Middletown transcript., 1921-01-01
THE mDD1Erown TRANSCRIPT, m1DDLErown, DEL.

floating down to him on, the moonlight.
She seemed to come with such nlfnt-
terable' smoothness And then ne
heard her call lightly through tie
| darkness.
The sound gave him distinct sense
Of surprise. Some way, he hadn't as
sociated voice like this with noun
tain girl; he had supposed that there
would be so many ,harshening fnflu-
ences in this wild place. Yet the tone
was as clear and full as trained
singers. 1t was not a high voice; and
yet it seemed simply brimming, as a
cup brims with wine, with the rap,
ture Of life. Itswas self-confident
voice too. wholly Unaffected and sin
cere, and wholly without embarrass-
ment.
Then she came close, and Dan saw
the moonlight on her face. And so 1t
came about, whether in dreams or
wakefulness he could see nothing else
for many hours to come.
The girl who stood in the moonlight
had health. She was simply vibrant
with health. It brought light to her
eyes, and color to- her cheeks. and
life and simmer to her mOonlit hair.
It brought curves to her body. and
strength and firmness to her limbs.
and the grace of deer to her car
! riage. Whether she had regular fea-
lures or not Dan would have been un-
able TO state. He didn't even notice.
They weren't important when health
was present. Yet there was nothing
of the coarse or bold or voluptuous
about her. She was just slender
girl, perhaps twenty years of age, and
weighing even less than the figure oc-
casionally to be read in the health
magazines for girls Of her height. And
she was fresh and cool beyond all
words to tell.
And Dan had no delusiOns about
her attitude toward him. For a long
instant she turned her keen, young
eyes to his white, thin face; and at
once it became a5undantly evident
that beyond few giriish speculations
she felt no interest in him. After a
single moment Of rather strained. po-
lite conversation with Dan-just
enough to satisfy her idea Of the con-
ventions-she began a thrilling girl
hood tale to her father. And she was
still telling it when they reached the
house.
Dan held a chair for her in front Of
the fireplace, and she took it with en-
tire naturalness. He was careful to
put it where the freight was at its
height. He wanted to see its effect on
the flushed cheeks, the soft dark hair.
And then. standing in the shadows, he
simply watched her. With the eye Of
an artist he delighted in her gestures.
her ripping enthusiasm. her utter ir-
repressible girlishness that all Of time
had not years enough to kill.
Bill stood watching her, his hands
deep in his pockets, evidently COM
panion of the best. Her father gaZed
at her with amused tolerance. And
Dan-he didn't know in just what way
he did look at her. And he didn't have
time to decide. In less than fifteen
minutes, and wholly without warning,
she sprang up from her chair and
started toward the door.
"GoOd Lord!' Dan breathed. eff
you make such sudden motions as that
I'll have heart failure. Where are
you going now?"
Back to my watch" she answered.
her tone wholly lacking the personal
note which men have learned to ex-
pect in the voices Of women. And an
! instant later the three Of them saW
her retreating shadow rs she vanished
among the pines.
Dan had to be helped to bed. The
long ride had been too hard OF his
shattered lungs; and nerves and body
collapsed an instant after the door
was closed behind the departing girl.
He laughed weakly and begged their
pardon; and the two men were really
very gentle. They told him it was
their own fault for permitting him to
Overdo Lennox himself blew out the
candle in the big, cold bedroom.