Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-03-02

LIE sailed with the midnight tide the next
Saturday, bound for Port Said, Zanzibar,
Karachi, Ceylon and Rangoon. Nine months
away. They said good-by and, then, almost
without meaning to, they leaned toward each
other and their lips touched
He turned abruptly and went, his face Grim
son, and she ran to the door and leaned against
the Intel and looked after him, her eyes starry
and dreaming He turned at the corner. was
still for q moment, and then he lifted his hand
to wave. Her own hand huttered, and she
called, so faint not even those who were pass
ing at that moment could hear her.
"Good-by sailor i. Good-by :"
He wrote from Port Said and Karachi and
he had letter from her at RangOon. Very
Stin and polite were these messages, badly
spelled and written, but his found haven in
the finest of the sandalwood boxes on the table
Of special treasures, while for hers he spent
long hours making a neat little wallet of
Spanish half -hitching with twin hearts, ar
row-pierced, painted carefully outside In red.
It seemed an age to both of them before he
returned, though the intervening months gave
them brave visions and long minutes of sud-
den reverie which were very, very sweet When
he at last came home he seemed bigger, gen.
tier, and yet little more serious than he had
ever been. Emma was queerly different, too,
more Shapely, glowing, her great eyes twin
stars She had put up her hair by now and
lowered her skirts and new poise and conf
dence were hers.
He appeared in the doorway of the store
toward evening when the shadows were gath
ering and the lights beginning to glow across
the wet pavements and muddy streets Straight
from the ship and the docks he had come, the
old smile on his lips and his eyes bluer and
more friendly than ever in the tan of his face.
Emma busy at the counter serving
customer, and it was not until the man flung
down silver coin and turned to go that she
looked up. And then she was still. And the
sailor was still. The customer had to push him
tmpatiently aside to reach the street, but
neither of them noticed that In the store
those two looked at each other for long time.
And then Emma's hand futtered, stirred just
the smallest bit against her apron and the
sailor reused as from dream and came slowly
forward.
He took OF his wet cap and with a smile ran
his fingers through his sandy hair, as If per-
picked. He said something and Emma nodded.
He put out his hand, hesitating. and after
little pause she laid hers within it. Their
fingers frightened almost hurriedly, fell apart,
and then from the inner room came the queru-
lous voice of the little old lady and for some
reason they both laughed and Emma told him
to bring his bag In and that her aunt would
be glad to see him.
1t was wonderful night. They had small
fire burning in the iron CRATE. Emma laid the
little white scrubbed table with the best table
cloth. Her aunt insisted that the glassware
and chinaware she was saving in the big ma
hogany chest must be used tonight, and Emma
produced some fine big napkins she had made
herself while he had been gone.
In the midst of these preparations he talked
mostly to her aunt, but his eyes followed Emma
and they were troubled. She was so very con-
fdent and assured now. not like the thin, pal
ld-skinned girl he had left.
1t made his heart skip beats when she put
on white apron to cook dinner when her dark
hair wisped about her white ears and some
times got In her eyes, when the heat from the
broken iron stove lifted an even brighter red
to her cheeks and seemed to make her glow.
1t brought an ache to his throat to watch her