Evening star., 1941-01-11

LEAFS "1lllOuG waning w
the surface and dimmed her eyes.
She reached up and brushed them
away occasionally with the back of
her hand But most of the time she
let them roll down her cheeks and
drop off into space, unhindered.
Dan, Dan, my darling" she
whispered softly to herself, her lips
moving silently to form his name.
please live. my dearest. Please get
well and keep on loving me. Don't
let all this make any difference to
you. I am not thief, You will see
when I explain it all. I didn't have
time last night to tell you. Oh. Dan!
love you so and 1 want to come
! to you-but I am afraid"
She stumbled but quickly regained
| her balance and went on.
! Wonder what Joe did to you? He
wouldn't fight fair. or he never
would have had chance with you.
! Joe never takes an unnecessary
risk" A sob caught in her throat
and she swallowed hard. 1T is all
my fault" she thought contritely.
Il am the one to blame for you being
in the hospital hurt I should not
have carried my trouble to you"
Very Near Hysteria.
She paused to listen suddenly and
/ it seemed that the silence of the
resting place was broken by the
whispers of one who lay there.
Hony's ear seemed to catch soft.
sweet tone, and it kept saying
triumphantly:
Honey, Honey-you Gid it! You
are very brave girl and I am proud
of you. I knew you wouldn't fail me
And now you have made me happy
again and I can rest in peace"
Honey answered back in low
murmur: Yes, I got 1t. I kept my
promise" And there was elation
and pride in her reply to the unseen
voice.
At last she came to the spot she
was looking for, recognizing it by the
tall, thin marker. She touched the
small, carved wings at the top Of the
stone and let her hand slide along its
contour lovingly, as if she were ca
ressing some one she loved very
dearly. Then she knelt down quickly
before the gray slab of granite whose
inscription she could not read in the
darkness, but she knew the words by
memory; she had composed them
herself.
She lifted up her face to the foggy
heavens above her and her lips
moved in a little prayer. but the
in, he
throat that only whisper escaped
through her lips. AS she finished |
there was a slight noise behind her,
like stealthy step. Her heart came
right into her throat and the blood
in her veins ran cold. Ever so slowly
she moved her head by using every
ounce of courage she had in her
body, until she could see back of her
Then she wheeled violently about to
face her foe.
Meow" said little kitten at her
heels and rubbed up against her leg
Honey choked back the hysterical
sob that rose to her lips and put a
hand over her quivering heart. She
waited and in a moment she was
calm again and the little black kitten
walked slowly off.
The Stone Is Buried.
She turned back to the grave and
started digging with the tool Art had
given her. Sometimes she used her
small hands to raise the soft dirt
from the hole, not caring that the
earth caked under her lovely mani
cured nails or stained her white
hands to resemble a farm laborers.
The task she was doing was more
important than anything else at the
moment. Not even when she broke
flngernail to the quick did she
pause, or give it a second thought
She just kept on. 1t was not big
cavity that she dug-just a place
about inches by 6. She dug until
she could no longer rake the dirt
from the small opening.
Satisfied, she sat back on her heels
and took the jewel box from her
pocket She opened it and placed
her soft lips against the cool, hard
surface of the stone for a second.
you are home at last" she
breathed against it, She moved it
up against her tear-wet cheek. |
Make her happy. You will never be
disturbed and she can sleep in
peace, too"
She took the diamond into the
palm of her hand for a minute,
cradling it lovingly, and admired it.
Though she could not see its ra-
dance in the darkness, just the
touch of it was all she desired Then
she put it back in the dainty box and
closed the lid.
Carefully, she placed the velvet |
case at the bottom of the hole. A
tear or two fell on the top of it, |
dampening the soft velvet; not tears
Of regret, but happy ones. Then
gently she pushed the earth back
into place, patting it firmly with her
bare hands and spreading the grass
over the place in the shadow of
the stone marker. She left no tell
tale mark that the ground had been
disturbed, and there were no wit
nesses among the sleeping to give
her away. The Sylvester diamond
lay concealed beneath the sod, its
oCClCU hCpU Wy lilUSC SClll lOIIllS WIlO
shared the earth with it.
Art Is Thoughtful.
Honey rose unsteadily to her feet
and stumbled blindly toward the
gates The walk back seemed end
less, for she was tired and exhausted
| from lack of sleep and the cloak of
sadness hung closely about her
shoulders, weighing her down. She
had no idea how long she had been
gone, but when she reached the
wall where she had climbed over,
there stood Art, his hat in his hand, |
waiting for her.
Thanks, Art" she sighed YEARLY, |
and fell against him for lack of
strength to stand up.
He put a protecting arm about |
her shoulders, giving her the
strength that she needed so badly at |
the moment.
Forget 1t. Honey. I am glad I |
| could do something for you" He |