Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-06-29
CHAPTER x. Mrs. Ashley

CHAPTER x. Mrs. Ashley
DANELA bought her ticket and her seat in the Pull
I man; then having INQUIRED if the train was ready
and learned that she had ten minutes to wait she had
the porter carry her hand luggage the corner
of the waiting the telegraph office. "You
may come and get 1t when it time for the train she
said, and dismissed him.
She had odd reason for choosing that corner.
Whenever she had to wait alone in a railway station,
whenever she found time heavy on her hands and
wanted diversion whenever, especially she wanted to
be kept from thinking about her affairs her
problems she always sat within hearing of the chatter
of the telegraph instruments. 1t of the odd
her father had given her when he had spent
one whole summer teaching her the Morse code. He
must have been pretty good telegrapher himself she
often reflected, because his send had been as fast as
any she heard going the wires At all events
she could always understand when she chose listen,
everything telegraph sounder had to say.
This morning particularly she wanted to be saved
from her thoughts She had done thinking enough
through the sleepess twelve hours that had interviewed
since John Stanfed with that agonized Il can't stand
it. PAMELA his lips, had left her alone her sitting
room last night
She wasn't yet that the conclusion she had come
to right; but she knew that thinking could
make her any surer Certainly, when she had come to
that conclusion she hadn't dreamed how hard would
be to carry out to write the little note that said no
more than I'm going. ! understand enough for that
I'll write in few days Don't worry. PAMELA And
then to pack her trunks in the gray of rainy morning
and go away without another look into his face or an
other clasp of his big strong hands!
The hardness of it made her understanding much
clearer. When she thought of that last look of his and
of the pain there had been his voice, she wanted
with longing that almost hurt to cradle his head her
arms, and quiet and comfort the pain away The easy
friendly caress the pleasant companonship that had
characterized their days together wouldn't be enough
for her now any more than they enough for him.
Brother and sister! She didn't know much about
that relation 1t varied good DEAL she supposed On
the average 1t meant giving lots of good advice and
memberlng birthdays, and taking interest in ones
nephews and nieces But brothers and sisters married
other people!
That the thought that brought the full revelation
with it. She smiled it first, with little flash OF
contemptuous amusement for the absurdity. Imagine
her marrying anyone else than John-or John than her?
Oh, it preposterous What was it they tortur-
ing themselves with, anyway! Nothing but night
mare an uncanny series of condolences. She
Pamela Harris. She'd always been Pamela Harris.
And he was John Stanfeld Two months ago they'd
never heard of each other. And why, on the
strength of a torn thousand dollar bill
She pulled herself up short That the fight he
had been waging all these days. while she had looked
blindy and never remotely understood. She
did understand now fully. And he right about it.
The question had been raised and it had got be
tied one way the other. She how dreadully
her calling him Brother must have rasped raw
She flushed as she sat there in her corner and her lips
twisted into wry smile What an idiot he must have
thought her, not to have understood! If only she could
see him nowoh, only for half hour to tell him that
she did understand at last! There a telephone
booth there not far away She could call him up Per
haps thered be time for him make the train and he
could ride down to Edmonton with her. There couldn't
be much harm in that.
But she sat tight She simply must stop thinking
about him. until she far enough away to be of
reach of such temptations any rate And she took
to listening to the chatter of the telegraph instruments
just as she had meant to in the first place.
OVER under the bulletin board noisy sounder
railway wire was bringing in all sorts of uninterest-
ing information from signal towers and despachers Of
fees But closer at hand, and much fainter thin
steady trcke of personal messages from departing and
arriving travellers, going through the quad.
From where Pamela sat she couldn't the persons
who up to the desk send these messages 1t
part of the fun to guess what they must be like. Also
them 1t made listening what they had q