THE HUNGRY HEART

I

Courtship and honeymoon of Richard Vaughan andCourtney Benedict are told accurately enough by athousand chroniclers of love's fairy tales and dreams. Wheresuch romances end in a rosily vague "And they livedhappily ever after," there this history begins. Richard andCourtney have returned from Arcady to reality, to centralIndiana and the Vaughan homestead, across the narrowwidth of Wenona the lake from Wenona the town.

The homecoming was late in a June evening, with aperfumed coolness descending upon the young lovers from thegrand old trees, round the Vaughan house like hisbodyguard round a king. Next morning toward eight Courtney,still half asleep, reached out hazily. Her hand met onlythe rumpled linen on Richard's side of the huge fourposter.She started up, brushed back the heavy wave of auburn hairfallen over her brow, gazed down at his pillow. The dentof his head, but not he. Her eyes searched the dimness.The big room contained only a few large pieces of oldmahogany; at a glance she saw into every corner. Alone in theroom. Her eyes, large and anxious now, regarded thehalf-open door of the dressing room to the rear.

"Dick!" she called hopefully.

No answer.

"Dick!" she repeated, a note of doubt in her voice.

Silence.

"Dick!" she repeated reproachfully. It was the firstmorning she had awakened without the sense of his nearnessthat had become so dear, so necessary. It was the firstmorning in this house strange to her—in this now life theywere to make beautiful and happy together. She gave aforlorn sigh like a disappointed child, drew up her knees,rested her elbows upon them, and her small head upon herhands. Sitting there in the midst of that bed big enoughfor half a dozen as small as she, she suggested a butterflypoised motionless with folded wings. A moment and shelifted her drooped head. How considerate of him not towake her when the three days and nights on train had beenso wearing!

Swift and light as a butterfly she sprang from the bed,flung open the shutters of the lake-front windows. Inpoured summer like gay cavalcade through breach ingloomy walls—summer in full panoply of perfume and softair and sparkling sunshine. She almost laughed aloud forjoy at this timely rescue. She gazed away across the laketo the town where she was born and bred! "Home!" shecried. "And so happy—so utterly happy!" Herexpression, her whole manner, her quick mov

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