San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1925-08-09
Nora Lee By Elenore MeheHn
Continued From Page S. Part p

been-you frightened me gone so
long," No-not a single word but
only stared along the path that An
drew took.
The child was frightened and ask
ed, Mother, why are you looking
so?"
Margaret smiled with her lips, her
eyes were filled with quiet. How
am | looking?"
Don't. please. Is Andrew going
off alonc?"
Andrew is gone"
The dark was pressing all about
them and still voices rising. Then
the trees were black and throngcd
together. You could no longer even
child's hand and hurried.
Her ears we're filled with sounds
of deSolation. For the first time
in her eight years of loneliness she
did not know which way to turn.
For the first time she thought that
Life was very cruel.
Andrew would not see her view.
He said in hard, even tones: III
this is right. Margaret, then murder
is right and suicide and every de-
Structive force we know. You are
booming me TO this
"You made the choice, Andrew"
He smiled at that: so i should
be bound eternally TO the error? Who
gains because my life is warped: l
tell you no one, Margaret. No one.
Others have a right to aid us; no one
has the right to slay, whether it be
heart or mind or body. II l permit
this, / am guilty as the one who
holds the knife. Should you have
stayed to be murdered? This is what
you force on me-
And she could only answer over
and over: but she will not let you
go-yOu have no cause"
He had a soft, quick contempt for
that: Il can fOrego the towards
sanction"
Yet when he was leaving he said
in the gentle way he had: Forgive
all this, Margaret. / won't come
any more and you won't need to go
away. 1t hasn't hurt me to know how
fine life might have been"
Then he bowed and pressed her
hand.
One day in the middle of the next
week when the children passed the
big house they saw boards nailed
over all the windows. The wicker
chairs were taken from the lawn.
The lilac trees were stripped. Every
thing had a lonely look.
Nora Lee was terribly excited. She
couldn't imagine what had hap
pened and went flying back to the
schoolhouse with the news. An
drew's house was all nailed up! He
was gone! The white lady was
gone"
1t was a long time that Margaret
just kept rubbing chalk from the
old red plush erasers. The child said:
~Well-yOu don't seem much sur
prised You didn't know, did you?'
~Yes-I knew. This is the time that
people go away"
That made Nora Lee feel hot and
foolish. She didn't know what an
swer 10 make and kept raising her
eyebrows in a quizzical way. Mama
talked as though she didn't care
didn't pretend to care at all. Then
why had she always looked at An
drew so? Why had she given that
happy laugh whenever he was there?
She said vaguely: "Oh. suppose
he'll be coming back, huh!"
II suppose So"
~Oh: That's why you don't
care"
Even under the fine powdering Of
chalk she saw Margaret'S cheeks
redden. Then here were tears in
her mothers eyes. She hung her
head.
Margaret said in soft way:
We're going to have a vacation,
too, Nora Lee-you and II
A few weeks after this they packed
up. They even took the pictures from
the walls. Nora Lee guessed by this
that they were never coming back.
She cried herself to sleep, hating 10
leave this place because the berries
grew so red along the stream and
there were such peoples in the
fields.
The night before they went they
walked out TO the hills. 1t was a holy.
gentle night. The sky had clouds Of
flame and pearl; there were sweet
scents everywhere.
Nora Lee said: "Why do we have
to leave, msrnee? And never coming
back?T
You'll like it where we're going.
II will be a lovely place"
@You can't be sure, can you? Are
we going where Andrew isl"
NO"
wont we ever see him any
mOre?"
Nora Lee whispered: Were sad.
marmee, aren't we? Then why do we
do these things?"
She drew the child closer and kissed
the sweet. young face. She answered:
"SadI How can be sad, when / have
you, my gypsy cbild?"
So they went away from Fairdale,
the child and the mother together. No
one knew the wild regret in Marga-
ret's heart, nor all its aching tumult
when she turned with such a quiet
grace from the sweetness and the
beauty that were so sadly offered.
No one knew how hard this was 10
do, now how her spirited shouted.
Continued Tomorrow
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