The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1916-08-04
lAIl rights reserved. The Bobbs-Merrill Coz

7 MdudIne, II ADOu-1 dhOuu WIZ
ventures before you,' he said in his
soft Arab French. "Abou-Yakoud,
who has seen Mecca and who reads
| Destiny as an open book. Give me
your hand, madame. For little franc,
will tell you good and evil-what
was and what is to come"
Sylvia Arnaud started slightly and
turned.
"You shall not come in here" she
said impatiently, and yet not without a
childish touch of hesitation. Beg
ging is forbidden. Now be gone!'
She tossed a handful of money on to
the white stone flags. Each coin rang
out like a note of jangling laughter,
which still echoed after her as she
passed into the shadows of the gate
day.
Abou-Yakoud bent and gathered the
nickel pieces from the ground. When
he looked up again he stood straight
and erect. and the beard had vanished.
"Gabrielle!" he said softly.
She turned little. The warm gold
of evening was on her face and soft
ened the stern lines to a mild and
noble serenity.
81 know" she said. "Your voice
betrayed you. And then-sooner or
later 1 felt that you would come,
though for what purpose God knows"
"Let us hope he does not" he an
swered sardonically. 81 am here on
t,rrt orI
ness has no sanctity about it. l must
keep control if am to win through to
the things I want"
''The things you want"' she echoed
with deep sadness. ''What are they
now. Stephen?"
He knelt on the marble edge of the
fountain and caught her hand.
"Gabrielle!' he repeated hoarsely.
"Gabrielle"
She looked down at him. Her free
hand she laid quietly upon his.
You are cruel to yourself" she said.
"Wby have you come, stephen?''
God knows. l have lied so much in
all these CHASTITY years. Gabrielle.
have lied most of all to my own con-
science. 1 have called you an episode
a folly. I have heaped contempt on
you, on my memory of you, and al
ways you have risen as now-the one
pure thing that have loved, my one
virtue, my own fidelity
Hush, Stephen, we have buried our
dead"
You have-I cannot. l tried. At
first it was remorse that would not let
me-the knowledge that I have ruined
you-dishonored YOU"
"That is not true" she interrupted
proudly. "No woman-no man-has
ever been dishonored by one action.
Honor is not possession to be lost or
broken. 1t is ourselves-what we are.
If you had dishonored me l should be
different; but l am not different. I
have grown strcnger-that is all.
see clearer. / am happy"
Happy? And your name-your po-
sition-your people-all lost"
She smiled family.
Those griefs are old and healed.
Stephen. | have name and posi-
ton. They are my own, and am a
little proud of them. / owe you my
knowledge of myself and my own
strength-some hours Illusion, a broad
er outlook, deeper understanding of
other womens failures. Let that suf-
fee between us"
Il cannot" He sprang up with
wild gesture of protest. 'It is not re-
morse that haunts me. I am not the
man to feel remOrse. | half loved and
half despised you. Then-that night
when l came back and found that you
knew me for what l was-a liar,
cheat, common spy. to be bought and
sold by every man-and had left me
on the very eve of my atonement to
you-then | knew my own madness.
From that hour | wanted YOU
Its too late, Stephen" she said,
'too late. have buried my dead,
dear. I cannot call the dead to life.
We are free and we stand alone. We
must go our ways, Stephen"
Il won't plead. Gabrielle. | know
you better" Then suddenly he turned
and stumbled blindly into the dark
ness Of the passa geway.