Evening star., 1927-11-27

/ lIlP itNbI.
What" Sasped the girl. What?
oh, dear--Oh. dear-oh. dear. she
said. What shall | do"
Do" laughed Merwyn. There's
nothing in the world that needs to be
done. After all. it's just the whim of
a somewhat erratic lady who didn't
want anything in the world except the
excuse of some mans looks for a fam
lily reconciliation. Shed have been
just exactly as pleased with the other
man. More so, Of course. III wager
he's a Corker.'
"No-f don't think-she would
have" said the girl. Because, you
see, | wasn't so pleased with him my
self"
"What?" stammered Merwyn.
what? You nean-you mean
Il mean" said the girl. that I'm
not going 10 the Orient after all! Not
ever. l mean"
"Oh, pshaw" protested Merwyn.
Just another lovers quarrel?"
The girl shook her head.
''Oh-no." she said. Finding our.
selves no longer lovers, you see, we
couldn't even quarrel"
"What?" said Merwyn.
It's incredible" said the girl, what
a difference one year can make"
"A year," cried Merwyn. Just one
short noontime. l should call it,
"It was the time we were apart that
| was referring to- said the girl, mot
the time we were together"
With q gesture of finality, she threw
out her hands.
"Why, when we met today" she
said. lit was like two halffrozen peo-
| pie hurrying back to warm them
selves at a fire they themselves had
kindled-and finding that the fire had
gone OUT
WHAT" cried Merwyn.
out" said the girl.
"My word. What luck you have
with fires" cried Merwyn.
Il beg your pardon?"
"Oh-nothinS. conceded Merwyn.
The girl flushed.
"Oh, but when we first built the
fire." she quickened lit seemed like a
like a regular conf1agration. Our
quarrel? Yes, of course. that was just
a bit murky. but there was so much
smoke to it that it never occurred to
me there might no longer be any
f1ame." Once again she flushed. Our
love affair? l guess we were too
young" she said. Green kindlng
1t really couldn't be expected TO burn"
"Well, hardly" admitted Merwyn.
He grinned little.
Il told him about Heloise," she con-
fided And he treated the matter as
absolutely inconsequent. Even laugh
ed. l mean. 1t was almost brutal. But
when | told him about you-''
did he laugh at me?" said Merwyn.
He did not" said the girl. He
was absolutely Mortified. To have
spoken to you at all. he said. was a
supreme indiscretion But to have
given you the house key was mad
ness
"Oh. no." said Merwyn. "He
thought l might be a burglar. did
he?"
"He thought you might be any.
thing" said the girl. Her eyes were
shining suddenly. But T.. I wouldn't
have cared what you were" she said,
''as long as you saved Heloiser'
"As a matter of fact" confided Mer-
wyn. with the most sudden and mex
plicable desire to account for himself.
las matter of fact | am a newspaper
man."
''Oh, truly" glowed the girl She
seemed really very much pleased with
the information. Il am a teacher" :"
she countered. That is, 1 was-and
shall be again, l suppose" she chuc-
kled. "A class of little girls in town.
it is. / teach them wood carving and
just little bit of clay modelling"
Good" said Merwyn. He. in turn,
seemed extraordinarily pleased with
the information.
X X X
FOR the first time they really felt
just a little bit acquainted with
each other, and stood off, as it were.
to resurvey each other.
With a little sense of shock. by no
means unpleasant, their smiling eyes
met and parted again.
Where is Heloise?" said the girl.
II must tell her that l am Tilted
woman and have also forfeited some
kind of fortune by getting Tilted"
You seem to take it calmly
enough" admitted Merwyn. But
what are you going to do about it?"
do about it 2" said the girl. why.
for the first time in three years l
know exactly just what I'm going to
do about everything First of ALL I'm
going to take down the Probably to
Let sign--or put up another one say.
ing Positively not! Positively"
With a sudden vince of seriousness
she turned to the cluttered porch.
peered frowriingly into the cluttered
hall.
why. all my life long" she said,
1--WE lived and thought in boxes and
barrels and packing cases! How could
one help getting muddled? Ones right
shoe left in Burma and the left one
sent by mistake to Singapore. Half
ones ideas put into cold storage at
Yokohama-and the other half lost in
the baggage room at Delhi? My fa-
ther was a medical missionary. you
know! We travelled everywhere. Why,
even this little house--I've owned it a
year and never even saw it till last
month Just new place to send
boxes to, it seemed. Books I haven't
seen for years. Toys and jimcracks
packed since infancy. Crates of silk
and bales of rugs, dishes, souvenirs.
But now"
With a sigh of sheer ecstacy, she
sank down on a big packing box and
thumped her heels in gay stascato en-
phaSis against its resonant side.
"My sister was coming tonight to
help me pack for the Orient" she con-
fided But now we'll unpack for
home, A real home. l mean"
The most unaccountable desire to
laugh swept over Merwyn. But he
suppressed all trace of the desire, ex.
cept just little quirk at one corner
of his mouth.
Some of the things look pretty
heavy" he said. You'll surely need
man to help you"
Surely" admitted the girl.
The quirk 1T one corner of Mer-
wyn's mouth spread to both corners.
After all, your Aunt Elizabeth
rather approved of me-" he mur-
nj