The Washington herald., 1920-07-22
The Skylight Room ByO.Henry

she Crawled at last and opened
the door of the skylight room.
She was too weak to light the
lamp or to undress. She fell upon
the iron cot her fragile body
scarcely following the worn
springs. And in that Erebus Of a
room she slowly raised her heavy
eyelids, and smiled.
For Billy Jackson was shining
down on her, calm and bright and
constant through the skylight.
There was no world about her
She was sunk in a pit of black
ness, with but that small square
of pallid light framing the star
that she had so whimsically and
oh. so Intellectually named. Miss
LonEnecker must be right: II was
Gamma. of the constellation Cas-
siopeia, and not Billy jackson.
And yet she could not let il be
Gamma.
As she lay on her back. she
tried twice to raise her arm. The
third time she got two thin fin
gers to her lips and blew a kiss
out Of the black pit to Billy
Jackson. Her arm fell back
Imply.
"Good-by. Billy" she murmured
family. You're millions of miles
away and you won't even twinkle
once. But you kept where / could
see you most of the time up there
when there wasn't anything else
but darkness to look at, didn't
you? Millions Of miles
Good by. Billy Jackson"
Clara. the colored maid. found
the door locked at 10 the next
day, and they forced it open. Vine
gar. and the slappinE of wrists
and burnt feathers proving of no
avail. some one ran to phone for
an ambulance.
In due time il backed up to the
door with much Cong-clanging.
and the capa bic Young medico. in
his white linen coat, ready. ac-
tive, confident. with his smooth
face half debonair. half grim.
danced up the steps.
Ambulance call to 40" he said
briefly. whats the trouble?"
'oh yes, doctor" shifted Mrs.
Parker, as though her trouble
that there should be troubles in
the house was the greater ct
can't think what can he the mat
ter with her. Nothing we could
do would bring hor to. It's a
young woman. Il Miss Elsie-yes.
Miss Elsie Leeson. Never be-
fore in my house"
what ROOM" cried the doctor
in terrible voice. to which Mrs.
Parker was stranger.
saTbe sEy1ipht rGpro If
Evidently the ambulance doctor
was familiar with the location of
skylight rooms He was gone up
the stairs. four at time. Mrs.
Parker foll0wcI slowly, as her
dignity demanded.
On the first landing she met
him coming back bearing the as
tronomer in his arms. He stopped
and let loose the practiced seal
pel of his tongue not loudly,
Gradually Mrs Parker crumpled
as a stiff garment that slips down
from mai. Ever afterward
there remained Crumples in her
mind and body. Sometimes her
curious roomers would ask her
what the doctor said to her.
Let that be" she would an
swer. "If 7 can Ge. forgiveness
for having heard it I will be sat-
isfied."
The ambulance physician strobe
with his burden through the pack
Of hounds that follow the curtos-
itv chase. and even they fell back
along the sidewalk abashed. for
his face was that Of ono who
bears his own dead.
They noticed that he did not
lay down upon the bed prepared
for II in the ambulance the form
that he carried. and all that ne
said was: Drive like HI, Will
son A" 10 tho driver
That is all. Is il story? IN
the next mornings raper I saw
a little news item. and the last
sentence of. il may help YOU Gas
H. helped mel to weld the Incl
dents together.
It recounted the reception into
Bellevue IIosnital OF young wo-
man who had been removed from
Nm 40 Foe 1899 ~uW1r-
fnr from debility indrccd nv star
walton. 1t concluded with these
words:
.'pr. wi,ia-1 Jackson. the am
huIance physician who attended
tho case. says the patient will re-
,ooS snx... H..