Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-06-22

But it was exactly like Pamela that she
didn't ask him what he meant. She just
got up and stood beside him and slipped
a steadying arm through his. "Let's walk
around little first The car will be safe
here, won't it? Let's go and see the
animals
1t seemed for a minute as if her suggestion
had gone unheard. He responded, indeed.
to the touch of her hand on his arm with a
quick pressure of his own, and held it there
pressed tight against his body; but his eyes
were still gazing out over the lagoon and
when he spoke at last it was only to ask a
curt question.
"How old are you, Pamela!"
"Twenty- one last week, she said.
@And I'm twenty three-or | shall be
next month. That means that you were
born somewhere about year after my
mother left Oklahoma supposedly for Eng
land. Well, that's nothing to be frightened
about. 1t doesn't prove anything not even
with the bill, and the vicarage at Wade
bridge"
Then he turned to her with sudden smile
and covered the hand that still lay on his
arm with his other one. Their eyes met
again, and another surge of color came up
into both their faces.
Gall right he said, "let's 60 and see the
animals"
He shuff1ed up the heap of answers to her
advertisement and slipped them negligentlv
into his side pocket. They were of small
importance now. The two halves of the
bill he held out to her.
3This is yours, anyway, he said.
But, Half and half!' she insisted, and
made him take his.
at doesn't matter much, really was his
comment, as he replaced it into his pocket
book.
Then they wandered off together through
the crooked paths into the park.
FOR awhile it seemed as if they had quite
got back to the pair of children they had
been when they sat down to lunch. But as
they hung over the rail above the bearpit,
tossing down chunks of sweetened popcorn
to the solemn denizens of it, thoughtful
mood settled suddenly on Pamela.
He noticed it, and after three or four
glances at the grave face beside him, which
were unreturned, he asked her what it
was.
Nothing" she told him, and tried for
awhile to regain her old gaiety. But pres
sentlv she asked, "Can you row at all,
enough to paddle me around little on the
aOf course" he said. at wouldn't be
complete without that, would it?'
So they gravely deposited dollar and
hired boat for half an hour, and started
out; he at the oars and she at the rudder.
He saw she didn't want to talk SO he fell
silent too: just looked and looked Once or
twice, when she met his eyes, she responded
with a quick affectionate little smile; but,
for ali that she seemed a long way off.
At last she spoke. Il can remember COM
ing to America l must have been ten
then-as to perfectly strange country. l
know talked French ever so much better
than English at that time, and | knew how
queer it seemed to have Father tell me that
this was my own country, the country where
| was born. So we must have lived in
Europe on the Continent, all the time after
he took me away from Wadebridge. And
yet, ever since we started out seeing the
animals just now, have been remembering
this park. l remembered the bears quite
we'll, and throwing down things to them from
above. But there was a boat in it. That's
why wanted you to take me out on the
lagoon. There was boy in the boat, and
a woman [ seem to remember quite well,
besides Father. That is, there was a man
who think must have been Father though
l don't exactly remember him that way
He had stopped rowing when she began
tO crealr Now he 1et on the oars and