Page:The Whisper on the Stair by Lyon Mearson (1924).djvu/283



, grateful glow enveloped Val as he looked upon Jessica’s slight figure standing there beside him in the crowd. There were thousands of people around them, yet the others seemed to him as shadows on a screen; he thought he and Jessica were the only realities there, the only beings of flesh and blood. Everyone else was out of focus; of two dimensions only. He felt the touch of her hand on his arm, and it thrilled him through his clothes.

So she was safe! A sigh of relief escaped him, and his whole world seemed different. Now, the fire in front of them, for instance. What a splendid bonfire the Chamberlin made! How appropriate, in this vast expanse of sea and sky. It seemed to him like a bonfire of celebration—rejoicing in the fact that he was once more together with Jessica; that she was standing next to him and he could hear the soft caress in her gentle tones.

“How glad I am to find you here!”

He said the words to himself, over and over, swiftly Truly, they rang pleasantly on the ear. She was glad to see him. That was miraculous—and yet it was as it should be. Last night she had sent him away. He contrasted her utterances with those of last night, and could not bring himself to credence in the fact that it was the same girl. It was not the same girl, he told Rh