The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1894-06-02

accepted Clcl Ollc anu Illiuc IL IuiCc
for it in this holiday number. Then he
called his assistant in and gave instruc'
tons for making up the copy-and l
took him away with me n gave him a
royal good time for IL week. When he
got back to the Office it WIS too late to
make any changes. and so you see the
number has come out with nothing but
my work. And a very good lumber 1t
is. too" he concluded. complacently.
But what do you expect to gain by
it," l asked: 1.-The story will surely
comc out. and 1t will 10 you no good,
but quite the reverse
You are wrong" replied Lightly,
quietly: 1.-The story will not come out.
You can sec that ADDISON must be the
last m!an to tell it. And he could have
no object in doing so, especially as the
number has already made such Il good
impression"
with that he took from his pocket
copies of Il %hnlf-dozcn leading papers
and reviews and showed me comments
that were not only favorable but fiat
tcrin= in the extreme.
Pail fory' said !. not Il little dis
gustcd with the whole business, and
particularly at being made Il contidant
of.
Eyes" he laughed; "but it zoe just
the same. And now" he added. with
4: slight show Of hesitancy, for the
other matter"
600 ahead" l answered. not very
g%raciously. considering that l was
dining with him; II might as we'll hear
it all now"
You asked me what l expected to
gain by 1t. You know Lcttic Under
wood" l started at the namc, but
nodded with what composure I could
command. That dear girl" said
Lightly, "has promised to marry me
as soon as l have won Il place in lit
e%raturc-in fact. as soon as l have
IN established standing with any Of
the lradin. magazines. This settles
that point" To emphasize his mean
ing he tapped All the World trium-
phantly.
''Rut surely" I said, you would not
consider this fair? You would lot be
willin. that she should know"
"All's fair in love, my boy. And L
want you to be my best man"
l managed to get off with some half
promise. and then, pleading IN en-
%gascmcnt, 1 got out Of the club as
quickly as possible and into a cab, and
gave the driver the number Of Lettie
Undcrwood's house.
The dear girl could have choked
Lightly for using the words; they were
in my heart whenever ] thought Of
her. which was all the time-was at
home and received me with her usual
sweet welcome. But l held her at
arms length, and, with all the STERN
ness that l could command. exclaimed:
"Lcttie, you l. IL wretclcd .triflcr.
Give me back my heart"
What is the mater with the poor
boy now" she cooed softly.
Matter enough. You have promised
to marry Lightly
Yes" She laughed. 81 remember.
He proposed to me six months ago. I
told him ! would when he had made
a Success"
Your exact words" l said, severely,
~"w"lc-'whcn you have Il standing
with any Of the leading magazines"
Same thing" she answered, airily;
che will never achieve either. 1t was
my way Of letting him down easy"
"Letitia. listen to me-" said;
Lightly has written the entire Christ
mas number Of All the World.'
At this Lefty looked ut me reprOach-
fully.
Dick" she said, ''whcrc have you
been dining:"
No. it is not that" l protcstcd; II
dincd at the club. and Lightly told me
himself. and lie showed me the maya
zinc. and asked me to be his best
man, and we only had one bottle be-
tween U.S."
We'll, this is a scrapc!." she OK
claimed ruefully; " suppose I will have
to keep my promise and marry him."
And what about your promise to
G asked sarcastically.
That was indefinite" she answered
thoughtfully; there was never any
time set for that. So l shall have to
marry him now, and if he should die.
or anything happen, l could marry
you afterward."
"Thanks," l replied dryly: "but that
programme does not suit me. Now let
me plan Il little. You have been a
willfnl creature, never ready to name
the day. and see the trouble you have
got into. l suppose Lightly will be
here bright and early tomorrow to
marry you. Now, I propose to marry
you myself tomorrow at NOON"
At this her eyes opened in wide pro-
test.
Yes" I continued, Il shall send a
note to Lightly. telling him Of your
change Of plans and asking him to be
my best man."
But. Dick, this is so sudden. What
shall ! live on!
Love. you practical GIRL" ! cried,
catching her in my arms; besides, the
publishers Of All the World to-day
offered me the editorsiip Of the maya
zine. vice ADDISON, resigned. l sup
pose his going out has some conncc
tion with this business Of Lightly's. I
am sorry for him, but I might as well
have the place as another"
And then you can print anything
of your own that you want to, can't
you. dear? Isam glad that You won't
have to be rejected any more"
Not even by you, s~wcethcart?'
"NOt ven by me-any more"
Do YOU want the fms:
We were married on the morrow,
and Lettie was as pretty Il bride us
ever was scents pretty as though
she had been given months. instead of
hours. for making ready. But on sec
ond thought. 1 am not sure that she.
had not been making ready all tic
time that | had been yainly asking her