Evening star., 1926-04-21

grounds and the Summer house-a
very swell Summer house with white
Colyums, just off the driveway, about
90 Yards in
THANK you ever so much," said
Celia. smiling at him again. Good
night"
Good night. MISS said the station
master, and stood staring after her
tall figure as it swung away.
We'll, I'll hear all about her tomor-
row" he consoled himself as he turn
ed back to the station and his less
Interesting duties. Some MOO York
swell. l guess. Then iIavelock Smiths
IS always out after sWells and likes TO
broadcast it when they've landed one.
This ones pleasant spoken enough,
but. Lord. amt she some gyraf1e.
+: = :: =
celia walked quickly up the long
street through freckles of shadow cast
by the young May foliage. She met
ru one on her way, and it was too
chilly for people TO be out on the
porches or in the gardens. Now and
then from behind lighted window
came the tinkle of a piano, or the
sound of Jazz played on a gramophone.
once a big white cat with a black
face padded by, bent on some venture
Of love or war. It startled her for a
second; it's black face melting into the
shadows had made it seem a headless
cat.
The wind had fallen at sunset and
the night was very still. It's fresh,
perfumed breath stole deliciously over
her hot face. Frogs were piping in
near meadow
She walked on and on, her mind
luled by the calm night and the hush
that EMBODIED her after the Continu-
Gus roar of the train. She would
think out what to do when she had
reached a secluded place where she
could sit down aIk rest. not that she
felt bodily tired. but she needed to
lie quite relaxed in order to unravel
her tangled thoughts. As she walked
she was not thinking at all. only lei
ting her consciousness drift gently this
way and that. through the present
moment: now aware of the frogs
plaintivc piping. now of the scent of
early hyacinths and the dew wet loan
trom which they spranG. now watch
3nE the young mOon scarcely past its
first quarter. and already low in the
western sky. "a dry moon farmers
would call il, because il tilted SO that
water would spill from its curve-or
WAS it a dry moon only when it
lay horizontally like shallow bowl in
profile and so could hold water? =.
She stopped suddenly There at last
was the Summer house of the Have
lock Smiths, rising pale and pseudo
classic against the slope of q shaven
lawn. The house proper was some
distance off, She could only sec
Slimpses Of its white walls through
the crowding trees. Even the Summer
house was CanOpied by foliage.
She entered the grounds and crossed
over TO it. The door gave to her
touch and she found herself in a large.
round rom with windows on all sides.
As her eyes grew accustomed to the
dim light she saw that ii was quite
empty except for Il shabby wicker
chair and table The Smiths evidently
used il only in warm weather. Celia
thought how lucky this was for her,
because had it been really furnished,
1hey would certainly have left the
door locked.
She set her bag upon the one table
and sank into the one chair. No
sooner was she seated than she had
the strange feeling of having suddenly
stopped, like a mechanical toy that
has been wound up very tight and
then runs down all at once.
The sensation was not that of IA
tigue. but of leaden inertia. a few
times in her life she had had semi
waking dreams in which she could
neither move nor think now TO make
herself move. 1t had been horrible
feeling and it was like that with her
now
In vain she told herself, Il must
think of what I'll do. | must
think of it" She could not control
her mind 1t darted about at random,
bringing her odd. disconnected scraps
the memory of a face seen in
childhood and long since forgotten,
now as clear as n small, detailed paint
ing held close TO her eyes. She
could see the very mole that had
frightened her so at years old, and
the hairs that curled from ii like
spider legs. Then the SWING
in the old cherry tree at Donovans
home In Connecticut - then
herself in the swing. Up she