ed tbttck at. ‘ititn. lie felt himself

, ho ‘was in the shadow.

l

‘of time? spring lay over all The

tcd to be a sort of flamting light in

._ ules. Buhewitlvdhon eootlfewlt mWlNhfNen-vh a

1.6..j1.9.21

4 mom .

irate. it illtlutllllrt l" d " Years

gylosaoavu ssecuin

Chapter iV.

Npd’ onntpneu out not. go to the camp Wm; them, He followed the "(not day. Souls was grateful. The mpg ride on the train, the close proximity of her husband, watch- mg her every glance every -woro, would be unbearable in the mood 5m; was-now in.

in)“, days since her visit to the ennllo had not been easy or pleas; ant ones for lter_ Beverly had its! gistcd upon seeing how badly site iuul been ‘burned with the tea; “m, hnd not failed each: day when thg asked if the bttrn were ncttlittp: to silty something to her about. carelessness in-‘spilling h. roferrlttg tn the trembling of her mnns an iteing a sign of great nervousness. She had dreaded l-h-v trtn and when she found Ned had deterred ‘i-{Olllg until the next day she had leaned back in lter chair closing llPl‘ FY95

~18 hetlittttntitn?" she thought look tn; at 'Ilcvcr]e_t' through almost nlosml ‘lids. “Does he feel-any thing?"

Xvfl come the next. evening after tito dinner ltour. She offered to get. ltiut. something to eat.

'l have always heard that boys can always eat", site said stalling- 1y, u-ht-n he protested.

Sonio was alone_ ller husband hatl deteidtxi to go for the mail. ,,tn-tt 1n. take a walk before turning tn i't.r tlto night. »She had not tires- scd for dinner and hnd on a sport still a whitn skirt and a dark green slip-on sweater She looked vt-rt- young. very girlish.

-'\\'lty don't you always wearcloth

es ilkti those?" Ned said. "Yot

look splendid.

“It's vcry nice of you lo say so".

"But it's so.’ .You do look won~ drrltll!" ‘ -

Sim pekt still for so long that he trottdcrctl if ittt had offended hot‘, had bcctt rtttlta to say so much about ltcr looks, But. site was so nit-o ltt that short dress with hcr iit'o:t<l_ lottvltealod shoes

lie tltouttltt he never had seed titty one with so sweet aface. She utovcd so gracefully too Hi5 m_ Hat's cyc took in tho dainty ways as she placcd a substantial nteal or roid rucat‘ brcatl and butter on the tahic, flanked by a pitcher of tttllk,

“'1 won't make coffee. It isn't good for little boys." she lattgltetl as she said it, showing her wltito tt~<ltit_ '

“l‘ttt not. a little bo_ ‘At least rive mo. credit. for my size." He could not know that she had de- termined to accent the difference: in their ages to shield hersetr

iii-til that she had failed to itn- pm: itim sho know. “Fitfhad a. scnsoiof pride. n: ‘feeling of exhil~

liur-‘ttion at being alone with her. lie hoped her husband would not rt-tttrn‘ soon.

Ailm- he, ‘had satisfied his anne- tite. Sonio hovering over him like a lion twith her chick, they went. out. on the porch or veranda thatl wcnt the entire length ofthe bun- galow_

'I‘lte feel in thc air wcnt to his ltcatl like ‘wineflPite early warmth

st-cnt of the pines, of early flow. ors and grasses tniuie him raise his heud= and sntiff like a young colt. He looked at. Sonio, she look-

biushing and put up his hand that she might not sce_»-fo‘rgetting that

-'I‘ltPy talked little. Sonio told of hcr trip the day before, he spoke ot‘ his tSlto sat. where the young tttoon shone upon her. There seem.

lmr eyes, different from what ‘he over had seen before. _When site spoke her voice was low. tired-my,

ilit-iturbcd, ‘yet happy. Ned lean- cri backin tits chair, smoking hi! cigarette. Odd’ sensations stirred in him. Was he glad or sorry ho had come?

"HGHO, ‘Ned! I knew you wcrc ltore. Saw the lJxht of your MGM‘- t-ttc." tlleverley Strong came slow- t,’ up lo tho porclr the nmll and some papers ‘in his hand.

lic tossed n letter into Santa's lap, tltetrexotttsed himself to 80 lll- lo the house‘ to read his; The! were alone again but the serlW-‘Ill had catered their Eden. it was not tho same

After a bit they too wcnt in. Ned pleading he was sleepy, soon r0- tircd while Sonin read her letter_ ilten glanced at. the papers her ltuabnnd had brought.

"Ned lookedyery welt tonlsht!‘ Strong remarked quite casual]? H5 ltc lose to wind the olti clock above tthe, fire-piece.

-"l thought so 'too_ It. will do the

__ 0%.

Iii?" _“< uoouooc

the tut shows that your blood is in tmy poor condition, you are completely rundown. You have Dyspepsia, Liverffrouble and Constipation, too. My recommend- ation t0 ynuie s bottle of

n Us Wilson's a .. E Bl

an oldgelisble‘ family remedynnade from the , ihciples of Dandelion, Mandrake, Burden‘ and other puri- fying herbs. v A positive remedy for common illtt—- relluu that tired, drowsy feeling and builds up the entire system. h 50c. n bottle. Family lizmfeurtimes ll ilflfl. ‘l. A! must stores.

‘I'M Iriylcy 1mg 0a., Limited, St. John, iLll

boy good to have a change though. it was kind of you to ask him.‘ Still adhering to her resolution to treat Ned Cantpbell as a boy

“Lrt me see, how old is Ned?" The intended irony of the quest- ion d-id not escape .S'.,nio.

“ates about‘ twenty, isn't he?" Site would not appear to evade the attention.

“When does a ntsmchild cease to be u boy and becomes a ntan?" The irony was still patent,

_ “‘I never was good at guessing riddles l think l will turn in Shall we sail in the ntornl-tg?"

“You and Ned can if you like, l must answer H1859 letters" lie lllacetl a long. lean ltttnd on tlm ntail he had iuid on the table.

"Very well. l'il see what. Ned says in the morning. Good night.- coming soon?"

‘Phttplcr v_

.Aftrt' he ltad ciosr-d tho door of his room Ned (‘ntnpbcil stood a long time in thought. Sonia ttad looked so‘ luvcly out there in tho moonlight, anti bcforo all ltettuty tho artist in ltim tmtde hint htttn- ‘ltel. int-lined to thlfik. himself ttn. worthy Ho [cit (tonfltsetl as Tlv tltottght of the light in ltcr eyes. He was not. thinking ot himself at ‘all, ‘or or conquest Such tltottghts in connnection with tSonia would have seemed vulgar, almost sucril-l egious. The ‘ntore he admired het‘ the tttore ‘unworthy did he feel,

tile wondered if site were still downstairs with that old man she called "busbutttl." Sontchow the titougltt. hurt him. lie wcnt to his open wtindow and leaned far out:_ looking up at the stnrs As he

looked down he saw a loaf: tinsel" '_ of light tromdltettberty window

laying on the gtuss. l-le was in tho library-wvas slto there also? How could she have ntarrietl hint, clever though he ‘was? She was all youth and tenderness. He was growing old was old and hard.

Ned reallzedt this hardness in lStrong, never guessing as to its catuse, l-ie said to himself, as So- ttla had said:

“Does he feel anything?"

Finally he went to bed without lighting the lamp. IDarknesm-the lightof the tnoon. suited his mood And: he slept soundly, while ‘Sonia tosscd t'csll0tssly_ trying to imagine what the sumntct‘ would ‘mean to lter planning her course- (rarefully dctermlttctl to steer clear of the shoals site was sure her ltusbund Iwould tctnpt her to- t‘ttn upon.

lSlto foat-cd that Beverly would either sny or do something to lot Ned ‘know she cared. She dld’nt realize that it would take a STEM deal to tnnke h-im tbeiieve tuut n woman was in love with him, es- pecially slte, the bettulifttl wife of his master, jvhtim he looked up to and worshipped because other loveliness and her kindness to him

in the ntorn-ing he and Beverly Strong wcnt for a walk. Sonia had decided she did not care to sull- Tlte truth was she was Itmstrunl! unlike ltcrsclf zShe (lured not trust herself alone with Nod un» til she recovcrcd°her poise.

To br- nvitlt Strong seemed quite natural tn ‘bled. l-le tnlkedbllthe- ly of his picture the beauty of the placet ctr. ‘Once he cauBht ltlm~ sclf looking at Strong and think. ing he was old. almost fifty. ll) and by some of tlto sensations of the night hcforo ‘returned and ltc longed to tttrn back, to soc what she was tioing.

iWlhen, they rctttrnetl he saw hct- standing in the door " y Titt- biood rushed to his c.‘ cPkS. Would she come io tucet them? No, she turned and wcnt into the house‘. Ito cottldn't help wondering it‘ she tradt seen thcm and (lone it to be rid of him_ llutl he offenetl her in any way? ‘its wondered.

no not nowu on the porch. Strong followed tsonia into lllfi ltousn, lie felt different since lust night, so utterly different Yet

MllNlH‘ lllll .BABY IiAUSKMUUBlE

0n Face and Hands. Iiched and Burned. Cuticttra Heals.

"M bub e onl u month old whenker fem-pd hltyldl mnnd to get red and scaly. The eczema sinned in the ion-n of wmtthlilkrslndltched and Mlflflil- 8M was no r croutmd fmful she could

“fifiuol-"T-u] s lasted nine

when she wu heéth" i/n. 0am: Pllon; Annual O OhtmlQJ/lny 1, “Ill ‘ ~ . Cutleuh Soap, Ointment and T115 clan all all youlneld tfor all fol

“I - ' ll ‘and v mag-iuid a. Qt ‘I uuSBudavnl

--. _-.-......._-...-..-~..~.-.~.. J

.Mihlf|,g had really happened ll"- Mm, 1; twag only ‘his thoughts that were different. not himself. thought of ‘the way S0114" 1""! spoiteiiio‘ him the nilllll its villi"- ttallittg him with his ‘six feet; one of manhood “a little boy!" $116 could never care for him of cottrse, lie was nothing to ltcr~lllfll F!‘ b9)‘ a boy striving to he an Rfllfilr l0 express upon canvas the itieatrthe thoughts that crowded his bra"!

"If he cottldv paint her pntftfflli? Why not? _

"I will ask her tomorrow.’ ll! said aloud.

"What is tt ylott are going l0 twk mo?" Sonia and Beverly rumfi through the door together.

"I was wisliifll lllilllil- l Bile" .1 was thinkinghow m-uch l would like to try to‘ paint your north!" up Wm this summer.

"Well, why not?" Beverly ski-bug's voice had a harsh flmmfl

‘that, rnsped - In‘: Ierves as he naked tiui question. ‘roll: ‘not unite up tiers tor rest

and change," Sonic obiMlW. » “t m. sonry-twtntuous-ed, N91.- = t. mu hellish?’ ' "

" Young man's mtmr

Your Portrait done. souls. Ned win at," W". l wattle. Then a» tt “i l b8 Practice for you, Ned, goon practice." it w“ n5 t; he wished to eliminate the DBHDIIIIBTPOIIS] the , llt Conlu "Ifllrtfllt she understood. Drift“! "$8M alter dinner Strong ed the subject nf the pqr. trait, 9395i! 1t right away, will have plenty of time it before the summer ts over witn. out at all interfering with yqqfl 80ml times." no ‘ant-ts it. I ~

Ne" B eyes were on genie’: ‘face lie saw dislike to thsflnnn and Zmnelhing else in her eyes_nom,.,.

115 very like fear. What, contn it mean‘! He was determined now not to paint her unless she wtnn. ed. IBut how ‘ntsnage it’! Severat times he had itmagtincd Strong was jealous of his work_ Then ‘he had dismissed lite thouxht. as betteath hlm. He, almost a beginner, and Strour: twho bad painted all his life! lt twas ridiculous. Yet, pct- llllhs——ltis thoughts halted. In some »way lte must do as Sonia wished Tltcn lte heard her voice. 5h? Spoke‘ quietly, its it’ there hiltl been no d-lstmsslon.

“l will sit. for you whenever you ‘ll? rentiy_ Ned in ‘tltc morning. ll -you say so.“

"Thank yew-any time you choose We!" V0111‘ usslan costume, will on? 1t suits your colorings ltettet- than anything else."

_l“And will make a very romantic ptrtttrc," ltet‘ husband attded.

then you to finish

Chapter VI.

in the morning it rained.

“No eyottse now, Sonia. You tuft, so nut in this down-pour. Got ottr canvas ready. Nedj‘ it was ‘trong who spoke and in his tone was a hint nf something that warn- ed ‘Sonia not. to object.

“l'il be ready as soon as you ttre. Ne: site snid as she left the room to ‘inn the liliussian dross that had been her tnoiheus.

Site caught a glimpse oi‘ herself in the tnirror as she passed it and shttddcretl. She looked old. The

ltualtantlfls tone, had accented the faint. lines about ltcr mouth and (-_\’t‘~S_ .

“ilt- catrt care, he's just, a lmy! I am olgltt ycars nlder~tnigltt as wcli be eighty."

lShe moved to the closet and pul- led out a box in which was laid the Russian dress. tSlte lteartl her ltus. lutnd's voice. talking to Nctl_ al- though it (illlihlé wfalntly up tho stairway, site closed her door tigh- tly that she might not hear it.

Sits dressed her hair in the style suited to the costume. As she saw ltcrself now in the tnirror she smil~ ed with DIQlZ-‘YUPQ The gay, girl- ish, dress had given her back her youth. Or ‘was it‘ the excitement that flashed‘ from lter eyes, the tender sttnile that parted her lips at the thought of being with Ned each day while he painted ltcr por- tmii. , g

"are yoamedy?" she called from the lop of the stairs.

"All set." Nod answered blithc~ ly-

lShe ran down lightly as a girl in her teens, Iier husband bowed low with mock gravity and said -

“If ‘Ned doesnot. make a. wonder- ful picture of you, tmy dettr_ .l shall change my opinion that one day lte .will lbe a great artist-especially in ‘women's faces"

“You d0 look» wonderful, firs. Strong," Ned said, as he gazed at her. _ .

"Why, lMtrs. "Strong, Neil?" she asked quickly, "l have been ‘Sonia a long time Does the costume make tneseetn-old? 0r is it that it makes mQSBBhI more dignified?" "Neither! it rmfilkell you too lov- ely." The boy, for -boy he was, did not realize what hewaa showing the older man by the atloration in his eyes. H-ls feeling for Sonia Strong hadfbeen of slOw growth. He lutd been. in Strong's studio for more titan ilwo years, and a guest at ltia home for nearly as long, it ltnd been at ‘Strong's re quest that he had-dropped the for- mal ".Wrtt_ Strong," and now Sonia did not intend he should taike it up again. She knew, with‘ her wider knowledge, that it would ‘ make everything simpler, more natural, if they adhered as tmuch as poss- ible to their old ‘ways-Abe ways that. ltad seemed so plehsottt utttil Beverly had beccttte s0 ironlcal.

"Then plPtlse don't Mrs_ Strong me. l won't have it!“ she spoke playfully. She would not be serious-not with Beverly looking on. llut these wordy battles re- quired‘ nil her nt-rve.

“All right_ Sonia, what you snty goes." He replied sotboyishly site lattgheti aloud from sheer joy in

So the sittings commenced.

That. first morning ‘Strong hover- ed around. the effect of~different back-grottnds, Ned had little more than skciched- her in ll- TBW b70341 lines when the rain stopped and the sun came out.‘-

t-t cnntt rwork any longer today." hetexclaitmcti, "That sun ts too en- ticlng." He might have added that Strong, hlnt too nervous

q My 3g goo Let's go sailing qr rowing, anything to b9 ml! Pl’- doors!" Sonia said sprinsllis “l'- "Come on, tilevérly, we‘ll' 211L169!‘ -better to get out!" V

“You two go. I have some work

worricd expression, onus-ted by her '

fussing abounhad made gar and feel his piercing gaze 2d- llng through her,

‘pnffll W119i‘! H0 lliid

v .

y‘

l a... ‘to aw.‘ skewh to‘ a....t..»-"

t

satlon of thestorun. They toolq the “ .

Sonia. said no more, but slts beam Ned urging him to ‘go with them, and listened eagerly for ills refusal . _ t

The wind had died with the ‘cos.

rowboet from the tiny boat-house at the end of the dock. How lutleu- ; did Sonia. looked in her eloppvfit- Kill: boat-suit; and the cap which sheltered her eyes! She win al-

..rd(z.dy, tanned a. llttlepnd lt lent a‘ ‘

éllevqfaool-ttatioir to her beauty.

| tss ma rbfiw awI-‘y, with long gpwerfui‘ stitches. she watched 4 ill.

9Y9!‘ when he thotght no one saw i him looking at her Brut—sl1e must never allow him to know she had seen. it would be no uso—he would soon tire of her At her age. so many years older~dtot in act.- uttl time only_ but. in experieuce~ site could never hope to hold n‘ boy like hitm oven if it were right that they‘ shmtld-love And it wasn't! Never would be! She restalletl the hardy ma,“ she had married. Hev. erly Strong safeguarded his health in every way Then he would inev- ler owtsent to ‘let her go. Justine- lively she knew he would» anti if not Jove, then hate ‘would make t him hold her She could have lattghed aloud in hysteria. at the thought. Life-dove »—never could mean any more to her than they did at that moment. Perhaps never again as much. “Of what are you thinking-Son- ia?" ‘He hesitated a bit before her name . "Of the cruelty. the injustice of the world to women," sho answer- ed‘ Itons-stly.

('ltdptet' Vii ,

‘Sonia sometimes wondered why anyone, fttll of strength and desire for the joys of iife_ should b0 den- icd love. Witt,- them not enough to go around thmt. she ntusi. ilo without? 1f site ttt-ight have only a tithe o-r what other women had- or seemctl in ltave?

lAt titties she doubted -titat there was such iovo in men as poets and

ttovlLs/ts rttvctl about Slto cam, ottflagetl her fenitntzs, her tirida ltclping ltor. \\'tll_\’ not other wo-

titan the stunc? Site cmtltl act l-ov- inirly, appear to be fond of Bever- ly Strong-why couldn't others al. so act a part’!

Often she felt tempted to ask some of the xvontcn she knew if tltcy were‘ really ‘ha-ppy, or if they were simply tanking a. pretense of happiness to gratify their pride. Bttt she nevcr quite had the cour- age_ if titelt‘ httppincss were gen- uine they mfght feel hurt, ins/tilted.

it was lttnclteon time when fin- ally sit-e ‘told Ned they must row‘ 1n. front the dock, Sonia. saw her hus~ band sitting on the beach waiting for tile-m. iBut neither she nor. Ned noticed hint slip a pit-if. 0t; siren-tr glasses‘ in his pocket, lIie trose and, lalltng them‘ asked if their row and volunteered to go sailing with thctn the next day if. thcro tvtts a breeze_

After luncheon Sonia sought hcr room for a siesta. She felt tired, as ‘if she had been through some severe illness, or under great cm- otionttl stress. Site scarcely real» ized that. her constant feeling of fear of her husband Eflgfilldéfufi a nervousness fatal to her comfort. incidentally to her health. '

Sonia ‘threw lterseil‘ on a cottch after donning a contfortabla neg- ligee, tShe was just falling int.o a. sort of doze when she heard her. [Husband's rap on the door Quick. iy‘ she closed her eyes. If she pre- tended ‘to .be asleep perhaps he would go away.‘ ‘But she had‘ net;- loctod ‘tn look her door, and she heard it CPGZLK as he opened it.

Through the veil of her long lashes she contrived: to see enough to avatch his movements. He‘ spoke her name She almost held her breath but Now lte was at ber desk. She heard the soft rustle 0t’ paper. the guarded opening and» closing of drawers. Now his fade was within, (no -line of her veiledvlslon. She‘ foil that she aa/w 'ltlm for the first titne~—the real him-that his nak- ed soul was revealed in all its at‘- rognnce. its pitiless sualevolence, And: her soul and his were indissoi- utbl-y hound together. lShe wuntetl to laugh aloud. lt was all she could do to refrain.

He turned fro-tn the desk with u gesture of impatience,‘disappoint- ment. What: had ltc expected to tlln ‘i '

ll e catne ovcr to the cottrlr She knew he was look-lug down at lter. She lougctl to see his f-aco_ his ex. prcssion, ‘She fcir it would tell her things site wished to know. But site had dropped the veil of her lashes when he rose from thedesk_ Slto dared not lift Lhem ttgztln Wlten site heard a soft satiric ialttmkle, ltcr spiriit revolted and sontetlting almost like a nausea strlzed her. ‘

would he never no? lt would ho inttpossrble to lie still ‘much lon-

Anothcr rattcmta ll\llf§h-—--80l[ and ntudtlenittg. Than . sne- felt rather thtan lteard hllll tut-u. A moment ater the door on ‘cncti, then closed Butt it was nOl until she hoard his voice come up rltrodglt the opelrwintlow from the joined Ned

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