable-wh, could make
me so unsatisfed with myself and with my
life!"
He studied her upturned face. In it he
imagined he could see all the old opposition
of the dual and strangely contending ma
ture. About the shadowy eyes seemed to
Turk the WEAKNESS and the Righteousness
of the inwardly pure woman who had been
driven to face life in it's more dubious
phases, the woman who had broken laws
and essayed great hazards with him. Yet
about the fresh young mouth remained all
the pride and virginia. purity of the woman
whose inward life was still virginia. and
pure. In this, he felt, lay the bitterest
sting of ALL She was still a good woman
and devious ways Of the career that
seemed to have engulfed her, she had
fought and struggled for that almost in
congruous purity of mind and body, re-
manned to him a tragic and autumnal en-
blem of what her unknown earlier April
like goodness of girlish soul must have
been. He sighed as he thought of it, be-
fore he began to speak again, for it gave
him the haunting impression that he had
been cheated out of something; that the
beauty and rapture of that Aprilian girl
hood should have been his, and yet had
eluded him.
Even though there had been another"
he went on quietly, Il don't believe it
would count. Isn't 1t strange how we all
beat and futter and break our wings
around a beautiful face! One face, just
little softer. one woman's eyes, just little
deeper, and one voice, a little mellower;
and dear me- dear mellow this wayward
mortal passion of ours thro5s and beats and
surges about it. One beautiful face, and it
sends world-history all awry, and brings
out armies and changes maps, and makes
men happy or miserable, as 1t likes!''
That's the first time I ever knew you
were poet!' She cried in almost COO of
pride.
: His hand lay heavily on her crown of
tumbled gold hair.
Wont you marry me?" he asked again.
as quietly as before.
'Oh, Jim," she cried, I'm afraid of it!
I'm afraid of myself, and of your
"But see what we've been through to-
gether-the heights and the depths. And we
never hated each other, there!'
But there were times, know there were
times when you might have. If you were
tied to me! We were each free to go and
come But it's not that, Jim, I'm so afraid
of. It's the keeping on at what we have
been doing. the danger of not keeping de-
cent, OF getting our thoughts and feelings