Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-04-11
continued from our last issuc)

of their meeting: but she ended with
a sad little laugh. And hen!" h
said.
what do you mean, Mona. And
then'?"
She took a letter from her bag. Il
only got this this morning just as l
was coming away. It's in reply to
the one l wrote him about his v. g.
Oh, Marko. so splendid. so utterly
splendid as he is. and then to be like
this. Look. he says he's just got
leave and he's going to spend II III
Paris! One of his women is there.
That Mrs. Winfred. He's taken up
with her again. He says. Poor thing.
she's ali alone in Paris. l know how
sorry you will feel for her, and l
feel l ought to go and look after
her. l know you will agree with
me. I'll tell her o sent me. That
will amuse and please her o
She touched her eyes with her
handkerchief. 1T rather hurts, Mar
ko. It's not that / mind his going.
It's lust what he would do. But it's
the way he tells me. He just says 1t
like that deliberately because he
knows it will hurt. So utterly splen-
did, Mako, and so utterly grace
less" She gave her little note of
sadness again. utterly splendid!
Look, this is all he says about his
V. c. Isn't this fine and isn't 1t / k
him? He says, 'P. s. Yes, tina V. G.
business. You know why / got Il.
don't you? 1t stands for Very eau
tious. you know"
They laughed together. Yes, like
him! Tybar exactly. Sabre could
see him writing the letter. Delight
ing in saying words that would hurt;
delighting in his own whimsicality
hat would amuse. Splendid; airy,
untouched by fear; untouched by
thought; fearless, faithless, needless,
graceless. Fortunes darling; invest
ed in her robe of mockery.
Nona's laughter ended in a little
catch at her breath. He touched her
arm. Lets walk, Mona"
He thought she was looking thin
and done up. Her face had rather a
drawn look, its soft roundness gone.
He thought she never had looked so
beautiful to him. She spoke to him
of what she had tried to say in her
letters of his disappointments in
offering himself for service. Never
had her sweet voice sounded so x
quisitely tender to him. They spoke
of the war. Never, but in their let
tiers, had he been able thus to give
his feelings and receive them,
touched with the same perceptions,
kindled and enlarged, back into his
sympathies again.
He shook his head. not trusting
himself to look at her. He said,
you. Not L. Anyone can know the
right thing. But strength to do 1t
strength flows out of you to me. 1t
always has. I want it more and
more. I shall want it, Things are
difficult. Sometimes I've a frightful
feeling that things are closing in on
me. There's Shelley's ode to the
West Wind 1t makes mel don't
know-wrought up. And sometimes
I've the feeling that I'm being car
ried along like that and towards
that frightful cry at the end, %
Wind, if winter comes"
He stopped. He said. GIVE me
your handkerchief to keep, Mona.
Something of your own to keep.
There will be strength in 1t for ne
to help me hold on to the rest-to
believe it If Winter comes-Can
Spring be far behind?
She touched her handkerchief to
her lips and gave it to him.
Sabre had always thought Bright
Fife would be wonderful with old
Mrs. Perch. He wrote long letters
to Young Perch, telling him how
much more than wonderful Bright
Fife was. Efie mothered Mrs.
mored her in a way that not even
Young Perch himself could have
bettered.
Marvellous Fife! Sabre used to
think; and of course it was because
her astounding fund of humor was
based upon her all-embracing capa-
city for love. Sabre liked immense
ly the half-whispered talks with
her while Mrs. Perch dozed in her
chair. Efie was always happy.
One evening he asked her a most
extraordinary question, shot put of
him without intending it, discharged
out of his questioning thoughts as
by a hidden spring suddenly touched
by cropping fingers.
"Efie, do you love God?"
Her surprise seemed to him to be
more at the thing he had asked than
at its amazing unexpectedness and
amazing irrelevancy. why. OF
course l do, Mr.. Sabre"
"Why do you?"
She said in simple wonderment, as
one asked what had the u to do
with light. or whether water was
wet. "Why, God is love-"
He stared at her.
"
The second Christmas of the war
came. The evening before the last
d. 80 tho MD WAR uvaG 70 have
given Sabre a rare pleasure to which
he had been immensely looking for
ward. He was to have spent it with
Mr.. Fargus. The old chess and
acrostic evenings hardly ever hap
pened now. II was to have been a
real long evening; but 1t proved not
very long.
At ten o'clock profound gymnas-
tics of the mind in search of a hid
den word beginning with e and end
ing with l were interrupted by the
entry of the maid. please. Mr..
Sabre. I think it's for you, Mr..
Sabre"
"For me? Who on earth-?"-
He opened it. He did not recog-
nize the writing on the envelope. He
unfolded it. All!
"Freddie's killed. Please do come
at once I think she's DYING. B."
CHAPTER VII
He was alone in the room where
Mrs. Perch lay-not even Effie. One
O'Clock. This wari
The doctor had been and was
coming again in the morning. There
was nothing TO be done. he had said;
just watch her.