The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1914-01-10

ntSPPCu at thC lOOt VI thO
last step. So, for what seemed a
very long time, the two were still,
and there was no sound at all in
the place save the regular whis-
pering rush of the quiet sea upon
the quiet sand.
1t was the young man who
spoke at last, and for some OBJ
scure reason he spoke in whis-
per. He said:
you got my letter, them" And
Mrs. Stanley nodded slowly, say
ing:
Yes. Harry. Yes, I got it.
This morning early"
Break O. DAY." he cried all at
once. Break o. DAY." But the
woman came forward a step or
two, holding up her hands as If
to check him.
mo! MOI" she said quickly. She
was breathing very fast and her
face was quite white. please,
not that" she said. 81 came here
to meet you, Harry. as you begged
me to do, because-well, because
owed you that, perhaps. But l
have come to ask you to go away
and not trouble me. If you have
any-regard for me at all, you
must see that that is the only
thing you can do. I am married
and love my husband very
much, and I am happy"
what am / to you, them" he
cried. And the vows we swore-
the life we were to have together?
What's all this to you, Break O.
Day."
"Oh!" said she piteously, cts a
memory. It's sweet memory,
Harry, of a few mad days when l
was a child. But it's only a men,
DRY now. l am happy here and at
peace. Won't you please leave
me? Please?"
only a memory" he de-
manded.
Eyes, only that" she said.
"Only that"
Its not true, my LADY," said
the brown young man. And all
at once she put her hands over
her face and began to cry, for she
was afraid, and the strange, mad
intoxication Of this mans pres
ence was almost as fresh and as
potent as 1t had been in those dis
tant days-four years distant
now. She was back again on the
slow Mediterranean liner, and the
odd young man whom her brother
had met in the smoke-room and
had presented to her as sort Of
living curiosity was there too. He
walked beside her round the deck,
and leaned with her over the rail
In the evening after dinner; and
on that last night before they
landed he sat with her for a
stolen, never-to-be-forgotten hour
up on the hurricane deck hidden
from all the world.
A ghost of old agony stirred in
her SO that she shivered with it.
Between the hands that covered
her face she cried out upon him:
why did you never come to
me? Why didn't you come? !
sat waiting day after day. And
at night I--prayed."
The man seemed. for a mo-
ment, to have no answer to that,
and she dropped her hands and
stared at him. At last he said in
a low voice:
"At first-for a little time-I
was afraid. l had doubts: Not of
myself. OF you. You were so
young and you'd never known
what going without luxuries-
omforts-meant. And then all
at once l fell i'll. When l came
out again you mad gone abroad.
So l lost you"
His voice rose suddenly to a
cry, and he caught her hands In
his and held them against him.
Break O. Day!" he cried out,
do you think I'm going to lose
you again? Do you think I'm 60
| ing to be twice fool? I've found
you at last, and l shan't let you
60 again"
She strained weakly away from
him, but he held her fast and she
was helpless. Once more she be-
gan sort of frightened sobbing:
Wont you please go away and
let me alone?" she begged. T'm
SO happy here! 1 tell you love
my husband. Please, won't you
go?"
"Happy!" he cried with a great
scorn. my lady, you don't knoE
what happiness is. You thought
you were happy before we first
met on that ship. What did you
think of that sort of happiness
after a weeks time? / tell you
you're a prisoner here. A pris-
oner to your own blindness and
to a set of conventions that dull
people have hedged you In with.
|. Break o. Day! there's all
the great free world out yonder,
and it's full Of sunlight and roses
and rest and love-the sort Of
love you don't even know the
outside Of"
An instant's desperate strength
came to the woman. She wrenched
her hands from his grasp and
stumbled backward until she was
at arms length Her eyes stared
upon him with bewildered hor-
ror.
do you realize what you are
saying?" she demanded. What
am i letting you say? Be still,
Harry! For my sake, II you have