Page:Elizabeth Jordan--Tales of the city room.djvu/127

 "If I light it will you come away with me as soon as it goes out?"

"I promise," she said dully. He lit the match, and its yellow light flared up, illuminating the gray walls of the vault and its contents. She threw her arms over the casket in which her husband's body lay, and pressed her face against the glass that divided them, her eyes strained widely in this last look. The sleeping face beneath the glass looked very calm and peaceful. She saw it fall into shadow as the match burned down and left them in the gloom.

She groped her way out into the brilliant night, the old man tottering by her side. He did not speak to her, but he went with her through the cemetery and to the village streets, along which belated citizens were hurrying. The little shops they passed were ablaze with lights, and through the drawn shades of some of the houses she could see the bright warm rooms, happy children, and holiday decorations and trees. In the streets were the jingle of sleigh-bells and the sound of merry voices raised in Christmas greeting.

The old sexton took her to the hotel where