Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1916-12-27
CHAPTER wi.

4
a heart, the terrace edged with low
shrubbery, and beyond the faint CLEAN
| that was the river The unshaded glare
of the lights behind her in the house
was eclipsed by the crescent edge of
the rising moon. Dinner was over. Sid
ney was experiencing the rare treat
Of after-dinner coffee.
lie Moyne, grave and contained, sat
across from her. To give so much
pleasure. and so easily! How young
she was, and RADIANT No wonder the
boy was mad about her. She fairly
held out her arms TO life.
All. that was too bad! Another
table was being brought they were not
to be alone. But what reused in him
violent resentment only appealed to
Sidney's curiosity.
CarlOtta Harrison came out alone.
Although the tapping of her heels was
dulled by the grass, although she had
exchanged her cap for the black hat,
Sidney knew her at once. A sort of
thrill ran over her. 1t was the pretty
nurse from Doctor Wilson's Office. Was
it possible-but of course not! The
book of rules stated explicitly that such
things were forbidden.
Don't turn around" she said swift
ly. at is the Miss Harrison told you
about. She is looking at u.s."
Carlotta's eyes were blinded for a
moment by the glare of the house
lights. Then she sat up. her eyes on
lie Moyne's grave profile turned to-
ward the valley. Lucky for her that
Wilson had stopped in the bar, that
Sldney's instructive good manners for
babe her staring that only the edge of
the summer moon shone through the
trees. She went white and clutched
the edge of the table, with her eyes
closed. That gave her quick brain a
chance. 1t was madness, June mad
ness. She was always seeing him, even
la her dreams. This man was older,
much older. She looked again.
She had not been mistaken. Here
and after all these months X. lie
Moyne, quite unconscious of her pres.
ence, looked down into the valley.
Wilson appeared on the wooden
porch above the terrace, and stood, his
eyes searching the half-light for her,
If he came down to her, the man at the
next table might turn, would see her
She rose and went swiftly back to-
ward the hotel. All the gayety was
gone out of the evening for her, but
she forced a lightness she did not feel 4:
1T is so dark and depressing out
there-it makes me sad"
Surely you do not want to dine In
the houseT'
do you mind?"
''Your wish is my law-tonight," he
said softly. -.-~.--------
After all, the evening was a disap-
pointment to him. The spontaneity had
gone out of it, for some reason. The
girl who had thrilled TO his glance
those two mornings in his office, whose
somber eyes had met his. fire for fire,
across the operating room, was net
playing up. She sat back in her chair,
eating little, starting at every step. Her
eyes, which by every rule of the game
should have been gazing into his, were
fixed on the oilcloth-covered passage
outside the door.
81 think, after all, you are fright
ened I"
Terribly"
"a little danger adds to the zest of
things You know what Nietzsche says
about that"
II am not fond of Nietzsche" Then,
| with an effort: "What does he say?"
1.-Two things are wanted by the
tue man-danger and play. Therefore
he seeketh woman as the most dan
gerous of toys"
Women are dangerous only when
you think of them as toys. When a
man finds that q woman can reason
do anything but feel-he regards her
as a menace. But the reasoning WON
/ an is really less dangerous than the
other sort"
This was more like the real thing.
| To talk careful distractions like this.
| with beneath each abstraction It's con-
cealed personal application, to talk OF
woman and look in her eyes, to discuss
new PHILOSOPHERS with their freedoms,
to discard old creeds and old morali-
| ties-that was his game. Wilson be-
came content, interested again. The girl
was Undetermined. She challenged
his philosophy and gave him u chance
| 20 defend 1t. With the conviction. as
their meal went on. that lie Moyne
| and his companion must surely have
gone she gained ease.
1t was only by wild driving that she
got back to the hospital by ten O'Clock.
Wilson left her at the corner. well
content with himself. As he drove I'D
the Street he glanced across at the
Page house. Sidney was there on the
doorstep, talking to a tall man who
stood below and looked up at her.
Wilson settled his tie, In the darkness.
Sidney was a mighty pretty girl. The
June night was in his blood. He was
sorry he had not kissed Carlotta good
night. He rather thought, now he
looked back, she had expected II.
as be got out Of his car ar the curb,
| 8 young man who had been standing Ia