Evening star., 1915-02-14

little pang as he advanced to meet them.
$50 you have really come!" she exclaimed.
"You astonish mel
"Why not?' he answered. "You are here.
To me, you know, that was almost as aston
shing'
"Ah, no!7 she objected. Everyone tells
me that ought to have been doing this sort
of thing for a long time. 1t is my meter to
be frivolous. 1t is scarcely yours, is it?'
Gerald was busy collecting his party, and
for these few minutes they were alone.
Something has happened, Sybil,' Jermyn
said quietly.
She shrugged her shoulders. Her feet
were keeping time to the music. She was
wearing a wonderful gown, unlike anything
he had ever seen on her before, and her maid
was following behind with little bag con-
tanning her domino and mask.
Nothing has happened, dear Jermyn,'
she assured him; "only l think that l am
growing to feel younger. | am afraid of gray
hairs, sitting by myself and moping all day
long. Don't you think am wiseo'
But isn't it 1ittle-sudden?7 he asked.
"Ah! these changes are always sudden"
she replied.
at is change, them" he said swiftly.
"Sybil, is anything changed between you
and me?'
For moment she was her old self. "Not
while the world lasts, dear one" she muir
mured "And yet-and yet"
"If you will only finish your sentence" he
begged, Il feel that 1 shall have the answer
to a little riddle that is puzzling me sorely."
"My sentence she whispered, "is better
unfinished. Now here comes everybody,
and l know you re going to hate it all"
SYPHILIS words were prophetic. Supper
was served at a great round table in the
middle of the restaurant. Jernyn was
placed at some distance from Sybil, be-
tween Mrs. Levenden and an exceedingly
lively young woman of American extraction,
who was appearing in a popular musical
comedy, and to whom he was apparently
expected to devote himself. Jernyn had
never heard the name of the show in which
she was performing, and she had never
heard of Jermyn. After the first few SEN
tences conversation fell fiat.
TT was indeed rather difficult situation
for him. Everybody called everybody else
by their Christian name, and peculiar sort
of freemasonry seemed to exist among them
all and to form the foundation for the CONVEX
sation. Jerrnyn did his best at first to talk to
his neighbors; but he found the task almost
hopeless. They belonged to a different
world, and they spoke different tongue.
Even their manners were strange to him. AS
time went on everyone became riotously
gay. Sybil, between Gerald and one of his
particular cronies, was altogether the center
of attraction. Her laugh was continually
heard. She talked with everyone, she even
whispered sometimes to Gerald.
Gradually Jerrnyn began to feel as though
he was a skeleton at the feast. Mrs. Lev
enden, who outside her intimate knowledge
of the stage was rather stupid woman, had
given up trying to make conversation with
him. The American beauty at his right was
engaged now in a desperate Irritation with a
young compatriot few places away. Mag
mum after magnum of champagne had been
opened; the table was hung with tobacco
smoke. Several OF the men, and even one or
two of the girls, were making quite as much
noise as vas seemly.
A maftre dh6tel had brought in huge box
of crackers, and Sybil, amid applause had
placed upon her head little vivandiere's
cap. Someone drank her health. She stood
up and kissed her hands across the table to
him. Suddenly, almost for the first time,
she caught Jermyn's eye. For single mo-
ment it seemed to him as though mask had
fallen from her face, as though her little
glance was an imploring one, as though she
were calling to him to take her away, that it