Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-12-07

knew the exact details, but he married
somebody else, and for months Ruth went
about looking like a ghost. with smile
tnat was little too set 10 be quite natural,
and her head higher in the air than ever.
l think hated her worse at that time than
1 did when she was able to crow over me,
because l knew that she was suffering;
knew that she was hurt and hurt badly;
but as for the white feather-not bit OF
1t, cot so much as the very tip of single
quill would she show.
After tn. t business she never seemed to
care what she did: they were all fish that
came to her net, and, on my word, there
wasn't a man in the town but fell under
the spell OF her fascination. They pretend
she was not bad sort, "a ripping fine girl
and good fun, and all that, don't you
know" But you had only to look at them
to see what their real thought was, and
that any one of them would have jumped
at the chance of marrying her If she would
only have given word of encouragement.
1 never hated anybody as ] hated that
girl.
There was Bill Errington. Bill Errington
used to belong to me: we had been sweet
hearts years and years before. when he was
a boy at the grammar school and l was a
girl at Miss Jenkinson's. For years Bill al
ways sent me a valentine. and Christmas
card, and an Easter egg, and somehow II
had always been an understood thing be-
tween his family and mine that one day
should become Mrs Bill Errington, or. as
young Mrs. Errington." l don't say that
there were not others that l would rather
have married-I would have liked poor, dear
Freddie much better than Bill Errington.
but you know girl in a place like Blank
hampton has not got over and above much
chance of marrying anybody. ana II she
doesn't want to stop an old maid (Whtch, l
suppose, no girl wants to do) she makes up
her mind to take the best that comes along.
l had quite made up my mind that would
take Bill Errington all il good time, but
Ruth Jeaffreson came sailing along and
she knocked that on the head in the twink
ling of an eye. 1 can't tell why. She didn't
want Rill-not bit of it. believe that she
would rather have died than have married
into the Errington family. although they
were very swacger people and would have
been none too pleased il Bill had marie
her. But Ruth never meant marrying Bel;
Ruth only meant spelling my chance. " ny
she should have wanted to spoil my chance
I cannot think, because we were not even on
speaking terms; indeed. I hadn't spoken to
her for years and years, not since We were
quite small children meeting at the same
juvenile parties. and We had never been
friends even then. But, all the same she
did spoil my chance with poor Bill. 1t weGt
on for about six weeks; wherever one went
one met the two. she all mods and smiles,
and he. poor fellow. looking in the very sew
enth heaven of delight. l wasn't at all
sorry when she did 1ilt Rill-which. of
course. she did-because he ought to have
been well aware of what she was, and yet
he deliberately went to his own destruction.
just as a poor silly moth goes floating about
a lighted candle. The worst of 1t was, he
wouldn't stay in town after It happened, but
went away. throwing up his fathers good
practice-for his father was lawyer-and
going to London to gain experience. l said
at the time IF Bill Burlington gains expert
ence of a wrong sort he will have Ruth
Jeaffreson to thank for it."