Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-05
i IAR21[(44YT{24|H2RI= IF3!FE[ III Z

won in her heart
oh, Mr. Robinson. help me, Lady
dc Lannoy has tainted too. and l do not
know what to do!'' AS she spoke she
looked up at him and remembered his
blindness. But she had no time to alter
her words: the instant she had spoken
Harold. who had been leaning against
the window sash, and whose mind was
calmer since with his acute hearing he.
too. had heard Pearl sigh. seemed TO leap
into the room.
Where is she2 Where is she? Oh.
God. now am / blind indeed
1t gave her a pang to hear him and Ia
see him turn helplessly with his arms
and hands outstretched. as though he
would feel for her In the air.
Without pause. and under an instructive
and uncont reliable impulse. he tore away
the bandages from his eyes. The sun
was streaming In. AS he met il his eyes
blinked and a cry burst from him; wild
cry. whose joy and surprise pierced even
through the shut portals OF the swooning
woman's brain. Not for worlds would
she ever after have lost the memory of
that sound:
Light! light. oh, God. oh. God.
But he looked round him still in terri
fed wonder:
Where is she? Where is she? 1 can
not see her. Stephen, Stephen. where
pointed where Stephens snow-whte face
and brilliant hair seemed in the stream
ing sunlight like ivory and gold:
There. There," He caught her arm
mechanically. and putting his eyes to her
wrist. tried to look along her pointed
finger. In an instant he dropped her arm.
moaning:
II cannot see her, What is il that is
blind" He covered his face with his
hands and sobbed.
He felt light, strong fingers on his fore
head and hands; fingers whose touch he
would have known had they been laid on
him when he were no longer quick.
voice whose music he had heard in his
dreams for two long years said softly:
II am here. Harold. / am here. Oh.
do not sob like that; it breaks my heart
to hear you. He took his hands from
his face and held hers in them. staring
intently at her as though his passionate
gaze would win through every obstacle.
That moment he never forgot. Never
could forget! He saw the room all rich
in yellow. He saw Pearl. pale but glad
eyed lying on a sofa holding the hand
of her mother, who stood beside her. He
saw the great. high window open. the
lines of the covered stone balcony with
out. the stretch Of green sward al. vivid
in the sunshine. and beyond IT the blue.
quivering sea. -" . He saw all but that
for which his very soul longed; without
to see which sight itself was valueless.
$50 But still he looked and looked. and
Stephen saw in his dark eyes though he
could not see her. that which made her
own eyes fill and the warm red glow on
her face again. I" Then she raised her
eyes again. and the gladness of her beat
ing heart seemed the answer to his own.
For as he looked he saw. as though
emerging from mist whose obScurity
melted away with each instant. what was
to him the one face in all the world. He
did not think then of its beauty-that
would come later: and besides no beauty
% no.. r,I.
the memorized beauty which had so long
held his heart. But that he had 50
schooled himself in long months OF
gloomy despair. he would have taken her
in his arms there and then. and. needless
of the presence of others. have poured
out his full heart to her.
Mrs. Stonehouse saw and understood.
So. too, Pearl. who though child was a
woman-child: softly they rose up to steal
away. But Stephen saw them: her own
instincts. too. told her that her hour had
not come. What she hoped for must
come alone. So she called to her guests:
Don't go! Don't go. Mrs. Stonehouse.
You know now that Harold and / are old
friends. though neither OF us knew il till
this moment We were brought up as
- almost as brother and sister. Pearl.
isn't Ii lovely to see your friend
to see The Man again."
She was so happy that she could only
express herself. with dignity. through the
happiness of others.
rushed across the room and flung her
self into Harold's arms as he stopped to
her. He raised her. and she kissed him
again and again. and put her little hands
all over his face and stroked. very. very
gently. his eyes, and said:
"Oh. I so glad. And so glad your
poor eyes are unblind again! May 1 call
you Harold. too?"
''You darling,' was all he could say as
he kissed her. and holding her in one arm
went across and shook hands with Mrs.
Stonehouse. who wrung his hand hard.
There was a little awkwardness in the
group. for none Of them knew what would
be best to do next. In the midst of IL
there came light knock at the door. and
Mr.. Hilton entered. saying:
They told me you wished to see me at
once-Hulloai" He rushed across the
room and took Harold by the shoulders.
turning his face to the light. He looked
in his eyes long and earnestly. the others
holding their breaths. Presently he said.
without relaxing his gaze:
Did you see mistily at first?'
"Yesi"'
Seeing at the periphery, but the center
being opaque?"
Yes, How did you know? Why. I
couldn't see-see"-pointing to Stephen
Lady de Lannoy. though her face was
right in front of me"'
DIR. Hilton took his hands from his pa
TENTS shoulders and shook him warmly
by both hands:
ct am glad. old fellow, 1t was worth
waiting for. wasn't 1t? But / say. ii was
a dangerous thing to take OF those
bandages before I permitted. However.
it has done no harm, But ii was lucky
that / mistrusted your patience and put
the time for the experiment a week later
than thought necessary. What is
it?' He turned from one to the other
questioningly: there was a look on
Harold's face that he did not quite COM
prehend
"H-s-h," said the latter. warningly
"rn tell you all about ii 80 some time"
The awkward pause was broken by
Pearl. who came to the doctor and said:
Il must kiss you, you know. 1t was
you who saved The Mans eyes. Stephen
has told me how you watched him." The
doctor was somewhat taken aback: as yet
he was ignorant of Pearls existence.
However. he raised the child in his arms
and kissed her, saying:
THANK you, my dear! I did all I
could. But he helped much himself: ex-
cept at the very last. Don't you ever go
and take off bandages if you should ever
have the misfortune to have them on.
without the Doctors permission" Pearl
nodded her head wisely and then wriggled
out of his arms and came again to
Harold. looking up at him protectingly
and saying in an old-fashioned way:
How are you feeling now? None the
worse. I hope. Harold.''
The man lifted her up and kissed her
again. When he set her down she came
over to Lady de Lannoy and held up her
arms to be lifted:
"And / must kiss you again. too. Ste
phen.' If Lady de Lannoy hadn't loved