The star-independent. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1904-1917, 1915-02-27


manner of man l am? Have you ever
done anything that would conscien.
tiously forbid you to speak to young,
unmarried woman?"
Take care of herself? He rather be.
lieved she could. The bluntness of her
question dissipated any doubt that re.
NAMED
mo. haven't been that kind of a
man." simply. 81 could look into my
mothers eyes without any sense OF
shame, If that is what you mean"
THAT is all care to know. Your
mother is living?"
Yes. But l haven't seen her In
ten years." His mother! His brows
met in a frown. His proud, beautiful
mother!
Elsa saw the frown and realized
that she had approached delicate
ground. She stirred her tea and slipped
it slowly.
There has been a deal of chatter
about shifty, untrustworthy eyes," he
said. "The greatest liars l have ever
known could look ST. Peter straight
and serenely in the eye. It's matter
of steady nerves, nothing more. Some
body says that so and so Is fact, and
we go on believing it for years. until
someone who is not a person but an
individual explodes it."
II agree with you. But there is
something we rely upon far more than
either eyes or ears, instinct. 1t is
that attribute of the animal which
civilization has not yet successfully
dulled. Women rely upon that more
readily than men,"
And make more mistakes" with
cynicism he could not conceal.
She had no ready counter for this
do you go home from Rangoon, now
that you have made your fortune?"
mo. am going to Singapore. ]
shall make my plans there"
Singapore. Elsa stirred uneasily. II
would be like having a ghost by her
side. She wanted to tell him what had
really drawn her interest. But 1t
seemed to her that the moment to do
80 had passed.
"Vultures! How I detest them!"
She pointed toward sand bar upon
which stood several of these abomi.
nable birds and an adjutant, solemn
and aloof. "At Lucknow they were
red headed. l do not recollect seeing
one of them fly. But admire the
kites; they look much like our eagles"
And thus again the eye misleads
US. There is nothing that flies SO
rapacious as the kite"
Little by little she drew from him
a sketch here, a phase there. She was
given glimpses into the life Of the
East such as no book or guide had
ever given; and the boat was circling
toward the landing at Prone before
they became aware of the time.
Warrington rushed ashore to find
the dry-goods shop. His social redemp.
tion was on the way, IL vanity went
for anything. It was stirring and
tingling with life again. With the
money advanced by the purser he
bought shirts and collars and ties, and
as he possessed no watch, returned
barely In time to dress for dinner. He
was not at all disturbed to learn that
the inquisitive German, the colonel
and his fidgety charges, had decided
to proceed to Rangoon by rail Indeed.
there was bit of exultation in his
manner as he observed the vacant !
chairs. Paradise for two whole days |
And he proposed to make the most
of 1t. Now his mind was as clear of |
evil as forest spring. He simply
wanted to play; wanted to give rein |
to the lighter emotions SO long pent
up in his lonely heart.
The purser, used to these sudden
changes and desertions in his passen.
ger lists, gave the situation no
thought. But Elsa saw mild danger,
all the more alluring because 1t hung
nebulously. What harm could there
be in having a little fling? He was
so amazingly like outwardly, so aston.
ishingly unlike inwardly, that the stu
alton had for her subtle fascination
against which she was in nowise In. 4
clined to fight. She was not wholly
ignorant of her power. She could bend
the man IL she tried. Should she try?
They we're like two children, setting,
out to play game with fire.
She thought of Arthur. Had he gone
the length Of his thirty-five years with.