Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-07-29
SIS TER
Bu KATHLEEN NORRJ
Author of "Josseivn's WDeo
Copyright. 1919. By Kathleen Norri.)

~
i peter said, nervously. He had
,auntered up to them with an air Of
indifference.
"sbaII II" faltered Cherry. she looked
:, A,Ix. who had not yet climbed into
.s. car and was pulling on her driving
s,s,.s Alix, toward whose face the
80 was making eager springs. did moi
.., Interested. SO Cherry turned tc
.,.r,In walk with us, MartT' she
said. ,..
7"Nix," Martin said, comfortably moi
stirring.
"Il, be home before you, Pete, and
.,, for you," Alix said. She looked
y, him irresolutely, as IL she would have
ssasd more, but evidently decided
ssainst It and spoke again only In ref
srence to the dog. Keep Buck witt
you, will YOU peteHN Mo- she sr SAID p ,ne He,. re-
getting too ,,s la'y animal, MY' al afrectlonstely
pyon py9aesssa ssall not not ride Well, the dear old
puCcEy.boy; does he want to come
along7' tai. sowr and nut her arms
smt hna the sh animal and laid her brown
chssk sYoa ssIf cId fool she said, shaking hin
gently 70 and ofs fro p,"x "xou.ye got to stay
l.t, Datpr OIQ
had ad,tSa sI5ohhki lin, Pete" she said; ."Good-by
sis dear, All r,sht5 rssse5 Mars'na tSe car slipped
,rrS,nls TSs snEaps into gear and vanished. Pstel
smoVCSbc sns Cherry stood looking at each other
aha hmal.iya them a good start or BUCK VIII
..,oh ,hem." Peter said his body sway.
ins with the frantic imsSIf iJmpsnIfs he ef saIS ,nI
stIsinine soSSs SSs Of eSs shock: eS "Hiix knowsi
win Will, ySas of like q rocket when ne
,.ntiv 90, him free; his feathery tall
dliisanpeared li between the columns c.b.ne 2h rne
redwoods Wtthout spemn'e' pS,nn
and Peter rs, s.ai tbat we are alone together. "
,,orrw aaid. after a few minutes. tners
seems to be nothing to say "e'e '"''
IT !a:ll:;,,,rr AZ. to say" Peter echoed
,NoinInS ho said In his heart.
HnN Hmy.atoyer we do. II all seems So
--wrongN' Cherry said with watering
eyes; ssw;hatever we do is wrong" he
asrfSu' srRu, we Se'sf; 'ssof; she said on ,autterins
oreIS,s .We must 20 :" Peter answered.. And
again like the ominous fall of a heavy
beil-tonsue, the words iGrmea ifH Hnows" m HE
He thought of the afternoon. only o
,sw weeks ago, when Cherry's beauty
had made so sudden and so irresist,ple
an appeal TO him. and OF the innocenl
deIieht Of their luncheons together. when
she had frst confided in him, and OF
the days of secret and intense Joy that
her mere nearness and the knowledge
| that he would see her had nnorded MIN
i II had all seemed so fresh so natural
| go entirely their own affair. until the
! tragic day Of Martins reappearance and
the hour OF agonized waiting at the boat
for the Cherry who did not come. There
had been no joyous self-conhdence In
that hour, none In the distressed hour ~
the Orpheum, and tho hour Just past
when Cherrys rarely displayed passion
had wrenched from him his last vestige
OF doubt.
But this was the eliminating unhap-
piness, that he should know, from Alixs
brave and gentle and generous look as
they parted. that Alix knew. He had, In
the wild rush and hurry Of his thoughts
no time now to analyze what their love
must mean to her, but It hurt him &c
see on her happy face those lines OF
sternness and gravity, to see her bright
and honest eyes shadowed with thar
new look of pain.
II was too late now TO undo II /: he and
Cherry must carry their desperate plan
and forget. They had tried. all this last
dreadful week, they had both tried, TO
extinsuish the flames. and they had
failed. But to Peter there was no COM
would be done to Martin, to Alix. 10
Cherry--and more than even these
wrong to himself, to the ideal of him
self that had been his for so many years,
to the real Peter Joyce.
~ had It all to do over again.
breathlessly.
"Ah, II we had It all to do over again -
Looking back half dozen years, how
simple Il all seemed How uncom.
SIyaQ In. hNa r,II 10.
the doctor and his girls had teased him,
and consulted him. and made him one
OF themselves. What a web, Cherry I"
he said, sadly. "If Anne hadn't made
here all these weeks; II the financial
question hadn't been raised. you must
have stayed in Red Creek, simply be-
tS,ns tsIse you you couldn't we'll have done any
And II had been with Martin, this
horrible business OF that girls letter
wouldn't have happened" she added,
bravely. "oh, yes--that's quite true p
she interrupted him. as he interpolated a
or,n orher protest: Mart has no particular
have sot In with that crowd il had
been there: So that once more" she
ended, sadly. Il can say that j have
Rsde Bsst "a me ness Of things Listen. that's
dsogs loud and violent barking reached
road. He didn't catch them. then"
4, Inc next instant a woman came up
tne road, running, and making a queer,
forget s u never
9. Sne was stranger to them, but she
sn toward them. making the odd, gasp
~, Ht morse with much dry mouthing, and
with wild eyes. '''N
vas the emotion that the first glimpse
OF her awakened vaguely in their hears,
uut as she saw them she suddenly found
S1Lice Tor so hideous scream tina /
sprary Smerrys Knees failed her. and Peter
spTang forward with a shout
4. re gripped the woman's arm, and her
"9,I.c anhc eyes We're turned to him.
c,uin i'll my God !, she cried In a hoarse,
tSe"ing Nv voice. my God They're over
ne srpa rppaanka;Ethey're x, over the bank -
Ing Tno tn peter shouted. his heart turn
wor. "oh. the ear-the automobllew the
woman mouthed. "oh, my Cod saw
u iboggo 60! | saw It ,falll Oh. God, save
suffer sff8m; thst GSd; Sav take them. don't let them
u,hney were all running now, running
ROAD ROAD aessper9te speed down the long
r rWau ABOUT The curves, on and on To-.
ins msro me frantic noise OF the dogs bark
nf I,,u toward apother noise, the sound
agony. " ""u wiz WIN
,,,die ,Lne strange woman was crying out
Sn,y SSOa,y; ; Cherry, was sobbing prayer.
al LII; r, without knowing that he spoke at
~ was repeating over and over again
cs so words: Not ,Alix-my God i%-it
Snot Samt ee--she has never had an accl-
'el,t pefore-not Alix!"
,,a isst curve. and they knew. Over
descsnd,Lnmme gr me sharpest and ugliest of the
snS through the sapiings and underbrush
traa. striking the trunks of score Of
fa1ia, f11iHs on lts way. the heavy car had
thai tbI l. ike a boulder. And Peter saw
cry he sprang over The hanL M'n n q sreat ~.