veied. "Os course* |J*ghton and Seattle
are pr’tty far apart, but — 1 thought you
knew. .
His eyes her again. She
shook her head.
‘I supposed you did— and after I'd
asked you to help me get Gwen —well
“Prls I I wondered If I’d have the cour
age —you see — I wanted to ask you some
thing. but ’*
His face was so close now, so close and
eager that all of the happiness left Pris
cilla. This was only another dream, after
all. “I’m always dreaming things Ilka
this,” she reminded her racing heart, her
throboing head. “It Isn’t real.”
rpo THE vision of the tousled red hair
and the handsome lean face, she
asked softly —so that she wouldn’t waken,
so that it wouldn’t disappear
“What, Tom?"
“Well, I " His mind seemed to wan
der a moment as his lips almost touched
hers. Then resolutely he drew back.
“Pris, listen to me,” he pleaded. “What's
made it so hard was thinking you
wouldn’t understand. You wouldn't know
that a fellow — a fellow can make a mis
take and then realize afterward when he
gets away and thinks It over thatr-well—
the girl he thought he loved he hadnt
really cared that much about because —
. Gee, I—make a mess of saying It,
don't I?”
“I’m going to wake up any minute,’
Priscilla told herself again. “I'm going
to waken just as I always do — to my
empty room, to my loneliness.” But she
looked Intently Into the anxious, infin
itely dear eves and the lips that were too,
too close for an untroubled dream and
whispered faintly. “I—don’t understand
well —he loved some one else all the time
—Tom ”
“Listen. Prls!” Two strong hands In
closed her two, separated them, held
them tight. “I was you I loved. You—
all along! I’d begun to suspect it even
before- -Gwen broke with me But I’d
made such a fool of tnyself !“
“And you don’t mtr*i “ she murmured
soothingly to the visUx close to her.
“You don't mind at ai soo-t my foot?”
“Your foot?’ The p.eading eyes wid
ened with amazement “Why. darling.
you !" The twinkle returned “Your
foot!” he mocked with a whimsical dep
recatory Hit as If she had spoken of a
broken finger nail, of a tiny pin scratch
“We could fix that. Haven't you heard
about that doctor In New York?”
Then suddenly Tom s pleading stopped
as he seemed to read her face. “Prls!"
he gasped brokenly, joyously "We’ll go
to New York on our honeymoon!” She
felt his arms about her, drawing her
closer.
And Priscilla, breathless and ecstatic,
realized at last that this was no dream,
that something unbelievably beautiful
w'as really happening that the kiss she
had dreamed about for so long was far
more wonderful than sh«’ known it
could be.
mp neipeo ner in, rranxiy appraised
tier, frankly approve’ and chuckw-d
"Take off your hat!”
She tjld, too astonished to obj(*t.
j’Oh, It s a pretty hat. You're ravishing
in It, too. But now ” he settled Into
the seat beside her with a quiet, satisfied
smile "now, I can squint my eyes and
imagine you've Just come Into the old
staff offlea, from class.”
“Tom! You’re crazy!” Looking from
his rumpled red hair to his straight nose
and finely chiseled chin, she found her
self really smiling.
"Sure I am! We both are. Remember
our crazy arguments? Remember the
day Prof. Thomas stuck his head in to
call us down for talking too loud and you
got him started arguing? You said cats
were better than dogs."
They chuckled together.
“But I didn’t say cats were better,” she
protested.
“Sure you did!”
”1 only said.” she argued Indignantly,
"that as mousers ” she hesitated,
amused and exasperated, having caught
the twinkle in his eyes. "Oh, Tom Sulli
van, you’ll never change a bit!”
"Neither will you — I hope."
Priscilla turned away abruptly. She
wondered that he hadn’t read her heart
in her face or overheard its unrhythmlc
convolutions as, one moment. It raced
wildly at the sight of him and, the next,
plodded, mute with anguish at the recol
lection that this would he her last glimpse
of him--ever.
Tom. oulivlous to her thoughts, had
turned up a side road and stopped, the
expression he wore acutely reminiscent
of the day he asked her to help him win
Gwen.
"Listen. Prls,” he began as he had
then, “I want to ask a favor of you.”
OHE looked up quickly. Could any other
° man in the world be quite so good
looking? It was unbearable, seeing him
this close —his shoulder couching hers!
“If you want me to Influence Gwen
for you —or something," Priscilla ven
tured. smiling weakly. “I’m afraid I re
sign this time It’s got sort of past my
jurisdiction.”
He threw back his head, shaking with
laughter. “I wish Gwen could hear that!”
But aftei a moment of silence he became
serious "Pris! You surely knew Gwen
and I broke up. didn't you? We didn't
marry.”
"You- -didn’t?" Priscilla stared at him.
her eyes wide and dark, her face sud
denly pale.
And Tom. bending toward her. caught
his breath, enthralled with the singular
purity of her beauty
"I thought you knew." he murmured
"I thought the whole world knew . .
You see I was so shocked —ashamed and
hurt afterward "
“But —why? What happened?”
He shrugged "Competition,” he mut
tered with a wry grin “The week before
our wedding was scheduled she married
Bryan Preston— the lumber king Pres
tons.”
Pw-cilia was not aware that she was
running, that vacationers she passed
consented on what could have hap
pened to the lovely mysterious girl wit*
the sad face or that many spoke of her
exquisite beauty and wondered —noting
as she hurried that there was a slight
defect In her walk.
A new life. Brand new. No ties with
the old. But It wouldn’t be fair to Mr
Sellers npt to let him know so he could
hire some one else at once Very well.
She would pack. She would telegraph
her resignation from here. A Catalina
Island telegram would give no clue to
where one had gone afterward. She
would take the next boat across and at
the nearest station buy a ticket to—prob
ably New York. She’d decide that later
She wrote the telegram a Uttle breath
lessly. “Please accept my resignation.
Sorry not to give you longer notice. Have
decided to accept a position out of
Brighton.”
She paused a moment and a tear trem
bled on her lashes as she added: “Thank
you for all you have done."
In an hour she stood waiting for the
boat numbly. It was a sunny day. The
bay was calm. Hardly a ripple or the
water. The crowd aboard was especially
gay.
But Priscilla, In a chic boucle suit and
a smsl’ blue hat. stood alone on the upper
deck watching with impatience the blue
mainland grow slowly and as slow’ly
change color
A new life. A new adventure.
But she didn’t want new adventure
She wanted —her eyes became so misty
she could no longer follow the flight of
the gulls ahead —she wanted Tom She
ached to snuggle Into his arms —secure
in his love. His love! And he hrd given
It to Gwen, instead.
She would give herselt these last few
minutes, allow herself just one wild
dream about Tom and when the boat
docked she would leave those thoughts
behind forever.
It was almost three hours before the
mainland stood out in greens and blacks
dotted with brighter hues. The ship
hands rushed forward to drop the gang
plank.
Priscilla straightened resolutely and
walked ashore with the crowd Her past
was gone. From now on she’d better call
herself June —her middle name It would
be easier. Tom had never called- her
June
OHE was in line at the lnterurban wln-
dow when some one whirled her
around Dazed, she looked up Into the
twinkling eyes of Tom Sullivan
“Pris! You're trembling!” he ex
claimed. And because she continued to
stare at him incredulously, her eyes very
large and almost blue under their long
lashes, he asked more gently. "Sick Prls?
You look like you’re about to faint ”
“A little seasick, tieybe.'’ she mur
mured. "But. Tom! How ? What
tre you doing here?"
"Sellers got your message If you
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► •
Siie mauaged to avoid, seeing them to
gether until Monday night at the sta
tion.* She'd gone to see Helen Richards
off and Tom was there* telling Gwen
good- by 1
Priscilla felt the blood leave her face
at the sight of Tom’s and Gwen's ra
dance, at the understanding in their
Anal handshake. She looked away. She
couldn’t have stood seeing Tom kiss
Gwen.
After the train had left she tried to
disappear unobtrusively but he caught
her, his blue eyes twinkling.
“Hey, Pris! Come on. I’ll spin you
home. Want to tell you something, any
how."
They raced to the yellow roadster.
“Gwen promised me last night! Isn’t
that pretty fast work?” He grinned
proudly. ’’We’ll be married this Sum
mer —soon as I get located."
He was much too happy to notice the
effort behind Priscilla’s congratulations.
When he stopped in front of her little
white cottage he grasped her hands im
pulsively. “I’ve got you to thank for
everything. I’d— why. I’d like to kiss
you!"
Priscilla started nervously She couldn't
imagine anything in the world more
wonderful —or more awful under the cir
cumstances.
“Pris!” His eyes widened at her quick
negative gesture. “What's the matter?
You know I didn’t mean ”
She laughed uncertainly "Os course,
you didn’t! I'm just funny. Let's shake
on the good luck.”
'T'HE next week Priscilla got a Job on
■*■ the Brighton Daily Press. She had
lost the man whose face troubled her
dreams and whose footfalls made her
heart also numb. So she went down the
back way to avoid meeting him by chance
And, with tight-lipped determination,
she concentrated on her work. She would
forget Tom.
It was early in June when Helen Rich
ards wrote her from Washington that
Tom had arrived in Seattle to Join Gwen
He'd gotten a Job there.
“Just more wedding bells," Helen com
mented lightly, not knowing Priscilla
would read those words so often that in
frantic dreams at night she would be re
peating them or. tossing feverishly
awake, would be regretting she hadn't
let Tom kiss her that once. 'lt would
have been a memory to cherish even
though the kiss hadn't been the kind he
would give Gwen.
Her mother had always been so piti
fully aware of the thicker-soled shoe, so
tremulously afraid her daughter would
not have all the happiness other girls
had, that Priscilla pretended gallantly to
be very happy in che white cottage with
the flower garden beyond its spotless
kitchen.
And “Mom" accepted the challenge
She kept the house tidy and cheerful
She arranged little surprises, invited un
expected guests.
It was mid-Summer. Priscilla at the
teet neeaea a snoe witn a sughtiy trucker
sole. A childhood sickness nad done mat
And the secret sadness which, since, had
lurk#ri in the depths of ’*er clear gray
eyes had recently given wav to a dawn
ing joy. Gradually, as a flower yearns
toward the sun, she had lifted a new
loveliness toward Tom.
Now . . Tom turned in his chair. She
saw embarrassment coloring his hand
some face for the first time since she
had known him, and her heart stopped—
waiting.
“Say. pris!" Tom spoke abruptly. “I'm
—going to miss this, aren’t you?"
She turned shakily and attempted a
smile. "Os course, I am. You know that."
The room was quiet. Through an open
window came the notes of a cardinal. It
all began to seem like a dream —and al
most too dramatic, so she tried to laugh.
He responded — a little awkwardly.
“Gee! You’ve been a pal! Even our
work s been darned good fun!”
She couldn’t answer, but her eyes af
firmed all he had said.
His face had become crimson. She
knew ne was going to say something inti
mate. something important. She made a
little secret, frantic prayer.
"It takes nerve to ask you this ” he
blurted at last.
And his very confusion helped her to
laugh tightly. “Come, come! Aren't we
friends?"
He grinned self-consciously. “You bet
we are! And you'll probably think I’m a
nut. but "
Gradually from his embarrassed stam
merings, the truth burned its way
through Priscilla's heart. He wasn't pro
posing! He was asking her to mtroduce
him to her new friend. Gwendolyn
Harris! He’d fallen pretty hard for
Gwen. . .
Priscilla felt suddenly strange and old,
as if something within her had died. She
forced her trembling lips to behave. . .
It wasn't as if she hadn't been afraid of
losing Tom. Straightening like a small
soldier, she heard herself promising
promising to help Tom win another girl!
A T THE ivy-covered entrance to La
** brary Hall, they parted, and she stood
a moment, yearning after him as his long
strides took him quickly down across the
campus.
All that long, wretched night, while
the others were at the farewell party,
dancing, and long after they had re
turned. Priscilla, in her room, stared
wide-eyed up into the darkness, shaking
frequently with dry sobs of utter anguish
Ii Tom loved Gwen as much as this he
must have her.
There was soft dew on the grass w ien
she met Tom in the morning. Something
of its sheer beauty and of the sight of his
dear, familiar twinkle brought a lump
to her throat as she told him gently:
"I’ve thought of a plan for you to meet
Owen ” She outlined it to him.
“Gee. Pris!" Tom grasped her hand
warmly. “You’re a brick! Gosh! If I
can ever do anything for you !”
Sunday dawned like the day of torture
It was —with a mocking, cloudless sky