The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1909-01-29
THE Shadow Between"
-B u
SILAS X. HOOKING.
SILAS K. HOOKING.
CHAPTER xxx.
To Say Goodby.

Spring passed gently and tenderly
into the arms OF summer, and it wal
such a spring a. few remembered.
The cold north winds spent them
selves before March vas half through
Its course, and the soft southern
breezes blew sweetly over q sapphire
sea, and so continued to blow till all
the fair Duchy laughed in the opulence
of summer beauty. Penny Downs in
April was a rolling sea of Furnished
gold. All the woods round Mawgan
Chase were huge pillows Of tenderest
green, the sheltered hooks and glens
were vivid with bluebells and wild
hyacinths. On the hillsides the daffo-
dills waved their golden heads in the
sunshine and along the hedgerows the
trailing bramble s%prinkled patches OF
motter-of-pearl. The meadows were
a lush green shot with gold. with here
and there a splotch of white were the
daisies clustered; and over all was
the tender blue of the sky. So fair a
world Grayton fancied he had never
seen before when he took his first short
excursion out Of doors. He had rev.
eled in many spring times. but never
in one so fair and sweet as this. His
first considerable excursion was to
Mawgan Chase. He drove over the
hill in a pony Bath chair, and pulled
up constantly that he might look at
the primroses hiding in the messy
~hedgerows or feast his eyes On the
banks of blue bells beneath the trees.
He was very grateful to be out of
doors again-more grateful than any
one could guess. And he was going
to see the woman who, in his syes,
was fairer than aught else on earth.
His heart beat very fast when the
woods round Mawgan Chase came into
si~tt-not with hope, however. only
with longing. He had no hope of "
winning Esther Margarine had no
intention of trying. He could e no
future in which she would share his
life. From a worldly point of view
he was more utterly stranded than
ever before. He had had to resign
his curacy, and 1t was very doubtful
when he would be able to take an
nkhos A. n~on &C h4 r,re nhI1 IN
make the journey he was going home
to his people in Yorkshire, and he
might never see this fair Cornwall
again.
That he would leave his heart be-
hind him he knew. 1t was one of the
little ironies of life that the things
most coveted we're nearly always out
of reach. Nevertheless he believed he
would be able to cherish his ideal and
keep it %unstained to the last. Love
was more than marriage: indeed,
judging from what he saw, marriage
of.en meant the spelling of love. The
romance Of life seemed to go when the
silken bands of love were 2adlocked
with steel.
Nevertheless, being human, his heart
ached for possession and like most
men he cherished the illusion that
nothing could stale life's sweet ro-
nance II the woman he 80 idealized
became his wife.
Esther met him at the gate, her eyes
full Of tender sympathy-and full Of
something more. II he had only vision
to see. He had not the courage even
to press her hand, SO conscious vas
he of the Unreasonable distance that
lay between them. She shook up the
cushions for him and made him com.
Portable on the drawing room couch,
and then came and sat near him, fold
ing her hands across her knee.
It was very delightful to rest there
among the cushions and look at her.
He wondered IL she appeared SO beau.
tiful or whether IL was his love that
gloriied her.
Mrs. MAwgan was taking her after.
noon nap upstairs, 30 that they had
. delicious hour all to themselves; and
yet. 10 far as he was concerned, the
pain came very ear the surface. He
wondered more than once whether. II
he were in a position to keep q wife,
his courage would be equal to the &C.
casion. They had talked mainly about
Marion. To Esther her story was
more romantic than any novel she had
ever read, and the romance Of it had
not ended yet.
Grayton encouraged the talk to run
In this direction. He did not want to
talk about himself-about what he had
done and suffered. To be compli.
mented to his face always hurt him.
He was not a c~onceited man. Indeed,
he estimated himself at . figure much
lower than he should have done.
Esther made n OF two attempts to
get him to talk about himself. but. dis.
covering that the topic was not a con.
genial one, she allowed the converse.
iton to drift away to Marion.
He also made one attempt to turn
! the conversation In the direction OF
Mr.. Jackson. whose good nature and
| NhoraIitv were beginning to be talked