The San Francisco call., 1909-08-08

mlslald sOmetnlng. when Clara Lurneu
and smiled her small tight curled
smile, as If she were offering 1t as a
symbol of mutual understanding Gu
riously enough. 1t checked Flora
query about the straying glances, and
made her wonder that this was the
first time in their relation that she
had thought Clara sweet
But there was another quality In
Clara she did not lose sight Of, and
she waited for the closing of door
further down the hall before she drew
the sapphire from under her pillow.
With the knocking at the door her
first act had been to thrust 1t there.
The feeling that 1t was going to be
hard to hide was still her strongest IN
stinct about 1t: but the morning had
dissipated the element of the super
natural and the horrid that 1T had
shown her the night before. 1t seemed
to have a clearer and a simpler beauty;
and the hope revived in her that It's
beauty, after all. was the only re-
markable thing about it.
Her conviction of the night before
had sunk to a shadowy hypothesis.
She knew nothing-nothing that would
Justify her in taking any step; ana
her only chance of knowing more lay
in what she would get out of Kerr;
for that he knew more about her ring
afraid of him. yet, in spite of her fear,
she had no intention of handing him
over to Clara For on reflection she
knew that Clara's offer must have a
= deeper motive than mere kindness, and
she had most unreasonable 1eehns
that 1t would not be safe. She felt
little guilty to have seemed to take her
companions help, while she left her
so much at sea as to the real facts.
But. after all. it was Clara who had
forced the issue.
She thought a good deal about Clara
while she was dressing. good many
times lately she had looked forward
to the fall, the time of her marriage
when their rather tense relationship
would be ended. Inis house in the
country which was to be her last little
bachelor fling, was to be Clara's last
commission for her.
Think how she would. she could but
feel as If she were ungratefully aban-
doning Clara. Clara had done so well
by her in their three years together.
There surely must be Immediately
forthcoming for such a remarkable
person another large opportunity, and
yet she couldn't help recalling their
first encounter in the particularly dull
boarding house where Clara was tenn
porarily shelved; where, nevertheless,
she had not conceded an inch of her
class, nor a ray Of her luster to CIR
cumstance. This surprising luster was
the gloss of her body. the quality OF
her clothes and accessories, the way
she travelled and the way she smiled.
1t was the bloom OF luxury she kept
about her person through all her vary
ing surroundings. She had never to
rise to the level of new position:
she was there already; and she never
came down.
Flora knew 1t was for just her air
of being ready that she had trusted
Clara, and for the three years of their
association she had never failed to md
her companion ready wherever their
common interests were concerned She
had no reason for not trusting Clara
now, except the knowledge that, by
her own approaching marriage, their
interests would be separated. and her
feeling that Clara's prudence must al
ready be by way of looking out for
itself alone.
Yet Clara would do a kindness II Il
did not inconvenience her, and surely
this morning she had been kind. Still
Flora felt she didn't want to reveal
anything until she was a little surer
OF her own position. When she knew
better where she stood she would know
what she could confide to Clara Mean
while, If there was any one to whom
0hC SOOiO LII II NV IL WOOAO SUI OAJ
be Harry.
Yet. If she did. what a lot of
awkward explanationsi She could not
return the sapphire without giving
reason, and what a thing to explain
that she had not only worn 1T, but, in
freak, shown it to the one of all
people he most objected to.
Nevertheless the most sensible thing
clearly was to go through with it and
confess to Harry. Then she must COM
municate with him at once. No-she
would wait until after breakfast. There
was plenty of time. Kerr would not
come until the afternoon. But after
breakfast, she wondered If it wouldn't
be as we'll to ring him up at luncheon
time? Then she would be sure of find
ing him at the club.
Meanwhile she dared not let the
sapphire out OF her grasp; and yet she
could not wear 1t on her hand. She
had thought of the tear shaped pouch
of gold which 1t was her custom to
wear; but the slender length of chain
that linked it to her neck was too
frail for such a precious weight. At
last she had fastened it around her
neck on the strongest chain she owned
and thus she carried 1T all the morn
ing under her bodice with a quieter
mind that had been hers on the first
day she had worn 1T, when there had
been nothing to explain her uneasiness
She was quite sure she was going
to give back. the sapphire to Harry
yet she couldn't help picturing to her
self what her meeting with Kerr would
have been, supposing she had decided
differently. AS the morning slipped by
she found herself doubling that he
would come at all. Her attitude of the
night before had surely been enough
to discourage any one. Yet II he didn't
come she knew that she would be dis
appointed.
She was alone at luncheon, and in a
dream. She glanced now and then at
the clock She rose only 10 minutes
before the hour that Harry was in
the habit of leaving the club. She went
upstairs slowly and stopped in front
of the telephone. She touched the re-
ceiver, drew her hand back and turned
away She shut the door of her own
rooms smartly after her.
She did not try to-because she
couldn't-understan her own pro-
ceeding She merely sat, listening, as
1t seemed to her, for hours.
But when at last Kerr's card was
handed in to her it gave her a shock
as if something which couldn't hap
pen, and yet which she had all along
expected, had come to pass
Tn her instant of indecisiOn Marrika