Hopkinsville Kentuckian., 1910-02-10
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Dk1NCEs
Nv SABA CONE BRYANT
/. Scop5right, by Short Stories Co., Ltd)

and enjoying the moments stolen
respite from social duties all the more
Tor her uncertainty as to how long It
would last. Through the small gap
in the portieres she caught fugitive
glimpses of passing guests. One tall,
square-shouldered, in the Prussian
uniform, paused briefly, just in view.
Two charming English girls passed,
and then a second tall mans figure, in
evening clothes.
And then the draperies were gen
tly pushed aside and Mr.. John Dur
ham came quietly In through the open
ing.
You'd much better go away, Jack,
the girl murmured, lazily.
Thanks, awfully," was the cheer
fnl response, "since you are so press
fang, will stay a bit" And he pro
Nceeded TO settle himself on a chair
arm opposite the window-seat where
sAnpe had curled herself up.
Anne tapped her foot on the wood
zen edge of the window-seat; finally
IShe laughted. Mr.. Durham looked gen
4ly surprised. Then his face grew
Tqu1te serious. DO you like these Ger
d, mans, Amer" he said
4 NFoo abstract Make It concrete,
JselKie, and I'll tell you"
.|Well, Won Hammerstein, for in
stance?
Certainly l do" promptly; don't
your"
4 81 don't think l know him quite as
well as you do"
IF you did, you would" said Anne,
enthusiastically. "IIe is-so inter
esting"
Out of the corner of her eye she
observed that her enthusiasm awak-
.ened no response.
When Jack spoke it was on another
subject, though not unconnected
with the former: Pretty swell vio-
lets you have on" he said. Made in
Germany"
What do you mean"
Il mean, am / the only man who
dsn't allowed to send you violets?
You are wearing some tonight"
why, Jack!-Jack, don't you see,
you are the only man l know well
enough to - we'll - to advise for his
own good?"
Anne's face wavered between re-
sentiment and guilty amusement;
hnally a reluctant smile crept toward
the dinple in her left cheek and she
lifted reproachful eyes to his.
"Ah, Jackie, how mean you are!"
khe said, in a small voice she re-
served for him.
"Anne!' Her heart jumped with
the startle of it. The voice was no
more Jacks familiar voice than the
stern white face was his face
"You have called me boy a good
many times in the past, Anne" he
said Il am not a boy. The time
has come when you must understand
Ahat."
Something in the low repressed
Zones hurried the girls heartbeats
tAnd made It hard to hold her eyes
Aevel on his She found her eyes
dropping till she could see nothing but
her own tightly clasped hands; at
shat she was both angry and ashamed;
1t had never happened to her before.
1T means something to me-" she
heard him saying, that you should
not think of me as a boy. find | can't
stand it any longer. Anne, will you
look at me, please?"
Anne's ears were full of pounding
noises, and her heart was doing un-
comfortable things out of due local
fly; as for looking az him she real
lzed suddenly that she was afraid to
look Then she considered; afraid
of Jack-Jack? That was plainly ridi-
culous. She would not yield to such
folly; she would look at him coolly
and say: "Wen?" But she did not.
And then through the pounding the
voice came again, stu lower, but
with quiet inoomprehensible author
ity IN nit Look at me, Anne!"
He had not moved, hut 1t seemed to
her that he had takGn her face in
his two hands and was lifting It; and
the rebellious eyes followed the same
imperious power. A long minute she
looked with eyes that could not es-
cape the passionate holding of his,
while he gave her his soul to read as
d man holds out his palm to q friend.
And when the minute was over, the
knowledge had crept through every
fiber of her that the face was indeed
not the face of a boy. but of a man.
Queen Anne-my queen!" he
breathed.
The girl made a hasty, tremulous
motion, slipping to her feet as If to es-
cape some danger. The movement
brought her gown against him, and
both his hands closed round the one
which hung at her si1e. The clasp
was so unlike the friendly grasp of
the hand she knew as Jacks that she
thought she did not like it; little
gasp came from her lips with the in
coherent words: "Oh, please-oh,