Show Sin of Innocence I By Claire Pomeroy Pomery- CHAPTER Great morning It Leslie Leslie- Bonner his l blue lue eyes d down wn upon Martha artha and loved the soft soU curve of her che cheek k L Martha nodded v l the Know something Martha Marsha ha 1 young man said suddenly I I dreamed of you of-you you last Matter oJ ot actIve dreamed about yu Y Several times and its it's always the same You did You have Martha thought her valce voice founded listless She wanted it to sound that that- way but it I Yes Jie he went on eagerly and tunny thing about it Martha theres there's an air an almost weird coincidence about It It Somehow or other bells all bells all kinds of ot b bells bells are are mixed up in my dreams of dreams of of you Martha sta state ted Bells Queer There had always been been bells beIls In ln h her r life A I. peculiar significance a. a a- a ayr f boi S B Bells I sh repeated uncertainly S Y Yes Y Bonnet BonnetS halted d a moment and continued For Instance last night I dreamed of Ve Venice ice Morning one one of those crystal mornings they have there In early spring It wasso was wasso wasso so real you know just the way Ive I've Ives s seen seen n It so FO often The city was like i the cabinet of a collector of ot semiprecious semiprecious semiprecious semi semi- precious stones suddenly thrown open for or the sun to gloat upon a splendor of opal tourmaline and garnet and amethyst Youve You've not been to Venice Venice Martha Martha so you dont don't get the picture And that's strange too because ause I met you there thereIn In my dream and It seemed so natural natural natural nat nat- ural to find you there He paused again as though searching for words Yes the bells The two little bronze men who strike the hours of ot Venice upon the parapet of at the Terre dell' dell had just drawn I back their their hammers to s strike rike the hour of noon and plainly I saw that one leaf leat of ot the tIme bronze doors Of pf San Marco oWa was wan closed and an anold anold i old priest stood at the other With many keys on his arm Bonner swung the car arou around d a sharpe curve lr in the road and slowed the motor down dawn They faced the blue AtlantIs Atlantic and mid the tang salt i breeze whipped his hair until I IL It t lost ns Its smooth grooming Martha Marth L faced him liha with eyes that shone Mone Please dont don't dont don't i stop she s said I I the the beautiful the II I softly way you yol t tell U It itI ItI- can just see It somehow somehow- a as as though Id I'd been there Bonner 19 looked ked at h her s searchingly You there Martha h he In said I did I did you ever have a a. dream drean in hi you w wyre r two to places a aone at once one one- 5 d Martha n nodded dd Well that's the way it wai was I seemed to stand away and watch m myself self doing all this and I seen seemed d to take In Irs every small det detail like detail U like a play you know Martha I 1 was audience and arid player player- in one He lie brooded mo moment a nent and Well VeIl the old aId priest stood there waiting for those bells beUs to strike Then I saw a young woman kneeling kneelIng kneel kneel- kneel kneel- ing log at one of of- the chapel rails The young woman was you Martha l She rose and came slowly to the chapel doors and absently she stepped over the high threshold as threshold as high aSo as that of ot a ships ship's door The know l Ia Martha Mattha tha that takes care of Venice's streets comes sOme sometimes Imes and flows into the church I Inow know V o said Martha simply She dI know but she did she did ld not know how or r vh where resh had found it out The young woman you woman you paused a 1 moment n the pavement outside tile the bronze Drome doors The old priest lingered there to too and glanced at I you curiously N fot t many people I that h hour ur In San Marco Macco The lovely young woman who Was Was' yourself glanced expectantly at the clock the tight right and and walked very slowly until she he reach the octagonal marble base of the central flag flagpole pole fh was va fl still looking expectantly expectantly expect expect- antly toward the archway of af the Bonner gave his companIon companIon companion compan compan- ion a smile Now he said is ls Is wh where re I come in Outside the famous the famous Cafe of ot Florian I had Just paid the waiter who hovered over a white Iron and after atter acc accepting p his polite than thanks s. s I strolled towards San Marco farco pausing an Instant to purchase pur- pur chase chalo some little paper papel cornucopias 0 of tit seed millet-seed intending to feed the pigeons All shimmering gray and white and green apple-green flecks upon the pale lavender pavement I wish you see them Martha Martha nodded again I know she repeated as though she had seen the pigeons f Just as the little bronze men In the clock drew back th their lr hammers hammers ham ham- mers decisively to strike the hour of noon the man who was myself strolled toward San Marco Get that Martha Marthar Bonner onner caught her eyes and held them And the young I woman who was yourself waited toe against the marble b base e of th the thEl flag pole and w was s looking towards the Piazzetta tta now nowhere where here the gondolas lie He like so 50 many sea birds resting in shallow water Twenty paces away the man glanced at the clock the little men men had struck three of of their appointed strokes I sa saw from my position as audience that the old priest who watched started as as the man my my myself self self stumbled d over something and suddenly turned his head towards the Piazzetta where th the 1110 incoming gondola was Just being pulled to the stepa step by the decrepit gondolier who gondolier who waits walts' there with a bo boat hook t Bonners Bonner's h hands shook shook as he lighted a ret His voice was low almost reverent when he spoke agni again Loud and clear I heard those there bells in the morning air Martha And then those two p people popl ople met met met- you Martha and I I. I There was recognition recognition rec rec rec- sudden and momentous and nd n yet et it was as though hough wa we both baU knew It was to happen that happen that meet meet- log ing While the old priest looked on I this r-this this was a dr dream am remember Martha and one cant can't control ones one's dreams dreams I I held you In my arms arms' and arid you were happy to be t there ere And Io FO ro like the ending of a play or perhaps like the fadeout in a a. film story those two people hand In hand turned and walked through the open open leaf of f the bronze doors of San Sari Marco and the old priest with witha a nod and a smile of ot understanding closed the other leaf of the door Just as the little bronze struck men struck the last stroke of ot 12 SIlence The young man stared moodily out across the blue Atlantic S Marthas Martha's eyes were closed be because luse she wanted to hide the preposterous tears she knew were there John h and Llda Iilda- play pay another scene I of I To Tobe be continued 5 Copyright Cop rig t John 3 le |