The Reef

"Pas de lettres" felldestructiv

frugal silence mocked his prodigalityof hopes and fears. He had put his question to the porteronce before, on returning to the hotel after

Miss Viner out to dine; but as he turnedto the lift a new thought struck him,

d any letter with Fr

hisreturn from the theatre, and he would then know definitelywhether Mrs. Leath m

dmore interesting than before. Her dress, sloping away fromthe throat, showed the graceful set of her head on itsslender neck, and the wide brim of her hat arched above herhair like a dusky halo. Pleasure danced in her eyes and onh

and the stage. He wastouched by the youthful seriousness of her expression. Inspite of the experiences she must have had, and of thetwenty-four years to which she owned, she struck him asintrinsically young; and he wondered how so evanescent aquality could have been

companion with a quickpatter of questions. He gathered from them that she hadbeen less intereste

enmarked and analyzed; and Darrow felt a secret gratificatio

bout it which evidently struck his listener asimpressive and original, and with which he himself was not,on the whole, dissatisfied. Miss Viner was much moreconcerned to hear

ducing it. Oddly combined with her sharpapprehension of things theatrical, her knowledge oftechnical "dodges" and green-room precedents, her glibnessabout "lines" and "curtains", was the prim

play, sheexclaimed: "Oh, then, please don't tell me what's going tohappen!" and the next moment was questioning him aboutCerdine's theatrical situation and her private history. Onthe latter point some of her

are of lights and gilding. Then, as she complained ofthe heat, he led her through the press to the congestedcafe at the foot of the stairs, where orangeades werethrust at them be

atrical journal. It caught Sophy's eye and after poring

seen it heaps and heaps oftimes?"He smiled back at her. "You must see it to

my letter."A twinge of compunction shot through Darrow. Her wordsrecalled to him that on their return to the hotel afterluncheon she had given him her letter to post, and that hehad never thou

n havecaught this afternoon's post.""Not caught it? Why not?""Why, I'm afra

a gesture which, to hisamusement, h

ning, I suppose. You know the Frenchprovincial post is never in a hurry. I don't believe yourletter would

you in the morning if you say so."The bell announcing the close of

rgetful of the Farlows, she slipped her armthrough

at great waves of sensation werebeating deliciously against her brain. It was as thoughevery starved sensibility were throwing out feeler

transmit it physically, inemanations that set the blood dancing in his veins. He hadnot often had the opportunity of studying the effects

t Darrow assured her that he wouldhave no trouble in getting her another. When he went out inquest of it she followed him protestingly to the door of thebox, and he saw that she was distressed at t

d caught the fresh fair countenance of Owen Leathsignalling a joyful recognition. The young man, slim andeager, had detached himself from two companions of his owntype, and was seeking to push through the press to his step-mother's frie

e'd all be so glad if you'd come."Darrow, excusing himself with thanks, lingered on for a fewminutes' chat, in which every word, and every tone of hiscompanion's voice, was like a sharp light flashed intoaching eyes. He was glad when the bell called the audienceto their seats, and young Leath left him with the friendlyquestion: "We'll see you at Givre later on?"When he rejoined Miss Viner, Darrow's first care was to findout, by a rap

t one was on its way; and at the thought hisinterest in the girl at his side again cooled to thefraternal, the almost fatherly. She was no more to him,after all, than an appealing young creature to whom it wasmildly agreeable to have off

p for the gentleman; andDarrow, at the announcement, could hardly wait to ascend tohis room. Upstairs, he and his companion had the longdimly-lit c

he firsttrain; so I suppose this is good-bye," she

gain forgotten her letter; and as their hands met hevowed to himself

!"A tremor of pleasure crossed her face as he

k you now for mygood day."He felt in her h

contrary--" he began, li

thing passedthrough hers that was like a lig

tosee her pass into her room. He unlocked his door, andstumbling over the threshold groped in the darkness for t

rom France," t

tten, and it was manifest now that she did notmean to write. If she had had any intention of explainingher telegram she would certainly, within twenty-four hours,have followed it up by a le

ish misery. It was no longer his hurtvanity that cried out. He told himsel

s trivial or insincere. The thought was so intolerablethat he fel

arpet its sillyintricacies melted in

them as she had turned fromhim on their last evening in London. "This will be good-bye, then,"

heclock marked the third quarter after midnight, and he knewit would make no difference if he went down to the post-bo

was quivering andagitating the air. Sophy's face came hack to himinsistently. It was as vivid now as Mrs. Leath's had been amoment earlier. He recalled with

tly expect it of him? After all, if she had been veryanxious to join her friends she would have telegraphed themon reaching Paris, instead of writing. He wondered now thathe had not been struck at the moment by so artless a deviceto gain more time. The fact of her having practised it didn

ofabsorbing interest to him as an escape from himself and

oplan new ways of detaining her. He dropped back into hischair, lit a cigar, and smiled a little at the image of hersmiling face. He tried to imagine what incident of the dayshe

oldingits separate secret. The nearness of all these othermysteries enclosing theirs gave Darrow a more intimate senseof the girl's presence, and through the fumes of his cigarhis imagination continued to follow her to and

His glance, in following it, lit on thetelegram which had dropped to the floor

oked out on the vast light-spangled mass of the city, andt