White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1930-05-09
CHAPTER v-Continued

He waf glad ne had heard the
words from her own lips. 1t built up
a new comradeship between them and
made him more positive of his triumph
over himself. A letter from Claire
helped him. His wife laughed at him
pleasantly for his whimsical sugges
ton OF a journey around the world,
and then painted in her picturesque
and vivid way the torture which she
knew such trip would be for him
"WithOut your forests, your open
skies. your big outdoors. you would
die before we got half around. Paul"
she wrote him. ut would be merci
less of me to make you pay in that
way for my presence up at the MIS-
tassini. am coming, and just because
want to come. | am anticipating
seeing something very wonderful up
there, something which will mean
greatly more to you and me than six
months or year rambling around the
earth. AS for such trip. with you
In it"-and then she went on to tell
him more about himself than he
sic uuu SNCl hloNA. A'S ~
ter thrilled him. It gave him new
vision of Claire, who mad never
analysed him ir this gentle and I'M
Outstanding way, portraying for him
the life which he loved as though 1t
were a part of herself. But In the,
end, after assuring him again that she
was coming to him aud was looking
forward to the time When they would
be together she said her return to
America might be postponed until the
following May or June. Could he
wait that long?
Carla also received letter from
Claire. 1t was filled with womanly
tenderness and sympathy for one who
had suffered great loss, and was
filled with t. intimate knowledge and
sentiment which could only have been
given md inspired by Paul. Carla let
him read 1t. Her eyes were strangely
alight, though she mad prepared her.
self to show 1t to him
"You told me once that millions
could not buy sentiment" she said
"And millions could not bring what
has come in her letter. II is hef
heart speaking to me-"
Carla necame so deeply absorbed In
work outside of her school thai he did
not talk with her again for week
She formed evening classes. In which
she taught English 10 the adults who
wanfed to come to them and the few
spare hours of her afternoons were
spent among the mothers of her school
children. With the coming Uf winter
Paul buried himself NOR. passinnatel!
in the actual stress ut outdoor labor,
leaving his office routine largely to
others. and the change benefited him
Cara. on tile other hand. seemed to
have assumed too grea. burden The
strain If 1t were that began to show
its effi:ct ON her. nutfl l.nry Belle
noted VI and reconstructed with Paul.
"Every day she is growing less like
the Carla we knew before her mother
died." she told him "She Is breaking
under an effort to keep her mind
away from herself Yesterday !
dropped into her cottage for mo.
ment when ! knew she was tneTe. ana
l found her crying. She Is craving
paier, and II frightens me to SEE the
lOveliness fading slowly out OF her
face. Yon must do something, Paul
make her drop her night classes send
her aW,.y for vacation II you can
| think I am the only one she cnnfides
In at all, and should not betrly her
cor tilence-not even what have
guessed about her. But something is
eating at her life viii. isn't entirely
the loss of her mother. She insists
that her night work is n pleasure.
says she is feeling we'll and doesn I
want to 20 away Rut ! know ut q
dream she has always had of visiting
her mothers country II the company
could arrange something like that
Paul saw tarla the next nay. cold
Sunday with snow IN the ground For
the first Zine In manv weeks tlie. had
q long walk together, and al the be