Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-05-01

could prevent her carrying to her grsv'
the memory Of this one glorious flight
better to have loved and lost"
The wrath Of an old refrain troubled
Sallys reverie. How did It go? Nov
die the dream"
saturate with exquisite melancholy, che
leaned out over the window-sill into the
warm, still moonlight, drinking deep OF
the wine-scent of roses, dwelling upon
the image of him whom she loved SO
madly.
What were the words again?
The past is not in vain,
For wholly as It was your life,
Can never be again, my dear,
Can never be again.
She shook a mournful head, sadly en-
visaglng the lovelness of the world
through mist Of facile tears; that was
| too exuuisitely, too polgnantly true of her
| own plight; for, wholly IS 1t was, her
| life could never be again.
| And not for worlds would she have had
! II otherwise.
| Below, in the deserted drawlng-room,
| time-mellowed clock chimed sonorously
| the hour of two,
! Two o'clock Of a Sunday morning, and
| ell well long since Gosnold House had
| lapsed into decent silence; an hour ago
she had heard the last laggard footsteps,
the last murmured good nights in the cor
ridor outside her door as the men folk
took themselves reluctantly off to their
beds.
She leaned still farther out over the
sill perring along the cleaning white ia
cade no window showed a light that
she could see. She listened acutely not
sound but the muttering of tretful little
waves and the drowsy complaint OF some
bird troubled in It's sleep.
or all that needless human company, It
seemed sho alone remained awake
Something in that circumstance proved,
almost reslstlessly provocative to her in
nate lust for adventure. For upward of
two hours she had been passive there in
her chair. a prey to uneasy thoughtsi
now she was weary with much thinking,
but as far as ever from the wish to sleep;
never, indeed, more wide awake-pos-
sessed by a demon of restlessness, con-
sumed with desire to rise UP and go out
into the scented moonstruck niGht and
lose herself in its loneliness and-see what
she should see.
Why not? No one need ever know. A
staircase at her end of the corridor-little |
used except by servants-led to a small |
door opening directly upon the terrace. |
Providing IT were not locked and the key |
removed, there was no earthly reason
why. If so minded, she should not go |
quietly lOTtn tnAt way ana drink neT MI |
of the nights lovellness
To a humor supple to such temptation |
the tang of lawlcssness in n project inno-
cent enough was irresistible. Besides,
what was the harm? What could be the
objection, even were the escapade to be
discovered by misadventure?
Among other items in her collection of
borrowed plumage she possessed an eve
ring wrap somewhat out of fashion, bu;
adapted to her purpose-long
enough to cloak her figure TO the ground,
thus eliminating all necessity for dressing
against chance encounter with some other
uneasy soul Worn with black stockings
and slippers. 1t would render her almost
INVISIBLE in shadow.
In another minute. without turning on
light. she had found and donned those
several articles, and from her door was
inspecting the hallway before
a step aCoss the threshold.
1t was quite empty and silent. its dark
less moderated only by the single night
light burning at the head of the main
Satisfied, she closed the door and crept
loiselessly down the steps. to find the
ide door not even locked
CONTINUED MONDAY.