Evening star., 1912-10-10
Bv REX BEACH.
Copyright. 1912. by Rex Beachl

woman. Perhaps You will wish me as
| much happiness as I wish you both.
| Then you have found your ltallan
girI?" queried Myra Nell. with flashing
eagerneSS.
| "Vittoria?'
"Vittoria." Miss Warren shrieked.
''NittOria-a countess, So, she's the one
| who spoiled everything
| Gee, YoulI be a count. said Rtlleau.
| There followed a period of laughing IN
| coherent explanations. and then the
| beamng bridegroom tugged at .MEra
| Nelfs sleeve saying:
| Now that it's all over m mighty
! tired of being Il widoWer.
| She flung her arms about his neck and
/ IiftetN her blushing face to his. explain
| ing To her half-brother. when she could:
| II don't know what you'll do without
some one to look after you. Bernie. but
its perfectly grand to elope'
Dreux rose with a grin and W1nked at
| NOrvin as he said:
'Oh. don't mind me. I'll get along all
| right" and seizing his hat. he rushed out
with his thin face all ablaze.
| When Blake was finally alone he closed
, his desk and with bounding heart set out
for the foreign quarter. His day had
dawned: he could hardly contain himself
But as he neared his goal strange doubts
! and indecisions arose in his mind. and
| when he had reached OHvetas house he
passed on, lacking courage to enter. He
| decided it was too. soon. after the trag-
| edy at the parish prison to- press his
suit: that to intrude himself now would
/ be in Extensively bad taste. Then too.
| he began to reason that If Margherita
/ had wished to see him she would have
sent for him-all in all, the hour was de-
| cidedly unpropitious- He dared not risk
| his future happiness upon blundering
| ill-timed declaration: therefore he walked
| onward. But no sooner had he passed
! the house than a thousand voices urged
him to return. in this the hour OF the
girls loneliness. and lay his devotion at
her feet. Torn thus by hesitation and
by the sense of his own unworthiness, he
walked the streets. hour after hour. AT
one moment he approached the house
desperately determined the next he fled,
mastered by the fear of dismissal. So
he continued his miserable wanderings,
on into the dusk.
Twilight was settling when Margherita
Ginini finished her packing. The big liv-
ing room was stripped Of it's furnishings.
trunks and cases stood about In a desc
late confusion. There was no look OF
home or comfort remaining anywhere and
the whole house echoed dismaliy to her
footsteps. From the rear came the sound
of Olveta'S listleSS preparations.
Pausing at an open window Margherita
looked down upon the street which she
had grown to love-the suggestion of
darkness had softened it, mellowed 1t
with a twilight beauty, like the face of
an old friend seen in the glow of lamp
light. The shouting of urchinS at play
fioated upward. stirring the chords of
motherhood in her breast and emphasiz-
what would be lett? Nothing but an au-
stere life compressed within drab walls
. nothing but sickness and suffering on
every side She had begun to think
great deal about those walls of late
| and The bells of a convent pea1ed out
softly in the distance, bringing a tight
ness to her throat. In spite of herself
she shuddered Those laughing children's
voices Knocked at her empty life. They
seemed always to jeer at that hungry
!! mother-love. but never quite so loudly as
now. She remembered surprising Norvin
Blake at play with these very children
one day, and the half-shamed half-de-
fiant light in his eyes when he discovered
her watching him. Thinking of him. she
recalled just such another twilight hour
as this. when. in whirl of shamed emo
tipn, she had been compelled to face the
| fact of her love. sudden trembling
weakness seized her at the memory. and
she saw again those cold, gray walls,
which never echoed to the geeful crow
ing of babes or the thrilling merriment
of little voices. In that brief hour of
her awakening life had opened gioriously.
bewilderinsly, only to close again. leav
ing her soul bruised and sore with re-
bellon.
She crossed the floor listlessly in an
swer to a knock, for the repeated atten-
| tions of her neighbors. although sincere
and touching, We're intrusive-then she
fell back at sight of the man who en-
| tered.
The magic of this evening hour had
| brought him to her in spite of all his
fears. but his heart was in his throat and
| he could hardly manage a greeting. AS
he passed the threshold Of the disordered
room he looked round him in dismay.
| What is this?" he asked.
| ''Oliveta is going home to Sicily. 1t is
our parting.
| And your?
! 'Tomorrow-I.go to the sisters
| mo. no." he cried, in a voice which
thrilled her. II won't let you For hours
J I've been trying to come here Dear
| est. don't answer until you know every
thing. Sometimes l fear l was the one
who was dreaming at that moment when
you confessed you loved me. for it is all
! so unreal But my love is not unreal.
] 1t has lived with me night and day since
| that first moment at Terranova- 1
! couldn't speak before, but all these years
| seem only hours, and I've been living in
the gardens of Sicily, where you first
smiled at me and awoke this love. You
asked me to take no part 1 had to re-
fuse I've tried to make a man of
what the world would say, but for
| In the tumult of feeling that his words
aroused. she held fast to one thought.
'What--what about Myra Nell?'' she
gasped.
| ''Myra Nell is married.
| The curling lashes, which had lain half
! closed during his headlong speech flew
open to display a look of wonderment
and dawning gladness.
! Yes. he reiterated. '.She is married
She has been married ever since the car
nival and she's very happy. But l didn't
know. / was tied by a miserable mis-
understa nding, so Y couldn't come to you
honestly until today'. And now-I-Im-
afraid
What do you fea~?' she heard herself
say. The breathiess delight Of this mo-
ment was so intense that she toyed with
1t, fearing to lose the smallest part. She
| withheld the confession trembling upon
her lips which he was too timid to take
for granted. too blind to see.
| Can you take me, i'm spite of my
| wretched cowardice back there I'm Sicily ,
l would understand. dear if you couldn't
forget il, butt love you So / tried
so hard to make myself worthy-you'u
never know how hard it was I
couldn't do what you asked me the other
day. but. thank God. my hands are
clean
He held them out as If in evidence;
then. to his great. his never-ending, sur
prise, she came forward and placed her
two palms in his. She stood looking
gravely at him. her surrender plain in
the curve of her tremulous lip, the droop
of her faltering. silk-fringed lids
knowledge came to him with a blind
ing. suffocating suddenness. which set
his brain to reeinr and Wrung a raptur-
Gus cry from his throat
After a long time he felt her shudder
in his arms
What is it, heart of my life?" he