Show 1 THE T HE KISS KIS S SeY By eY E NESBIT Author of The Incomplete Amorist i t b p i 1 X 1 o t F 1 r SIGs L Sl r ra wv t r 1 I i r I ii I j jo v o J Jf f t 0 f ft q 1 1 ulf If you believe it then why believe it now Their first meeting was In the long lon gallery among the Egyptian and As Assyrian Assyrian Assyrian syrian antiquities at the British museum mu museum museum seum Enthusiast t though he ho was he was tired as human souls are arc tired with the cold reserve of ot carved stone the Imperturbable mystery m ster of these old kings s and gods who had kept for thou thousands thousands thousands sands of ot years amid the shifting sands sand of the desert their Immemorial secrets His eyes e s ached with the close scrutiny of minute and delicate detail Then sud suddenly suddenly suddenly denly his eyes rested on her fair and laughing and full of the joy of life and his soul rejoiced because there was still youth In the world and secrets that no kings and gods had power to keep from front the sons of men mn who walk the earth card today She came along the thc gallery galler between two to other girls but he did not see these theseas as ns creatures only as dark fig figures figures figures ures against the light of her presence It was as not till the thre e were close to Him hiim that he became aware ahre of ot her and looked up Their eyes met and stayed together in a look that lasted a very tery c clong long time almost half halt a minute She came up quite close to him always with those others other that did not count and then abruptly the th three turned turne to the right and the swing doors of or the re refreshment freshment roam room vibrated behind them Then hE ho tried to analyze that look of oC hers not bold or provocative yet with no timidity no na bashfulness no self consciousness It was the look of one who trusts the tho world and thinks well of It Many girls nowadays have hae that frank trank fearless look The qualities which made the look a thing thins worth analyzing anal were two Its length and a singular quality of recognition reco Did she know him Had ho he ever eer met her before No Nohe Nohe Nohe he could not have hae forgotten her He Ho lingered in the gallery till she and her companions came back through the swinging doors This time she had no eyes for tor him He lie sauntered slowly the way tray they went noted all down the theRoman theRoman f Roman gallery the grace race of her free gait palt alt saw her disappear Ito Into I to the read reading ing In room and went home His home was In to Kent and he was going to say sa goodbye e to it for a while for tor or next week he h te started for tor the east to watch under cloudless skies paid and uninterested workers scraping at atthe atthe atthe the earth to bring to light such cold witnesses to old ol faith and loyalty and love as lined the gallery galler where he had met her herThe herThe herThe The last days wore were pre full His father who ho stayed at nt homo home and wrote the books for tor which Neville gathered the materials had many man last words to say sav sa Also his typewriting girl had gone off oft Ill and there was a delay In getting etti g another So Neville spent a good many man hours in n I the tho work secretaries are paid 3 for Also AIs his aunt who adored him V wanted his opinion on the new Dutch garden that was now a abit bit of o meadow r beyond the orchard and was wa to be a ablaze ablaze ablaze blaze of formal beauty when he came home again a ain think about that mass malS of ot yellow yel rel yellow rellow low tulips and when you ou are boiling your brains in Egypt E pt she said Im not Imaginative enough he told her I shall see the old garden as I always alwa R do and the rose arches all red and pink and yellow ellow and ancl my nice aunt nipping oft off the dead flowers with a apall pair pall of ot rusty rust scissors Arent there any an flowers out there she sho sh asked Oh yes es cactus flowers but there not pleasant to pick Its difficult to believe that spring really will come again a aln It when one sees the brown bare trees and the heaps of dead leaves But all the flowers are there under the leaves said the tho aunt Hunt and spring really r ally will wm come again The aunt was right Spring did come again And with its coming ca Ne Neville Neville ville me Underwood from the dry d east He sent his luggage IU ge up from Crom the station In the dog og cart that came to meet him and he himself walked up through the woods In the splendor of or one of those afternoons when May Ma takes the role of ot July and plays the part perfectly The beeches were thick with bright light leaves the elms were fully tuU dressed only the oak stood almost bare The undergrowth of ot hazel and sweet chestnut was thick and fresh tresh Through its moving green the sun made a golden haze and the shadows of ot o otho f tho leaves danced on a pathway that was all aU green STeen grass rass and glad little thriving wild weeds weed i iDear Dear God but Its good to see see green greenwoods greenwood greenwoods woods wood again he said And It was here among the weeds that he met her the second time In Inthe Inthe I Ithe n the middle of that wood Is a carrefour an open space spice of bright fine tine grass rass and an d from it four tour broad green rides run straight as arrows dip and dwindle e and grow gron invisible with distance Th The ground Is green the undergrowth is Isgreen i s green preen and the new fronds of ot bracken and the trees tree overhead And in all aU this s green a note of deep blue Is likely to take the eye of or the gazer azer t t It took him through a tangle of wood woodbine bine and wild it Ild rose traits trails He Hc went about and skirting I the thicket came toa to toa toa a little clearing A l tree trey had been cut down own and its branches lopped And An m I here was the blue it was a girls dress and the girl Irl herself lay la on the ground her head on a cushion of Ot green reen leaves one into orie hand clenched on her breast and the other by her side her body thrown there with all ull the abandonment of a tired kitten that sleeps in the sun at flat full length So still she lay la he could hardly believe that she slept He stood and gazed at her Not a move movement movement ment It was still there In the warm wood not a Ii hair of her hel loosely bound hound locks stirred Was as she asleep Could she have haxe ha e fainted A keener question pierced him suddenly sudden I There were crimes even in England One read about them In the newspapers He I came nearer beside her His hand hesitated Could one dared one lay tap ones uses hand under the heart of a strange lady no matter what mad fear suddenly caught one And he did not know her All he remembered of her was her eyes and these were shut Perhaps he would never have known her tier if she sho had kept them shut But as ashe ash ashe h he kneeling stooped mare more nearly to listen for her breathing her eyes opened and arid he ho knew her Her eyes opened she sho smiled sleepily Then Than It was vas Impossible There Chere ho Ill stood inthe in inthe inthe the wood and there she lay eyes ees closed motionless s as over ever VOl Could one have these thc e momentary dreams Were Vere ere woods sometimes some sometimes times enchanted as old oar tales would have ha one to believe For FOl it hud had eer certainly certainly seemed to him that she sho had opened her eyes ees smiled and then that she had put up an arm soft sort and firm through h the linen of its It sleeve sleen had caught him round the tho neck drawn his hi face down to hers till he had kissed her on the lips Incredible impossible im impossible impossible possible And further it had seemed to him that his kiss had lead only been given as a Ii rejoinder an unavoidable rejoin rejoinder rejoinder der dOl derSo So he stood looking at her and now nowie he l ie saw brit whether he hud had dreamed this or not she sho was not dead not faint taint fainting taintIng fainting ing but equably asleep At any an rate the deep drep soft breathing that stirred the tho blue blu linen line over ocr her bosom the eyelids deep drooped and with never a flicker of awakening the limp abandon of the hands told of nothing but sleep slee deep sleep Only now the pallor of her face fuce was flushed with rose color He lie stepped back hack through the quiet green and walked homo home through the part of f the wood which Was not en enchanted enchanted enchanted chanted The rhe warm touch of or her mouth was on his all the way But It ft when the aunts soft faded cheek lay la against his lips and the brilliant patch patchwork work of oI the tho Dutch garden arden shut out the th green woods of magic happenings The glad dance of ot the leaves in the green gr greenwood er erwood wood paled before the father full of glad questionings and comments his hl trembling hands stirring deep deer drifts of rustling leaves notes for the new boot booton boo t ton on all sorts of odd scraps of paper it wa was good to be at home where one wasso was wasso wasso so loved loed so desired And ho he told him himself himself self elf that he must have hac fallen asleep aseep in inthe Inthe inthe the wood Certainly the tho girl from the Museum could never neer have fallen asleep there thero Tea was served sered under the copper beach Are you expecting any an one Neville Ne Neville Neme ville me asked for the cups were four tour Only Phil your fathers secretary I mean said the aunt Ah here she comes And of course it was the girl from the Museum who came across the lawn lawnin in her blue dress with a hat that hung from her arm by knotting strings Neville heard his aunt speak kindly to the girl heard his name and another name and amI found round himself bowing to the th e girl whose lips lips But he ho heard nothing distinctly because of the horrible new certainty that sprang to him It was true trul It wits was no vision This girl whose eyes had haunted him among the Egyptian tian tombs more than once and more than twice this demure girl had really of her own free will drawn down tho th e head of or a perfect stranger with that tha t arm now reached out for tor her tea cup had drown It down till the strangers stranger a lips Ups lay on hers It was beautiful In Inthe Inthe i ithe n the woods she was saying She was sitting there talking to hi his s aunt and his father quietly as if noth nothing nothIng nothing ing had ha happened She who had kissed kisse kissea d a stranger in a wood She had never neve r thought to meet him again Just the th e re passing kiss the moment of pale stolen stole n fire and now she had met him what whai t would she do Nothing she would woul d brazen the whole thing out Horrible But she had not been bees able to het help blushing It was wall t that at deep g blush that had enlightened him hac d shown him that It was no vision that crim she also remembered rf A burning crim crimson crImson son blush over oyer face and ears and neck and the aunt had said saidI I hope you OU hurried dear in hi inthis inthis this heat And she had said I want to tobe tobe t q be late tor for tea He handed bread find and butter to her herShe herShe She was as not blushing blun hing now DOW y r Oh bother said Neville to himself now nos all ail the peace and pleasure is gone gonet It t wont be like home with a wicked lit little little little tle cat like Ilke I ke that about the plate pla e eSile She Sile was pretty he ho decided much prettier than he had thought her at the museum mu m um Pretty Prett and In an way that did not rhyme with the disgraceful conduct of that girl hr Inthe the wood She Sho went event away presently with the father to garner into sheaves those loose leaves leas of notes Then Neville heard how she was the daughter of o Grantham G ham the great t dead these the e three years how she was vas very clever l at her work very Ier good company compan and altogether alto eth r a r I dear doer child But you fall in love with her Neville the aunt said and thank heaven youre not given to that sort ort l of thing Thank heaven Im not But wh why I Because got a sweetheart al ai already already ready She SlIe would have he told lol l himself a It a sweetheart half a dozen most likely How Ho I know Imo is that Mr lr asked aked her to share his heart and vicar age a yes before shed been Here I re a It month I 1 thought thou ht it would ld be a very VIr renal think thin for her for hes really not bad oa is he ho And Ami she ho he Is quite without means Though hes she so well connect calmed connected ed e d But no Then I got sot it out of hoi her h I that hat theres betas some some ome one else elseI Ise IseI I congratulate her said Neville Nc vill e lazily h The jasmines late this year t it The rhe jasmine flowers in July said the aunt severely se rely and I congratulate e him ilm For if ever eer there was a dear good goodkind goodkind goodkind kind unselfish girl irl Then I J congratulate con you ou he lie said and no doubt Its lucky for fell me inc that Im not riot given Gen to that sort ort of 1 thing thin It was that sort of thing an unworldly un unworldly unworldly worldly romance that had In his teens teem s caused Nevilles relations to send him for change of scene to southern climes chines es esIn In other words he ho had gone one with ith on one e of Cooks tourist tickets to Egypt and an d there his fathers hobby hobb hitherto a L sealed and dull book bool to him nm had suddenly grown to be the most im ini important Important thing in the world He ha had d come back to England cured curea of his pas passion pasIon passion sion Ion for poor vulgar Amabel with the th thred red ed hair flaxen at the roots and tit the e black eyelashes and brows that were user e white when the dye dc was off olt them He H e came back cured despising love and an d wearing round his neck a charm that a gypsy woman from the tho th desert d had ha d given him when he had hud saved sated her hel from the keen blade of one who had ha d been her lover Wear eur It always she sh had said it will keep you from un unworthy unworthy unworthy worthy loves And It or something S else had kept him It has a further power the time woman had added but bu t th thit t you will learn when the time aim e comes come He was not a superstitious man but bu bulie t ho lie wore wort the amulet It did not keep keel P him from the remembrance of an a around arm rm round his neck lips on his the shame shameless shameless shameless less effrontery of a worthless girl I hope said the anxiously when the father had gone to his study and Philomela to her bed bod I do hope hop e youre not going to dislike that girl irl You hardly spoke to her herr all the even evening evenIn evenIng ing In I he lie said Ill do better tomorrow So next morning when he saw her gown It was mauve today among the little orange trees in tubs that had just been moved out of ot the greenhouse on onto onto onto to the end of the terrace he went across the gray crooked flagstones to her Good morning he said and he could hardly have said less What a beautiful old place It is she said pleasantly I wonder heth whether hether er you OU know how lucky you ou are to have been born here hero Its old certainly he said and extremely shabby part of the charm she said really rich people never have any anything anything anything thing beautiful because they always pay some someone one to make It for or them But look at the new garden Miss Under Underwood Underwood wood and I T made that oh of course Sam did the dull dun digging but hes a as proud of or It as we are area We put in al althe all the bulbs made the plans and every everything everything everything thing She was talking without a trace ot of o embarrassment true said he And having the drawing room re me repapered repapered papered That was an event It took us a week to choose the paper Now really rich people who can have their rooms papered whenever they like And the orange |