Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-05-10
HHAPTER XIV
An ApparitiOn


IA HIRIAM was reused from her sleep by
| MI the sound of some one speaking her
name. She sat up, rubbing her eyes
bewlderedly, for the moment forgetting
where she was, and then as the rhythmical
pound of the engines came to her ears that
voice spoke again:
Miriam Folwell!"
She turned, her heart beating wildly, and
looked into a pair of burning blue eyes, set
in a face whose features she had almost for
gotten Then suddenly she remembered
everything, that night in the mountains, this
mans voice asking her to be his wife, her
escape and then-Anthony. Anthony who
believed the worst of her.
''You!" she gasped ''You!"
"Will you let me sit down here a mo-
ment?" he was saying. Il want to talk to
you. I want to tell you how / tried to find
you, but the city had swallowed YOU up. TO
think Of meeting YOU like this, to think of
Fate taking "a hand and throwing us to-
gether again on board the America
In Mriams heart there had always exist
ed the feeling that if ever she set eyes on
this man again she would hate him. He was
the cause of all her heartache, of all her an
guish and misery, he had come between An
thony and herself, and certainly she had
never wanted to see him again. But now
that he had actually materialized, she found
that she did not hate him. She felt curious
ly Indifferent concerning the episode con-
nected with him, and after the first shock of
seeing him again, she was able to collect
her thoughts and treat him as she would
have treated any chance acquaintance
But the personal kept cropping up in spite
of anything she could do to prevent it, She
could not chat with him casually without go
ing into the past, and when he finally asked:
Have you been ill?" she shook her head
and said deliberately, mot physically ILL.,
only mentally
There was silence between them, and in
that moment Miriam found her eyes wander
ing to his hand grasping the arm of her
chair. 1t was strong hand a hand that
one night long ago had stirred a strange
feeling in her heart. 1t was hand a wom-
an might cling to, there was power in it, and
suddenly Miriam found herself averting her
eyes.
Tn sorry" he said evenly and at his
words anger leaped up in Miriam's heart
I've lost my faith in human nature" she
SAID suddenly. iii never believe in any
one again. | have paid very dearly for that
night we missed our train. 1t just happens
that the SANDER followed me- that | could
not shake it off Just recently / met some
one who remembered me, and who told the
story of that night to the man | had prom
lsed to marry. He believed it, but he offer
ed to marry me anyway Naturally |
couldn't accept such sacrifice. That's all
but wanted you to know. l wanted you to
realize why we can never be friends why
the very sight of you is obnoxious to me- |
member you see, that you, too, offered me
marriage. To you it was a way out of a
sorry predicament, and l tried to forget it,
but l realize now that l never have"
Miriam was carried away by her feeling.
She was pouring out all her hot resentment
in burst of emotion. She had suffered, and
she would make Warren Holmes suffer, too.
At least she would show him the contempt
that she felt for him and after that perhaps
he would take himself off and cease to
bother her.
He listened to her in silence and after
she had finished talking he still did not
speak. After a moment she stole look at
him, and saw that he was white to the lips.
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