The Boy with Wings
liked you.... After everything I said! After everything I've thought, it
comes round to this. _It's better to have loved and settled down than
never to have loved at all.... Oh!_ I've got my head into as bright a
rainbow as any of them!..." scolded Leslie, laughing again as
flutteringly as Paul Ethampier's sweetheart might have done. "Oh, I
thought that just because one liked a man in the kind of way I liked
you, it was no reason to accept him ... _fool_ that I was----"
"Leslie!" he cried very sharply, scarcely believing his ears. "Could you
have?--_could_ you? And you tell me _now_! When it's too late----"
"Too _late_? _Won't_ you have me? Can't you see that I think you so much
more of a man when you're getting about as well as you can on one leg
than I did when you were just dancing and fooling about on two? As for
me----"
She turned her bright face away.
"It's the same old miracle that never stops happening. I shan't even be
a woman, ever," faltered Leslie Long, "unless you help to make me one!"
"You can't mean it? You can't----"
"Can't I? I am 'in the mood' _now_, Monty!" she said, very softly.
"Believe me!"
And her long arm was flung, gently and carefully, about her soldier's
neck; her lips were close to his.
* * * * *
When at last she left her lover, Leslie Long walked down the darkened
streets near Victoria, quietly and meditatively. And her thoughts were
only partly with the man whom she had left so happy. Partly they were
claimed by the girl-friend whose marriage morning wish had been for her,
Leslie, to be happy in the same way.
It seemed to Leslie that she was very near her now.
Even as she walked along the tall girl was conscious, in a way not to be
described, of a Presence that seemed to follow her and to beset her and
to surround her with a sense of loving, laughing, girlish pleasure and
fellowship. She saw, _without seeing_, the small, eager, tip-tilted face
with bright eyes of river-green and brown, crowned by the wreath of
short, thick curls. _Without hearing_, she caught the tone of the soft,
un-English, delighted voice that cried, "Oh, _Les_--lie----!"
"Little Taffy! She'd be so full of it, of course.... Of _course_ she'd
be glad! Of _course_ she'd know; I can't think she doesn't. Not she, who
was so much in love herself," mused Leslie, putting up her hand with her
characteristic gesture to tuck in the stray tress of black hair that had
come loose under her trim velvet cap.
"And the people we've loved can't forget at once, as soon as they've
left us. I don't believe that. _She knows._ If _I_ could only say
something--send some sort of message! Even if it were only like waving a
hand! If _I_ could make some sign that I shall always care----"
As she thought of it she was passing a row of shops. The subdued light
from one of them fell upon swinging garlands of greenery festooned
outside; decorations ready for Christmas.
On an impulse Leslie Long turned into this florist's shop. "I want one
of those wreaths you have, please," she said.
"Yes, Madam; a holly-wreath?"
"No. One of those. Laurel."
And while the man fetched down the wreath of broad, dark, pointed
leaves, Leslie Long took out one of her cards and a pencil, and
scribbled the message that she presently fastened to the wreath. She
would not have it wrapped up in paper, but carried it as it was. Then
she turned down a side-street to the Embankment, near Vauxhall Bridge.
She leaned over the parapet and saw the black, full tide, here and there
only jewelled with lights, flowing on, on, past the spanning bridges and
the town, away to the sea that had been at last the great, silver,
restless resting-place for such young and ardent hearts....
There was a soft splash as she flung the laurel wreath into the flowing
water.
Leslie glanced over and watched it carried swiftly past. In a patch of
light she saw the tiny white gleam of the card that was tied to the
leaves of victory.
This was what she had written upon it:
"For Gwenna and Paul.
'_Envy, ah, even to tears!
The fortune of their years,
Which, though so few, yet so divinely ended._'"
THE END
* * * * *
Popular Copyright Novels
_AT MODERATE PRICES_
Ask Your Dealer for a Complete List of A. L. Burt Company's Popular
Copyright Fiction
=Abner Daniel.= By Will N. Harben.
=Adventures of Gerard.= By A. Conan Doyle.
=Adventures of a Modest Man.= By Robert W. Chambers.
=Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.= By A. Conan Doyle.
=Adventures of Jimmie Dale, The.= By Frank L. Packard.
=After House, The.= By Mary Roberts Rinehart.
=Alisa Paige.= By Robert W. Chambers.
=Alton of Somasco.= By Harold Bindloss.
=A Man's Man.= By Ian Hay.
=Amateur Gentleman, The.= By Jeffery Farnol.
=Andrew The Glad.= By Maria Thompson Daviess.
=Ann Boyd.= By Will N. Harben.
=Anna the Adventuress.= By E. Phillips Oppenheim.
=Another Man's Shoes.= By Victor Bridges.
=Ariadne of Allan Water.= By Sidney McCall.
=Armchair at the Inn, The.= By F. Hopkinson Smith.
=Around Old Chester.= By Margaret Deland.
=Athalie.= By Robert W. Chambers.
=At the Mercy of Tiberius.= By Augusta Evans Wilson.
=Auction Block, The.= By Rex Beach.
=Aunt Jane.= By Jeanette Lee.
=Aunt Jane of Kentucky.= By Eliza C. Hall.
=Awakening of Helena Richie.= By Margaret Deland.
=Bambi.= By Marjorie Benton Cooke.
=Bandbox, The.= By Louis Joseph Vance.
=Barbara of the Snows.= By Harry Irving Green.
=Bar 20.= By Clarence E. Mulford.
=Bar 20 Days.= By Clarence E. Mulford.
=Barrier, The.= By Rex Beach.
=Beasts of Tarzan, The.= By Edgar Rice Burroughs.
=Beechy.= By Bettina Von Hutten.
=Bella Donna.= By Robert Hichens.
=Beloved Vagabond, The.= By Wm. J. Locke.
=Beltane the Smith.= By Jeffery Farnol.
=Ben Blair.= By Will Lillibridge.
=Betrayal, The.= By E. Phillips Oppenheim.
=Better Man, The.= By Cyrus Townsend Brady.
=Beulah.= (Ill. Ed.) By Augusta J. Evans.
=Beyond the Frontier.= By Randall Parrish.
=Black Is White.= By George Barr McCutcheon.
=Blind Man's Eyes, The.= By Wm. MacHarg & Edwin Balmer.
=Bob Hampton of Placer.= By Randall Parrish.
=Bob, Son of Battle.= By Alfred Ollivant.
=Britton of the Seventh.= By Cyrus Townsend Brady.
=Broad Highway, The.= By Jeffery Farnol.
=Bronze Bell, The.= By Louis Joseph Vance.
=Bronze Eagle, The.= By Baroness Orczy.
=Buck Peters, Ranchman.= By Clarence E. Mulford.
=Business of Life, The.= By Robert W. Chambers.
=By Right of Purchase.= By Harold Bindloss.
=Cabbages and Kings.= By O. Henry.
=Calling of Dan Matthews, The.= By Harold Bell Wright.
=Cape Cod Stories.= By Joseph C. Lincoln.
=Cap'n Dan's Daughter.= By Joseph C. Lincoln.
=Cap'n Eri.= By Joseph C. Lincoln.
=Cap'n Warren's Wards.= By Joseph C. Lincoln.
=Cardigan.= By Robert W. Chambers.
=Carpet From Bagdad, The.= By Harold MacGrath.
=Cease Firing.= By Mary Johnson.
=Chain of Evidence, A.= By Carolyn Wells.
=Chief Legatee, The.= By Anna Katharine Green.
=Cleek of Scotland Yard.= By T. W. Hanshew.
=Clipped Wings.= By Rupert Hughes.
=Coast of Adventure, The.= By Harold Bindloss.
=Colonial Free Lance, A.= By Chauncey C. Hotchkiss.
=Coming of Cassidy, The.= By Clarence E. Mulford.
=Coming of the Law, The.= By Chas. A. Seltzer.
=Conquest of Canaan, The.= By Booth Tarkington.
=Conspirators, The.= By Robt. W. Chambers.
=Counsel for the Defense.= By Leroy Scott.
=Court of Inquiry, A.= By Grace S. Richmond.
=Crime Doctor, The.= By E. W. Hornung.
=Crimson Gardenia, The, and Other Tales of Adventure.= By Rex Beach.
=Cross Currents.= By Eleanor H. Porter.
=Cry in the Wilderness, A.= By Mary E. Waller.
=Cynthia of the Minute.= By Louis Jos. Vance.
=Dark Hollow, The.= By Anna Katharine Green.
=Dave's Daughter.= By Patience Bevier Cole.
=Day of Days, The.= By Louis Joseph Vance.
=Day of the Dog, The.= By George Barr McCutcheon.
=Depot Master, The.= By Joseph C. Lincoln.
=Desired Woman, The.= By Will N. Harben.
=Destroying Angel, The.= By Louis Joseph Vance.
=Dixie Hart.= By Will N. Harben.
=Double Traitor, The.= By E. Phillips Oppenheim.
=Drusilla With a Million.= By Elizabeth Cooper.
=Eagle of the Empire, The.= By Cyrus Townsend Brady.
=El Dorado.= By Baroness Orczy.
=Elusive Isabel.= By Jacques Futrelle.
=Empty Pockets.= By Rupert Hughes.
=Enchanted Hat, The.= By Harold MacGrath.
=Eye of Dread, The.= By Payne Erskine.
=Eyes of the World, The.= By Harold Bell Wright.
=Felix O'Day.= By F. Hopkinson Smith.
=50-40 or Fight.= By Emerson Hough.
=Fighting Chance, The.= By Robert W. Chambers.
=Financier, The.= By Theodore Dreiser.
=Flamsted Quarries.= By Mary E. Waller.
=Flying Mercury, The.= By Eleanor M. Ingram.
=For a Maiden Brave.= By Chauncey C. Hotchkiss.
=Four Million, The.= By O. Henry.
=Four Pool's Mystery, The.= By Jean Webster.
=Fruitful Vine, The.= By Robert Hichens.
=Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford.= By George Randolph Chester.
=Gilbert Neal.= By Will N. Harben.
=Girl From His Town, The.= By Marie Van Vorst.
=Girl of the Blue Ridge, A.= By Payne Erskine.
=Girl Who lived in the Woods, The.= By Marjorie Benton Cook.
=Girl Who Won, The.= By Beth Ellis.
=Glory of Clementina, The.= By Wm. J. Locke.
=Glory of the Conquered, The.= By Susan Glaspell.
=God's Country and the Woman.= By James Oliver Curwood.
=God's Good Man.= By Marie Corelli.
=Going Some.= By Rex Beach.
=Gold Bag, The.= By Carolyn Wells.
=Golden Slipper, The.= By Anna Katharine Green.
=Golden Web, The.= By Anthony Partridge.
=Gordon Craig.= By Randall Parrish.
=Greater Love Hath No Man.= By Frank L. Packard.
=Greyfriars Bobby.= By Eleanor Atkinson.
=Guests of Hercules, The.= By C. N. & A. M. Williamson.
=Halcyone.= By Elinor Glyn.
=Happy Island= (Sequel to Uncle William). By Jeannette Lee.
=Havoc.= By E. Phillips Oppenheim.
=Heart of Philura, The.= By Florence Kingsley.
=Heart of the Desert, The.= By Honore Willsie.
=Heart of the Hills, The.= By John Fox, Jr.
=Heart of the Sunset.= By Rex Beach.
=Heart of Thunder Mountain, The.= By Elfrid A. Bingham.
=Heather-Moon, The.= By C. N. and A. M. Williamson.
=Her Weight in Gold.= By Geo. B. McCutcheon.
=Hidden Children, The.= By Robert W. Chambers.
=Hoosier Volunteer, The.= By Kate and Virgil D. Boyles.
=Hopalong Cassidy.= By Clarence E. Mulford.
=How Leslie Loved.= By Anne Warner.
=Hugh Wynne, Free Quaker.= By S. Weir Mitchell, M.D.
=Husbands of Edith, The.= By George Barr McCutcheon.
=I Conquered.= By Harold Titus.
=Illustrious Prince, The.= By E. Phillips Oppenheim.
=Idols.= By William J. Locke.
=Indifference of Juliet, The.= By Grace S. Richmond.
=Inez.= (Ill. Ed.) By Augusta J. Evans.
=Infelice.= By Augusta Evans Wilson.
=In Her Own Right.= By John Reed Scott.
=Initials Only.= By Anna Katharine Green.
=In Another Girl's Shoes.= By Berta Ruck.
=Inner Law, The.= By Will N. Harben.
=Innocent.= By Marie Corelli.
=Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu, The.= By Sax Rohmer.
=In the Brooding Wild.= By Ridgwell Cullum.
=Intrigues, The.= By Harold Bindloss.
=Iron Trail, The.= By Rex Beach.
=Iron Woman, The.= By Margaret Deland.
=Ishmael= (Ill.) By Mrs. Southworth.
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES:
1. Passages in italics are surrounded by _underscores_ and the ones in
bold are indicated by =bold=.
2. Obvious punctuation errors have been silently closed, while those
requiring interpretation have been left as such.
3. The word manoeuvres uses an oe ligature in the original.
4. The following misprints have been corrected:
"kimona" corrected to "kimono" (page 21)