San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1925-09-29
Virginia Decides to Take
Poison After Answering
Cleve's Letter.
CHAPTER LXVIII

NhSiilld WCllG UdCh W Hcl
desk, opened the filter paper
and touched the crystals
with her finger. She thought
remotely: Zone is enough. -
A paralyzing chill trans
fixed her pulse.
She got up dizzily and
stood before the mirror. The
late sun came in a slanting
beam. She stood bathed in this ten.
der light; her hair shinmered golden
ly above the camellialike wilderness OF
her face. 'r
There were pearls on the wedding
gown-a yoke of them; above this her
full young throat was bare. Man!
times Cleveland Wayne had kissed
its soft, warm hollow. She touched
the spot. She closed her eyes, Gov
ering their lids with her cold, fright
ened hands.
He would die il he ever had to
kiss her again. She became weak
and gripped the edge of the bureau
Three hours ago he had held her
with imploring tenderness; he had
whispered: "Oh, do You love me-
Are you sure of it? And you know
how | love you q
THEFT OF JOY.
Now he would marry her, but she
would never be to him other than a
name-a hated name. She had nailed
him to the cross, stolen his young
ardent joy so that he was finished
!, with Life. He wanted to walk out
of it,
She looked about the room, bewil-
dered. half fainting. And suddenly
she was seeing herself as Cleveland
Wayne now saw her-her arms about
another-anothers lips on hers. She
raised her hands in a sick.frenzy. Shut
that out! Blot it away. Not her
She saw only the cold, dead gesture:
of the vanished emotion, and they
were terrible to her. They wert
stark, CHASTITY things.
They were killing her-pushing her
to her death. Because of them she
deserved to die-yes, deserved to die.
No one would hold her back. They
had let her run into the danger
had merrily blinded her eyes and turn
ed her loose in the glad fields of life
And it looked SO gay and there was
ouch laughter. Mono had said: ooh,
don't! Don'tl" No one said: AL
wait! There is beauty exquisite and
holy-wait There is the transcendent
hour - your soul and another's-be
patientw
NEVER TOLD.
No one had told her that. Her
eyes widened in incredulous wonder.
Why? Why had not her mother let
her know that life has this precious
gift? Why had she not talked and
talked and talked about it? Could
it be her mother didn't know? Could
it be that only she had SO loved
And only she must now relinquish
love?
She tremblcd tears filled her
throat warmly. Her breath became
so difficult that she threw her head
back, her lips parted and gasping like
one who browns. No one had told
her. So she was going to die. Now
hurry
She. made a little stumbling rush
back to the desk and picked up the
paper with the shining crystals.
She could see into the sitting
room; see the table with its gifts. The
silver sparklcd-it tossed little mir
rors Of light on the ceiling. She
wheeled slowly about and raising the
window let the filter paper flutter on
the breeze. She stared after it with
a passionate intensity. The paper
would remain in the bright sunny
world. She would be gone.
mo CAUSE TO DIE"
The crystals CLEANED in the palm
Of her hand. She would put them far
back in her throat. No one would
|, know what had happened. They would
think it was heart failure. oh, they
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