, THE OREGON SUNDAY JOURNAL, PORTLAND, SUNDAY .MORNING, JULY ai; 1920.
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BARBARA PERTH eat alone In
the library. A June shower
drummed on the granolithic
walk, which approached the old,
ivy-grown stone building as if con- '
scious that It was an upstart, j For
a time she tried to detach the
music of -the rain from the plash
of the fountain under "the"oak"s7.
then strongly inclined to be medl- -tatiye
on such an evening she took
a volume of essays from a remote
and sepulchral alcove, kept sacred
to the memory of the obsolete, and
returned to her librarian's chair. '
) A, step sounded on the vestibule
'tiles. She saw a stranger there
holding his soft hat under his arm; '
as if he had preferred to Jet .the .
drops fall upon his iron-gray, curly
hair, from which they trickled to
ibis broad shoulders. With prac-
Used eyes Barbara studied him
during the half minute ho stood' -
flipping the water from his J hat,
and, with a bound of . Interests de-"
cided that no one : like him had
ever crossed the tiles. -y
' ."Pardon me,", he said, with de
corous humor, as he walked to the
exchange counter? . "May a descen
dant of Noah come Jn out of the
.deluge?" ; ...
! "The library is open to every- agan,' puffing a little, but laugh
.body,' she responded, risings "1 . lag youthfully and holding a drip
would not dare keep Noah himself . "pirfg umbrellav
but." : , ;'. "But: what will you do?" sW
"I was afraid ttmight have to be '.. asjwa when he handed it to her.
one of a favored few," he said,, his . "Qh, I'd enjoy a good June soak
(eyes twinkling with appreciation ing'he answered, "and 111 get it
pf her reply.- "I've been, in libra
ries, great and humble, all over the
world, and some of, them hate
rules like, the chains' on ancient
Bibles. I haunt libraries, wherever
I go, and I suspect I've been a
Joafer and a nuisance in many a
fne." , ... i-,, -
His . delicately chiseled "face
flowed with such an affection for
his book-loving memories, and un-'
(der his sprightliness lurked such a'
suggestion of ; deep seriousness,
that Barbara awoke with a start to
the embarrassing discovery .that
she had been staring at him ever
since he 'had, given .her a courtly
bow. . ! ' t
"I'm sure you never could have
been either," she caught herself
saying, i and blushed helplessly. '
She ' was now thrillingly certain
that, during all flier years of ser
vice there, no such man had 'come
. ...
to the counter. j ...
"Have patience and you'll see,"
he laughed. "How can I get the
right to take out books?" i
"Present an application signed
by two responsible citizens."
"Bless met I don't know a soul
here, responsible or irresponsible.
Perhaps I may come and read."
"Oh, yes," - she replied; then,
frightened, by the enthusiasn of
her assurance, she added: Every
body is. welcome who is respectable
and knows how to handle books."
"I have only my word for the
first," he chuckled, "hut I can prove
the second. With my eyes closed
111 tell you whether the book in
your hand was made in" England or
America, " .' j1'
She gave htm the volume,! and
ie continued: i : 1
"See, my ; eyes are !losed. I
press the book opened in the mid
dle, against my forehead. So! Per
haps I ought to utter talismanic
words in a Satanic voice, J)ut I'm
no strolling magician.' In plain,
every-day Anglo-Saxon,'-then, I pro
nounce this an-English boek.
With a facetious imitation of a
prestidigitating flourish, he" re
turned the volume to her as she
said, with frank wonderment,: that
it was an old copy of Addison.
"What a necromancer I'd make,"
he Joked. "But it's simple -as all
good tricks are. English glue has
a stronger odor than , ours, that's
all. Get . an Ameriaaa-b6ok) and
note the difference.". "s . ,
"Why, it is very, different, she
said, after testing the two volumes.
"What an odd point to"now!f
"That odor is a fragrance to ns
booklovers, . he said, more .'seri
ously. "And it never leaves a
book. The Attar of Roses, as you
know, is a lasting perfume, and I
like to think of this fragrance of
books as the attar of old romance.
Ridiculously sentimental. fo this
prosaio age. Isnt it?" " ?
"Not at all," she differed, en
thusiastically. "Nine out of ten
marked passages in books here are
me Benumeniai aigresswns.- . .
"Oh. we're-aH sentimentalists If
we'd fess up," he declared. , Then'
the sparkle ranished from his face
and he addedi "If only all mys-
teries could be as easily explained,
I'd like to solve the mystery of this
nlght-to know that it will not
leave me- any of its shadows. I
pardon my bad habit of thinking
aloud. May. I know your name
She pointed to a card bearing,
the library rules; and he said, with,
a flicker of his humor: - t
"Mine is Alfred Yeargood. That
might signify that some one year
of my life has been good or some
one is going to be. - The one to be
must Improve mightily, then, over
the has beens. But J see it is time
for you to close. So X'll bid listen
how it rains. Have yon an um
brella?'' - "No. ,? I came before the shower."
'. "You. couldn't walk a block with
out being drenched. Wait,"
. He was gone . before she could
- ..'stop him. - She went back to her .
desk: with the book, but; saw no
,' word on its yellow pages. . This
'- stranger's .fancies were like xneas- "
ures i from a beloved melody not
, heard for years. She had learned
to-smile at the' egotistical 'days
when she had been sure of a ro-
mance in her life. Now, the .gleam
on a, handsome face, the musio "of
a voice, a knlgfitly manner, a hint
of mystery, and she was again in a
time of. rosy expectation without
the smile.
Steps ; sounaed. There ' he ' was
before I turn in. I'm Very restless
at night. Constitutional, perhaps. .
Sometimes I -prowl until daylight
andI note your embarrassment '
I'll not insist upon being your
umbrella carrier. . Good-night." '
In ' the -vestibule he turned to
- bow, and she noted that all of his
gayety. had died from his face, leav
,.t ing there an expression of deep
- anxiety.
:She walked slowly to the iouse
where she made her home wth a
Mrs, Dace. From; the. porch she '
glanced back along the street, ; At
the corner, beyond the row of
. maples, was a figure in the electrfc
j shine. From the flower-beds rose
the perfume of Spring; In her heart
was the attar of old romance.
The ) evenings brought ; to the
library the usual patrons old read-;-
era with tastes as fixed in their
. orbits as the Summer stars in
. theirs; " feathery people who
brushed among the lint and dust
of fiction; solemn people ; steeped
in tragedy and tears j women from
, the . sumptuous suburban' resl-
dences, craving the latest sensa
tional stories of the opulent; and
lads and lassies who came not for
books, but to see one another and f ;
play life's melody to the' tune of a
minuet. But the one who was dlf-.
ferent from all of them did not
come. :
The ways and thoughts of the
villagers had never been Barbara's
and she now felt more than before -like
an alien. She wondered how
their babble had ever interested
her. j Her sense of isolation had
wo"Ught perfect frankness regard
ing her own emotions; ' so she
owned to herself that she hoped"
the stranger would come again and
was disappointed when he did not.'
But one evening, a week, later,
she suddenly saw him among the
. group at the counter. She was not
surprised that' her heart beat rap-
idly. Smiling- his recognition, he
obtained a magazine from her and
went with it to one of the reading
tables. A few minutes before nine,
when all other patrons .had gone,
: he brought It back.
' 'I've neglected your library
shamefully, haven't I?" he asked.
. "How could a booklover stay
away so long?" she asked in re- "
turn.-
"I haven't been one since I was
. here," he replied, with a disturbed
hesitation. "I haven't read any
thing. How hard life does Jostle
us at times! I have had to prowl
-while other good folk were asleep.
But" with a chuckle he broke
away from ihe thought "I know
the countryside by heart. The
glaring .newness of the Summer
homes on the edges makes the vil- '
lage all the more venerably beauti-
f uL ? Did yoa ever ? think, that a
moonlight night is the time to
but, there, Tm riding my "hobby.
It's your time to 'close."
"Yea." she said- with a. rla-n-
the clock. 7 "-7-.
"Would you" - - "
' He stopped, holding her eve
irresisUblf. Then he Ten?wedf
i,t "The air is delightful and we
etill- have a piece ofthemon!
Walk with me for fiftee? miSSeaT
Pardon me, do you know you have
.'i
V. kthtHvj
a gift a rare one and I need it
to-night. ; You can drive away the
blue devils, and they're swarming
- to-night. I haven't found any one
else in the "village who can do -it."
This ; corroboration of her un-
boastful self-estimate thrilled her,
held her Jongue fast but she went
witH him. "
Their .stroll was the first of many
that : turned all other Junes and
ulys into commonplace fragments
of time. Often it was eleven
o'clock before he bade her good
"night at Mrs. Dace's door. ; It
seemed to herthat he was the me
dium by which the great world,
grhlchshe had so longed to see and ;
;in which she bad hoped to .plar a
part, was being made an intimate
part of her existence. He spoke of
cities and countries with the famil
iarity of her village acquaintances
in referring to the towns and town
ships' of the county.
Barbara did not hold the friend
ship at arm's length and scan and
question it and try to make herself f
believe it was only ordinary. She
encouraged "it to "grow : Into the
very " fibres ' 6t her. soul, and -vT it
grew. ; She ; knew it was the ro-.
mance she had expected in her girl
hood. '-
More and more she felt like an
alien. The village news had no
personal appeal. Even the sensa- '
tion that was exciting it from' end
to end did not quicken Her pulse.
In the minutest, detail the library
patrons discussed 'every evening '
the burglaries that were being com-,
mitted with startling frequency
among the homes of the wealthy
residents, but, like the ' Indian
plague or the Messina earthquake;
thesecrimes were terrible, but dis
tant and nqt of consequence to her.
What was there in the statements
that ' the criminal was recklessly
bold and the most skilful that.had
ever baffled the police to ope who
was living in a world of exquisite
tenderness, starry nights and love?
One evening as she was prepar
ing to go. to the library, Mrs. Dace
knocked and came in ather invita
tion.4 Having no childftn of her
own, the widow had assumed a ma
ternal attitude toward all the '
world, and this sometimes impelled
her. to take vigorous measures in
As Barbara looked at her then she -
,x "u vuuiB ior sucn a
'v .
Barbara, she began in her af-
fectionate manner, -"I have missed.-
you dreadfully in the evenings thi3
Summer. Yon remember that von
USea to come and We had Trieasant
talks on the porch -or 'strolled to
gether. So I thought I would ask
you this evening If you ever knew
this Mr. Yeargood. before?".-
"No." Barbara. rrlAit riafatin
disapproval in her pronunciation ot
the name,- "but oh, he is the
most" 1 -: -
She cut off the words that would
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It-is the. fearful
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"-'? uujjui not 10 aiic you to -'.. j
, bear' he said ; with a sob -as he'ex-
tended his' hand in , farewell. : v
hare confirmed the
truth betrayed to the -
keen- listener by the-
impulsive "Oh!" and .
Questioned Inatoafl-'
."Why do you ask?".
"My dear,"lrs. Dace said, "don't
you know how the village is stirred
up . about the burglaries?' You
must have heard about them. And
hasn't iteTer'brretf to 'you that
this man is a total stranger? No
body knows anything at -all about
him and and" this burglar Is
a daredevil and wdn't stop at any
thing." '-ji -ly-Lyy 'S
The warning voice, broike' off, and
the village gossip rushed likee a
poisonous air into the librarian's
fairy realm. She had not.foreseen
that a thing so beautiful as her
love could scarcely outlive a rose
leaf. The awful suspicion be
numbed her. As if the words came
from a great distance ' she heard
Mrs. Dace say: ; '
1Has it gone so far as this, Bar
bara?" ; " " - r
"You have seen, Mrs. Dace," she
answered, rising stiffly.
She went to the library "as if
groping through a fog. It followed
her into the shelved room, and. it
made those who came for books
dim and spectral One man, whof e,
home had been broken into a few
weeks before, 5 gave the details"of
the latest burglary:
"The scoundrel shot atGraham
night before last: But hell soon be
up against it good and hard. Several
of the best detectives from New
York came down the other day; and
they havo a plan thaf will soon put
the villiaa where he belongs. He
wiir do Just about one snore rob
bery and then they'll have him."
Barbara' was conscious that each
word was a stab, but she was un
,able to suffer. An icy numbness
held muscle and nerve and brain.
At 8:45,Jhis time for coming, she
was alone. She felt that she must
not see him, yet she could do noth
ing to avoid the meeting. Pres
ently his step sounded on the tiles,
alert, eager as it always 1vas when
he came. She rose dazedly from
her chair. She was not afraid-
only numb. He came to the coun
ter out of the fog.
Then, instantlv bv Mia marlr.
her love muscle, nerve, and brain
were released. .Never before had
she seen such a smile noon his
face. It told of some new expec
tation, ' some new ground for per
fect happiness. She rose into su
preme exaltation. Something had
driven away the anxiety that al
- ways iurKea unaer ms smile.
"Barbara," he said.- in a voice
that uttered and echoed his ' glad-
ness, "I am a boy to-night I have
had such news. No not to-night.
T mav . ai. j t 1 1.
fnw Tint cla ' t vit 1
fore. But God forbid. I .shall be
away to-morrow, but I shall come
in the evening as usual, and then
then I will tell you all. It is al
most time forme to go to the train,
but come with me a little way.?
She delayed as she took her hat
from a hook. Why was he going
away? , Had he heard of the plans
for capture and was he merely
mtor Serrlce, lao.
ret Btltaia
possibility of a "great sorrow.
making. a vulgar escape? - For an"
instant -the," -numbness held her
again, but she" drove it away. She
would be hannv. Rh i,
let - him know that
she had har
bored the suspicion for a second.
. Yet all their evenings together had
given her a right to know the "
truth, and, returning to the coun
ter, she said: . "
T am excited to-night; Alfred.
Everybody is talking of the" dread
ful burglaries. x They; say the man
is a terrible, murderous crtminal,
and everybody is alarmed. But ha
can't keep on with his crimes very
long. A man wag here this eve
ning and he said that the police
"have plans that will soon lead to
his "Capture." J
The book In his hand "fell to the
floor.1 He stooped for it, but not
- before she saw: that anxiety had
rushed back to'his face. ; But when
he rose he was: smiling again, al
most as sunnily as before.
- "Why should we waste our few,
precious moments discussing jiuch a
thing, Barbara?" he asked."What
is it to us if some man has a-misguided
notiorf "of 'the rights of prop--erty?
Why should we distress our
selves if a millionaire loses a few
trinket? Instead of that we
should be happier than we have
ever been."" . -. - - -
In a twinkling' she was scorning
herself. . It was almost sacrilege to '
suspect this man of low thievery;
What if his. prowling at night and
his reticence regarding , himself
had troubled her? Sho would not
let them do so again.' She wished
to be happier than before, and she
would be. , He saw , same reason
why they should be. She would
trust everything to him. '
f , n :
r . l "y '"v ' ,
This burglar is a daredevil, and won't stop at anything "
EItfJ BeMrrcO.
It seemed to Barbara as if all
previous evenings had prepared for
the sweetness and peace of this
- short one. His cheeriness,' his
Strength, his unquestioned integ
rity were keeping everything that
threatened at bay. Her faith in
: him was as deep as the sky and as '
bright as the stars.
They came to a rustic seat in a
small park near her home and sat
vpoh it for a few minutes.
"Barbara," he Said, led to the
declaration by their previous
' , words, "this Summer has had a
meaning to me that no other one
' ever had. Has it not had to you?"
' -; The ' words struck her Into si
lence. They brought a sharp reali
zation of the situation." Suppose
the suspicion were true. Could she
tell him a thief the sacred mjean
: ' ing of her Summer? She loved the
1 'refined booklover the traveler, this
man of the world 'but this other,
" the night marauder? Suppose they
were the same? ,
. " Suddenly he sprang up and stood
z, before her,, his hands . clenched,
; terror -upon his face. ,
"Forget what I. have" said, Bar
Tiara " he crid. "T Khrmlri not havo
4 -s spoKen yet. it was my new 'nope
-'that led me to it. But it may fail
jne again as it has done .before.
If it does, then the happiness, I
have dreamed of for' us is impos
sible." '
She rose to speak, but a chill
. dread held her' 6ilentJ
; "To-morrow night I will 'know If
- . the burden I (have carried so long
.y is gone," he went on." "If not, I
t-; 6hall never return aid"
-"She swayed.- . He caught her,
held her fast In his arms ' and
kissed her.j'Then, as if struck by
a ' lash, he started - from her and
criei: " - "
.-"What have t done? Forgive me,
Barbara if It Is forgivable."
' In a. moment he was hurrying,
through the.' dim moonlight. She
stood tensely gripping her m hands
and staring. Had she been kissed
by a thief? ' Had he, among his
crimes, not- scrupled to rob her of
her peace? "
The night dragged. " During" the
periods, of belief, in him his kiss
rested upon her lips like a bless
ing; in the blackness of doubt it
had the sting of degradation. She
hurried from the house " in . the
morning before Mrs. Dace ap-
,ci geared. In the tumult, of emotion
a. substantial sdpport like her reg
ular duties " was necessary. Be
sides, the long day must be passed
until evening should bring him
again or his failure to come would.
tell her that. her romance had come
and ended. -, -: ... , : ft,
Soon after the doors were opened .
a woman hurried In. - She was
' much excited, and said: !
.-"Havf you heard the hews, Bar-.
bara? The whole village is- upset,
but, thank goodness we can sleep,
v peacefully, now. Barnes Caruthers,
the grain commission man, caught
. the burglar In his house last night
about two . o'clock. The robber
shot at him, but missed, .and Mr.
Caruthers shot, and killed the
scoundrel." . v "
. "Killed him If: Barbara repeated,
her own?: voice sounding far away.
.The earth seemed to lurch, then
stand horribly still. The numbness
gripped her again,', but more icily.
She turned away -to v record the
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number of the ' book chosen, and
vwhen she "looked around several
Other patrons had come and all
were discussing the sensation, re.
. peating again and again its most
exciting details. From them she
learned where "the dead .burglar"
had been taken. ' .Then, when the
patrops left, she asked herself
again and again whether he had '
had a presentiment, when he said
he was going away, that he was to
ake this black Journey.
When she closed the library for
the noon hour she walked slowly
to the place where she might stand
in the presence of the dread cer
tainty.' Her right to go was clear
in her own mind. ' What would the
criticism of the villagers amount
to? It could not make the tragedy
more terrible. In . any case, .she
must bear the blow alone, for, un
t der the circumstances, no one
would truly sympathize. .
Within afew minutes she walked
from the undertaker's place. The
earth was reeling as If it would
never again be still. The face she
had seen was his. Upon Its change
. lea expression was the whimsical,
adorable smile. Who could have
believed that it had masked the
Instincts of a criminal?
The evening hours lipped toward
the closing time. It seemed to Bar
v bara that some one, far distant,
was suffering agony-some one
with whom she ought to sympa-
thlze but could not. Something
held her fast, as if time and cir
cumstances were in a blinding
swirl, and she was a moveless clod
that could not feel or suffer.
With the doors still open, a few
minutes "before nine, she left the
counter to prepare "for going out.
She intended to walk along one of
the ways they had blissfully taken
together. She could not go home
and endure any motherly kindness
from"" Mr- Dace. She needed si
lence, a vast solitude, to think it
all out alone. '
'A step sounded from the tile.
She slod motionless. Another step
startling in Its familiarity. Stag- '
Bering from the corner, she looked.
For an. Instant the chill of the
supernatural clutched her, but In a
moment she knew. It was Alfred,
in the .flesh, fbut haggard, broken
as i she had never seen him. The
' sight caught the swift rise of her
emotions from the -depths into a
great joy and held her fast over
an abyss of blank perplexity. Then
; she crept' forward to the counter
as he tottered to it.
. "Barbara," he said, hoarsely. "I
told you I would not come back if
I found. I must go on carrying my
burden. My hope of last night Is
dead. I, must never let it deceive
' me again. But I could not stay
away from you. I needed you
your gift of comfort. And you have
the right to know what my bur-
den Is." .
. He stopped, his lips qulvering
and she said:
"lt us go out, Alfred, under the"
stars, and you can tell, me there." "
"No," he said, "I want to tell yod.
here where I first met you. I must
not ask you to accept me as a com
panion until you know all. Listen
The man who has been robbing the
houses here all Summer I havt
followed him all over the world,
pleading, pleading with him to stofl
his crimes." ;
"He paused as If recalling th
painful Incidents of the strange as
sociation. Barbara waited, her eyes
upon the distressed face.
"He laughed at me 'until yester
day afternoon," he went, on at last.
"Then he promised that he would
meet me in New York this morning
and we would arrange for him to
go,to some obscure place far away
and take up some worthy occupa
tion. That promise thrilled me
with happiness last night. I be
lieved that I was at last to be f rea.
But, Barbara, he did not come
he did not come."
"Alfred." she said, "I"
"Please," he stopped her, "unto
you have heard everything. What
I have suffered is not only a bur
den it is the fearful possibility of
a great sorrow, a disgrace, that I 1
ought not to aslc you to share. Ths
, burglar is my brother, Barbara
my twin brother." .
A sob shook him and he hen!
over the counter, broken in spirit,
extending his hand in farewell.
She caught it convulsively between
both of hers and said;
"Then you do not know, Alfred ?
"Know?" he repeated, looking up
at her dazedly.
"That all you have told me can
not make any difference between
us," she said. "Your burden is
gone, but you must be strong to '
hear how it has been taken away.
Come, we will take our pleasantest "
path and I will tell you."
(Copyriibt, Sbortator PabUahlsg Compcnjj
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