Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-19

kept whispering in her ear, Circumstance is
not barrier to love-
He had grossly insulted her. this man but
what a battle he had made! She closed
her eyes to shut him from her memory, then
closed the windows of her conscience tight,
and once more watched him fight for prize
of pride. She could see his brown arm work
ing like serpents tongue, the poise of his
leopard's body as it swayed from the path of
a brutal blow. She could see his head flung
high, in the joy of warhorse snufhng battle
from afar. She could hear the patter of his
shifting feet the smack of his swift, hard fists
cry, and then-he was hanging the rail-
His lips were drawn and quivering! His eyes
were turned to her in agony. reproach But
no! No! No! She mustn't think of that
She mustn't! He had looked gray-and
pitiful! She must think of something else!
If that presumptuous person was really
Brown, then Ormond and Tracy were ordinary
thieves. Perhaps Brown had taken the name
neared New York. they would try to escape in
boat They would do it at night Maybe
they would break open the safe and take
Morsons jewels with them. She hadn't
idea to take those things out herself and hide
them somewhere else. Again. if Brown was
orson,-which of course he WASH he might
hit everybody on the chin and open the safe
himself to get his own property into his own
possession The matter was really worth
1t was settled, though, that Ormond and
Tracy were ordinary thieves, no matter who
might be this other person that persisted in
annoying her with his outside influences. He
was not satisfied to disturb her peace of mind
by whistling at his work; but now he leaned
over the rail and dropped his influences through
the portfolios. 1t wasn't fair! And why did
he bow to her like that? And why did his
impish eyes keep peeping at her from the utter
darkness? 1t wasn't fair! In his place she
would have thumped Beasley when she had
him down. She tried it, in imagination: but
somehow she couldn't strike, because it wasn't
fair: SO she waited for him to rise, then fought
him with her fists, just as Morson had DONE
never so quickly like the darting of graceful
wasp. But it hurt to be hit over the heart
it hurt terribly!-and made her feel faint and
drowsy and, oh sorry for the quivering thing
that hung on the rail But she mustn't stop
the sake of pride, even though she knew she
must fall at last, just as she was falling now.
with the hum of foolish things revolving in
her ears.
So Valda went to sleep, fighting with Beasley
and her bed clothes.
she knew she was dreaming; but what of
~ that? She would think right on in the
middle of outside influences. She would begin
from the first the first of everything Then
a beautiful devil came up out of the sea and
bowed to her He wasn't very honorable
devil, though. for he told her fippant lies and
said his name was something else. But when
she stormed at him, he only laughed, crink-
ling up his eyes and showing his abominably
even teeth When she tried to shame him,
he called her a spitfre, and said it over and
over and over until there was no sense in it,
and made her angry; then he ran away and
she couldn't find him, though she looked for
him everywhere.
Polly was hunting for him too, vowing to
marry him at once, just because his hair
curled up over his ears; SO Valda made her
sit in coal shovel, and pitched her into a
saucy little tugboat that was passing by.
Then, while she was laughing at the smut
marks on Pollys petticoat, Morson came back
and got himself all mixed up in her fathers
gem collection, which he said was struggled,
and he must take it back to England for the
sake of duty. There was something funny
about this SO she laughed, not because it was
funny, but because he told her it was funny
which was silly and childish. even in a dream.
Ormond and Tracy argued about it with her,
and made her come to dinner, where they
slipped the table silver into their coat pockets;
but she knew they were thieves, because she
had said so from the very first. Then they
blew out the lights and went away to talk
with the poet Keats. She hadn't seen this
man on board before; but perhaps he was a
friend of Aunt Marys or Captain Joes. She
didn't care which, though; SO she tried not to
think about it, and went in search of outside