The San Francisco call., 1909-09-12
The. San Francisco Sunday Cali
Flight
CHAPTER Xxx

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was already moving softly to
and fro, so softly as not to
arouse the sleeping Marrika. By
her lightest bag was packed, herself
was bathed, brushed, dressed even to
hat and gloves. and standing at her
look of one in a waiting room expecting
train. She was watching for the
city TO begin to stir; watching for
enough traffic below in the streets to
make her own movement there not too
noticeable Yet every moment she
waited she was in terror lest her fate
should take violent form at last and
assan her in the moment of escape She
listened for a foot ascending to her
room with a message from Clara de-
manding an audience. She listened for
the peal Of the electric bell under
Harry's hasty hand-Harry, arrived
even at this unwarranted hour with
heaven knew what representative OF
law to force the sapphire from her.
But all her household was still un-
step after step. down the broad and
VpoIished stair and across the empty
hall She went quiet, direct deter
mined, not at all as she had fed on her
other perilous enterprise only yester-
day: She shut the outer door after her
without sound and with great relief
breathed in the fresh and family smoky
air of morning.
She walked quickly. The windows
of her house still overlooked her, and
her greatest terror was that some
voice. some appearance, out of that
house. might command her return. The
street was nearly empty. A maid scrub
bing down steps looked after her sharp
ly, and she wondered If she had been
recognized. She had no intention of
keeping TO this street, or even taking
car and travelling down it's broad, gray
and cleaning vista Of formal houses
and formal gardens that she knew and
that knew her so well. It was cross
town car bound for quite another To-
cality that she climbed aboard. It was
filed only with mechanics and work.
men with picks and shovels. She sat
crowded elbow to elbow among odors
Of stale tobacco. stale garlic. stale per-
spiration, and looking straight before
her through the car window watched
the aspect Of the city. still gray. grow
less cleaning and formal and finally
quite dirty. and quite. quite dull.
This was all as she had intended,
very much in the direction of her er-
rand. and safe. But in Market street
the car line ended and she was turned
out again in this broad artery of COM
/merce where she was in danger OF
meeting at any moment people she
knew. She made straight across the
thoroughfare to its south side, turned
down Eighteenth and in moment was
hidden in Mission street
Now really the worst danger of de-
lection was over She saw no reason
why a woman with a small hat and a
hand bag should not pass for school
teacher. Indeed. the men did let her go
at that but the women-women with
shawls over their heads and women
with uncovered heads and ear rings in
their ears, and trim, weak eyed women
with bags in their hands-the teachers
themselves, one of whom she hoped TO
pass for-all stared at her. It didn't
matter much, she thought. whether
they thought her queer or not, since
sthey couldn't stop her.
She went, glancing at windows as
she passed, looking for place where
she could go to breakfast. She turned
into the first restaurant that offered
@0
be sure no one lurked there that might
betray her she subsided into the clatter
with relief. IT was one more place to
let time pass in, for it would be full two
hours before she could fulfill her er-
rand She stayed as long is she dared.
drinking two cups of the hideous cof-
Zee: stayed while many came and went,
until she felt the proprietor noticing
her. That revived her consciousness of
the possible dangers still between
her and the end she held in view.
She had heard of'people being arrested
for suspicious conduct. She didn't feel
sure in what this might consist, but
surely such an appearance could be
avoided by walking fast and seeming
TO know exactly where one was going.
II was 10 O'Clock in the morning,
three hours since she had left her house
and a most reasonable time of daylight.
when Flora turned out of the fatness
of south of Market street and began
10 mount a slow rising hill IL was a
wooden sidewalk she followed fianking
a wood paved street, and these. with
the wooden fences and dusty cypress
hedges and the houses peering over
them upon her looked worn, battered
and belonging all to the past None the
less it bore traces of having been a dig
nifed past, and farther UP on the crown
Of the hill among deep blossomed trees,
two or three large mansions wore the
gravely triumphant aspect of having
been brought successfully from a past
empire into a present with all their
traditions and mahogany complete. Up
ward toward these Flora was looking.
Her breath was short from fast climb
ing Her cheeks under her thin veil
-zere hot and bright
AS she neared the hilltop she glanced
at a card from her chatelaine, consult
ing the address upon it. Then anxiously
she scanned the house fronts. 1t was
not this one, nor this; but the square
white mansion she came to now stood
so far retired at the end of its lawn
that she could not make out the num-
ber AS she peered young girl came
down the steps between the dark wings
of the cypress hedge, a slim, fair, even