Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-09-20
TO WAR ICE CREAM WITHOUT SUGAR SHOPPN
THE DAILY NOVELETTE,
THE SEVENTH DAY
By Tulia Richardson
DAVID STIRLING, lieutenant -to-be,
Il Il mil, Il.

DAvID STIRLING, lieutenant
- climbed the hotel steps wearily, ac-
knowledged mechanically the greetings
of the usual porch squad of people. ana
dropped into a chalr-cornfortable: but
! far from the madding crowd. seven
| times he had repeated these motions
with the same dejectedness, the same
| absent minded manner. the same weary
! dropping into a chair
| Immediately afterward the heads OF
the rocker brigade would meet. and the
| buzz of whispering voices arise, some
sympathetic. some mildly angered, Scraps
| of sentences drifted to Dawes ears, such
as Too bad Poor fellow, It must have
been her fault" Il wonder what the
quarrel was about anyway" Some
| maintained that II was not her fault,
but his fault David tried to remember
! their names for future reference
In the meantime. on this seventh day.
| Dave lit cigarette and stared moodily
out over the sea and sky, spread Law
ishly before him as If to console him
with their beauty For time the
poetic half of his nature responded
enough TO isolate him from his dis
turbing thoughts The sky was like
turquoise. he thought the sea like sap
phire, the clouds and foam were pearls
but at this point his mind wandered
to diamonds - engagements--girl- - one
girl in particular, And he was back
again in the world Of his troubles For
the seventh time Dave reviewed the
come to spend a month at the quiet
summer resort in Maine to he near
Carol Thatcher. his tiancee. before he
left for the southern training camp.
The first week had been Elvsium.
Utopia and Heaven all combined Every
night marked the end of a perfect day.
| Bathing, boating. fishing. walking on
soft grass or cool pine needles or lux
uriant white sand, not on hot pavings
or Cobblestones. And then--one day he
was to meot Carol in their favorite spot
a large cleared spot in the woods called
The Cathedral. with moss for carpet
and straight pines and spruces for pill
lars. As he approached the place he
heard voices, one masculine the other
Carols, Dave could not be seen through
the thick growth of trees and evidently
they were too absorbed to see him any
way.
The masculine voice sad. Then am
10 have the pleasure of marrying you?"
ar" if | have my way about II. John.
YOU old dear. Why I've planned it for
the last four years. ever since you en-
tered. YOU know"
Dave did not quite understand the
last sentence. but the first had been
sufficient He thought he understood
that perfectly Waiting to hear no more
he turned abruptly and made his way
back to the road.
That evening a belloby had given him
small package and note the pack
age containing Carols diamond the
note frigid little one to Mr. Stirling,
saying that his unexplained failure to
keep the appointment that afternoon
seemed TO the writer sufficient reason
for disseminating their betrothaL
"A mere alIbi." muttered David She
wants TO be free for the other man. OF
course Thus began his gloomy days
on the porch. preceded by brisk walk
1f bren SWm T}rs every tb mSTnins SI carGl had
the sake of the good times. his COM
panionship--and of course. the d'amond
All the while for four years she had
loved this other man John. curse him
lutely.
During the week the two avoided each
other persistently, a fact soon noticed
and recorded in the porch annals. Carol
just to show that she did not care.
f1irted outrageously with young and old
alike.
on the seventh night Of this torture
a full moon shed its mellowing light
over the aged features of the world and
Its magic into David's heart, He de-
cided on a visit to the cathedral. En-
Chanted by visions Of the moonlight
sitting through the trees, he and Carol
had planned this visit for the first full
moon. Well. he had the moon If he
didn't have Carol.
David left the hotel rather early, TAX
ing a longer route to avoid meeting
any one he knew. AS he entered the
cathedral from one path Il figure in
white entered on the opposite side. II
was Carol
Good evening" she said Coldly.
Good evening" replied David in the
same tone. Allow me to congratulate
| you on your coming marriage" 1t was
| the last thing he had intended to say,
| but in his confusion the words were
spoken. CAROLS eyes opened wide. I'm
sure | don't know what you mean, Mr..
| Stirling" she replied, trying to appear
| casual and Indifferent This was the
| first time the two had been together
| for a whole Week-moreOver,the moon
! was shining. the setting ideal for ro-
nance. What each wanted most was to
| fly into each others arms But they had
| quarreled-hence the brave attempt at
! distant formality.
| David, you goose. do you know who
that was? John was John F'lockton,
an old playmate of mine. Four years
age he entered school of theology and
! now he's a full-fedged minister-just
received his degree. He's stopping a
few miles from here and had motored
! over that day for a short call. OF
| course | want him to marry me. that
is-marry us. Do you understand now?'
! Il do" said David, happy for the first
! time in seven of the longest days Of his
! life.
Tomorrou's Complete Norelette-