Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1919-01-29
THE GIRL WHO
ALMOST MISSED
Ry Mary Douglass.
INTO A DARK ROOM

Howard drove me to the station
His talk was light and care-free and
there was no trace of the feeling that
had changed him last night. lie said
pood-bv and waved his cap, and then
/ saw him turn to the pretty daughter
of the station master, and fall INTO inter
est ed talk with her, Ms the tram pulled out
How foolish of me to imagine that hcwas.
hurt, He had said that the wanted to
marry me. But felt that his love is no
deeper than summer cloud. lie had
shown no sign Of resentment today, nor
had he seemed different from at gay sell
that was so accustomed TO. Family | re-
sentcl IT. II must have been my vanity;
but | hated To- think he could treat the
whole affair so lightly. "At least | need
not worry about him." ! thought.
| plu1gcd irto the magazine he had
bought me. | forgot everything IN a tale
of heroine whose trials were SO great, yet
whose story ended with the chime Of
wedding b Ills why is il not so III real
hfc'" | asked myself, unsatished, at the
conclusion Ii is so easy to write things
ont right. hut they don't come out that
WAY really
The tourney waS shorter than | re-
memhcre,i IT, | got the subway from the
Grand Central and planned out the happy
meeting that was awaitingmc | could sec
Mrs kimhall in her gray and silver irock,
sitting in the Cld-lashiOncd draw1ngroom-
The water would be boiling in the brass
tea kettle and she would say, y on Will
want n Gun Of tea, Hazel, and then per
hapS YOU will want to II st while IN the
guest ROOM" | could picture the long
evening We would spend together when
JAMES mother would take out hlS letters
and read them to me slowly, carefully,
tasting each word, and stepping to CON
lecture over certain passages.
| rang the he'll of the staid brown house
On the oInct street ! was SO happy that
| could have shaken Henry by the hand.
II he would have allowed such liberty
But when had looked INTO his mask oi 2
face, could not help feeling frightened
Something had happened! Something
that had no thought Of r.
4 question formed on my lIps, hut ?
strange dread held il back. Henry held
the door open stiflly and showed me into
the drawing room
We had spoken no word Yet felt dc
pressed and something more. The very
atmosphere of the room WAS heavy with
an air of depression. The shades were
pulled lower than usual and . dim hight
tscn had lost air, look of dcScrton,
The ashes lav thick III tho CRATE and
papcr lav snrced out on the davenport
Iyrp Mrs kImhall's desk had a tumhlCd
appearancr rs though someone had
searched hurricdly through il, and thrown
papers hCltCr-skclter.
Tor some reason | could not take n
deep breath in this close air. | felt ready
for almost anything, when nurse stepped
INTO tho room and said
Miss Richards? Como this way.
Still | could nor ask the question that
trcmhlcd for uttcrancc ] could not propcl
thc words from my lips followed her up
thc stars softly Softly-aS though It
were house uf dcsth Az Mrs. klmball $
door She stopped She turned the handle.
! was alone.
| ,tcppcd across tho threshold. | must
fcel my way. FOR the room was IN darkness
NJ crcIlcc of light showed from beneath
thc curtains and ] heard no breath. |
fclt my way IL the bed and knelt there
suddenly
Nlv ,vrs had become accustomed TO
tIr darkness now, and the heavy curtain
lifted. letting me see through the gray
mist the form that lay stretched on the hcd
Il wa~ cold and seemed almost lifclcss.
ia both ii mine | claspcd It, and tired
"a warm 1t With my own hot palms |
leaned over her and saw the FAINT stirring
of her breast Now and then 3 short sigh
,amc from her parted lips. but otherwise
81, lay a> though she were llleIcss.
As ! knclt there beside her, her dark
cyCs. - like JAMES, opened wide, she
twisted 10 one side and her voice, low IS a
whisper. but deep rs a moan cried: jamie.
Did / need any words TO tell me what
had happened? The moment / had opened
the door into the darkness chamber
had known-Jamie was dead. | felt no
pam. no agony myself, for all my thought
was cCntcred in that dreadful hgure that
lay PROSTATE on the bed.
She must have known, even IN that
clouded darkness, that it was / for
though she SAID no word, she turned
"a me and ! Clasped my arms about her.
She was cold. cold Is though warmth had
left her long since--as though the blanket
that lay over her could iInpart none OF
its heat TO that body which did not wish
for life
knelt there beside her. for I do not
know how long There was no sound in the
room: and the house now was as house of
death Outside the street noises came to
Us. dolorously muffied from behind the
drawn blinds and the heavy curtains;
and felt the air pressing on me as though
ITS weight were insupportable. But still
my BRAN lay in a numbed torpor could
think OF nothing but the woman who lay
there, lost ID anguish.
The door opened softly. The nurse
entered. She brought bowl OF soup and
put it on the table by the bed
She has eaten nothing for two days
Sec If YOU can make her take TINS, she
whispered.
w. alnre apain uith Iarnie,s mother