Show and hecatombs of doves were slain upon the altars of aphrodite tor tho greeks admired this goddess of love greatly and made daily sacrifices to her the student leaned back and closed her book unwillingly her fingers ca its covers while her eyes wan dered to the sunset beginning to glow among the pines As she gazed an odd smile twisted her lips in these later days we sacrifice not only doves but bogles she mur aured dreamily then with sudden passion oh love what monstrous murders are committed daily in your bame murder of mind and moral lite after life broken and bruised at your breast her brows knitted slowly and again that odd smile crept to ner lips two years ago helen nord had found herself alone in the world that she was penniless had not troubled her she knew of a p ace where she could live on ten dollars a month and save money moreover she fancied that she could go to that place and make the ten dollars it was in the pine barrens of south mississippi there were a couple of mall public schools there lying a few miles apart one of which was taught in summer and one in winter each having a term of tour months and paying about a hundred dollars per term when she applied to the county superintendent tor information he gave her besides a bit of advice three bits teach the schools honestly keep your mouth shut don t flirt ith the girls sweet hearts she thanked him feeling the advice to be sound and went away to it As teachers go she had been sue she held her schools against all rivals and had a hundred dollars n bank and her pupils without the aid of chart diagram or blackboard were steadily acquiring a sound eng lish education for two years she had boarded at alx dollars per month dressed plain worked hard ani studied she had gratified her heart s desire and was a appy n oman books banked up ly in her little room books that she had yearned all her life to possess and she read them over and over in the long delicious hours after her day s work was done two years of eden and lo 10 the ser lent she had paid small attention when he first entered hr garden only by degrees had it dawned upon her that he was like young david strong ot body and with a ruddy countenance good to look upon later on she not ed that he neither drank nor swore that he kept his nails in order and was always neat he lived at the bouse where she boarded and brought her mall from the faraway post of fice he was always polite was calanborn anborn Donl clan yet his presence troubled the fair young teacher vague ly he interfered with her studies and she resented the interference but the sunset glow was fading while she dreamed of aphrodite and her doves what was aphrodite to hera or the daves dreadful melan choly birds that made even the glad pine woods mournful with their plaint ive cooing helen laughed a little as she put away her much loved books and went out into the bold fresh air lor that delightful halt hour between the lights she threw back her tired shoulders and drank in deep breaths of vigor glorying in the reckless pride of youth standing between ane fading sunset glow and the brightening gleam of the rising moon appropriate ing the grandeur and understanding nothing seeing in the light tipped pines only glorified pride blind to the serenity that is born of suffering deaf to the note of sadness that thrilled through their melodious chanting to her only a burst of deep throated tri oddly enough in the midst of these shaken vibrations of her soul came the practical reflection I 1 can ahe on ten dollars a month and save money and I 1 can make the ten dollars she dropped her eyes from the pine crests and saw donacian Don ician before her I 1 fin some mail for you at the of fice miss helen he spoke with a slight accent in a voice deep toned and musical helen started and her nerves guiv ered oh thank you so much she took the mall and their hands touched the young fellow colored slowly but she tried not to see thank you so much she repeated with tene civility not tall he returned te turned lifting bis hat and moving away he was every inch a man was M donacian Don ician in spite of his predilection for blushing helen stared down at the little pack et of mall and saw instead a small cottage furnished cosily with that hundred dollars in bank it was un fortunate that hundred dollars in the leaned back and closeal her book unwillingly that it formed a solid foundation tor temptation that must have otherwise have remained chimerical for an hour ate struggled with it sitting in the dark in her little ten by ten room then she laughed an echo of that slighting laugh with v aich she had put her book and struck a light she bad forgotten her mall presently a ei ap bit of paper cracked between her angers her first check Amt ution leaped up wildly poor donacian Don ician alas for the doves of aphrodite poor doniciano he eat on a saw log in the moonlight wrapped in a dream as warm as heaven his breath came unsteadily and quivering his fingers still felt the touch of hers his ears still throbbed to that unconsciously caressing thank you he had forgotten its civil repe poor Doni clan ing of that strong seated ambition that had ridden unceremoniously over the pleasant things of her life noth ing of that bit of crisp paper with a few figures in one corner had he seen it he wool 1 not have under stood at it V as the death warrant signed and sealed for his happiness why should he suspect the existence of s ich to him the fair faced I 1 love you miss helen right you should know young teacher waa as a dainty wild flower half open in the early dew he sat on in his warm dream of beav en born happiness in the resistless less might of his strong hearted love helen nord was right in these la ter days eagles are frequently alced upon the altars of aphrodite the next evening when she carried her ambition out in the forest that it might soar bold and unrestrained as the breath of the pines helen saw him coming toward her over the soundless needles strong and happy hearted he swung along bearing the beauty of a greek god upon his brow A strange reeling fear seized upon the woman s heart she sat down weak inert upon a fallen trunk and stared miserably at the dead straws donacian Don ician came on swiftly he bared his head as he sat down beside her any mall for me to daya she ques tinned tailing dismally in her effort to appear unconcerned no he said softly had he kissed her the caress could scarcely have been more endearing helen flung up her head desperately her choice had come to her in narrow lines love or ambition aparo dite demanded a sacrifice should it be dove or eagleb alas for the dove the ambition that had ridden rough shod over all the pleasant things of life was not to be unseated by its poor plaintive pleading donacian Don ician spoke with manly sim I 1 love you miss helen right you should know thank you she muttered in coherently she was plunging wildly against the strain of stern asceticism in her blood it seemed such a sense less sacrifice two spotless doves for one wild eagle then the old came again upon her eyes she saw herself as she would be a proud free woman working her way up into the high white light she tried to make it easy for him we should not talk of such things ou and I 1 M donacian Don ician she said looking beyond him lest she should see that in his wonderful eyes that would haunt all her after days it was an ary caution he was not the man to bare his wounds I 1 love you he said with quiet in si stence I 1 can make you happy yes she returned suddenly con of extreme weariness yes I 1 know but it must not be I 1 I 1 have other work to do donacian Don ician hesitated a moment as though unwilling to believe that bis glad dream was shattered when two people love one another they belong to each other for all time Is it not soa he asked tenderly and his eyes compelled hers to meet them in one brief truth telling glance no it Is not so not always she stammered hurriedly it must not be she started to her feet but hia 1 and checked her flight wait he said I 1 will go she watched him move away far ther and farther his upright swift moving fig ire glancing at rare and rarer intervals between the tree trunks suddenly she turned and fled goaded by intolerable pain and the pines were left alone in their eternal serenity chanting the lequier over the fair white doves ot aphrodite |