Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-12-24
THE AWAKENING OF
HELENA RICHIE.
S.-"s -:
By MARGARET DELAND,
Author Of dr. Lavendars People," Old Chester Tales Ell
Copyright by Harper q Brother A
Bv MARGARET DELAND

Standing in the doorway of the Wright
house in 'thunderous silence the senior
warden, lamp in hand, awaited his SON.
AS Sam entered the silence broke into a
flash of cracking and scathng contempt.
1T does not occur to you. sir. / sup
pose, that a lady may find your society
tiresome? 1t is after eleven!
Sam, smiling to himself, hung up his
hat. He was rejecting that he must see
about those rabbits at once.
You will understand, sir. if you please,
that while you do me the honor to live
under my roof you will return to it at
up for you in this way. You will be in at
10 o'clock. Do you hear?"
Yes. SIR said Sam. and added. with
sudden awakening of interest, IF, you
would let me have key, father. L
II will not let you have key! I will
have no boy entering my house at mid
night with key! Do you understand"
Yes. sir" Sam murmured, falling back
into his own thoughts.
MIR. Wright. still talking, stood at the
foot of the stairs SO that his SON could
how in oratorical denunciation his
fathers long upper lip curved like the
beak of bird of prey: behind his hand
he. tried to arch his own lip in the same
manner. He really did not hear what
was said to him: he only sighed with re-
lief when it was over and he was allowed
to go upstairs and tumble sleepily into
bed
AS for his long-suffering hostess. when
she was alone Helena Richie rubbed her
eyes and began to wake up. That boy
never knows when to go! she said to
herself with amused impatience. Then
her mind turned to her own affairs. This
little boy. David Allison, would be in Old
Chester on. Saturday: he was to stay with
DR.. Lavendar for while, and then come
beginning to regret the invitation she had
sent through DR.. King. 1t would be
pleasant to have the little fellow. but
Il can't keep him. so why should I
take him even for a week? I might get
fond of him. I'm afraid it's a mistake
I wonder what Lloyd would think? l
don't believe he really loves children.
And yet-he cared when the baby died.
She pulled a low chair up to the hearth
and sat down, her elbows on her knees.
her forehead. "Oh, my baby. my little,
little baby she said in a broken
whisper. The old passion of misery
swept over her; she shrank lower in her
chair. rocking herself to and fro. her
fingers pressed against her eyes. 1t was
thirteen years ago. and yet even now in
these placid days in Old Chester to think
of that time brought the breathless
smother of agony back again-the diving
child. the foolish brute who had done
him to death. . I. If the baby had lived
he would be nearly fourteen wears old
now: big boy, She wondered whether
his hair would still have been curly? She
knew in her heart that she never could
have had the courage to cut those soft
curls off-and YETI boys hated curls. she
thought, and smiled proudly. He would
have been so manlv' If he had lived.
how different everything would have been.
how Incredibly different! For Of course.
If he had lived she would have been
happy IN snite of Frederick. And happi-
ness was all she wanted
She brushed the tears from her flushed
cheaks. and prorpine her chin in her
hands stared into the fire, thinking
thinking =" g. Her CHILDHOOD had heen
passed with her fathers mother. a silent
woman who with bitter expectation of
success had set herself to discover in
Helena traits Of the poor. dead. foolish
wife who had broken har sons heart.
reflected. 'She begrudged me the least
little bit Of pleasure" Yet her feeling
toward the hard old woman now was not
resentment: II was, only wonder. "Why
didn't she Ike me to be happy?' she
thought 1t never occurred to her that
distrustAd her. had also loved her. "Of
course I never loved her" she reminded
herself. ''but I wouldn't have wanted her
to be unhappy She wanted me to be
wretched. Curious" Yet she. realized
that at that time she had not desired
love: she had only desired happiness.
Looking back, she pondered on her as
founding fmmaturity; what child she
had been to imagine that merely to get
away from that gray life with her grand
,oSb nv I>n ho~ I, \
married Frederick. Frederick. t" She
was eighteen. and so pretty. She smiled
remembering how pretty she was. And
Frederick had made such promises, She
was to have every kind of happiness. OF
course she had married him. Thinking
of 1t now she did not in the least blame
herself. If the dungeon doors open and
the prisoner catches a glimpse of the
green world Of sunshine. what happens?
OF course she had married Frederick! AS
not enter into the bargain-at least on
her part. She married him because he
wanted her to. and because he would
make her happy. And. oh. how glad her
grandmother had been, At the memory
of that passionate satisfaction Helena
ciasped her hands over the two brown
braids that folded like a chaplet around
her head and laughed aloud. the tears
still glittering on her lashes. Her prayers.
her grandmother said. had been an
S"eTeQ. tDe RlTl was SdlP-a0 honest wire.
Now lettest Thou Thy servant the
old woman murmured with dreadful
gratitude in her voice.
Thinking Of that gratitude the tears
dried upon Helenas cheeks. hot with the
freight and with her thoughts Sup
pose she had lived just little longer?-
Just three years longer? Where would
her gratitude have been then?" Helenas
face overhowed with sudden gay malice.
but below the malice was WEAKNESS.
Wright had said. . Why. yes, certain
w. Frederick had "repented." as Dr.
King expressed it: she had seen to his
"repentance!' That in itself was some
thing to have lived fora soaring flame
OF happiness. Enough one might think
to satisfy her-if she could only have for
gotten the baby. At first she had believed
that she could forget him. Lloyd had
told her she would. How Young she had
baan at twenty-one to think that any one.
could forget! She smiled dryly at her
childish hope and at Lloyd's ignorance ,
but his tenderness. had been so passion
ately convincing-and how good he had
been about the baby! He had let her
talk Of him all she wanted to. OF course
after while he got little tired of the
subject. and naturally. 1t was Fred
ericks baby! And Lloyd hated Fred
erick as much as she did How they
used to talk about him in those first days
of his repentance! Have you
heard anything?" Yes. running down
hill every day" rs there amy news?'
Yes, he'll drink himself into his grave
in six months All that was happiness.
indeed!-"his grave, in six months"