The St. Mary banner., 1915-11-20

never knew it," The final hook
snapped in place. We'll. "Wednesday
our boat leaves" as if this put a
period to all further discussion anent
Mr.. Parrot & Co. Nothing very seri-
Gus could happen between that time
and now
"wednesday night" Elsa began to
sing again, but not so j0yousIy. The
| petty things of everyday life were
lifting their heads once more, and Of
necessity she must recognize them.
She sat at the consul generals table.
! informally. There was gay inconse-
quential chatter. an exchange of rec
| objections and comparisons Of cities
and countries they had visited at sep
| arate times; but neither she nor he
| mentioned the chief subject of their
! thoughts. She refrained because Of a
| strange yet natural shyness OF a
! woman who has found herself; and
| he, because from his angle of vision
it was best that Warrington should
pass out OF her life as suddenly and
| mysteriously as he had entered it.
Had he spoken fraL'Ily he would have
saved Elsa many a litter heartache.
! many weary Gay.
! Warrington was absent, {. $50 were
| his enemies. If there was i. & truth
in reincarnation Elsa was confident
| that in the splendid days of Rome she
had beaten her pink palms in ap
plause Of the gladiators. Pagan; she
was all of that for she knew that she
could have looked upon Mallow's face
with more than ordinary interest.
Nevermore would her cheeks burn at
the recollection of the mans look.
In her room, later, she wrote two
letters. The one to Arthur covered
several pages; the other consisted of
a single line. She went down to the
office, mailed Arthur's letter and left
the note in Warrington's key box. 1t
was not an Intentionally cruel letter
she had written to the man in Amer
lea; but If she had striven toward
that effect she could not have achieved
it more successfully. She cried out
against the way he had treated his
den all knowledge of him from her.
Where were the charity and mercy
of which he had so often preached?
Pages Of burning reproaches which
scared the soul of the man who read
them. She did not confide the state OF
her heart 1t was not necessary. The
arraignment Of the one and the de-
fense of the other were sufficiently
Illuminating.
Soundly the happy sleep. She did
not hear the removal Of Warning
tons luggage at midnight, for 1t was
stealthily done. Neither did she hear
the fretful mutter of the bird as his
master disturbed his slumbers. Moth.
ing warned her that he intended to
spend the night on board; that. hav-
ing paid his bill early in the evening.
her note might have lain in the key
box until the crack of doom, so far as
he was likely to know of its existence.
No angel of pity whispered to her,
Awake! No dream magic people tell
about drew for her the picture Of the
the cramped deck of the packet boat.
fighting a battle compared to which
that of the afternoon was play. Elsa
slept on, dreamless.
When she awoke in the morning she
ran to the mirror-all this fresh
beauty she was going to give to him,
without condition, without reserva-
ton, absolutely. She dressed quickly.
singing lowly. Fate makes US the hap
piest when she is about to crush US.
Usually she had her breakfast
served in the room. but this morning
she was determined TO go downstairs.
She was excited; she brimmed with
exuberance; she wanted Romance to
begin at once.
Good morning." she greeted the
consul general, who was breakfasting
alone
"Well, you're an early bird!" he re-
piled. By the way, our romantic Par.
rot & Co. have gone"
Gomez" Elsa stared at him.
Eyes. Sailed for Saigon at dawn.
and am ratnoT Sldu tO SEE uIu eO
was afraid he might interest you too
much. Good heavens. Elsa. what is
the matter?"
mo, no! Don't touch me. I'm not
the fainting kind. Did you know last
night that he was going?"
"Yes."
Il shall never forgive you. Never,
never! You knew and did not tell
me. Do you know who Paul Ellison
is? He is the brother OF the man |
at home. You knew he was stealing
away and did not tell me-"
She could not have made the truth |
any palmer to him. He sat back in
his chair, stunned, voiceless.
Il am going to my room" she said |