The Washington herald., 1908-08-15

gown was Of dark blue, Ike the ribbons
Of her hat. and she carried a book in her
hand
She was gazing anxiously into the
street. It was raining hard. and the
street lamps. lighted early. cast glisten-
ing reflections across the wet pavement
The giri with the cherries had no UNI
breHa As LuttreH passed her. she IN
folded an infhitesimal square Of hand
kerchief and laid il carefully over the
big front bow Of her hat Il left the
cherries out in the rain. but with a quick
glance around she sped up the sidewalk
LuttreI. taking long steps. reached her
without effort
If you viii let me-" he said. I viii
hold my umbrella over the cherries"
She looked UP. startled In the gloon
she could not see his face, but there was
no hint Of disrespect in his voice. And
her hat was new,
oh. Il you will" she said in a
prim little way. andsfor few minutes
they walked on in silence
we might talk" LutJreu suggested.
about the weather It's a good coEven-
tional subject. and won't commit you 10
anything in the way Of acquaintance"
The girl laughed at that I am not
quite sure how 20 treat the situation
You see. it's a little unusual TO let a
man you don't know walk home with
you."
Suppose we act as Il We had known
each other all our lives, and say the
things we would say under those circum-
stances
Under those circumstances. said the
little clear voice in the dark. 7 should
say. Goodness. what an awful night ''
And I should say was LuttreIrs
grave respons=. Little friend. why are
you out so late aloneT
oh" came hutteringIy. / went 10 the
library. and when came out it was al
most dark, and. 70 cap the climax. it
rained-"
And your hat would have. been ruined
If fate had not kept me down town late.
too And lis such a pretty hat" he add
ed. redectiveIy-
oh said the clear little voice again,
and then there was another silence.
Far up the street. under a corner lamp.
they could just discernsa big man plod-
ding along. weighted down BY two UNI
breIas.
rs my big brother said the little
clear voice. and then. riTnldly. would you
rniud-going on aIone2 You see. he might
not understand my letting yOu-buJ my
haI IS new-and-
! understand perfectly" LuttreH told
her But big brothers are sometimes
dense 7 have a little sister myself and
like 10 look after her pretty closely
and that's why looked after you
He had gone into the darkness before
she could thank him But from the
shadows he watched her ~ along the
intervening space and come Up 70 her
big brother. And he heard her say IL
that clear little voice 1t was so good OF
you u. come after ne. Bob" And when
they went along together through the
driving storm. LuJtreu was left alone
After that. On his way home from
Office. he found himself looking for the
girl with the cherry hat But girls came
and girls went. but never the right one.
and so the months passed and the win
ter came. and there were no cherries on
any Of the hats. and Lrttreu gave Up his
quest in despair.
memory Of the clear little voice that had
talked 10 him so confdingIy in the dark
ness Of The rainy autumn night
One night he dropped into a fashion
able downtown restaurant for dinner. and
az the next table was a big man and q
girl in Dropping hat OF pale blue Her
gown was Of the same color, and around
her neck she wore a collar Of pearls.
She was vision OF exquisiteness. and
there was about her a haunting quality
that made Lutrreu look at her more than
once Where had he seen herr
And even as he questioned. the vision
said in a clear little voice. Bob, do
believe it is raining II We go out, We
viii have 10 have a cab"
Il was the girl with the cherry hat,
No other had such a voice, and there was
the wavy brown hair And in the bril-
liant light he beheld clearly for the first
time the gray eyes. and the delicate pink
and white Of the oval face. Why. the lit
tie girl was a beauty.
You shall have two cabs If you wish. '
he heard the big man say, genially; we
wouldn't want to christen that stunning
gown with rain"
At the sound of that big. booming
voice. Luttreu stared. and then he bridged
the distance between the two tables and
dropped his hands on the other mans
shoulder
Bob Raymond" he said 7 thought I
couldn't be mistaken in the voice. But
you've grown some. Bob5ie, since I used
to pitch you OF Of the campus fence"
Psvnond vyr11ne his hand haar7i7e
sis" he said TO the vision in blue, its
Mark LuttreH You've heard ne tell
about our college pranks- Mark. this is
my kid sister"
She smiled up at Luttrell from under
the brim of the broad hat Bob for
gets that I am grown up she said: and
Luttreu saw that, as yet. she had not
recognized him as the man OF the UNI
oreIla episode
7 remember your picture stood on
Bob's chiTonier." he told her. You
wore your hair in pigtails. but YOU were
swfuIly pretty. and I fell in love with
you
Oh she said. blushing beautifully.
Sit down and have dinner with US
Raymond insisted Felicia and I have
the evening before Us Its raining. 50
we might as well stay here for a while"
He turned 10 give an order to the
waiter, and LuttreH leaned toward Fe-
licia.
IF you will let ne" he said. 'T will
hold my umbrella over the cherries"
There was dead silence for a moment,
and then she whispered nervously. sOh.