Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-05-31

,rade5men' ngI Suppose did, what proof:
childish drawings that had failed Sc
lamentahly at the Whitehall Office
gree of intelligence in any local Off
cals. True. there was the coinCidenc,
or thelr numbers and occupations, OF
tina that IGrps rapgr yin what a had found IL II
enough?
!, J. sickened as thought of the hope:
consider me IA wandering lunatic who
had manufactured lit;lc Eiteis draw.
, lngS himself; and | could see them in
the police office, with innocent cunning
asking me to draw - sheep for them. and
rabbit. ana an engine. and sand
! castle. and church so aS to detect my
| euilelcSS hand before they consigned me
I" 'dical supervision. aud advert scd
for my friends. a.; tn" best. what was
IN" word Of a stranger worth against
three respectable local tradrsmen whom
they knew. and who, no doubt. pa. II rent
rates and taxes with due ptnc,,aIi,y.
The self-evidCnt face was that had got
hold of nothing tangible in tn" way of
proof. and until | did | could look in
vain for any outside help.
As ! sat over my coffee. with tho
paper before me, more and more | cam,
to admire the deNtcrity Of that Chld,ti
concealment which seemed 30 tell all. and
which told nothing. 1t was an extra
I bldtk moment 1rf me-. y
! feeling of deep depression flooded my
mind in that deserted cafe. outside uI
the pavement tn" miscellaneous thrunp
of people in their bright summer c!o;'hcs
passed and repasscd .snat"hrs of laugh
ter and greetings of friends. came t.
my ears. symbol Of England they
were. of England innocent. and asleep
, ohliNiouS. while in their very midst
harbored. and sometimes even honored
there moved this Vie, Shiny, hidden
treachery that laborcd Ccaseessly with
a thousand active fingers. in pOthousc
and palace, for England's destruction
| wandered out on the l"as. amid the
gay butterflies that were listening to tho
military band. which that afternoon was
playing on the glorious headland. In
! the midst of all that Kaleidoscope of color
and buzz of talk had "A sense of h"ag
separate and aloof. The smooth btu
minous pat hs that ran along the green
sward and cncircied the bandStand
seemed to be but the thin. hardened sur.
face that hid the burning lava on which
a symbolic England moved unconccrned.
ly. | had been through this surface and
knew what lay beneath. 1t made me feel
alien to the throng, like the Anceitt
Mariner among the wedding guests. II
! only, | thought, there was some one who
I would work with me, ono who would talk
II over, so that in the conflict of thought
with thought we might hammer out
tangible, visible. demonstrable. Like the
Lady of Shalott. | was sick of shadows
Presently | had left behind people and
bandstand and tNthchairs and found my
self at the Sandgate end of the leas. be-
side field in which cricket match
between apparently a girls and boys
school was going on. The girls were
| batting and doing well to judge from the
applause that came from the rest of the
| blue and green team on the boundary
line. But perhaps they We're, after all
like myself, not doing very well and in
sore need of encourag cement. rs | was AZ
| that moment. No one believed in me--a,
| least only a girl who had been through
part of the thing with me. There was
something that comfoIted me in the
thought. and | resolved to supplement
the wire ] had sent Miss Thompson tina
morning with fuller letter which would
be useful in the public interest if any.
thing happened to me in the next few
days.
Coming on the edge of the cliff. | sat
down in that quiet place and tried IN!
luck with Eitel's drawing again. but
had no luck at all and soon laid it aside
baffled. ] don't know how long | sa,
there brooding. Far below We're the red.
topped houses and under my eyes the
noble curve of bay that ran to Hythe
The cricket match had ended, and tho
girls in blue and green had trooped dowr
the steep slanting path to their schoo
again. The strains of the distant hant
mo longer came fitfuily on the breeze tc