The Golden Silence

g himself if it were possible that she had picked up any acquaintance on board, who had told her he was a marked man, a foolish fellow who had spoiled his life for a low-born, unscrupulous woman's

a fool, and somehow he did not want to be despised by this dancing girl whom he should never see again after to-morrow. Just why her opinion of his character need matter to him, it was difficult to say, but there was something extraordinary about the girl. She did not seem in the least lik

king-room; but his wish to know whether she really had changed towards him became so pressing that he was impelled to speak aga

d tell me the res

e r

ere beginni

talk about my own affairs to a stranger, and it isn't, you know. I shouldn't like you to think Americans are less well brought up than othe

rgot Lorenzi. "I never met a brilliantly successful person who was as modest as you," he said, laughin

o ask your advic

his chair near to hers. "Have you had t

"It's only fashionable Americans who take it, and I'm not that ki

ur little ways in London?" He wa

s too

usy for one thing: reading

had in my boarding-house, because I hoped so much that English people would like me, and I wanted to be a success. But afterwards I didn't both

by one of his strange new impulses to tell he

laughed. "No newspaper paragraphs, and a boarding-house instead

it in the theatres or got something painted: and the statues in the studio scene, and the sculptor, needed very few rehearsals. In Paris they had only one. It was all I had time for, after I arrived. The lighting wasn't difficult either, and though people told me at first there would be trouble unless I had my own man, there never was any, r

n spoke teasingly; but in truth

lways to one end. And now, just when that end may be near, how foolish I should be to spend a cent on unnecessary things! Why, I'd have felt wicked living in an expensive hotel, and keeping a maid, when I could be

was," said S

lary as that in America. I engaged to dance for three hundred dollars a week there, which seemed perfectly wonderful to me at first; so I had to keep my contract, though other managers would have given me more. I wanted dreadfully to take their offers, because I was in such a hurry to have enough mone

pon how rich

ich he is. Could an

ren't the same with them as with us. That fellow at lunch to-

e travelled, and known a great many people of all s

ed Stephen, startled. "I

ss I get to know him in some way," went on Victor

wed the Arab even the faintest sign of willingness to know and be known. "I've no right to ask it, of course, except that

he were, it wouldn't matter-nor whether one like

you-in

be able to help me-or more, because

uest for her promise. "How can

iers. I always ask everybody to help, if

them all my affairs, just because I'm silly enough to love talking. I must talk to strangers. I must get help wh

. My name is Stephen Knight. I've been wanting to tell you-I see

ange came over it, no cloud in the blueness of

rdly worth while my

rs for eight winters or so," he said. "He knows everybody, French a

to brilliant beauty. It seemed to Stephen that the name of Ray suited her: she w

l want to listen." His voice sounded young and eager.

t's a long story. It b

r. It will be

her had been dead just a year, but she was out of mourning. She wasn't old-only about thirty, and handsome. She was jealous of Sai

an," said

ar each, from the time our schooling was finished until we married. She had a good deal of influence over him, for he was ill a long time, and she was his nurse-that was the way they got acquainted. And she persuaded him to leave practically everything to her; but she couldn't prevent his making some conditions. There was one which she hated. She was obliged to live in the same town with us; so when she wanted to go and enjoy herself in Paris after father died, she had to take us too. And she didn't care to shut Saidee up, because if S

ld!" said

of them were introduced by our French governess, whose brother was in the army, but they brought others, and Saidee and Mrs. Ray went to parties together, though Mrs. Ray hated being chaperon. If poor Saidee were admired at a dinner, or a dance, Mrs. Ray would be

knew best, but very handsome, and rich as well as clever. It was only at the last, after she'd praised the man a great deal, that she mentioned his having Arab blood. Even then she hurried on to say his mother was a Spanish woman, and he had been partly educated in France, and spoke perfect French, and English too. They had danced together, and Saidee had never met so interesting a man. She thought he was like the hero of some romance; and she

as if she hardly realized that she was talking aloud. Her eyebrows drew together, and she

verywhere she was going, he would find out, and go too. That pleased her-for he was an important man somehow, and of good birth. Besides, he was desperately in love-even a child could see that. He never took his eyes off Saidee's face when she was with him. It was as if he could eat her up; and if she flirted a little with the real French officers, to amuse her

he East. "The same colouring that I have," Victoria Ray had said. If he, an Englishman, accustomed to the fair loveliness of his countrywomen,

rs. Ray did all she could to throw them together, because he was rich, and lived a long way off-so she wouldn't have to do anything for Say

hen began to see light

aid 'yes'. Cassim ben Halim was Mohammedan, of course, but he and Saidee were married according to French law. They didn't go to church, because he couldn't do that without showing disrespect to his own religion, but he promised he'd not try to change h

d take you away with her?"

as an old friend of father's who'd threatened to try and upset the will, for Saidee's sake and mine, so I suppose she thought he might succeed if she disobeyed father's instructions. It ended in Saidee and her husband going to Algiers without me, and Saidee cried-but she couldn't help being happy, because she was in love, and very excited about the strange new life, w

tephen. "Are you going to tell m

farmhouse once, and he said there were 'good teachers and good air.' I can hear him saying it now. It was easy to persuade her; and she engaged rooms at a hotel in the town near by, which was called Potterston, after Mr. Potter's grandfather. By and by they were married, but their marriage made no difference to me. It wasn't a bad little old-fashioned school, and I was as happy as I could be anywhere, parted from Saidee. There was an attic where I used to be allowed to sit on Saturdays, and think thoughts, and write letters to my sister; and there was one corner, where the sunlight came in through a tiny window shaped like a crescent, without any glass, which I named Algiers. I played that I went there to visit Saidee in the old Arab palace she wrote me about. It was a splend

rs? Did they never find

s at the entertainments we gave when school broke up in the summer. I was the youngest scholar, you see, and stayed through the vacations, so I was a kind of pet for the teachers. They were of one family, aunts and nieces-Southern people, and of course good-natured. But all this isn't really in the story I want to tell you. The interesting part's about Saidee. For months I got letters from her, w

sister since then?" The thing

ve been growing up for, living fo

argued, "there must ha

Potter lost everything of his own and of mine too, in some wild speculation about which the people in that part of Indiana went mad. The crash came a year ago, and the Misses Jennings, who kept the school, asked me to stay on as an under teacher-they were sorry for me, and so kind. But even if nothing had happened, I should have left then, for I felt old enough to set about my real work. Oh, I see you think I might have got at my sister before, somehow, but I couldn't, indeed. I tried everything. Not only did I write and write, but I begged the Miss

ght to have gone he

ll at the school once or twice a year, for form's sake. But I ran away one evening and begged her to go and find Saidee. She said it was nonsense; that

an-telepathy, or som

now it, and nothing could make me believe otherwise. So now you understand how, if anything were to be done, I had to do it myself. When I was quite little, I thought by the time I should be sixteen or s

o wanted to upset the will? Couldn't

There was no one else to help. So from the time I was fourteen, I knew that somehow I must make money. Without money I could never hope to get to Algi

Some one must know what became of a more or less important man such as your brother-in-law seems

my address, to let me know if they should discover anything. They always seemed interested, and said they would really do their best, but they must have failed, or else they forgot. No news ever came back. It will be different with me now, though. I shall find Saidee, and if she isn't happy, I shall bring her away with me. If her husband is a

him because of certain unjust thoughts concerning this child which he had harboured sinc

all. It's funny you should think so. Perhaps non

aid Stephen, "and if they had

ll my heart and soul, so I knew I should find the way. I just followed my instinct, when people told me I was unreasonable, and of course

had rather a craze about that two or three years ago. They went to lectures given by an American man they raved over-

ovely place to think thoughts in. Wonderful ones always came to me, if I called to them-thoughts all glittering-like angels. They seemed

alk about 'waking their race-consciousnes

sure. Perhaps it will lead me far, far off, into that mysterious golden silence, where in dreams I often see Saidee w

in your star!" Stephen exclaimed

Haven't yo

ve no

in his eyes she saw the shadow of hopelessness which was

ithout mine. I walk in its light, as if in a path. But yours must be

then, but such stars were not for him.

kind that does," the girl co

, because I mightn't be able t

always happy, because the light helps me to do thi

e the subject, and escape from thoughts of Margot, the only star of

ou," replied Vict

ghed.

way of earning it, as that was the one thing I could do very well. Afterwards I worked in real earnest-always up in the attic, where I used to study the Arabic language too; study it very

did sh

ome and argue with me, and he was dreadfully opposed to my wishes

hat point of view?" Stephen ca

d him how I felt about eve

t effect had

would do any one harm to see. And he gave me a sort of lecture about how I ought to behave if I became a dan

ar prote

left them both for me when she went away), and a queer kind of brooch Cassim ben Halim gave me one day, out of a lovely mother-o'-pearl box he brought full of jewels for Saidee, when they were

verybody you meet kind

you believe people are going to be good, it ma

might be right. Who could tell? Maybe he had not "believed" enough-in Margot. He looked with interest at the brooch of which Miss Ray spoke, a curiously wrought, flattened ring of dull gold, with a pin in the

ring to go astray on that subject of the world's goodness, which wa

se, and paid a week in advance. The boarders weren't very successful people, poor things, for it was a cheap boarding-house-it had to be, for me. But they all knew which were the best theatres and managers,

nced fo

d me, going in, I screwed up my courage and spoke. I said I'd been waiting for days and days. At first he scowled, and I think meant to be cross, but when he'd given me one long, terrifying glare, he grumbled out: "Come along with me, then. I'll soon see what you can do." I went in, and danced on an almost dark stage, with Mr. Norman and another man looking at me, in the empty theatre where all the chairs and boxes were covered up with sheets. They seemed rather pleased with my dancing, and Mr. Norman said he would give me a chance. Then, if I 'caught on'-he meant if people li

chair, and looked about half dazedly, as people look about a room that is new t

d. "By Jove, I was so interested in you-in what you were

en I think about Saidee, and the golden dream-silence where I see her. All

Stephen,

exclaimed

had taken me to the go

e anxiously. "Is it late? Maybe th

atch of the kind that winds up with a key-her mother's, perhaps, on which she had borrowed money to rea

eside the modesty of the girl's poor little timepiece. There remained now no reasonable doubt that it

a, mortified. "I've kept you here

han anything else? Eating was certainly not e

didn't

. You had carried me

the girl. "Thank you

ou for t

e spare, loose-limbed English parson, whom he had fascinated. They were discussing affairs in Morocco, and as they passed Stephen and

we do?" as

ant. "Will you invite me to d

e now to have anything to eat. I do

others have had," Stephen prophesie

uldn't face the waiters alone. And you know, I feel as

had," said Stephen. "And-it gives

find," the girl reminded him,

s, to find mine by," he said half gaily, yet with a c

d quickly. "Not a