Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1929-04-11
The Sleeping Lady

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granted. but now he seemed terribly
afraid of a denial. Childishly he tum-
bled OUT the long tale of his love and
his hopes. giving her no chance to in
terrupt him, as if afraid of what she
might say.
Nan looked ut his anxious eyes and
burning cheeks and found them very
touching. He's only a baby she
thought, underneath everything only
a baby" Before he paused she found
time. too, as one does often at such
moments. to take a clear look back
ward over her life. In all its vivid
stretch she could see no stronger claim
on her than Felix had. And looking
forward there seemed no hopes that
she could not share with him. So when
his voice ceased she looked into his
eyes,, that were so young now in their
anxiety. and told him she would marry
him. 1t was not possible to refuse him
anything.
The fear fell from his face, and the
old conquering radiance returned. He
took her in his arms, and she lifted
her face for his kiss.
1t was not in Nan TO haggle or grudge
in giving. And to her great affection
for Felix were added now a tender
pleasure in discovering that he cared
SO much for her and a surprise relief
that the problem of love should have
solved itself in this simple way in the
end. After all, it would be sweet
enough to spend the rest Of ones life
spelling Felix.
All these feelings rose in Mans spirit
when Felix kissed her. 1t says some
thing, there, for the mans perceptive-
ness that presently, when his arms
loosened about her, he looked down
into her eyes with a ~half-veiled sadness
in his own, and said.
What were you thinking OF when I
kissed you?"
Il was thinking of you," said Nan.
But Felix's eyes still searched hers.
Me only? Truly. Nan?"
mo, not you only"
Felix coaxed her. His eyes were an
xious.
Tell me. No secrets tonight"
Its too silly to be a secret. I was
thinking Of the first mar who kissed
me-"
Felix laughed with relief. He had
read somewhere that that is the sort of
thing women do. Dear little Nan! He
kissed her hair.
At about half-past nine the bell rang,
and Charles Redland and Robert were
shown into Mans study. While the
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said, Robert had time to realize that
thirteen years had not dimmed a beau
ty which he had sometimes hoped Was
only the myth of his sentimentality.
1t semed quite right, too, that Felix
should be there. A queer pang, like
despair, seized Robert when he looked
at the other man. That, too, was
familiar-part of The feeling of being
with Nan. But one must collect ones
thoughts. People were talking.
He joined in, but in spite of this the
conversation did not seem to thrive.
Redland was amusing and Felix charm
ingly SO. Robert had learned to be an
easy and fluent person, and tried to
exercise those accomplishments now.
But Nan was idiotic. She sat all the
time in an attitude Of polite atten-
ton, her eyes rested on people when
they spoke, and sometimes her head in
clined gently, as If in agreement. But
when one paused for an answer, she
either said something SO inconsequen-
tial as almost to be stupid, or she for
got to say anything at all. She SIM
ply was not attending.
Redland liked to be listening, too,
and felt Initiated. 1t was a strange
display in Nan, who knew both how
to talk and how to listen. Redland
decided that her young cousin, Felix,
was responsible for her state Of mind.
This idea amused him, and he settled
down in his role of novelist, to study
Nan.
He probably made a bad job Of it. He
started from the wrong premise.
When Nan had turned Felix's ques-
tions away from the man who had
first kissed her, she had been defend
ing something not more from Felix
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had defended this hidden thing from
her own curiosity and her own scorn.
Her life, in the thirteen years since
that summer in Cornwall, had been
vivid and more or less fortunate. There
had been sorrows in it and diSappoint-
mentS, but Joy, too, and fair stretches
of contentment and success.
Love had been given her in good
measure and, as she grew older, she
wanted in her turn also to love. More
than nee she had come near caring
for people as fully as she knew she
could care, but in the end her spirit
had always SHE'D from surrender. One
part of her knew the reason of this
fleeing, and was afraid of it; but the
Nan who faced the world refused to
look that way. 1t was too far back
she thought, too unreal and senti-
mental.
But it was not unreal. Something Of
consequence had happened to Nan
when young and just awakening she
had taken Roberts first love and given
him hers. The simple fact was that
the feeling that had famed between
them was too great to be borne by the
very young. The sympathy had been
SO clear, the tenderness SO acute that
their revelation had frightened Nan
since it brought with it, as it always
does, a glimpse Of pain and danger
and an assurance that the world is a
difficult place in which to carry such
a load. For all this she had cried on
the rock. And the experience, striking
; too hard at her and at Robert had
: even while they we're forgetting it, sunk
: down and become a part OF each per-
; sonality.
! So it happened to Nan that when-
! ever the love of a mar had come close
, home to her, had become exacting, a
D dim memory that smelled Of the sea
would creep between her and warm
! reality; Roberts face, generally for
/, gotten, would grow clear and because
! it was only a ghost would not vanish
|, at once when she closed her eyes. It's
u strange persistence in these moments
gave her, however much she laughed
v at herself, a feeling Of infidelity tt
other people, and she had been COM
!, PEELED to admit that, until she coulc
! Danish her ghost, it would be a kline
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