The fairy of the afternoon must have been near them all the time, for in spite of the salaaming manager at the exit and the cry of “Cab, sir?” from a waiting driver, Morton was compelled to turn his head away and look up at the big moon floating in the spangled blackness of the gorge’s roof. A voice seemed to whisper to him: “Make hay while the moon shines.” Instantly he had taken Helène by the arm and though his heart beat within him he said, in a most matter-of-fact tone: “Shall we walk? It’s a delightful evening.”
Of a certainty the fairy was at work; for the cool air was laden with the scent of the meadows across the river and touched with the dew distilled of youth’s innocent hearts. Margaret was forgotten, the night was bathed in beauty and the bell of a neighboring clock lost one of its strokes in the reverberating sounds from the cañon’s sky-scrapered sides.
It is good to be young and to be pure in heart; for then we stand well in the esteem of the fairies of our land. Morton trembled at the touch of Helène’s arm as he walked by her side, breathing in the cool, scented breeze, and realized, for the first time in his life, that he was, indeed, rich.
When they arrived at the shadowed doorway of the boarding-house, Helène gave a quick look upward and saw a light in the window of her sitting-room. She felt guilty and a little afraid. John stood for a moment, hat in hand, and took the dear hand in his own warm, friendly grip. Then bowing deeply he touched it with his lips.
“Good night, Miss Helène, and pleasant dreams attend you. I shall call in the morning.”
“Good night, Mr. Morton, and thank you for a most enjoyable evening. I hope these violets will keep. I should like to wear them to-morrow.”
Morton smiled and watched her go up the steps. The door opened. Helène turned to the still waiting man standing bareheaded in the moonlight.
“Good night, Mr. Morton,” she cried in her happy voice.
“Good night, Miss Barton,” but his words were drowned in the sound of the closing door.
He looked up at the light in her window for a moment and then, replacing his hat, walked slowly away.