Evening star., 1911-01-15

shortly. u am going away"
Really returned the old lady with
casual politeness, II had an idea that you
were staying here for several days longer"
Il had expected to; but am going sud-
denly"
@Oh, you business men!" she responded
playfully. "There is no counting on you;
for you never let anything stand in the way
of business. A little furry in Wall Street
or difference in the price of wheat, and
you are Off"
"Yes," replied Seaton as he turned toward
the house, although clearly he was hardly
conscious of what he was saying, 3we have
to watch things very closely"
THE dull gray of the late autumn day was
growing duller with the near approach
of twilight. The afternoon, in spite of the
time of year and the condition of the sky,
had been warm, and the drawing room car
with every chair filled was oppressively and
depressingly hot. Seaton had listened to the
rushing clangor of the train until it had pro-
duced a mental heaviness and torpor-in
which, however, was nothing of unconscious
ness-which brought no surcease of misery.
In what different spirit he had journeyed
northward over those same rails a few days
before on his way to Pineholt and to meet
Evelinei If he had no reason to believe
that she would be willing to marry him, at
least there was not the certainty of defeat
and the heart wringing agony of losing her.
He would be with her, see her every day
and often every day during a space, and
with every lover hope still fingers long; for,
more than another, lover thinks and acts
in accordance with the precept that while
remaining vestige of reason his fancy will
shape wholly illogical possibilities; upon the
slightest fragment of foundation of pretext
he will cons .ruct an absurd structure of
bliss
Seaton, though, had travelled through the
afternoon still shaken by the overthrow of
his uniformed expectations, facing the un-
happiness of the weeks and months and
years to come. He had been rebellious, had
striven for greater grip on himself, and Sue
ceeded for few minutes in attaining GER
tain apathy of despair; which would, how
ever, be followed by the pain of more
he was at last unrestrainingly and increas-
ingly miserable.
"Seaton-Richard Seaton!"
He started. The train, as he remembered,
had stopped at station, though at the mo-
ment he had hardly noticed the fact. Now
the conductor was advancing up the car
with yellow envelop in his hand, calling
the name which he read from the cover.
Here said Seaton, though he hardly
stirred, and took the missive languidly. He
opened the envelop with mechanical indif-
ference, and indeed he read the few words
on the inclosed sheet before he was thor
oughly aroused to intense attention. In
fact, he finished the sentence before he fully
realized the meaning and stared at the name
at the end for an instant blankly. Then he
reread avidly:
Please come back at once if you possibly can.
EvELINE LELY.
He sprang up. Down the aisle he stalked.
Subconsciously he was aware that through
the sunset clouds gathered about the noun
taintops across the river the sun had shot
out golden ray of light which shone through
the window and illumined brightly the sway
ing floor over which he was fastening. At
the end of the car he found the conductor.
@Will you tell me-" he asked urgently,
"what is the station at which we stop where
can catch the first train going north3'
THE early morning work of preparing Pine
holt for the day was actively advancing
when Seaton entered the immense hall. He
had arrived at the small way station not
long after sunrise; but the difficulty of find
ipU CONVEYANCE fO carry him across the