Graham guardian., 1921-09-23

time ta wish that he had kept his eyes
shut, 10 wish that he had smiled when
he first saw her--he could not have
forced himself to smile nOw--to won.
der how they were ever to speak
where they were rushlng-ruslhng--
rushing she turned noIgGIssSss
and vanished into the ,AA gs,fA,
Peter lax there, ana his heart
R9unaed. A moment ago he had been
q tired man, fretted because his wife
forgot to meet him; now therS Was
something new in the wWda And rap:
idly all the W4Fia became only back
sro9pd, only q setting, for this eNtrA.
ordinary sensation. The hills heyqnd
still swan In tha hot sunlight the
monptNia rose into the hIue, but the
light that changes ail life iay over
them for Peter
He seia 70 himself that 1t was awk-
ward he did not know bow he could
enter that door and talk TO Cherry.
And yet he knew that that meeting
of Cherry, that the common exchange
Of words and glances. that the daily
trlfllng encounters with Cherry were
all polgnantly significant new,
He felt 40 iIanuise toward hurry,
Ne might sit on his porch another
hour, might saunter Ntf seward the
creek, IT matteFea nathingi the hour
vas steadily approaching when she
must reappear.
Alix drove In, full Of animated apol.
ogies. She managed the car far bet.
ter than he, and no Thought Of an act
cident had tynNh,el him,
Fhe evening was warm, one OF the
two or three warm eveaipss that
marked the height NJ summer even
Up the h,ah valley, There was not
a breath Of mir in the gardens roses
ahd wallhowers stood erect In sort
Of lumipQps -pchantment. Moonlight
hank through the low twisted branches
Of the nearby oaks and fell tangled
with biuck and lacy shade through
the porch rose vine.
Allx sat on the porch rail, every
line Of crisp ssift apd braided head
revealed as u by daylight, but Cher
ry's pale striped gown was only
glimmer In the deepest shade of the
vine. Peter, smoking, sat where ne
could not hut see her; they had hard
Iy looked at each other directly since
the long strange look OF this after
moon; they had exchanged hardly
word,
"T0wn tomorrow, Peter" Aiix said,
after O silence during which she had
locked her arms behind her head,
stared straight above her at the path
the moon was making through faint
stars, and yawnea, "Tve got to go in
70 a meeting Of the hospital board.
Good night, beloyeds. I'm dead. Don't
sit out here incoming with Pete all
night, Cerisel"
Peter ssIa to himself that now Cher
rS would so, too, but as the screen
door banged lightly after Alix, and the
dull glimmer OF Cherry's striped gown
| did not move In the soft shadow,
sudden reluctance and dlstaste seized
him. He had been subconsclously
aware of her all afternoon; he had
known a delicious warmth and stir
ut his heart that he had not analyzed,
II indeed Il could be analysed. Now
suddenly he did not want the beauty
| and gloom and charm OF that feellRG
touched His heart began IA heat
heavily again, and he know that no
must stop the upavalilng game now.
But he had not reckoned on Cherry.
She twisted In her chair, and he heard
a chIld's loug, happy sigh.
"Oh. so am ! tired, toow she
breathed, reluctantly. ~ hate to
leave lt--but I've beeR almost asleep
for half an hOur You can have all
the moonlight there is, Peter" Her
white figure Huttered toward the door,
Good nghtt' she said, dronping her
little head to choke yawn. A mo-
mcnt later he heard her laughing with
Al.S,
YOU rool--you fool--yon f0ol!" Pc,
ter said 10 himself. and he felt an