The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1921-10-14
Sisters
BY
KATHLEEN
NORRIS

"a tnOuSand-tF1neS, that made III all
hideously clear. Words, chances,
moods subtler than either, came back
TO her. Cherry's confusion of late,
when the question of her return to
Martin was raised, her indifference to
her inheritance, her restless talk dur
ing one hour of immediate departure,
and during the next of an apparently
termless visit; all these were signifi-
cant now.
Il ana desperately unhappyl" Cherry
had said. And Immediately after that,
Alix recalled wretchedly, had come a
brief and apparently aimless talk
I about Alix's rights, and her eagerness
TO share them with her sister
Poor Cherry 70 the older sister said
aloud, standing still for a moment,
and pressing both hands over her hot
eyes. "Poor little old Cherry-life
hasn't been very kind to her! She
and Peter must be so sorry and
ashamed about this And Dad would
be so sorry; of all things he wanted
most that Cherry should be happy
Perhaps" thought Alix, she. realized
that she was that sort of nature, she
must love and be loved, or she cannot
live! But why did he let her marry
Martin, and why wasn't he here to
keep me from marrying Peter? What
observation-disclosures wee made of it
allw
! As she used the term, she realized
that Cherry had used it, too. this same
evening, and fresh conviction was
added to the great weight OF convic-
ton in her heart
"Oh, ter-Peter-Peterr she
moaned, writhing as the cry escaped
her. ''Why couldn't it have been me,
why couldn't you have loved me that
way? / know am not so pretty as
| Cherry" Alix went on, resuIning her
| restless walk, land / know that those
| things don't seem to mean as much TO
me as to most womeni But, Peter"
| she said softly, aloud, mo wife ever
/ loved man more than love you, my
/ dear" She remembered some of his
half-laughing, half-fretful reproaches,
| when he had told her that she loved
him much as she loved Buck, and that,
| in these respects, she was no more
| than a healthy child. 81 may be a
child" said Alix, feeling that a dry
| flame was consuming her heart, ''but
child can love- Ny dear-Iny dear
81 wish could cry" she said sud
denly, finding herself sitting on a log
where low oaks met the forest and the
! open meadows. "But now we must
face this thing sensibly. What is to
be done? They must not know that
know, and in some way we must get
out of this tangle. Even IL Peter were
/ free, Cherry would not be free" she
decided, 'and so the only thing to do
is to help them, until it dies away"
No suspicion of the truth stabbed
her, although she remembered Martin
and his strange tale of a message and
wondered about it a LITTLE in her
thoughts. To whom had Cherry been
sending that telegram if not to Peter?
| And if to Peter, why had she not
simply telephoned? Because she had
known that Peter was not in his of
| fee, because she had been going to
meet him somewhere But where?
Well, at the boat. Martin had heard
her tell the boy that he must catch
i the boat
Alix did not guess the truth. But
she guessed enough TO make her feel
frightened and sick She could not
suppose that Cherry and Peter had
/ planned to go away on that boat to-
i gether, because at most her thoughts
/ would have grasped the idea of one or
/ two days absence only, and they had
i given her no warning of that. But
until this instant the thought of the
Il passionate desire that enveIoped them
had not reached her; she had mag
ined Cherrys feeling for Peter to be
something only little stronger than
her own
Il Now she thought of Cherry's beauty,
her fragrance and softness, the shine
in her blue eyes and the light on her
corn-colored hair, and knew that life
with frightful danger.
aCherry would be disgaced, and
Martin-Martin would kill her, il he
H found her out Oh, my little
sister, She would be town talk; she
is so reckless, she would do anything
she would be a public scandal. and
the papers would have her pictures
Dads little yellow-headed Charity
Oh, Dad" she said, looking up int
the dark, "tell me what to do / neec
you So Won't you somehow tell ms
what to DOR
Silence and darkness. But even IL
that gloom AIix could tell the fog wa
lifting, and a sudden sweep Of breeze
like a tired breath, went over the tops
of the redwoOds.
Steadily came the change The dark
ness, by imperceptible degrees, lifted
Light" Alix whispered. awestruck
And a few moments later she added
DAWN"
It was dawn indeed that was creep
ing into the valley, and as it bright
ened and deepened and warmed mo
mentarily, Alix felt some of the peac'
and glory of it swelling In her tire'
heart. She was still sitting on tn
log. dreamfIy watching the expanding
beauty of the new day. when Their
was a crashing in the underbrush be
hind her. and wild with. joy. and wit
twigs and dried brown grasses on hi
wet coat Buck came bounding out O