Evening star., 1928-03-01
Continued from Yesterdays Starr

Hts, mind was wandering a little now.
There was old Sir Martin Hadley. the
very correct family solicitor. Perfect
type! Awful stew the dear old beggar
had been in--couldnt understand a
chap breaking away from the conven-
tionS-beaStly things, conventions--it
wasn't done!
Peter blinked his eyes at the bright,
glittering object. edged angrily a little
way toward it--and desiSted because it
hurt him to move.
"Water!" said Peter thickly.
Suddenly Peter smiled. She was
moment--iuSt as it had been that night.
There she was in the lobby of the
theater that was crowded with women
in evening wraps and men in evening
clothes. all making their way out TO
the street. laughing. chatting. joStling.
after the play. She would come nearer,
and their eyes would meet--juSt for
moment--but that moment would be
one of those moments which would
stand out in after life. imperishable.
sometimes fraught with great wlstful-
ness. and sometimes with reactions that
make of memory curse. After that
she would pass out into the fogsy,
London night. and. because the crowd
would be lost to him.
He anticipated the scene. prompted
by a strange. passionate hunger IN his
soul. He had lived it thousand times
since that night two years ago.
Yes; there she was! There--with
some soft. lacy thing about her, through
which there came the gleam OF ivory
shoulders And now he could see the
full. white throat-the chin dainty
uphfted--the hair. shining under the
brilliant lights. Crownlng her head WITH
gold. Now she would look. The mo-
ment had come. There was no reason
why she should look. They had never
seen each other before. They had
neither touched nor brushed against
one another. There were even three
or four people between them. But she
would look.
Now! There was laughter in her
face. responsive to something that her
escort had said. perhaps; laughter IN
her eyes that were blue-a blue such as
he had never seen before, but which IN
the afterwards. on many beach ana
many a ship, he had discovered IN tnat
glorious and unpaintable oiue OF liie
sunllt tropical sea. And then the iaugh-
ter died out of her face and oied out
of her eyes. Their eyes were meeting,
tensity-as though thousand years
ago IN some forgotten world and some
forgotten way they had known each
other. And in that long gaze there was
n startled wonder in her eyes. troubled
questioning. great amazement. ano
In his, he knew. unbidden, his SOUL A
color came. family pink. to tinge her
cheeks-and she was gone-swept as
swiftly and as abruptly out OF MS NE
as she had entered it. Nameess-a
nnemory-immortaliz a moment.
Gonei
Peter lifted haggard face.
Water" Peter mumbled.
That damned bright. shiny thing was
still there! Well. he would get 1t! Why
should il torment him. and pierce his
sun touched it. He crawled along
made a foot-lay exhausted-nade
another foot-and, grimly deter
mined now, cursing the object, his
weakness and the agony he imposed
upon himself through his efforts, he
finally reached out and grasped 1t.
Peter stared at it. He wasn't angry
with it any more. Possession seemed
TO have robbed him Of his antagonism.
1t was a key, of course-but II was a
very curious looking key-a slender key
very delicately and intricateiy finished
as to its wards and notches. 1t was
perhaps three inches long, and scarcely
more than an eighth of an inch in
width, and its thickness seemed TO be
little more than that Of piece OF paper.
And yet for all its slender proportions
IL was not flexible Peter passed his
tongue around his parched lips. Per-
haps it was because he had no strength
left-perhaps that was why 1t wasn't
flexible.
What did II matter? 1t was a curl
Gus thing anyhow-too curious thing
10 throw overheard. 1t wouldn't bother