Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-07-13


mean because we know we hadn't the same
father. That's just as bad, though-isn't
it. John?"
He nodded
won't it be easier to talk about it be-
fore we know, while there's still a chance?"
Il suppose So" he admitted.
"You said something the other night about
teaching yourself to-think of me the other
way How shall we try to do it,
Have YOU got that lesson to learn now
too, PAMELA"
She flushed and tried to speak; but nodded
instead.
I'm afraid it's too late for me to learn it"
he told her. ooh, it was too late from the
very first, from that morning there at the
inn at Wadebridge! | know that now. The
other night, there in Your sitting room at the
Carolina, thought that if | wasn't to see
you for awhile, if it wasn't for the nearness
Ct you, if hadn't your DEAFNESS right where
| could-breathe the fragrance of it, | might
forget you a little; might, anyway, get over
hungering for YOU with every breath | drew
and every pulsebeat. But when you went
away it was all the worse-because you
were there with me all the time. | couldn't
get rid of you for an hour with the promise
that in another hour should really see you"
She nodded again and again the quick
flame of color went with it.
as it like that with you too?" he asked
unsteadily.
Eyes said Pamela $50, if it turns out
to be true, what we're afraid Of
81 love you with all my heart and soul"
he interrupted, mot like brother, not like
anv possible brother And that will be true
as long as live. And nothing that we may
find or not find in that box or anywhere else
can ever make the least difference to that.
| couldn't learn to sit by and see you falling
in love with someone else"
He heard little sigh of relief from Pam
ella. al thought of that" she said. 1T was
thinking of it that first made me understand
reallv"
"Couldn't you do it, either?"
NO. said Pamela.
He rose now and came over to where she
sat and took both her hands and kissed the
palms of them one after the other. Then he
said, "We're lovers, Pamela, whatever that
box may say, and we'll go on being lovers
all the rest of our lives. We may never be
able to marry each other, nor be together.
But that's the worst thing that can happen
to u.s. Nothing in that box can ever make
any difference except just to that. Come,
let's look at it."
60 they opened the top and looked. 1t
- was very FULL and its contents were ar
ranged in neat packages
There's nothing here but money SO far, ?
said Pamela, after the search had gone on
for little while.
Bonds" John commented, "nonregis-
tered, coupon bonds, thousand dollars
each. What we are looking for is probably
at the bottom"
But it wasn't. They went through it
again and again in the hope that some small
memorandum might have got shuff1ed away
somewhere. But it came out at last that
Pamela's first remark on looking at it was
literally true. There was nothing there but
money, apparently. Over a million dollars,
anyway, John guessed, though they didn't
stop to count, and there must have been
forty or fifty thousand dollars in uncut
coupons.
At last Pamela sat down rather Imply in
one of the chairs. Il don't know whether
want to laugh or cry" she confessed. dts
a funny thing, but as soon as we began not
to find anything anything but the money,
| mean-I began to be perfectly sure that
what we couldn't find was what we wanted
to know, not what we didn't. | don't know
whether that makes sense or not
Il know" said John. Il felt the same
way Well, there's one thing, he went on.
"You won't have to pawn your diamond.
Are you bit curious to find out how rich