Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1886-11-12


te-t WIS surve. sm ing AMI bland. He
Sroka of the iterest he felt in the young
VI, tor Tor his / the. Mr. Herbart's sake
he admired some embryo des gu, anu
wish d and proph si"l success. -len. As
Gerald began I hope that + -,enia brother
might some day ne hi, frioni, ne turned
upon him and tore him 10 pieces.
.Tua. after ali, Mr. Leigh, my great OBJ
jet in calling concerns my sister,"
Gerald grew very pale.
''She is good girl, but weak. She has
confesse to me that some sort Of rom antic
nonsense has passed between you"
| '.She has vowed to be my wife-no more,
no Less
HIS impetuosty seemed to amuse Herbert
a am afraid such thing is an impossible
| ity.r he sal l, sererely. Il shall not insult
you by telling you she is all but penniless-
geniuses, know, never think OF money
but fear l rust pain you by saying she
repents of her hasty words"
That" said Gerald slowly, yet fiercely,
"s lie''
"My good sir, cannot allow you to use
such words. My temper is fair, but it has
its limits"
81 apologize" said Gerald, sullenly. 81
should have said you were coercing her."
Il never coerced any one in my life,
much less my sister. Naturally, shall OBJ
jet to her marriage with you, but that
max $ no difference"
Tell me what you have to tell" said
Gerald, nervously He hated and feared
this smooth, smiling man.
IN few words, then. My sister is I'M
happy and unsettled. For several days she
has tcen trying to answer letter you sent
he. AT last she conf led all to me. l am
sure am not goin, too far when / say she
would he glad to think that all boy and girl
prorliscs between you were forgotten"
''She sent you to tell me thisF asked Ger.
all. tclrsely.
w. She Knew I was coming. l am
lu ing her thoughts in my own words"
! - don't expect You to understand what
my eve for your sister means-you could
not," said Gerald. 'But you know she has
vowed to be my wife,
insist upon it," The emphasis Herbert laid
| on insist made Gerald's heart sick.
He said nothing, but with q strange smile
on his white face went to a table and
wrote few words. He handed the paper
| to his visitor.
Read" he said. "You say you are her
messenger, now you can be mine" The
words were:
EUGENIA: If this is unanswered, shall
believe that you wish to recall everything
| that has passed between US.
THANK YOU" said Herbert. This is all I
could expect"
| Nth trembling hands thesculptor placed
the paper in an envelope and once more ten
dered ii to Herbert.
No, thank you" said Herbert. people
have been tempted to suppress letters be-
fore now. Post it in the ordinary way"
G.rald left the room. He returned in q
few moments, AMI Herbert knew that the
letter had been posted He had nothing
further to do with Gerald, so held out bis
band affably.
No" said Gerald. 81 would rather
not" His eyes were cleaning strangely.
las you will, " said Herbert, with indiffer-
ence.
Il will change my mind" said Gerald in
a low voice, and taking the others hand
Condemned people always shake hands
with the hangman, think"
| He spoke with CHASTITY attempt at mirth.
| Herbert left the studio without another
word, but as he drove to Mrs Cathcarts
shoots or hangs himself the better"
1
his hand on her shoulder, and, with q look
she had never yet seen on his face, said in a
cold. contemptuous manner:
! '"Eugenla, / nave Deen taxing some
trouble ON your behalf. To-day two things
are going to happen which will settle your
| future. Norgete will be here presently to
ask you to be his wife. By the next mail
you will naAa letter from that stonecutter.
Before youahswer it shut yourself up and
think until you are in proper frame Of
mind. Women are fools, but surely you
can't be the biggest among them"
"You have seen him'" said Eugenia,
family.
YES. An extremely nice young man-in
his place"
WAS he wellF'
Very well and very comfortable. Nv
dear girl, he quite won my rsspect-a thor
oughly practical young man, with lots Of
common sense. Now, goodbye. Don't make
any mistake"
DID she hear Alright? Her brother found
Gerald thoroughly practical young man!
| The lie was SO gigantic that it seemed i'm
j possible it could be all lie She was re-
volving it in her mind even when Sir Ralph
| Norgate was announced.
| As for the practical young man he had
locked his door and thrown himself on the
ground. James Herbert's words had i'm
pressed him, and perhaps his faith in Eu-
genia's faith was not so great as he fancied.
Tomorrow he would know the verdict. He
felt sure that if his letter remained unan-
swered for twenty -four hours James Her
bert had spoken the truth.
| Miss Herbert found her brother a true
prophet. Sir Ralph Norgate offered his
hand, and when the offer was refused told
her be did not mean to accept her answer
as final. She did not, on her part, say any
thing about her love being given else where.
Theu Gerald's letter came, and following her
brothers ad vice, she did think everything
over; she sat for hours trying to nerve her
self to answer the letter as love and faith
demanded.
| She loved him. Had he been present her
inlecision would soon have vanished; but,
as it was, she could reflect fully on what an
answer to his letter must decentralization
of all her friends-an end OF social ambi-
tion-many years, if not a life, Of poverty.
! Eugenia shuddered as she thought of the
consequences and wished that She and Ger
aid had never met. She wished, moreover,
that the temptations of rank and wealth
held out by her other sutton were less.
What would Gerald do if his letter were
not answered. If she could but persuade
l4erself that her brothers estimate of his
character was the right one. Possibly it
might be-James knew mankind well. If
she could but think so-could believe that
Gerald would forget-she might then find
il easier to be wise, and, by taking him at
his word, save herself and perhaps him from
what must insure uuhappiness.
| She was no heroine of romance. She was
not one who could lightly defy the world Or
despise what the world values. Gerald's
fervent impetuosity had won her love, but
she hal always blamed him for winning it.
Now, if she could bring herself to tread it,
an easy, simple road to freedom was open.
SO she reasoned-so she excused her half
neditate1 treason-so she persuaded herself
it woull eventually be better for both if
they parted. Yet all the while she knsw
Size loved Gerald Leigh as she could love no
other man. In this mental conflict the day
PISSED and night found the letter un-
| answered.
| The first step-the step which cost-had
been taken. Another and anothH day paased