Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-06-20

greatness, and they had been too muM
tor her weakness. And now--waA II
to end like thisf Had the frail, deli
cate boat been washed up into still
nsssss T at last BY the guiding hand Of
face.
Poor Ksthy--pcor. poor little Kathy
Though she had married the man abe
loved, perhaps only Jill knew what
alssppolntment to her that marriage
forward to the coming Of her child had
been overshadowed BY the knowledge
that she would have TO share him with
others.- would have TO give him up for
half his life to the care Of q nurse Of
whom she was already afraid.
She had dreaded II so much.
II ehan't even be allowed to have
my own baby" So she had once said
And now there would be no baby
she had been robbed Of that Joy.
she locked at the white face on the
pillow with its cloud of golden hair
oh, 1t could not be true that she was
dyins--really dying God would not
De 80 cruel! God would not take her
away ava as sne was 90 y0Sng-.all her Ute
again, and wild, incoherent prayer
went UP from her heart.
"Oh, God, don't let her de-don't
let her die ~
Ralph Hillyard's remorse had touched
her too. She told herself that she had
not been free from blame; that she had
been hard and unforgiving; that she
had cherished bitter thoughts against
this sister whom she had once adored.
To be given one more chance--just one
little chanee--how many agonized
hearts have asked that when they are
brought face to face with the death Of
some loved one!
The doctor was bending over Kathy
again; Jill watched him with bated
breath; but there was nothing to DO
learned from his grave face-and after
a moment he turned and spoke to the
nurse. Jill just caught his words.
.Hillyard--where Is he?"
She rose to her feet giddily. She
felt as II her whole body had been
changed suddenly to ice she caught at
the bedrail to steady herself, and for a
moment the whole room seemed to be
whirling round In a mad race.
| All that followed was a nightmare
the moment when Ralph. white as the
girl on the pillow, stumbled forward
and dropped down beside her--the mo,
ments Of absolute silence interrupted
only by his agonised sobbing and bis
broken crying Of her name:
"Kathy, Kathy!"
For nights and nights afterward Jill
could hear chat heart broken cry; It
seemed to haunt her with its agony and
drive her mad with its despair.
But It reached the far-away con-
i s~sn q ko L.. L.
1t penetrated the clouds of weakness
that beat her down and out of the
world--and for one little moment the
white lids were lifted-for one little
moment the flicker Of smile crossed
the delicate face--she half made q
movement toward him.
"Darling!' Jill caught the one
breathless word-and the last look OF
ineffable love that flled her eyes as
they rested on her husband--and then
great wave from the ocean Of life
caught Kathy high on its crest and car
ried her away, away, safe into harbOr.
! CHAPTER XII
Ana TIER there comes 4, z mist and 4 driving rain
And life Is never the same again.
The rain beat itself suddenly against
the window with a sharp rattle, and Jill
looked up from the book she had vainly
been trying to read. Outside, the street
gone--October winds had torn the
leaves from the trees, and left branches
bare and shivering before the coming
of winter.
Two endless months since Kathy
died two endless months since jill
heard the sharp whir of the telephone
In this very room, summoning her To
her sister.
The world had seemed a queer place
since then--she wondered how II had
seemed to Ralph. She could not bear
to think of him--to look back on those
first agonized days Of his grief.
"Hillyard has aged twenty years, -
young Merredew said once to jill.
Poor fellow-poor, dear old fellow
It was quite true-the loss OF his
life.
Tallentyre and he were always to-
sether, Jill knew; Tallentyre had stood
BY his friend loyalty and saved Ralph
from utter despair. He had stayed with
him night and day, till the first awful
shock had passed.
She herself had seen him once or
twice since, but neither Of them had
given thought to their own affairs,
she was sure-life had completely
changed since Kathy died.
Since Kathy died She heard the
words so often, and they still seemed
so empty-to convey so little. Though
two months had passed, she still found
herself thinking ~ must tell Kathy this
this will amuse Kathy." But Kathy
was dead -
Jill rose to her feet and wandered
restlessly about the room; there wal
an odd sort Of feverish excitement In
her veins, as 10 she had been told that
something Of great Importance was
about to happen.
But what could happen now that
would matter at all? What could hap
pen now to give her either JOY or hap
piness again?
thought Of them as one thinks Of char
acters In a book--characters whom one
has never met in real life.
Rigden had tried many times TO see
her. but she had always refused. kathy
had not liked him--Kathy had asked
her to give him up--
Jill thought Of the night when she
and Rigden and Tallentyre had all
dined at the Hillyards the SONG
Rigden had sung then, to please Kathy
K copy of It stood now on the piano,
and iii went across the room and
turned its pages absently:
Last nisht I was dreaming-ef thee love
7 dreamed thou vert living, my darling. m,
dreamed hat held three once more II
my breast
The tears rushed to Jill,s eyes, and