The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1908-03-21

'T FAUST so away" she decided
Anita heard the announcement with
perfunctory regret.
will you do something for me
frst?' she added presently. Give
me one day of freedom. l don't know
where ! shall go-to town probably
but | want to get away from this
house and everything about it for one
day. And this will be my last chance
Until the baby is at school, she
added with faint sigh Mary agreed
gladly.
Spring was pouring in at every
| window as Anita tied on her widow s
bonnet The baby, lying on the bed,
seemed to find everything enchanting
and kept M a steady flow Of CONVEX
sation. When his mother paused be-
side him he broke into wide smile,
| 50 human, so full of cheer and good
will that Anita laughed and kissed
him impulsively. Then, hearing Mary
coming, she turned away. The tacit
reproach of her friends tenderness
to the boy hardened her into perver-
sity When he was held up at the
window for last goodbye she hur-
ried away, pretending not to see.
The tulips were out in the squares
ard the whole city seemed to be
smiling at the days perfection. 1t
was impossible not to catch a little
of the exhilaration. Anita went about
with new step. doing her small err
rands, and at noon felt herself deli
ciOusly hungry. forgotten sensa-
| ton. When she had finished her lun-
cheon she fingered contentedly at her
table by the open window, staring at
the sidewalk throng.
II wonder if he's asleep now" she
thought.
you!" said voice at her elbow. One
| of her husbands associates stood
| looking down on her fresh mourning
| with kind eyes. Il have only three
minutes, but" He drew out the
chair opposite and plunged into his
subject. 1t was work for her, work
! that would take all her thoughts and
| her energies. and that she could do
we'll. The pay would not be high: it
was the chance to get away from her
present life that held her attention.
The door that she had believed shut
was held open to her, and she accept
ed eagerly.
When he had hurried away. she
sat facing the idea. wondering vague
! ly why she was not more uplifted. 1t
was what she had longed for; why
| should her heart be suddenly heavy?
| With a responsible person to take
charge of the boy A woman passed
in the street below with baby
| against her shoulder, and then all at
| once Anita felt a little head in her own
| neck. Involuntarily she bent her
cheek down and her arms frightened,
! as though they held something. A
warm tide of feeling crept up through
her. bringing quick tears to her eyes.
Why, she could not do it, give her
baby up absolutely. never see him all
day! Her little boy-how could she
shut him out? Why had she done it
for SO long,. Oh, she did want him
she wanted him at that very mo-
| ment! There was a new heaven and
a new earth, and all the bitterness,
all that was cold and resentful, was
swept away in an overmastering rush
of tenderness. She knew now what
| he meant, her little Arthur; in her
| Utmost soul she had known 1t weeks
ago, but her rebellious spirit had
stood aloft and denied the comfort.
And now it was hers, all hers.
She had meant to stay until even
ing, but she scrubbed note explain
ing that she could not accept the Of
fered work, and took the next train
home. The trip seemed hours long
to her eagerness. and she almost ran
from the cars to the house. He would
be asleep-llttle man. But she
wanted to be near him. She wanted,
too, to apologize to Mary, to go back
on her knees and gather up the friend
ship she had been willing to throw
aside. BY the opening of the door
she had learned that she did not wish
to escape. The day had broken and
the shadows had fed away.
| Mary met her in silence and drew
her into the living room, closing the
door. Anita dropped into a chair and
waited. not daring to speak The
baby had been taken ill-very i'll.
There was trained nurse with him,
and the doctor had been there nearly
all day. Mary told it very gently and
courageously. but her hands trembled
visibly. Anita took the pins out of
her veil and disentangled her bonnet
| What does the doctor say?" she
asked. Her voice sounded dry and