Under the Big Dipper

Sparkling sunshine and a clear blue sky reminding him poignantly of the glory of the Indian Summer of his own land, greeted Morton upon his arrival at the neat and attractive te...

Her back against the protecting trunk of an ancient hemlock, whose exposed gnarled roots gave a good foothold and a secure seat, Helène sat curled up with her feet tucked under...

The harvest moon that had smiled so benignly upon New York in all its fullness the evening before had proved a false prophet. The wind had shifted to the east and brought a copi...

After her trying experiences in that drive from Roumelia, Helène welcomed the harbor of refuge afforded her by the castle at Weimar. A small and pretty suite of rooms had been a...

The halcyon days of that summer were filled with work and innocent enjoyment for Helène and Margaret. The girls were so happy that the gods themselves must have become envious,...

Helène awoke the next morning wild-eyed and distraught. She had had a most frightening dream. She had dreamed that she was bound and enveloped in a coarse rug, carried like the...

After a long, weary night, made seemingly longer by the slow passage through the tortuous channels, threatened by reefs and coral shallows, the “Gate of Dirge” was passed. The p...

With much bowing and scraping and apologetic mumblings, the Jew passed through the doorway and into the room. Once within, he gave a quick turn and, closing the door quietly, he...

Brilliant lights flooded the gallery adjacent to the sumptuous dining-room from which it was separated by a balustrade of palms. The tables were occupied by men in sombre evenin...

True to her resolve, Helène called the next morning at the “Agentur für Gouvernanten,” the address of which she found in a directory at the hotel. The experience was a disappoin...

The frowning and forbiddingly gloomy slope of the hillside across the gorge to the East showed clear against the sulphur streak in the sky, when the lumbering vehicle drew up be...

When Morton entered Count Rondell’s stateroom he found him standing behind a small flat desk in the middle of the room, his commanding, almost gaunt figure erect and tense. As h...

Morton reached the cooler air and took several turns around the deck. The soft breeze playing on his face, the sight of the twinkling lights and the bustle from the shore, awoke...

As this Saturday was to be the last of the half-holidays of the summer, Margaret and Helène were devoting it to replenishing their wardrobes for the coming autumn. Monday would...

The express for Ostend was punctual to the minute, and John ensconced himself in the luxurious seat of his compartment, glad to be alone with his thoughts, alone for the first t...

The small, moss-covered clearing under the beeches proved to be an ideal retreat--a place good for the soul longing for isolation--a refuge for those desiring to escape from the...

Very soon after he had entered on his administrative duties in connection with the business his father had bequeathed him, John Morton had found that one thing was certain--he m...

Margaret Fisher, the buxom chaperon of Helène Barton, soon settled down to her life in New York as she had planned it with her friend in Hanover. The day following their landing...

John Morton walked the windy deck of the ship as though he were tramping all the way to Europe. He counted the throbbings of the great engine and the turns of the screws, so anx...

India the wonderful--India the home of Buddha and the land of mystery and misery. The country of glorious traditions and unsatisfied desires! What ambitions have not been dreame...

Morton had set the alarm clock for a very early hour, so that it was still almost dark when its insistent ringing roused him from his slumbers. He was still drowsy and scarce kn...

Helène’s life in the home of the Schreibers begun so happily continued as happily for many weeks. She communicated with no one in Weimar because she wished to forget, so far as...

Breakfast that morning was, indeed, a serious business. Everybody was ravenously hungry. They knew that it would be some hours before they could partake of the next meal. Even t...

A narrow strip of haze above the western horizon obscures the coastline and dims the burning rays of the setting sun. The blood-red ball, just visible above that indefinite line...

Morton braced himself against the gusts of wind and squalls of icy rain which drenched his face and body. It was with difficulty that he was able to see his way. There was no ne...

Christmas morning came and with it came another box of flowers--glorious roses, this time, of a deep red and of a scent breathing sympathy to the lonely girl. Enclosed was a car...

The following Sunday Morton, standing on the upper deck of the good ship _Umbria_, saw in the distance the serrated outline of his country’s real metropolis. Up the bay, past th...

Past Santa Andrea, the Forte a Mare of the harbor of Brindisi, the steamer crept slowly through the narrow channel connecting the outer bay with the splendid and well-protected...

Morton’s sleep was heavy but restless. He had thrown himself down, glad of the chance to rest, with his mind still busied over the day’s happenings, and doubting if he had done...