The Washington herald., 1914-11-15

breeze that seemed to have turned colder
now, and With wrapping about her quiV-
ering shoulders the heavy velvet OF the
| curtain.
| Whatever other flaws she had, Persis
| was not marred by sen-concet. Even
her nobler motives she tended TO rem
| terpret from some cynical point OF view.
When she was calmer she spoke with that
intelligence OF hers that always chilled
Forbes ideaiizlng heart.
| II can't tell you how grateful ] am,
| Harvey, and how ashamed. / didn't know
was $3.50 hopelessly like other people
I didn't know 1 could forget myself SO
| completely. But I've learned my lesson.
| I've had my scare. And I must keep
away from the edge OF the clin. we
| mustn't meet alone this way any more,
| Harvey. love you too well, and don't
| want to go altogether % the bad, do /!
1t isn't that I'm good: I'd love to be good
| but I'm afraid I wasn't meant to De.
| But I must be sensible. l mustn't be
| fool. \ woman risks too much, Harvey.
| It's too hideousIy unfair. The cOnse-
| quences would be nothing at all TO you
and might be utter destruction to me.
| told you there were a hundred Persises
| in me And now I've seen one OF them
| face to face that never knew was there
| I've got to starve her to death. We
mustn't meet alone any more, must We
| He could not say anything without say
| ing too much. So he simply shook his
head and pressed her hand, and, rising
| led her from the niche OF peril. With his
| free hand he found his cigar lighter and
| snapped it, but 1t would not flame, and
| they stumbled through an archipelago OF
! furniture. jostling together. more afraid
| Of contact with each other than OF any
other danger
They bade each other good night and
.vH-sas- an
| propriately matter-Of-fact, galvanized
ware upon cold iron. They tiptoed wear
| ily up the service stairway and into the
main corridor above
| Here. too, there was daylight like dirty
pond water. Persis went stealthily to the
railing OF the stairway. and. glancinE
| down, beckOned 10 Forbes, who moved To
her side and peered where she pointed.
| He saw that Willie Enslee. exhausted
nv his vigil, had fallen asleep on Il sUmp-
tuous divan. The divan would have hon
ored a palace. and WiIlie's BAHAMAS were
Of silk. and his bathrobe was Of hrOcadcd
silk But after all II vas Willie Enslee
that was in them. And he slept with his
little eyes clonch~d and his mouth ajar.
And q cold cigarette was stuck to his
| lower Lip.
FORBES was rrpsIIed TO taunt her with
a whisp. red There is your husband.
60 to him,
] Rr.. when hc looked al her she vas so
vsn and pitiiuI that he could not be as
pitilass a. the wan dayligh: was. She
was making an advance payment on her
prize and sl,r vas shiverinS and lonely.
So he kissed her icy hands and whispered
TO her how beautiful she was and a sOT-
ruwful God bless you and sneaked
back into his room, his bachelor room.
Had he paused as once before to throw
her annther kiss. he would have found
her with her arms stretched out to him
pleading for rescue from the vision she
had seen and the UnspOken taunt she had
, understood But he did not look back
and she dared not knock as his door. The
click Of his lock frightened her, and she
| fed 70 her room like a ghost surprised by
the morning.
/ When Forbes shut the door upon Persis
| and unwittingly shut out her little ges-
i ture OF appeal 10 come back. be stronger
! than she was, and rescue her from her
! self in spite Of HERSELF he looked from his
room upon a world that was just the col
orlPss color OF the glass in his window.
There was a menace OF rain in the sky.
and the dawn was a colorless affair.
neither night nor morning. The day
woke Ike 4 sleeper that has not rested
well
As mere formaIity Forbes took OF his
clothes and lay down. Life was cOlOTless
| ahead of him. The woman who had fasci-
mated him utterly had utterly disappolnt-
ed him She loved Forbes. but not his
penury;. she would marry Enslee's none.
but not Enslee. She wanted success in
| life-caIIed it her career"
How could ne hate her when he loved
her so madly. and was so unhappy out Uf
her sight? How was he to endure It that
snc should marry another man, and how
was he to prevent it?
He tossed between sleeping and waking.
between condemnation OF Persis and
acquittal. between resolutions TO cut her
out Of his heart and his life. and reSolu-
! tions to win her yet. Eventually he heard
people stirring about the house, and he
rose drearily.
The shower bath gave forth lukewarm
drizzle that neither stimulated nor sooth-
ed him. Outside, rain was falling laziIy
in a gray air that hid the hills and gar
dens as II the sky, too, were a curtained
shower bath.
He began TO pack his suit cases. As he
was folding one of his coats there dropped
from its inside pocket a mesh OF berib-
boned lace II surprised him by its inap-
propriateness. He picked 1t up, and Il
was tho niEhtCap that had fallen from
hcr ;Ouslcd hair as she looked from III"
wiNd"E into that wonderful dawn OF day
lef"re Yesterday.
ti| 1HflS " dnEIllE Dd'h 10 Inc moor eIlL
wont on packing his bachelor things 10
TAX. back into his bachelor future. tn
little cap lay huddled-as she had crouch
81 When he flung her out Of his arms. She
had whispered. II understand" II seCm-
ed also not to reproach him. But it vas
very beautiful He could not leave II
there for some servant I" find. Especially
nov a. she had prophezlcd just such re-
suit and he had promised to keep il Sc
cr~t He picked it up. 1t was fragrant and
pink and silken and laCy-ss she was.
lie found himself caressing the cap and
InurmurnG to Il. He folded Il tenderIy
and slipped Il into the suit case. Then he
took il out and put il in the inside pock-
ct of his waistcOat II seemed to nestle
there, and he felt Iurch in his heart, as
II Persis had just crept back into it and
curIeI Up to sleep. He buttoned them in.
Persis and the nightcaT and. closing his
suit cases. carried them downstairs as
one does in a hotel where there are no
bell-boys.
Breakfast was served more slipshoddily
than before. Even the novelty of the ex-
perence had gone. Henceforward Wini-
fred was converted to the vital import
ance of servants.
When the breakfast was eaten the
dishes were washed anu dried at Winl-
fred's direction. But when it came to
what Forbes called policing the camp
II was unanimously voted to leave that
to the gardener and his wife, or to the
caretaker on his return.
The three automobiles rolled up through
the rain, all shipshape for the storm.
with tops hooded and side curtains but
toned down snugly.