The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1911-08-13

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preston crossed her, face as she said:
What have l to do with such alb
surdities:''
Again the inconsistency Of her be-
havior puzzled me.
Indeed. in all things Lisa was sin
gular. AS a child she had been seri-
Gus. and now that she was a woman
that seriousness had deepened Tito
what? l could not define it. She
seemed to have been lifted far above
the narrow old world views among
which she had been born. And yet
she did not seem fitted for the hum
drum existence of a working woman.
She certainly was not in hurry to
set to work. If questioned her as to
her plans she would say, Thine
enough for that when have returned
to the city" Indeed, l began to sus-
pect that she had had another motive
| In coming to America-a love affair.
She did not enjoy our meeting as did
| and every day grew more and more
distract Besides. it was plain that
she was trying to conceal from me the
| fact that she was troubled | sounded
her as to the cause.
Lisa" l said, you have something
on your mind"
What makes you think so?" she
asked, starting.
well, | have thought that perhaps
there is some one i'll Russia-some
/ nobleman whom you love and who
loves you, but whose rank cuts you
off from him.
She sighed, but did not affirm or
deny my hypothesis, Her actions only
confirmed me in it, for it filled the con
ditions. She would be likely to keep
such case hidden from the world for
the sake of her lover, if not for her own.
returned the sigh. for had dreaded
this very confession My view of the
case was further confirmed by an in
cfdent that occurred soon after. We
were sailing on the ocean when we
were overtaken by a sudden sQuall. /
lowered the sail as quickly as possible.
leaving only small bit of it loose for
steerage. The wind struck in from
the north and blew US southwark along
the coast. We were not only in danger
of being tossed keel upward, but of
striking on sunken rocks. | confess |
was very much frightened. Lisa sat
as calmly as if we were swinging in
d hammock.
"How brave you arei" / said
Brave! Do you call this something
to fear? There are troubles far more
to be dreaded"
Fortunately the wind lulled as we
were passing an inlet, and, hosting sail,
l soon made smooth water and tied up
to a low wooden pier
THANK Godr / exclaimed as / step
ped ashore.
"Why thank God?" said Lisa. I'VE
don't know what to be thankful for
We don't thank him when some mis-
fortune befalls US, yet it may be
blessing in disguise"
"Why. Lisar' l exclaimed, looking at
her in surprise.
Don't mind me-" she said, smiling.
'eTry and remember me as you knew
me in school, not as l am now"
She said nothing more as we walked
away toward our respective homes.
Notwithstanding her seeming indiffer
ence | looked for some involuntary
consciousness that she was relieved at
our narrow escape from death in the
sea, but if she felt it she gave no sign
Surely" I said to myself, this love
bor @oIy CT hold of hnP
since she doesn't care to have been
saved from death"
That she suffered was plain, but
how or what she suffered was mys-
terry There were times when she did
not appear to suffer at all, when
some bright ray of hope seemed to
break in upon her and lift her out of |
her dependency into whirl of mer- |
riment. Once when she was in this
mood I said to her:
Il know why you are happy today. |
You have received news of your lover.
All will yet be we'll"
I watched her closely to observe the |
effect of my words. but they had no
effect, at least none that / could de-
tect Her gay mood lasted till we
parted Then l saw tears.
Lisa / said. give NE your conf
1ence; trust me-"
Il cannot even trust myself" she
replied and ran away.
There were times when she would
show a tenderness for me, which
could only account for on the ground
hat we were solitary companions in
/ foreign land. Once when we were
walking on the beach by moonlight
The felt for my hand and held it in
hers with her face averted. l tried
o catch a glimpse of it, but without
wall till she turned and looked at me
Is serenely as the moon was looking
N the ocean.
One morning Lisa and / were walk
ng on the beach. The wind was
lortherly, and, though the sky was
doubtless, the air was crisp. Both
cit its invigorating influence, and sud-
Ienly Lisa started to run. As she did
o she took a handkerchief either from
Ter belt or her bosom. l thought | 1