Evening star., 1921-11-13
IN THE PARK
By Pierre Taldagne.

take in life. and it was NJ. Rebours VIII"
, had brought her TO sec thlS
x :: !: x
NOW she had entered upon An e&-
~ .istence which was absolutely
sage, prudent and tranquil. N. Re
bours. director in an insurance COM
pany. had saivaged everything-her
fortune and her happ;ness For since
she had married him, who could main
tam that she wasn't happy? She |hat.-
an enviable establishment, solid con-
J nectiops and q perfect husband. 81
perfect. in fact.
! The governess came into the room
/; She had first gone upstairs to TAX.
! off her hat
Nine. Rebours liked her very much.
Although they had never exchanged
| condolences she knew tina: Mile.
LeGer pitied her sometimes for haV-
J ing married a husband SO given TO
i srumbling and also so ineSorably per
| tect.
WELL" asked Nine Rebours. how
, did fronne get along today in tn"
! park
/ Very well. madame She played a
great deal. And she was Very well
! behaved. But something curious hap
pened, something l don't understand.
While the children We're amusing
| themselves l sat on a bench. Along
4 sue me tHtTt W dS d
-Oh, yes Nine. Rebours inter
rupted. "Yvonne has just told m"
THAT a man kissed her.
That is true, madame. This is how
i: happened. I was sitting on th.
bench not far from this person. whom
near me. She was talking to another
little girl whom I didn't know, and
who asked her, What is your name
'Tvonne' 'Ivonne what? 'Yvonnr
Moral
AZ this the man gave start. He
looked at the children. He bent for
ward in his seat. stared at YvonEe
and stretched out his hand. But she
was already running away. Then he
turned to Inc and asked me in a trenl-
bling voice:
'Mademoiselle. is this little girls
name Ivonne Moral?
Ives, monsieur. WhyT
He grew very pale and said:
"'Will you allow me to kiss her
mademoiselle? She resembles a little
girl whom | lost "
x x \
slN-ELL. madame. that was great
w surprise to me. He took
Yvonne by the hand and said softly:
May kiss YOU Mademoisele
Yvonne""' And how he looked at her;
How he looked at her! He first kissed
her on the cheek. Then suddenly he
took her in his arms and covered her
with kisses. You could tell that he
was deeply moved. L saw that he
was weeping.
"She seemed to he much astonished.
But she wasn't afraid. When it was
over she went back to her play. Then
the man said to me:
.Mademoiselle. i lost a little girl
whom 1 loved very much. She isn't
dead. But l have lost her, all thu
same. because in moment of folly |
abandoned her mother. Since then |
have lived miserable life. left
the country: l have suffered pov-
hiding. l have been in hiding for thE
last five years. l was weak.
thoughtless man. L was an artist.
somewhat erratic. somewhat Of
child. But 1 was led astray by
villainous creature. am paying for
1t. l am paying dearly for it. Ana
today l am paying for 1T atrociouslE.
Did you understand. mademoi.
selie?" asked Nine. Rebours, who had
turned as white as a sheet.
Mile. Leger bowed her head.
"Yes, Madame. That man is your
first husband. He is Yvonne's father.
understood all this when he told
me his story. and I understood why
he kissed Yvonne in such transport
Of tenderness and grief"
And afterward?'
"Afterward he got up and went
away without a word. He walked
with a limp. He looked so broken
down. ] almost wished"
Nine. Rebours struggled to suppress
a cry. She recovered her self
possession presently and said:
mo! 1t is better so. What's An
ished is finished. He was poor fel-
low-very weak. as he said. He was
a child xyhon aa, IN 70 h.a
problems of life. BIZ. he was an adj
mirable artist. All tha. mas gone TO
wreck. Yet he was cna.a.aag. All.
how charming he was-so gay, SO
full of fantasy and imagination, He
made me suffer afterward. But now
I have nothing against him.
After e. silence she added:
"If you see him again in the park.
mademoiselIe. let him kiss YvonAe
amy. time he asks to-"