Evening star., 1922-12-29

sultan Casir Ammsh for the drst time
deprived Of the woman he wanted;
wanted as he had never wanted any
other.
He went to the rose-wreathed sum-
, msr house whore Pansy had been
pleased to linSer with him: to the
orange groves At Telde. whore they had
brsakfasted together. Night found him
whore they had met and plighted their
| troth.
His hands clenched at the thought Of
| AZ she had promised there. Phantom
IKE. she haunted him. Her ghost was
recollection that was torrent. The ono
Dead see fruit.
| He would have given his kingdom, all
his riches, to have Pansy back In his
resisting. watching him with eyes full
Of love, wanting him as much as he had
wanted her. The one woman who had
| ever scorned him!
CHAPTER Xxx.
| In his study Sir George Barclay
sat alone. Sixteen years had pass
ed since. in far-away Gambia, he
had had to condemn to death the
marauding Arab chief. In a few
weeks time he would be returning
to the country. not in any minor ca
pacity. but as its governor.
Although his thoughts just then
were in Gambia. the incident Of the
shooting Of the Sultan Casim Am
mind. And he never gave thought
nowadays to the boy who. unavail-
! ingly. had como to the Arab chiefs
rescue. But he still carried the
mark Of the youngsters sword upon
his cheek.
Barclay very little. His hair was
fray. his face thinner and a studious
look now lurked In the gray eyes
where tragedy had once been. For.
in his profession. Barclay had found
some Of the forgetfulness he had set
| out In search of.
AS ne sat at his desk the door
opened suddenly. The manner Of
opening told him that the daughter
! he imagined to be thousand or
more miles away was home again.
For no one. save this cherished leg
his study with such lack Of cere-
mony.
He looked round quickly. as a slim
girl in ermine and purple velvet en-
why. Pansy. my darling. thought
you were In Grand Canary" he said.
so i was. father. five days ago.
And then and then
She paused. and laughing in a
rather forced manner. kissed him af-
fectionately.
Father. will you take me out to
Gambia with you?" she finished.
clay ever refused his daughter. On
this occa sion, he did make some
| sort of stand.
Gambia is no place for you. my
darling. There's nothing there to
amuse and interest young girl"
took OF her hat and gloves. watch
Ing him with a rather set smile.
But don't care where go so long
as can be with you and get away
from myself"
Her words made Barclay look at
her sharply
To want to get away from ones
self was q feeling he could under
stand and sympathize with only too
we'll. But to hear such a sentiment
on his daughters lips surprised and
hurt him.
MY little girl. what has happen
ed?" he asked gently.
Pansy laughed again. but there was
sharp catch OF pain in her mirth.
II think my heart Is broken. that's
ALL" she said with a would-be cas-
ual air.
Barclay did not wait to hear any
moro 1t that moment He drew her
down to a couch and sat there with
his arm about her.
my poor little girl" he whisper
ed. "Tell me all about it,
Pansy laid her head on his shoul-
der and smiled at him with lips that
'It's nobody's fault but my own.
Daddy" she said. Il brought it on
myself with my silly. impetuous ways.
And 1t serves me right for hanker-
Ing after strange men. and not being
content with my old father"
For all her light talk Barclay knew
something serious had happened To
him his daughter was but new edi-
ton Of a well-read book; the girl was
her mother over again.
There was brief pause as Sir
George sat watching his child, strok-
ing her curls with a thin. affection
had come into this bright. young life.
Hearts are silly things. aren't
they" Pansy said suddenly. Soft.
fabby, squashy sort of things that get
hurt easily II you don't keep a sharp
eye on them. And I'd SO many things
about mine. Hearts ought not to be
left without protection. They should
have iron rails put round them to
keep all trespassers off. like the rails
we put round the trees in the park
to keep the cattle from hurting them"
There was a further pause. and q
little sniff. Then Pansy said:
Father, lend mo your handker-
chief, I know it's a nice big one. 1
believe Tn going to cry. For the
first time since it happened. 1t must
be seeing you again. And shall cry
. lot on your coat. and perhaps spoil
1t. But: since it's me- know You
Sir George drew out a handker-
II was walking along in heaven
with my head up and my nose in the
air" the sweet, hurt voice explained.
there. There was a hole in the floor
Of heaven and never saw 1t. And !
fell right through. crash. Dang. right
down to earth again. A rotten cid
earth with all the fun gone out OF II.
And I'm awfully sore and bruised.
and the shock has injured my heart:
It has never been the same since and
will never be the same again. pc
cause because, did love him,
AS she talked Sir George watched
her with affection and concern. his
heart aching for this slim, beauti:ul
daughter Of his. to whom love had
come % q tragedy.
aOh, daddy" she said, tears chok-
inx her voice, "why is life SO hard:'
Then the storm broke.
Sir George listened to her sobs. as
with . gentle hand he stroked the
GOLDEN curls All the time he Won
dered who was responsible for her
tears, who had broken the heart OF
his cherished daughter.
He went over the multitude OF men
a