Evening star., 1921-09-25
for hours She had always been like

| for hours She had always been like
this She had
attention. his own mind grew less
numb and began to function nor
| mally again. The first real thought
was that Cora must have seen a
| beauty doctor, because she used to
| have a small mole Just at the edge
| she actually seemed younger than
when he had seen her last. Wonder
full person, Cora! Talk. talk. talk
! for years. as she was talking now,
pea grow manage yarnsff IT, s9% YOU'D c0ad shnk
| don't you know, that SO much talk,
| issuing from mouth day after day
and year after year. would wear the
| mouth larger and larger. like
| stream issuing from a cave, but, by
| Jove! Cora's mouth was smaller
The eternal stream of Cora's talk
! flowed over and around Morley Smith
| without pause. He had never heard
| Cora pour forth SO many words. She
| like a drowning man, except that he
| felt already drowned-utterly SUBJ
| merged and numb and dead in the
| flood.
than it used to be- Maybe. he
| thought. mouths were like that.
Perhaps don't you know. they grew
| smaller the more you used them.
Then he noticed her eyes. They cer-
| tainly were bluer than they had been.
a brighter blue. But perhaps he did
not remember as clearly as he imag--
! ined he did. At any rate he was glad
! Cora had begun talking at the old
rate don't you know! By Jove, yes.
what? Suppose she had CAM
oufiaged herself with silence! l say!
He might have been grasped by his
old liking for her and have proposed
marriage before he knew she was
/ the same old talker that had numb
ed and frightened him years before.
Same old Cora! Same outspoken.
dear old thing!
! tected by the flood of words that
lucky Chap, WHAT Feeling a bit
I soft and all that sort of thing when
1 came, she might have nabbed me
; off. what?'
/ Behind him there was a rustic Of
soft silk and he turned his head. In
an instant he was on his feet. There
| was break in Cora's talk. as II she
had closed the sluice suddenly. and
! the woman who had just entered the
/ room came forward, her face smiling
and pleasure in every softly traced
/ wrinklet-if the prettily rounded
! lines of a face may be called wrink-
let's. Certainly they were not
J wrinkles.
"Well, Morley SMITH! she ex-
! claimed and put her hand in his.
J "But-but I say. Cora. you dear
| old thing" he stammered.
TOR this was Cora, the Cora he had
known. The other must be her
daughter, as like the Cora had
known as could be, but-as he now
/ Ill Y~k rspft =
the same nose. not quite the same
eyes, not as tall. Not nearly as
queenly.
you remember you used to call
me that?' the woman asked, pleased.
She spoke slowly and a. IL choos-
! ing her words 1t was as If it was
difficult for her to speak. The girl.
however, had begun again. She was
explaining how Morley smitn mao
him at all, but thought she must
! know him because he seemed to
know her.
yes, dear" the woman Cora said.
rather wearily.
The girl Cora was not to be stop
however She talked on. rushingly.
Sha knew now, she said. how she
F. had come to think she knew him.
It was that old photograph she had
seen once or twice, and she had met
SO many people And 80 on, and
! .But I say" said Morley Smith to
the woman Cora, 'it's jolly to see
you again!
1T is good to see you again. Nor
ley" she answered, in the same hesi-
tating way. "Cora-you were read
"oh, mother!" the girl cried, rec
| oRnfzinE the hint And we were
| Just having such nice talk!' But
she took up her book and went out:
II say, but you look top-hole!
4 said Morley Smith, when the young
/ talking machine had been thus 81.
/ fenced. In a minute, he thought,
this Cora would begin talking, too.
"Do 1? Thank you But am tired,
Morley" she said. Il am afraid I
will never be quite rested again. It
is a year and q half since my hus-
| band died.
Il say! But Of course, she's your
daughter. what? You would be mar
tried, what? Tutterville, or soms-
tMng?"
"Tullerville," she supplied. You did
i not know him, Morley?"
"Right-o" said Morley Smith cheer
fully. II never knew the old chap.
Nice chap. dare say or you would
not have married him, Cora. But the
girl, what? She does not take after