Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-07-26
CHAPTER XII-Contnued.
(Cop5rieAt. 1910,
BY the Century Company

CdAfxEh AXI-C0nCnueQ.
i haven't been trying to assess the
chances. l spent my hour thinking
about something else. and l can't answer
your question really with yes or no."
Not with yes, but can't you answer
1t with no? Aren't you perfectly sure,
In your heart. that there's no chance at
all?"
Not yet he answered There may
be chance, and If there is. we can meet
1t half way Then he stretched out his
hand. That red-bound book there is our
bible now. Do you suppose what your
father said? We can live like Chris
tians, and we can always hope He
thought. when he put that bottle, which
contained his message, into the sea. that
there was hardly one chance in a mil
lion OF its resulting in an effectual relief
Yet he went on living as a brave man
lives, day at a time And when he
died, he died without fear. Doing that,
ne not only helped himself, but he helps
us In way that he couldn't possibly
have foreseen.'
Her eyes filed suddenly with tears, and
smile, of divine sad tenderness,
touched for an instant her mouth. But
that isn't our case, you know. Ours isn't
as simple as that"
knew the answer.
Your wings" She said IL hardly above
whisper, and as she said it she turned
a little paler and her brave lips trem-
oied. But In an instant her will had
taken command again. II am sure you
lily II you will spread them, those
great wings Of yours, and take to the
air with them, and fly away, as you are
free to do. and leave me here alone, as
L really am alone. the only person ma
rooned here-if you'll do that, then I'll
follow my fathers gospel. But you
won't go away. You can't-not a man
like you. and 1 know that. 1 know 1
mustn't even suggest it,"
her voice sank again and grew I'M
steady. While l am starving, you will
be starving. too. And while l am freez-
ing. you will freeze" She stopped there
with shudder and deep, gasping sob;
then, Won't you go?" she cried out.
dreaming, but that one was not l. Can't
you believe it's so? Can't you wake up
from the dream that is turning into a
nightmare, and fly away? No. you can't:
You can't. There is only one way out
of it,
There was the conclusion he had fore
seen, had foreseen long before he could
formulate 1.-THE inevitable conclusion
that had led him to pray for an hour.
And now he thanked God that the an
swer was ready.
But before he could speak. she turned
to him with sudden transition of mood.
which left him gasping. The face she
turned upon him now was radiant. flushed
hands to him. Come" she, said;
that's over. You're to forget it ever
happened. and you're to do something for
me that l want Will you? I want this
for holiday, just as l set out to make
it when 1 saw the yacht was gone The
can make the hours pure gold. 1t all de-
ponds on us. Come, will you do that
for me?''
Giving him her hands, she had meant
him to assist her to rise, but he disre-
garded the intention and knelt on one
knee beside her. Jeanne" he said
Her color fiuttered like flag at that.
and she caught her breath. Thank you,
Philip"
Well have our holiday, Jeanne. but
We must have a better understanding
first
NO. No more. / can't"
But he went steadily on: You said
there was only one way out and / knew
that can't deny your right to take, il
we're talking Of rights. During the five
years that l spent at Sandova / always
regarded it as a right that l could exer-
of the reasons l never exercised it. But.
Jeanne, If you elect to take that way, 1
shall take it with YOU"
She struggled away from him. turned
and faced him with horror-stricken eyes.
You must not say that, You've no right
to threaten me with that! No right"
Then, clutchng at his hands again,
You must promise.
Again she pulled her hands away and
covered her face with them. She was
trembling uncontrollably.
1T was not threat he said steadily.
1T was pI omise. promise 1 have the
right to make. I make it again, now,
Jeanne-a solemn promise before God.
Whether it's living or dying, L shall go
beside YOU
mo right she repeated in a whis-
per- What possible right could you have
to make a promise like that-a threat
that calls itself a promise?'
II have the only right there is.
Listen. Last night, when you were lying
there asleep, 1 sat thinking. thinking
about you, about the love / had for you;
about the change which that love had
made in me and would go on making
you. | knew that when they sent boat
ashore for you, ! should have to let you
go without word. If ] could have heard
a prophecy then, that today 1 should be
telling you I loved you, telling it with
clear heart and conscience / should have
gone haif-mad for joy. 1t seemed if
the thing could never happen. ] am
man with stain upon me. and yesterday
that stain made it impossible to say any
thing to you but goodbye. I meant to
say it, and take my way through the
air again and live out the rest of my life
on what, from your bounty, you had al
ready given me-
But the coming of new day has
changed all that. 1t has given me the
right to tell you what | have told you,
and it gives me the right to make that
promise. Isn't that quite plain? Don't
you understand"
She had listened GREATNESS while he
talked to her. Now for the space of two
deep limitations she was silent. 1T
can't be true she said family, mot all
that. Not SO soon. 1t was only yester-
day
You know truer than that" he inter-
rupted. You know that hours and days
have nothing to do with the thing Pm
talking about. Try to remember what l
was when I came down out of the air
upon that ice foe. a man who. for five
years, had been drugging his soul to
death, trying to cast all the humanity
out of it. Think what you did for me.
Think what you gave me out of yourself.
don't tell you that / love you better
than my soul, because-because my soul
is you-your warmth, your faith. your
fragrance. Why, do you know what my
feeling has been this morning, the feeling
have. tried to fight back out of my
heart? Joy, jeanne! Joy that l was to
suffer what you suffered. and live what
you lived, whether 1t was to be for an
hour or a day or a month! Whatever it
was to bring us, you and / were to share
the world together. Do you understand,
now, Jeanne. my right to make that
promise? Do you see now that II was
promise and not threat?"
She could not at first make him any
answer The thing his words had re-