The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1919-07-05


the man she loved lying SO stli' out
she rallied and pleaded TO De ailo"ed
IN give as many inches Of skin as were
needed for Hillary's recovery.
That which Helen did she dld IN
secret. In her heart she knew that HI
larry would not consent to hef saerlilGe.
| If he so much as knew OF her presence
| his protests would no doubt bring on
| q fatal fever.
| When her skin was tested aud found
| to be perfect Helen's Joy was unbound
| ed. She wanted to suffer; she wanted
TO feel lust one-hundredth part OF the
| same pain as that which Hillary was
| feeling.
| Never had Helen loved him so much
| as when under the eXcruciatlnS pam
| of having those inches of skin removed
| from the wonderfully smooth white
arms. She smiled, knowing that the
was perhaps to save Hillary's life.
HE must never know it," she kept
| repeating to herself as she had re-
peated time and again to the surgeons
|
And Helen's will had ruled. There
was not a moment during the painful
process of skin grating when Hillary
had even suspected that 1t was Wom-
| an who had gloried in her sacrifice and
| given to him the skin from her lovely
arms. She smiled, knowing that the
large, ugly scars on his face and neck
were healing wonderfully, and there
was more than chance that his eye
sight was returning.
As he began week by week to take
more definite interest in life and his
recovery Hillary questioned his nurses
| and doctors, but could get no satisfac-
| ton.
1T was young lady who wanted to
feel she had done her bit In the great
| war;" they told her; "she had led q
| selfish useless life, and she pleaded SO
desperately to be allowed to do one
| good turn in her life that we let her
make the sacrifice. She called it q
| great privilege"
And that was all Hillary could learr
| even to the day when, weak and little
| like the big Hillary of prewar days, he
| travelled from the hospital to pick up
! the threads of New York life again.
It was with no mild surprise that so
| ciety watched the return of Helen
| Travis into evening clothes At all the
| great functions given for heroes and tC
| celebrate peace, Helen appeared in
ri n
| might term overmodeSt. Those glorious
arms that the feminine world envied
| and masculine adored We're concealed
beyond the hopes of men.
Whereas all womankind was revel.
ing in creations that the breaking OF
bead strap might bring disaster upon.
Helen graced the bathrooms in her
nunlike garb, distinctive in its rarity.
(which convent are you entering!'N
and when do you get your seventh
veil?" were some of the questions
flung at her, and Helen clasped her
secret close to her heart and laughed
with them. The scars beneath her
chiffons were far more precious than
all the lovely gowns in the world.
And somehow from out the chaos
of her life Hillary came back to full
realization of his love for Helen. An
inward something told him that she
was hiS-that nothing could rob him OF
love such as theirs had once been.
She had not realized his mans duty at
the time of his leaving her. He would
seek her and win her again.
Hillary had brought down five boche
planes ON the battlefield. He had at
tackled always without fear, for, after
all, the worst would be physical death.
But now, if he failed with Helen, it
would be death to the soul-at least
that is the way Hillary felt about it.
But when Helen looked up and saw
Hillary standing before her, she just
crumpled into his arms and cried
cried so that her body shook Hillary's
arms held her f1ercely. He had no
words and he was none too steady
as he soOthed her.
In gesture quite beyond her con.
troll Helen's hand went up and soft as
rose petals her fingers caressed the
cheeks and neck of the man she loved
Something in the way her fingers
fingered on the faint scars-or per-
haps 1t was the tremendous inner ra-
dance of lOve-tOld him. Whatever
the flash, Hillary knew; knew that
Helen had bound herself to him by
ties greater than any he had forged.
He knew, too, the agony she must have
endured while the skin was being re-
moved from her wonderful arms.
Il couldn't let anyone else be so
dear part of YOU" when later Hill
larry tried to find words to express his
feelings she spoke through the glow of
happiness that suffused them both,
now, could II"
CorfuSs Claim ~ Eap,A