The Southern herald., 1910-09-09

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mere bodily presence Of the man. the
look of him, the sound Of his voice.
the pressure Of his lips, the clasp Of
bis arms, she began to realize that as
be grew older, unless she wSs so alb
solutely mistaken in him as to make
all estimate Of him mockery, he would
realize the falsity of his view, the lit
tleness Of his action, and II he were in
truth the man whom she could rightly
love, his years would be one long re-
gret that he had failed. What would
happen when he realized that, when
he came to the knowledge that she
was indeed all that she had seemed
and that he had been nothing that he
should? She knew, as she. had writ.
ten, that the man would never, could
never. forget her; that wherever he
went and whatever he did, she would
be present with him; that she had
stamped herself too indelibly upon his
heart for any attrition with humanity,
however close and persistent, to erase
the image, He would come back per
haps.
20 God!" she knelt down and
stretched out her arms, bring him
back" she prayed-a few short, brok.
en- words, lacking the eloquence Of
long and studied petition, the appeal
of the heart every throb of which Is
prayer-"bring him back to met"
She thought that she would have
had him back on any terms. She said
that she had been mad, a fool, not to
have taken him, not to have gone to
him. not to have married him in any
way. with any conditions, under any
circumstances. All her thoughts were
merged in one great passionate long.
ing to be with him.
For the first time in her life the
pangs Of jealousy tore her breast. She
thought Of him In the world with 9TH
er men, with other women, young,
handsome, perfect godlike form and
face Of man, rich, the widest romance
with its charm and mystery to attract.
His story could mot be hid neither
could hers. The man would be court.
ed, sought after, made much over, be-
loved. 1t would be enough to turn the
head Of saint. How would he stand
1t? Would the recollection Of her
make him strong? Would that God in
whom he and she both had trusted
until the crisis came, lead him in the
straight path? Would her purity, her
sweetness-stop! would he think her
thus lowered and possessed? Not
now, certainly, but every hour that
took him farther from her would add
to his knowledge and would tell him
the truth and these would help him.
She pictured him, not happy away
from her, overwhelmed by her death
surely, saddened beyond present com.
fort 1t must be, yet so occupied that
insensibly his grief would be light.
ened by the only thing after all that
makes life bearable in certain con,
tingencies. and that is work. Workl
She, too, had work to do,
She rose to her feet doggedly as she
thought Of that and considered what
she could do. Her eyes fell upon the
ashes Of the signal Ere. She contem
plated 1t as the specter Of some Hindu
| woman whose body had been burned
. upon such an affair might look upor
her pyre. II was she who had Lighted
the beacon. Her hand had called thu
world to her side. She thought how
he had begged her not to do so, how
!, he had declared himself content ant
happy to live with her alone-tht
| world forgetting, by the world forgot
: For the first time she broke dowl
{ completely. She buried her face Il
8 her hands, her body reeled and shool
/ with sobs. the tears trlckled througl
} her fingers.
She must make anotner beacon, sh
+. thought. And then 1t came to her tina
: they had taken away the flint an
, steel. She had no means of lighting II
= That realization developed othe
: thoughts. Her Bible was gone; he
n clothes were gone; her toilet article.
r her scissors, her watch, her knit,
g They had taken everything. They ha
left her nothing, absolutely nothinl