The Southern herald., 1910-10-28

clothes so securely. she could dispose
upon herself the sapphire. How had
she arrived at this consideration? No
course Of reasoning led up to it, She
was annoyed with herself II she
wasn't going to wear the ring on her
finger, and show II, why did she want
to take ii with her at all? For fear
it might be lost? Lost, in her jewel
box. in the back of the drawer! She
blushed for herself.
Through the long afternoon it was
more apparent to her than the faces
Of the people around her. She was
restless to get back to it. but people
talked interminably. At the luncheon
they talked Of Kerr. Flora knew these
girls felt a little resentment that she
had so easily captured Harry Cressy;
for Harry had been more than an
eligible man in the little city He
had been an eligible parsonage. Not
that he had money; not that his fami-
" tree was plainly planted in their
midst; but that without these two
things he had achieved what, with
these, the people he knew were all
striving for. He stood before them
as the embodiment of what they most
believed imperfect bodily splendor,
and perfect knowledge of how to get
on in the world; and the fact that he
wouldn't quite be one of them, but
after five years still stood little off
made him shine with greater bril-
lance, especially in the eyes Of these
girls. 1t was hard, they seemed to
feel, that such an apparently remote
and difficult person should have sue
cumbed so easily; and now that new
luminary of equal luster was appar-
ent in their sky, Flora felt their re-
marks a little triumphantly aimed at
her.
But between the thread of interest
the table group wove together, kept
flashing up her furtive desire to be
away, TO be at home, to see what had
happened to the sapphire. OF course,
she knew that nothing could have hap
pened; but she wanted to look at it,
to open the casket and see the fash
of it before her eyes.
They were dining early that night
on account of the Buffers box party
but it was nearly eight o'clock before
Flora reached the house. And 1t was
of course, for that reason that she ran
upstairs-ran wildly, regardlessly, be
fore the eyes of Shima-and along the
hall, her high heels clacking on the
hard floors, and through her bedroom
to the dressing room, snatched ope1
the table drawer, unlocked the casket
with a twitch of the key-and, ah, Il
was there! 1t was really real! Why
what had she expected? She was
laughing at herself.
She was gay in her relief at getting
back to the sapphire, but at the SAINT
time she was already wondering wha
she should do about it that night
take it with her or leave it alone
Dared she wear it on her finger undel
her glove? Clara might notice tht
unfamiliar form Of the jewel through
the thin kid. Flora watched her curl
ously across the table that evening
wondering what was that quality 0
her by which she acquired. Hithertt
Flora had accepted it as a fact with
out question, but now she had desir
to place it. 1t was not beauty, TO
Clara was pretty, like polishe,
Greuze, she was colorless and flavor
less, lacking the vivid heat of mag
netism. More probably it consiste
in a certain sort of sweetness Clar
could produce on occasions, a way sh
had of looking and speaking whic
Flora could only describe az smooth
She made up her mind to leave tn
sapphire at home; but in her las
moment in her room the resolutio
failed. Harry, Of course, would b
angry if he knew, but Harry wouldn
see the thing under her glove.
She came down to where Clara wa
waiting for her, with the guilty fee
ing Of a child who has concealed
contraband cake; but the way Clar
looked her over made her consciou
that she had not concealed her e.
, citement.