Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1908-01-16

teY6n SOD ana coming out OF cnuFcf
An account of her house In the Ave-
| nue. Henri Martin and OF her portrait
in the Salon-a mysterious business to
many and not lacking in grandeur for
that-had occupied two columns In
the Tocsin on day some months be-
imically headlined ON the first page
and had dropped the paper without
| reading further. Ariel's name had
been In the mouth of Canaan for
long time unfortunately for Joe, how
| ever, not in the mouth of that Canaan
| which held converse with him.
Joe had not known her. The wonl-
| en- recognized her infallibly at first
glance. even those who had quite for
gotten her. And the women told their
men; hence the un-Sunday like de-
meanor of the procession, for few
towns hold 1t more unseemly to.stand
and stare at passersby, especially on
the Sabbath. But Ariel Tabor return
| ed-and walking with-with Joe Lou
Zen!
| Ariel flushed little when she per-
ceived this extent of their conspicuous
/ ness, but 1t was not the blush that Joe
| remembered had REDEEMED the tanned
| skin of old, for her BROWNIES had
| gone long ago, though it had not left
her merely pink and white This was
] delicate rosiness rising from her
cheeks to her temples, as the earliest
| dawn rises. If there had been many
words left in Joe he would have called
| it divine blush. 1t fascinated him,
/ and if anything could have deepened
| the glamour about her it would have
/ been this blush. He did not under
stand it, but when he saw it he STUN
/ bled.
Those who gaped and stared were
for him only blurs in the background
Truly, he saw "men as trees walk
Ing" and when it became necessary to
| step out to the curb in passing some
clump Of people it was to him as if
Ariel and he, enchantedly alone, were
working their way through underbrush
| in the woods.
He kept trying to realize that this
lady of wonder was Ariel Tabor, but
he could not. He could not connect the
shabby Ariel, whom he had treated as
one boy treats another, with this young
woman of the world. He had always
been embarrassed himself and ashamed
Of her when anything she did made
him remember that, after all, she was
girl, as on the day he ran away when
she kissed a lock of his hair escaping
from the bandage. With that recollec-
tion even his ears grew red. It did
not seem probable that it would ever
happen again. The next instant he
heard himself calling her miss Ia
bor"
At this she seemed amused. you
ought to have called me that years
ago." she said ''for all you knew me-"
81 did know her-you, / mean," he
answered. Il used to know nearly
everything you were going to say be-
fore you said it. 1t seems strange
now
eyes," she interrupted, ..it does seem
strange now"
Somehow" he went on, II doubt If
now I'd know
Somehow" she echoed, with fine
| gravity, II doubt it too
Although he had so dim perception
of the staring and whispering which
greeted and followed them, Ariel, of
course, was thoroughly aware of it,
though the only sign she gave was the
slight blush, which very soon disap-
peared That people turned to look at
her may have been not altogether
| novelty. A girl who had learned to
appear unconscious of the continental
lstare, the following gaze Of the boule-
Yards, the frank glasses Of the costan-
"a in Rome, was not i'll equipped to
face Main street, Canaan, even as it
was today.
| Under the sycamores before they
started they had not talked a great
deal. There had been long silences, al
most all her questions concerning the
period of his runaway absence. She
appeared to know and to understand
everything which had happened since
his return to the town. He had not, IN
his turn, reached the point where he
would begin to question her. He was
too breathless in his consciousness of
the marvellous present hour. She had
/ told him of the death of Roger Tabor,
the year before. Poor mans she said
gently. s'He lived to see how the 9th
er fellows did it at last, and everybody
liked him. He was very happy over
there"
/ After a little while she had said that
| it was growing close upon lunch time;
she must be going back
Then then goodby,'' he replied
ruefully.
ssWhy?"
sTm afraid you don't understand It
wouldn't do for you to be seen with
me. Perhaps, though, you do under
stand. Wasn't that why you asked me
to meet you out here beyond the
-,