The Washington herald., 1921-05-15

k11 v AO
quarry with . match. I was ruds. II you
viii remember. very rude to number Of
people"
Miss Estss' eyes opened wide. For .
moment they held . vacant look: then . mum.
Der Of things poured into that void. flooded
II brimfull and overnowing. Surprise.
chagrin. self-scorn. and finally remorss and
an aching tenderness tumbled one aftsr thsL
other into the dased emptinsss Of her gass
and the sum Of them looked uncommonly IKE
an impending avalanche of tears.
"Oh!" she breathsd with tremulous hps,
"I was there and I didn't see II! was
worrying over . nea bite while I was beins
swallowed wholsl"
Ridenor laughed aloud. but Hndsgards
was not to bsdivsrtsd from her Voc. Through
. binding mist of unshsd tears she was
looking not at him. not At the almost empty
room, but At long. breathlea, happy days
SURRENDERED 10 the nrst miserable brsath of
doubt By one Of those transitions which
must b almost n surprising to wumsn a.
they arc durnfoundtng to men, she became
an entirely nsw person who looked with
utmost scorn and q shade Of enmtty on the
Hildesarde Estes who had presumed to take
umbrage because Mark Ridenour pressed her
foot. .-
In q twinkling Of the eye all egoism was
drained from her composition. She saw her
self for a prude in the face Of his even sin
cerity, a nigsard fleeing from the mere
shadow Of an imagined suppliant From the
danger Of such moments generous women
escape only by the grace Of circumstances or
the understanding Of smiling men, An I'M
pulse to reparation far beyond the measure
of the wrong she had done Ridenour was
dominated by the simple fact that they hap
pened to be in a room only half empty. Even
so, she laid her hands palms up. on the
table before him in an eloquent gesture Of
appeal and surrender. single big tear
slipped out, plunged down the curve Of her
cheek. leaped and fell with = splash In her
plate.
She laughed with a gasp Wasn't that
silly?- she asked But it's because was
Ridenour leaned forward, took her two
hands between his own and pressed them
tightly together. He did not glance around
to see II any one was looking. What did It
matter anyway in this town where to want to
do a thing, even up to and including murder.
was the best reason In q chaotic world to
forge ahead and do It? II he felt like drown
ing himself forever and forever in the vet
pools Of her eyes. who was to stop himr
My dear girl" he said presently. the
highway to adventure is like that-you have
to look back to see Il It's seldom actually
present never here. even when you ind
yourself At the wrong end Of . gun. It's
like the perfect bloom Of remembered hap
piness-afways over your shoulder
Always over your shoulder" repeated
Miss Estes, while neither she nor Ridenour
looked anywhere save in each others eyes,
and then added q little rebelliously:
But why believe TT Why admit itf o.
don't 60 away just because your job In done!
Let's 20 out instead and look for adventure
in the nkeliest places. II We can only think
of it As just around the corner and hold
our breath and take . peep-why, that's
adventure in itself. isn't it7"
Ridenour laughed again, not At the sense
of what she said 50 much as because Of q
sensation Of relief At escaping from the hid
den load Of gloom which had been riding him
hard for two Of the longest days known to
history.
There speaks YOUTH he said sayH, " ana
puts my acquired age to flight. Come on.
Let's strike while the iron is hot"
They went out into the broad Avenida
Juares. 1t was Sunday morning of q bril-.
liant day. A procession Of an the ramshackls
vehicles in town As we'll a. the smartest
was swarming out toward Chapultepec;
another was swarming back and making for
the narrow gorge Of San Francisco street
1t was the usual weekly review, q parody
on the promenade of the heyday Of Diaz
when the Paseo was jammed with the hand.
soonest horses and turnouts ever seen In ths
western hemisphere but a review neverthe
less Of all that Latin horde which on Sundayu
the world over Is seized with . desire to ses
and to be seen
The sidewalk was crowded with . throns
Of pedestrians making its way to the
Alameda. Poems. truly mild. looking like
p brigands, brigands looking like school teach
ers, threadbare clerks, sleek merchants vasa
bonds. beggars. and pickpockets rubbed