Evening star., 1925-06-17

! morning gray and white. stretched out
her hand. =,
"Oh. I beg your pardon she said
| the next minute. Il was so sure you
were a telegram. They've been com
| ing that thick and fast I've had to
stand at the door. We're dreadfully
upset this morning because the night
nurse was taken i'll and had to so
home, and we had to try so long
before we could get you. You're the
| nurse of course?" she added. struck by
the youthfulness of Sally Byrd's ap-
pearance
Yes. I'm the nurse" She had got
used to the idea. I'D like TO see
! Mr. Kenton TT once.
We'll. come in. You'll want to
change into your uniform. I'll see
what room you can so to. My. but
you're Young. miss she finished as
the girl followed her into the hall.
You don't look old enough to have
been through training"
"I look younger than | am.
That's a nice way to be. Just
come into the living room and FL
find out at once"
Then. as she disappeared down the
hall. Sally Byrd entered the long.
bright room. which seemed to her
the most beautiful place she had
ever seen or imagined. A dampness
fell over her spirits while she gaZed
at IT. If only Stanley were not 50
rich she would have felt better about
coming.
Resting on the edge Of a Florentine
chair, she stared with fascinated eyes
at the Italian furniture, the tapestry
on the wall, the pictures, the books
in rich and beautiful bindings. the
wicker bird cages, the f1owerlike
bowl of Venetian glass i'll which
brightly colored goldfish swan around
amid exotic seaweed. Yes, she
wished with all her heart that Stan
lev was-well. not really poor, but
less oppressively rich.
Then, in the midst of all his for
eign- looking splendor her eyes, wan
dering about the room. were arrested
by an object which appeared as out
of place as herself. After she had
once looked at it she found that she
could not look anywhere else. On
a little table near the fireplace there
stood a workbasket filled with stock
ings that needed darning-JuSt ar
ordinary workbasket made of willow
1t was the kind of basket that Aunt
Matilda and Aunt Louisa used, only
in this case the stockings she saw
after a minute, were really socks
black and gray socks of fine, sof,
silk. which had been worn into holes
in places. In one of them the darn
ing egg had been dropped and e
needle with a long thread in it was
stuck carelessly into the pile, as il
it had been thrust there by some one
who had been called suddenly away
from her work. Poor Stanley! He
must have worn out all those socks
such nice ones, too, and flung then
aside because there was nobody tc
mend them. Well she was Thankful
now. though she had often complain
ed of it, that she was brought up tc
be practical.
At the sound of a step in the hal
she withdrew her gaze from the
workbasket and stared at the gold
fish minute later she heard q
brisk, composed voice saying: why
YOU can't be the nurse, You are
scarcely more than child, and this
is serious case
Turning her eyes, which had bee,
fixed on the goldfish. she met the
astonished regard of a dark. pleasant
looking woman. whose hair. jus
sprinkled with gray. was brushed
carelessly back from her forehead, ant
whose large. firm figure was begin
ming ever so slightly to spread. Shs
- wore the serene air of woman wht
has passed through the furnace o.