Evening star., 1925-06-16

ioIC L Mic" Nou L III iidPPS oo 90
a queen. You can't imagine how
empty my life was before knew you.
But look what I've put into 1t.
She smiled at him through her
tears. You've put loveliness into it..
Then she drew a long breath and
spoke with a sob in her voice. "Oh. |
you can't know how much better it |
is to have an unhappy love in your
/ life than to have nothing at ALL"
His face was softer and finer. more |
adorable than she had ever seen it. |
IF | can ever come back to you hon. |
estly, l will come back" he promised, |
moved to the depths of his facile be-
| ing.
'And I'll never forget you. I'll
wait for you always" she answered. |
Smothered in Summers dust, the
days, weeks months crawled by like
beetles. While school lasted. Sally
Byrd taught her kindergarten with
passion; when school was over, she
devoted herself to her grandfather,
who was beginning, as Aunt Mathilda
observed every morning, Ito go down
hill very fast" On Sundays, when
grandfather could spare her. she as
sembled a group of pious minded in
fantS in the infant class of the Sunday
school. Though she was unhappy, II
was not. as she often assured herself,
the forlorn, weedy and utterly desti-
ture form of unhappiness that Aunt
Louisa. who had nothing but neuralgia
to remember. was obliged to endure.
No it was the righ. bracing, romantic
sorrow of Aunt Matilda. who had
mourned in secret the loss of her in
fidel lover. Gradually, as the Sum
mer advanced. it seemed to Sally Byrd
that her tragic love affair had become
a tonic in her life. Lying awake
ho hroo ,jeyI, y,ho
the odors of decaying fruits and vege
tables crept in on the stagnant air.
and the yellow moonlight looked so
hot that she felt as if 1t would scorch
her, she found that she could shut
| her eyes and withdraw into the
memory of her hopeless love as into
some secret garden of fragrance and
bloom. No matter how hot and dusty
and evil-smelling the street was out
side. she had only to open an imagi.
nary green wicket gate. and she was
back, in the twinkle Of an eye, among
dew-drenched flowers. NO, as long
as YOU have something beautiful to
| think about, you can't be a beggar.
thought Sally Byrd, when she dropped
Every morning grandfather said
| sternly, We must find a new way in
which to economize.' and grand
! mother piped shrilly after him. "a
new way TO economize." Every morn
ing Aunt Matilda walled. Il feel as If
I couldn't swallow mouthful,' and
Aunt Louisa sighed, IF YOU had
neuralgia you couldn't go without eat
| ing" And every morning Sally Byrd
! wished for cream while she Sprinkled
| sugar on her oatmeal,
! Then, just when 1t seemed to her
| that she had got used to the monot-
! ony, she met Gerty Cunningham one
! afternoon in the street. All Summer
she had avoided Gerty. but it was I'M
possible, she knew, not TO run across
her sooner or later. After school be-
| gan they would be thrown together
again.
sally Byrd, I was just coming to
see you said Gerty, clutchtng her
arm. She was a dramatic girl who
! had once yearned to act in motion pic
lures. and who instinctively clutched
/ everything that came within her
reach. II was just coming to see you,
dear. I thought you might not have
! heard"
Heard WHAT" Sally Byrd drew
back a step. not that she particularly
disliked clutching, but because she
wanted to look at Gertys face. II
was not face. however, when one
looked at 1t. that told one very much
except the story of Gerty's tempera
ment.
About Stanley. You may, of
course, have seen it in the paper
seen WHAT" She sounded awfully
stupid, she knew, but why did Gerty
always have to work up to situations
as if she were playing them on the
stage? Was 1t possible. she asked
herself while she waited, that Stanley
had got a divorce? In that instant
before Gerty answered she felt like a
drowning man who sees a hundred
memories of his former life flash
through his mind. only in her case
the images were not memories but
anticipations. She saw Stanley re-
turning to her; she saw herself Stan
ley's wife; she saw them going away
together; she saw the future stretch
ing ahead. like an avenue of bliss, |
into a rosy haze. Then the light
died as 1t had come, and the roseate
visions faded into obscurity.
Gerty had turned away to toss a
word and a smile. to a passing ac-
quaintance. so sorry not to have
been at home yesterday. Do come
again soon. Yes, my dear" she had
wheeled around on Sally Byrd, Il was
saying to mother only this morning
that 1 knew you would be distressed. |
He always admired you so. And a
writer, too! Of course, that makes 1t
worse. if anything, as mother says,
could make the worst worse. Poor
Stanley His car was struck by a