The Pickens sentinel. (Pickens, S.C.) 1911-2016, 1914-06-04

'"S|'/ "
I tive. She was sals superior in ev-
cry respect, infAteIy so, he argued.
And yet theEs@as something in Sara
that could tsowd this adored one. this
perfect. .as out Of his thoughts for the
time 5etng. He found it difficult to
concentrate his thoughts on Hetty
kGzstleton.
How white and i'll Sara had looked
when she said good night to him at
the door! The memory other dark.
mysterious eyes haunted him; he
could see them in the night about him.
They had been full Of pain; there were
torrents of tears behind them. They
had glistened as II FURNISHED by the
fires of fever.
Even as ne wrote his long, trium-
phant letter to Hetty Castleton, the
picture of Sara WrandaH encroached
upon his mental vision He could not
drive it out. He thought. OF her as
she had appeared to him early in the
spring; through all the varying stages
Of their growing intimacy; through the
interesting days when he vainly tried
to translate her matchless beauty by
means Of wretched pigments; up to
this present hour in which she was
revealed, and yet not revealed, to him.
Her vivid face was always before him.
between his eyes and the thin, white
paper on which he scribbled SO eager
ly. Her feverish eyes were looking
into his; she was reading what he
wrote before it appeared on the sur
face Of the sheet!
His letter to Hetty was triumph
Of skill and diplomacy, achieved after
many attempts. He found it hard not
to say too much, and quite as dlhcule
not to say too little. He spent hours
over this all-important missive. At
last it was finished. He read and re-
read it, searching for the slightest
flaw: a fatal word or suggestion that
might create in her mind the slightest
doubt as to his sincerity. She was
sure to read this letter great many
times, and always with the view to
finding something between the lines:
such as pity, resignation, an enforced
conception Of loyalty, or even falth!
He meant that she should find moth
ing there but love. 1t was full of ten
derness, full Of hope, full of promise.
He was coming to her with a stead
fast, enduring love in his heart, he
wanted her now more than ever before.
There was no mention of Challls
Wrandall, and but once was Sara's
name used. There was nothing IN
the letter that could have betrayed
their joint secret to the most acute
outsider and yet she would under
stand that he had wrung everything
from Sara's lips. Her secret was his.
He decided that it would not be safe
to anticipate the letter by cable
gram. 1t was not likely that any mes
sage he could send would have the
desired effect. Instead Of reassuring
her, in all probability it would create
fresh alarm.
Sleep did not come to him until after
three o'clock. At two he got up and
deliberately added a postscript to the
letter he had written. 1t was in the
nature Of a poignant plea for Sara
Wrandall. Even as he penned these
lines, he shuddered at the thought Of
what she had planned to do to Hetty
Castleton. Staring hard at the black
window before him, the pen still in
his hand, he allowed his thoughts to
dwell so intimately On the subject Of
his well-meant postscript that her
ashen face with its burning eyes
seemed to take shape in the night
beyond. 1t was a long time before
he could get rid Of the illusion, After
wards he tried to conjure up Hetty's
face and to drive out the likeness Of
the other woman, and found that he
could not recall a single feature in the
face Of the girl he loved!
When he reached Southlook in the
morning, he found that nearly all of
the doors and windows were boarded
up. Wagons were standing in the
stable yard; laden with trunks and
crates. Servants without livery were
scurrying about the halls. There was
an air of fnality about their move
ments.
Eyes, sir" said Watson, in reply
to his question, eve are in rush.
Mrs. Wrandall expects to close the
.'ouse this evening, sir. We all go up
this afternoon. I suppose you know,
sir, we ave taken new apartment
in town"
.""No!" exclaimed Booth
r Eyes, sir, we ave, sir. They've
been, decorating it for the pawst two
weeks. Seems like she didn't care for
the old one we 'ad. AS matter of
fact, didn't care much for it, either.
She's taken one Of them Inexpensive
ones looking out over the park, sir.
You know we used to look out over
Madison avenue, sir, and God knows
it wasn't .hinspirin'. Yes, sir, we go
up this afternoon. Mrs. Wrandall
will be down in a second, thank you,
sir"
Booth actually was startled by her
appearance when she entered the
room q few minutes later. She looked
positively ILL.,
my dear Sara" he cried anxiously.
this is too bad You are making
yourself Ill. Come, come, this won't
do"
L shall be all right in a day or
two," she said, with weary little
gesture Il have been nervous The
strain was too great, Brandon. This
Is the reaction you might say"
Your hand is hot, your eyes look
feverish. You'd better see your doc