Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1914-01-01

Peace brooded over all, a vast sweet
silence creeping through the trees
only here and there the twitter Of a
waking bird--and around them was
the glimmer OF tall flowers standing
like pensive moon-worshipers in an
ecstacy of prayerless bloom.
Come 10 said. LET me take you
to see the sun.dial now
The tangle had been cut away and
a narrow gravel.path led through the
pruned creepers. She made an excla-
nation of delight. The onyx-pillar
stood in an oasis of white-moonflow-
ers white dahlias, mlgnonette and
narcissus; bars of late lilies-of-the-
valley beyond these, bordered with
Arum-lilies, white clematis, iris and
|bridalwreath, shading out into tender
|paler hues that ringed the spotless
purity like dawning passion.
white for happiness" he quoted.
"You said that when you brought me
here-the day we planted the ramb-
lers. Do you remember what l said?
That some day perhaps, l should love
this spot the best of all at Damory
Court" He was silent moment.
tracing with his finger the motto on
the dials rim. when was very lit
tle," he went on,--"hardly more than
three years old, think,-my father
and had play, in which we lived in
la great mansion like this. 1t was
called Westinghouse, and it was in
the middle Of the NeverNever Land
a sort of beautiful fairy country in
which everything happened right. |
know now that the NeverNever Land
was Virginia, and that Wishing House
was Damory Court. No wonder my
father loved it! No wonder his mem
DRY turned back to it always! I've
wanted to make it as it was when he
lived here. And want the old dial to
count happy hours for me-"
Something had crept into his tone
that struck her with strange sweet
terror and tumult of mind The hand
that clutched her skirts about her
knees had begun to tremble and she
caught the other hand to her cheek in
a vague hesitant gesture. The moon
flowers seemed to be great round eyes
staring up at her.
"Shirley--' he said. and now his
voice was shaken with longing-"will
you make my happiness for me?"
She was standing perfectly still
together, against her breast, her eyes
on his with a strange startled look.
Over the hush of the garden now, like
the very soul of the passionate night,
throbbed the haunting barcarole of
Tales Of Hoffman,:
might of stars and night Of love"
and inarticulate echo Of his longing.
He took step toward her, and she
turned like one in sudden terror seek
ing a way of escape. But he caught
her close in his arms.
81 love you!" he said. Hear it now
in my brides garden that I've made
for YOU love you, love you!".
For one instant she struggled. Then,
slowly. her eyes turned to his, the
sweet lips trembling, and something
dawning deep in the dewy blue that
turned all his leaping blood to quick.
silver "My darling!" he breathed,
and their lips met. r a
In that delirious moment both had
the sense Of divine completion that
comes only with love returned. For
him there was but the one woman in his
since the foundation fthe world. 1t
was Kismet. For this he had come to
Virginia. For this fate had turned
land twisted a thousand ways.
Through the riot of his senses, like a
silver blaze, ran the legend of the cal
endar: Every man carries his fate
upon a riband about his neck" For
her, something seemed to pass from
her soul with that kiss, some deep ir-
revocable thing, shy but fiercely strong
that had sprung to him at that lip
contact as steel to magnet. The
foliage about them fared up in green
light and the ground under her feet
rose and fell like deep sea-waves.
She lifted her face to him. It was
deathly pale, but the light that burned
on it was lit from the whitest altar
fires of Southern girlhood. "Six
weeks ago." she whispered, you had
never seen mel"
He held her crushed to him. She
could feel his heart thudding madly.
"Pve always known you" he said.
give seen you thousand times.
saw you coming to meet me down a
cherry blossomed lane In Kyoto. I've
seen your eyes peering from behind a
veil in India I've heard your voice
calling to me, through the padding
camels' feet, from the desert mirages.
You are the dream have gone search
ing always! All, Shirley, Shirley,
Shirley"
CHAPTER XXXVII
The Doctor Speaks.
While the vibrant strings hummed
and sang through the roses, and the
couples drifted on tireless and con-
tent, or blissfully "sat OUT dances on
the stairway. Katharine Fargo held
her stately court no less gaily for the
;stealthy doubt that was creeping over
her spirit. She had been so certain
of what would happen that evening
THAT when her father (between cigars
on the porch with Judge Chalmers and
Doctor Southall had searched her out
under a flag-oftruce, she had sent him
to the right-about laughingly declining
to depart before royalty. But number
followed number, and the knight in
purple and gold had not paused again
before her, Now the scarlet cloak no