The Washington herald., 1921-10-16
By Mildred X. Barbour

stephen SDale was Of the devotion
she had laid so impetuOusly at his
feet.
He might have laughed
Her color rose at the thought Of
IL.
He might have been secretly
laughing at her for being such .
fool. To have told him unsolicited
that she loved himI
The shame Of FL
But he couldn't havs been laugh
ing. II would not have been steph-
en-. Dale. II he had He was nne and
strong and spiendid-and the
tragedy that lay back Of his hns
tired eyesl She adored him! II he
had thought to disillusion her, he
had judged wrongly. It made him
dearer and more desirable
Leaning there against the cool
stone pillar. wrapped In the scented
blackness Of the night watching
with absent eyes the moon that
climbed above the lake edge, Diana
told herself that she would never
love again. II was q pain too awful
and besides no one would ever come
who could measure mp to Stephen
Dale.
And she was shut out Of his LIE
foreverI
She cried q. little, partly with
hurt and partly with humiliation
that she, Diana Langley. the arro-
CANT, the indifferent, had admitted
love for any man.
But youth, which dramatizes its
emotions and sloughs them on as
easily as an actor does his role
when the play Is done, ruled the
| heart of Diana and presently she
went in and dressed again for
dinner.
CHAPTER v
The wrong Man Proposes
Diana wondered II Stephen Dale
! noticed that she wore a different
frock at dinner.
She had slipped OF the green
gown that she had worn in the
drawing room earlier in the even
ing and folded II carefully away in
her trunk
She would never wear II again.
In a gown as vivid as the heani
of sunset, she sat at dinner between
Ted Saunders and the young naval
lieutenant.
Dale was across the table from
her with Madeleine Davis beside
him. AZ they sat down, his eyer
met Diana's for q brief moment
Hers were timid: she shrank from
what she might read. But his vert
steady and kindly as ever, only Q
trifie more weary. There was In
them no fiickering memory Of tina,
little scene in the drawing room
no suggestion Of the flame that had
hared there for a brief momen,
when he had held her chushed in
his arms.
"Di looks gorgeous tonight
doesn't she?" Diana heard Made.
leine remark carelessly as she un.
folded her serviette.
At his grave assent, Madelein,
went on in a lower tone which
wasn't lost on Diana's- quick ears
Il think she's in love. You shoulS
have seen her incoming in the dark
ness on the balcony this evening
while 1 was dressing for dinner
Delaney! The way she plays mel
orr
Diana's cheeks were flaming. II
save her pride, she flung herself
into a desperate Irritation with tn,
naval lieutenant who was palpabl,
transported to the seventh heaven
: Ten Saunders consequently sulked
and had to be consoled before tn,
dessert by a transfer OF Diana'i
attention.
Tangled Threads.
So in the pretty business o,
placating two adoring SWANS, Di
ana almost convinced herself tha
she had stilled' the ache in hel
heart.
Throughout the dinner. however
she was fiamingly conscious o
stephen Dale's steady gaze and oc
casionally he caught the bright
eyed scrutiny of Sylvia Bennett
Sylvia liked Ted. and Il had beeI
a bitter pill for her to swallow
when the latter capituiated whole
heartedly to Diana's Indifferent
treatment.
At least. Diana told herself con
solingly. her gayety was provini
an effective mask and no one woult
guess that she had just nung her
self at 4 mans head and been re
jected.
She was glad to be enticed to tn,
garden by Alex Leigh direct!
after the coffee was over.
He
could ramble on conyersatfonail,
and enjoy himself without more en-
couragement than an occasions
yes" or no" Diana had often en-
plOyed the two monosyllabIes me
chanically with disastrous results
but he always promptly forgave he
inattention. He was In that stat
when he would forgive anything.
Diana trailed with him down tn
Eight Of SCN-bordered steps tina
led TO the &kS-side where q ston
bench was tucked discreetly ava,
in rambler rUse arbor.
He held her arm to guide he
steps through the darkness and hi
breathing was . trtne rapid. Blu
Diana was oblivious, immersed IL
her own thoughts.
She was seeing only the hand
some weary face of Stephen Dali
limned in silhouette against tn
darkness.
/, Couldn't you, Dir
She came back to earth with ,
start at young Leigh's question.
Couldn't I what?' she asked
trife impatiently.
He laughed ruefully and guide,
her to the marble bench under tn
arbor. The moon cut a siIvery path
| | NNaN. fhrnlIph Ahn Il