Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-09-13
The Threshold of Loue

TN WASHINGTON, during what lei
i sure time he had. Steele reflected
seriously on the impulse that had caused
linn to do so mad thing. He went
over in his mind everything that had
happened from the time he had first dis
covered the girls presence In the taxi
to the time when he had held her in
his arms. ond. while listening to her
stertorous breathing. had willed her to
live.
He remembered the elfn charm Of
her when in the taxi she had alter
mated between fear. terrible fear that
he could not understand. and childish
playfulness. He remembered that
strange unwllngness that had leaped
up in him when he had felt that she
vas going out of his life as unrere-
moniously ms she had come into It. Why
had he cared one way or another! IL
certainly had never made any difference
to him before. and there had beer. any
number of women that he might have
known and claimed as friends.
Strangely enough the thought OF
katherine Cleveland leaped into his
mind. She was beautiful and more than
ordinarily intelligent. but in parting
with her he had never cared whether
or not he ever saw her again. And yet
this stranger, this little wait about
whom he knew nothing. he had held in
his arms. warming her with his own
swift running blood. wanting her to liy,e
for some uncanny reason that he could
not fathom.
Steele was in Washington week:
During that time he had heard several
times from his mother, who wrote rather
guardedly concerning the recovery OF the
stranger. In her first letter she had
mentioned the girls name and the fact
that she had seemed terrified when ques-
toned about her past.
''She seems to have no one to turn
to-" Mrs. Steele wrote, but ! have
no doubt that we will be able to find
suitable work for her as soon as she Is
able to be about again.
Steele held the letter In his hands
for a long time after he had finished It..
Anne Temple! How we'll the name
suited her. And then suddenly he real
lied that something in his mother, s
letter had vaguely irritated him. He
and began reading them through again.
When he came 10 the part about finding
the girl suitable work he stopped and
frown gathered between his brows.
Why should he feel irritated because his
mother had suggested finding the girl
a position! After all. what did he ex-
pect? What was there to do but find
work for her? And vet he hadn't liked
the idea. and more than that he had
been suddenly glad that Anne Temple
was alone in the world. Why should
that make any difference to him either? ?
With shrug of his shoulders at his
inability to understand himself, he put
the letter aside. but each time Marcia
wrote him he opened the letter eagerly.
and subconScously he was aware Of his
cagerness and it annoyed him.
John Steele was proud. almost arro-
gantly so. He was proud Of his birth
and of his position. bur most Of all
was he proud of the fact that up TO
now nothing had been able to shake the
cynicism of his attitude toward life. He
had always gloried in his indifference.
in the sense Of freedom that it gave
him. Love had always been remote from
him. a thing he had never expected to
experience in any deep sense. Even at
this time If any one had told him that
he was in love with Anne Temple he
would have scoffed at the idea of such
thing being possible. Nevertheless
she was never quite ont of his thoughts,
and that in itself was strangely sig /.
nticant.