Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1920-07-23


away from him. Il want to open it all
myseIf!"
Hilliard, rigid, watched her. A
phrase was beating heavily against MS
consciousness ... one Of the Proverbs
-. something about the bread of de-
ceit, and ashes -.
The knot gave way; and the tissue
wrapping, falling aside, disclosed an
oblong pasteboard box. Carol lifted
the lid and billiard caught his breath.
There were two cabinet photographs;
uppermost was a very excellent like
ness of billiard himself. She looked
at him perplexedly; he was getting out
his fountain pen. His hand was cold,
unsteady.
1T lacks something, DOESN'T it?" he
said, in an undertone. Let me have
if moment" While she followed
his every movement, he wrote, with
his left hand and somewhat painstak-
ingly, an inscription and gave back the
picture.
Christmas, 1916" she read, with
love from Henry billiard" She
flushed hOtly.
Nov look ~ he said, ignoring her
reaction. 1.-THE next one" Me-
chemically she took out the second
photograph it was duplicate of the
picture Of Dicky Morgan on the Doc
tors desk. Her cheeks were suddenly
devoid of color, she stared fearfully at
him without speaking.
"That lacks something, too" he said;
and his voice was yielding to the ire
mendous strain upon him. With con-
spicuous care he shifted the pen to
his right hand; held it poised for
moment, gave her smile of ineffable
pathos, closed his teeth hard. 81 have
very useful little trait" he said !;
''I'm ambidextrous." And wrote his
message.
She had the evidence before her
the inimitable, unmistakable, ornamen-
tai script of another personality.
"Christmas. 1916-and love from Dick
to Carol"
1.-THE real gift is underneath" he
said, and his dietion now was foreign
even to himself. But i. no. no; go
on
Her uncertain, exploring fingers had
touched smaller bcx; it sprang opet
in her palm; within, was gorgeously
flashing, sclntillating, living gem, set
in platinum. Her hands. unsteady now
as were his own. closed over it as
though to guard and shelter it. Her
eyes sought his and held them-fright
was meeting fright
"And in my thought" he said, .'are
all the sweet memories | have of you
and all the fragrance of you !.
and in the stone there there's a
story for you to read bigger than
any book could hold 7" She still
made no answer; she was holding her
three gifts tightly, and staring at him,
staring not in the revulsion he
had imagined, not in the measureless
contempt he had feared, but with the
wrath of smile trembling on her
pale lips. "Only one of the photo
graphs is to keep" he said thickIy.
"One of the two s.. I'm giving you
the chance to say which it is !.
which one Of the two you want to live
n. If you want either of those. men to
go on loving you &. or If you want
them both to go away-for always %
In her eyes, there was another mira
Gle; her eyes were soft, and Indicative
of great relief. rather than of great
shock; and as he watched, spellbound,
he saw that tears we're creeping into
them, and not of sorrow but Of great
joy. In that moment his most stupefy-
ing discovery was made, and the mag
nitude of it, the pOrtent of it, set his
brain at naught, and left him destitute
of reason.
Carol" he said, petrified. 'Carol 7"
Mute, she shook her head. Looking
him full in the eyes, she f1inched sud-
denly, and great sob burst in her
throat. The photograph Of Dicky Nor
gan was in her hand; she held it a
moment, trembling, and then, while
her breath came faster and her shout
ders quivered, she tore it across and
across, finer and finer, until only frag-
mentary scraps remained-and these
she let fall in her lap, UNDECIDED. The
likeness of Hilliard the lying, radiant
face of the man nobody knew-this
she had seized, and this she had
clutched to her breast, spasmodically,
as though in fear to have it snatched
away from her.
billiard was very close to her; and
his whole being was concentrated in
his eyes.
"Carol !" he said to her again in that
strangers voice. Carol You
you knew To him the fact
was unbelievable.
Tardily, unwillingly, she raised her
head
From the very first day." she said
brokenly. ''Both dad and /
and no one else; not even mother
your eyes told us both, and
we've trusted you so and
waited so surely we knew it
would come out all right in the end,
somehow and 49,. and
:. l do like my gift! It does
make the day better" And then, in
soft whisper, "Henry!"
She had called him Henry" and
even in the spell of his confusion, he
throbbed to the significance of it.
The lover was eager, but the prodigal
was startled back from the very thresh-