The Washington times., 1918-12-20

In fact 1t came to her that
very night
Mildred had not been In bed foI
three minutes before she was fast
asleep. As Honora noticed this, she
told herself that the excitement OF
the evening had worn the child out.
But later abe did not deceive her
self by the specious excuses with
which she had fought off the stern
xealiSation Of facts It 10 not easy
20. deceive ones self when one lies
wide awake In the darkness of the
aight Then Il il that ones actions
and the actions Of others stand
forth IN strong relief Illuminated
10 an almost unnatural cleafreSs by
the vividneSs Of ones memory and
i1mRgination-
SO It was that, when Honora
EBrent hay down and closed her eyes,
1Ghe events OF the evening passed in
- procession before her minds eye.
! At first she strove to Danish them
f1y some OF the world-famed and
perfectly useless experiments to
make her drowsy. She summoned to
her assistance the traditional flock
of sheep whose jumping over an
equally traditional stone fence is
supposed to lure one to slumbeT.
When she had counted 500 of the
Woolly creatures she was wider
awake than ever. And she was
conscious that she was mentally
pushing something away.
Surely II would be wiser to "haye
It out" with the intruder.
Conflicting ThOashts.
When she reached this conclusion
she opened her eyes and, as it..were.
faced the thoughts crowding in
upon her. (
First Of all Of these wes her re-
cent conversation with Arthur and
the circumstances that had led up
to st. As she recalled relentlessly
Aer falsehood to him, she flInched
even in the darkness. She had led,
and he knew she had lied.
That she had done this to pro-
teet Mildred had probably not oc-
CURED to him. He loved Milly. and
love is blind.
Yes, she knew now certainly that
he still loved her sister. There was
no chance OF his caring for any
one else as he cared for her. II his
happiness depended upon Mildred,
II was well that the girl was grow
ing fond of him-if she really was.
But II she loved Arthur, why had
she gone OF with Tom Chandler
this evening? ~ i,
The answer was not long IN COM
ing. Tom hattered her; he appealed
TO her love of adventures: he gave
her thrills such as Arthur had never
given her. Moreover. she was sure
of Arthur's devotion. She was not
sure of Toms. As Mildred herself
would have put 1t. Tom kept her
guessing"
But he was not TO be trusted.
With a shudder, Honora recalled
how his runabout had lurched and
skidded past Arthur's automobile
tonight. and the terror that had
seized her as she realized that Mil
dred was in the car. That the girl
had not been killed was almost a
miracle. And what had saved Tom?
She remembered a sentence she
had once heard: There is a special
drunken man."
Was Tom Chandler drunk?
Well. IL he was not drunk, he was
20 near it that he was in no condi-
ton to drive a car. Her employer
had once told her that he believed
that nine-tenths of the automobile
accidents happened 10 men who had
taken at least one glass of whiskey.
''It gives a man false courage, an
indifference to Consequences" he
had explained. -He will take risks
that he would never take but for
that stimulant- Alcohol braces one
for a while, then leaves one IN
nerved and emotional"
That was why Tom, who had
driven car for years, had been SO
careless tonight.
4 fear clutched her heart. STt
braces one for a WHILE" Mr.. Preston
had said, then leaves one unnerved
and emotional"
why Had She CrIedF
Was that the reason that Mildred
Had cried so persistentIy all the
way home?
Had her self-control been lessened
BY something she had had to drink?
What was a ''silver fzz" anyway?
That II had alcohol in II the odor
On the girls breath proved. Yet
Ailiy had believed just what Tom
Chandler had said. She always be- |
heved just what she wanted to be-
neve.
The older sister turned and tossed
on her bed in an-agony of uneasi-
ness and solicitude. She felt a ma |
ternal anxiety about her sister.
Milly had been near to death: she
had done things that might have
her-Teputation- She would
probably go on taking risks until
she was married TO some good man
who would care for her.
Then-Honora lay very sttII AZ
she faced this thought-the solu-
tion to the problem OF MiIdred's
safety was not far on.
il was Arthur Bruce.
Yes, that was the only way mt
or danger-for MiIly to marry Ar
thur. 1t was probably also the
only way TO his happiness.
When Milly was safely married
With a home OF her own, she would
have something to steady her, some
thing to mature her and bring out
Ill that was best in her.
Honora did not fstter herself
hat she herself was renouncing
anything belonging to her. she
could not give away that which had
never been herz. And she knew
aow that the only part Of Arthur
hat had really belonged to her
Rere her dreams about him.
Oh, yes-Gnd HIS friendshipI But
The had maEred. that by her lie to
aim. He had tried to reassure her
n this point-but she knew that
here would always be between
hem the memory Of that falsehood.