The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1910-11-24
THE WHITE CAT
BY CELETT BURGESS
o ~vIyette. Destiny"
Copyright. The AsrnC
CHAPTER I.
By CELETT BURGESS

/
resolved itself into two distinct factors
a pain in my side at every breath and
throbbing ache IN the top of my head.
realized that I was in bed. and the
first strangeness OF IL struck me. I could
not account for II. The wild, spicy odor
Of flowers came to me, adding 10 my
| perplexity. Then I opened my eyes.
The place was so dimly lighted that
for some seconds my sluggish wits were
unable 10 interpret the blotches OF shadow
and the vague glimmering spots. These,
however, gradually resolved themselves
! into comprehensive forms. 1 perceived
/ that I was in strange room, large and
airy; for even in the obscurity I got a
! feeling of free, clean space, and Of that
chaste emptiness which is apt TO dis
| tinguish the guest chamber OF a we'll
kept house. 1 heard, now, the steady.
deliberate ticking Of clock little way
off. and somewhere below was a small
grinding sound, so low as to be almost
mere vibration. like a coffee mill IN
operation Near by, a door closed and
latched softly
! / moved and attempted to sit up, but
sharp stab IN my side warned me that
my hurt was. perhaps. more serious than
l had thought There was a lump on
my head. too. which probably accounted
for my lapse OF consciousness.
Setting my memory painfully to work.
/ cropping back through the darkness OF
my mind for something TO explain the
mystery. much as one might descend a
dark. unlighted stairway. came upon the
/ last fact that had been recorded by my
brain. I had been putting en- speed
the road through the woods was straight.
level. and deserted-hoping to get up
/ TO town early IN the afternoon. The
steering gear of my motor car had given
way. had felt the wheels suddenly veer.
then, before l put on my brake, the front
OF the car went down and the rear was
| thrown up and over with the momen-
| tum. sending me flying through the air.
| l wondered. lazily. how much the ma
chine had suffered. Then / must have
dropped off TO sleep again. for when
next opened my eyes there was a flicker
/ ing ray OF light in the room. This time
! l was keenly alert mentally, DESTROYS OF
some explanation OF my situation Where
was !, and who had cared for me?
/ The light grew brighter. still wavering.
slanting across the wall where it rocked
and shifted. casting long. distorted sha-
/ dows that danced up and down. Some
one was evidently coming upstairs with
a light The door was hidden by a pro-
/ jecting angle of the wall. however. and
so for few moments ! saw nobody.
In those seconds the room was illuml-
mated gradually more and more. show
! ing a white-painted wainscot with a dull
green wall above. where a few japanese
prints hung Opposite my bed was
window with small. Old-fashioned panes:
there was another beside me. The rays
glinted on the polished sides OF several
pieces of old mahogany furniture and
fiared yellow on brass candlestieks and
on the gilded frame OF an eagle mirror.
Finally the glare stopped it's undulating,
the shadows grew steadier on the wall.
and. as / gazed eagerly for a first glimpse
of my visitor a young woman, bearing
a silver candlestick. came into the room.
She looked Immediately over 10 where
I lay. and then. catching my surprised
stare. her expression changed wonder
fully from a rather pathetic abstraction
10 an animated interest. With something
not quite a smile on her face she walked
nearer my bed. and stood for a moment
without speaking, still looking ut me.
Her attitude limited that she saw in me
something's If. for instance. it were
sort Of picturesqueness which vas uneX-
pected enough TO appeal 10 her magma
ton. She rested for a moment poised
and calm. but intensely attentive, fas-
cinated.
And I, at the same time was instantly
conscious of so curious sentiment that
l must stop 10 attempt TO describe it.
I conceived myself 70 he cOnnOisseur
in women. and l estimated her at first
sight as one unique, even extraordinary.
/ But though to my mind she was indubit
ably beautiful, il was not her beauty
that for the moment thrilled me. II
was chiefly her ''newness. the very nov
city Of her visitation. I felt sudden,
compelling desire to prolong the mystery
OF her presence rather than 10 have it
explained. l tried, mentally, 10 delay
her first word. 10 hold her back from any
definite explanation till my eyes had had
their iii of her-till they had. so to speak,
solved her equation-till my wonder had
spent itself in the vision. exhausting all
its possibilities OF delight Her charm
was. in its unexpectedness, so alluring
that she was like a pleasant dream
which one fingers with and detains.
She was small. but her head was so
exquisitely proportional TO her body that
one did not notice her size. / have called
her young. though she was twenty-seven,
for her graceful figure and pose were still
girlishly maintained. The shape OF her
small head was defined by a quaint Golf
fure, the dark, fine hair being banded in
an encircling plat up past her tiny ears
and over like a coronal, showing sweep
ing high-bred curve over her low brow
All this gave her a tender, virginia. as
pect: but her soft. deep brown eyes were
so saddened by warm shadows below the
lids. her mouth was so TREMENDOUSLY SEN
sitive, with its slightly parted lips. and
the little lines that women fearhad begun
to write her history so suggestively upon
her face. that, as l gazed at her, I saw
a woman who had lived and suffered. a
woman as intense as she was delicate in
all her moods.
She was clad In a bewilderingly femi-
nine peignOir of lace and embroidery,
open at the neck. and covered with an
other long, straightly hanging garment
of shimmering pale-green silk, richly
decorated with odd patterns This gave
her to my wondering eyes quite the ap-
pearance of medieval princess, or the
heroine of some old fairy tale. The I'M
preston was intensified by the long chain
she wore, set with fire opals which flashed
I'm the candle light From it, below her
waist. there hung golden star.
And. strangest of ALL most provocative
TO my fancy she also appeared. with
extraordinary sympathy, almost with
.prescience, 10 feel something of my won
der as she paused and stood silent. re-
tardine her greeting in answer to my
unspoken thought While our eyes held
each other in that marvellous communion.
she did not smile; II was rather from her
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