Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1909-03-19

AAn0CA(G has aOhG II wy 49, $500
dersonT' He laid his hand kindly on
the others shoulder. 1.-THE fact that
you were In college together makes
him look up to you-as the whole par
ish does" he added.
Harry was setting the combination
and did not answer. But through the
turmoil in his brain a satiric voice
kept repeating:
mo. they don't call me Satan
nowP
The white house in the aspens was
In gala Gttire. Flowers-great banks
of bloom-were massed In the hall.
along the stairway and in the window
seats, and wreaths of delicate fern
trembled on the prim hung chandeliers
Over all breathed the sweet fragrance
of jasmine. Musicians sat behind a
screen of palms in a corridor. and a
long scarlet carpet strip ran down the
front steps to the driveway, up which
passed bra vely dressed folk. arriving
In carriages and on foot to witness
the completion of a much booted 70
nance.
For a fortnight this afternoons
event had been the hat of the town
for David Stires. who today retired
from active business, was its magnate
the owner of its finest single estate
and of its most important bank From
his s~capegrace boyhood Hugh Stires
had made himself the subject of I'm
comfortable discussion. His sudden
disappearance after the rumored quar-
rel with his father and the advent OF
Jessica Holme had furnished the com
munity sufficient material for gossip
The wedding had capped this gossip
with an appropriate climax. Tongues
had wagged over its pros and cons
for Hugh's past had induced a whole
some skeptieism of his uture
There was an additional element OF
romance, too. In the situation, for Jes
sica. who had never yet seen her lover
would see her husband. The great
surgeon on whose representation SHE
had built so much had arrived III
had operated The experiment had
been completely successful. and Jessi
cas- hope of vision had become a sure
and certain promise.
The operation over, there had re.
NAMED many days before the bandages
could be removed-before Jessica could
be given her first glimpse of the world
for nearly three years. Hugh had
urged against delay. If he had strin
gent reasons of his own be was silent
concerning them. And Jessica, steep
ed in the delicious wonder Of new n
inchoate sensations, had yielded.
So it had come about that the wed
ding was to be on this hot August aft
ernoon. although 1t would be yet some
time before the eye bandages might
be laid aside save in a darkened room
In her girlish. passionate ideality Jes
sica had offered q sacrifice to her emit
ment. She had promised herself THAI
the first form her new sight should be
1~rk6ld-shuTld bs-RSt hSF 4erer-b9t hey
husband. The idea pleased her sense
of romance.
1t was a sweltering afternoon. n
In the wide east parlor limp handker
chiefs and energetic fans fought vain
ly against the intolerable heat. There.
as the clock struck 6, a hundred pairs
of eyes galloped between two centers
Of interest-the door at which the bride
would enter and the raised platform al
the other n of the room where.
prayer book in hand. In his wide robes
and flowing sleeves. Harry Sanderson
had just taken his stand. Perhaps
more looked at Harry thar at the
door.
He seemed his usual magnetic self
as he stood there. backed by the flow
ers, his waving brown hair unsmooth
ed. the ruby ring glowing dull red
against the dark leather of the book be
held. But Harry Sanderson was far
from feeling the grave, alien figure he
appeared. In the past weeks he had
waged a silent warfare with himself
bitter because repressed. The strange
new thing that had sprung up in him
he had trampled mercilessly under
From the thought that he loved the
promised wife of another a quick. fas.
tidious sense in him recoiled abashed
This painful struggle had been sharp
ened by his sense of Hugh's utter
W. lAlCCSOCSo. ~ thai AdotAAhS doSCLh
blage the man who was to make those
solemn promises was David Stires
son. who had had his ding. turned over
his new leaf becomingly and was now
offering substantial hostages to good
repute. To him. Harry Sanderson. he
was a haneur. a marginless gambler in
the futures of his fathers favor and a
woman's heart
Only a momen Harry stood waiting;
then the palm screened musicians be-
gan the march, and Hugh took his
place. animated and assured. looking
the flushed and expectant bridegroom
At the same instant the chattering and
hubbub ceased. Jessica. On the arm of
the old man. erect, but walking feebly
with his zane WAS advancing down