The sun., 1916-04-29

door to secure himself against intrusion
on the part of his mother or Jane. Will
lam seated himself at his writing table
and from a drawer therein took a small
cardboard box which he uncovered. plac-
ing the contents in view before him upon
the table. (How meagre. how chilling a
word is 'contents'D In the box we're:
A faded rose
Several other faded roses disintesra.ed
into leaves
Three withered -four leaf clover."
A white ribbon still faintiy smelling Of
violets
small silver shoe buckle
large pearl button.
A small pearl button
A tortoise shell hairpin.
cross section from the heel OF small
slipper.
striney remnant. probably once an
imrrovised wreath Of daisies
Four or nve withered dandelions,
Other dried vegetation. Of nature now
indisting guishable.
William gazed reverently upon this
Junk Of precious souvenirs. then from
the inner pocket OF his coat ne brought
forth. warm and crumpled lumpish
cluster OF red geranium blossoms. still
aromatic and not quite dead. though
naturally. after three hours OF such in
| Innate confinement. they wore an un-
mistakable look OF suffering with a
| tenderness which his family had never
observed in him since that piteous day
! In his NTH year when he tried to mend
hts broken doll. William laid the gera-
mum blossoms In the cardboard box
among the botanical and other relies
His gentle eyes showed what tn,
| treasures mean to him.
The heart OF William had behaved
! tumultuously the summer long. whenever
his eyes beheld those plckets OF tn
| Parchers' fence. but now 1t outdid all its
previous rio,ings. He was forced to oper
his mouth and gasp for breath. SO deer
was his draught OF that young wine
| romance. Yonder-somewhere In tn,
breath taking radiance-danced his queer
| with all he: court about her. Queen ant
court. thought William. and nothing les,
exorbltant could have expressed his feel
Ing For seventeen needs only SOM
| paper lanterns and fiddle and a prett,
| girl-and Versailles is all there,
''The moment was SO rich that william
crossed the street with n slower step
His mood changed an exaltat'on ha,
come upon him. though he was never 70
an instant unaware ~ the TRACED,
beneath all this worldly show AM
glamour. " was the LAST night Of ~,
divine visit tomorrow the town woul
lie desolate. q hollow shell In the dus,
without her. Miss Pratt would he gon
gone utterly-gone away on the train
But Tonight was just beginning and 10
night he would dance With her he woui
dance and dance with her-he wou
dance and dance like mad He and she
poetic and fated pair. would dance o.
and on They would he intoxicated b
the lights-the lights. tho flowers an
the music. Nay. the flowers migi,
droop. tire lights might go out. IN
musi' cease and dawn come-she I'd h
would dance -ecklessly on--on-on.
"a sense OF picturesqueness- ow
pictures0ueness--inad him walk rathe
theatrically as ne passed the groups @
humble oniookers outside the picke
fence. Many OF these turned 20 stare a
the belated guest. and william was M
conscious neither OF their low estat
nor his own quality a. patrtian ma
| about town In almost perfectly fttn
evening dress a faint. cold smile wa
allowed 10 appear upon his lips and
fragment from a story he mad read cam
momentari,y to his mind.
Through the gaping crowds the youn
the Palatine. scornful In his jewelle
litter.
Almost eternly william left thes
squalid lives behind him and passed I
the festal gateway"