Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1899-11-23


fer to let everything go on as it is"
mot l." he rejoined. "What want
ts-our marriage. Don't let US wait,
Leila!"
well, at least few minutes" she
laughed. Then she became serious
| again.
Dick, how are you going to make the
new career in Windbury?"
rs there anything in my old career"
he demanded bluntly, growing irritated,
| ito be ashamed off,"
"Of course not" she answered quick
| ~, but she spoke with certain re-
luctance, which was caused by her fear
that he would not accept her ideas. This
tone of reluctance he misunderstood, and
it increased his annoyance.
| He fired up into mood of unreasona-
BILE exaggeration in replying, vaguely
aware that he was exaggerating, yet de-
termined to crafty his tenper's within
and blind, therefore, to the actual harsh
ness of his words. ooh, then" he said,
II am to understand, am 1, that you may
be jealous of another girl sometimes, yet
are not jealous. and that you are not
ashamed of my career SO fur, yet want
| me to feel that somehow / ought to be
ashamed of il?
4 He left his chair and began striding
about the room uneasily.
'Dick Malvern, don't be absurd" Leila
cried, with more Of challenge than Of
counsel. She did not resent his rude
| speech SO decidedly as she would have
done if he had meant it more, and, be-
sides, the main thing now was to gain
her point as to his career. To this point
| she advanced with an unfortunate be-
| ginning, Remember, you are going to
change your position greatly when we
i marry|
Her father was rich, and Malvern,
though full of energy, ability and prom
Use. still held only the post of assistant
superintendent in Grey's mills. What
! she had Just said, therefore, seemed to
| him an allusion to this fact and hint
4 that his marriage with her was to be a
sort of social promotions, though she had
not the least idea of implying anything
of the sort.
And so his pique went on increasing.
"Oh," he exclaimed, Pm absurd, you
think! Well, hasn't man as well as
woman the right to be absurd now and
then? And | am going to change my
position greatly!' suppose l have a
right to do that, too-when it's by your
consent! You needn't taunt me, though,
/ with exercising that right.
"a right?" retorted Leila, with fash,
and the gold circlet glittered, trembling,
as though it shared her anger. "a right
and over me and with my consentY She
laughed defantly, her cheeks glowing,
although tears We're yelling to her eyes.
Every well, sir! Oh, you are terrible!
say very well. If you are going to-
fling my consent back at me that way, it
is quite easy to relieve myself and you by
withdrawing it altogether"
..Leila!" Dick Malvern looked fright
ened now and his breath seemed to
come short as he started toward her.
i"You won't do that! You won't! What
are you talking about, Leila? What arc
you thinking
"Just this" she said, becoming matter
of fact and at the same time pleading:
"You should in some way change your
old relations with other people If you are
to marry and to build great life Of your
own. don't know quite how to ex-
plain it, and you mustn't think Pm cold
or heartless about them. Not at all.
But in town like ours, you know, the
old associations with people who are all
right in themselves, whom we all have
IL,
they don't understand you. They do not
realize your capabilities and how you
need sphere different from theirs and
must make one. I don't want you to
drop them exactly or be cold. OH how
can make it clear? But if you go on
with them now, keeping up the old boy
and girl affections and the rest of it, why,
by and by, when they see you expand
ing, growing and unable to be just the
same with them, they will think your
friendliness was all pretense. Don't you
see? And you'll. never be able to make
your own place."
/, AS to this Malvern had his own con-
ception, and it was point of pride with
him to make his greater career in the
very spot where he had made his small
beginnings, to do this also harmoniously
and keep all the old relations intact. But
| instead Of explaining his view calmly
curious fatality of human nature-he
grew angrier and expressed only his an
ger and his vanity, although just then he
though that he was defending not his
vanity, but his dignity.
"Not able to make my placeY he said,
| with sarcasm. II fancy I have made it
already and that wherever I am or what
ever do ] am able to keep it."
mo, noW persisted Leila. "You should
go to another city-to New York, best of
| all-and carve out career great enough
for us and your abilities; go into large
business, be public man, statesman
eyerything"
$50 that's what you want?" he said
noodlly. But your father-would he
agree?"
The storm seemed to be blowing over,
hut at Leila's next words 1t closed in
and settled down darkly upon them, lit
tie though she meant it to do so. "My
father?" she answered 1T isn't he who
is going to live our lives. This is q
question for u.s.
you mean" he interrupted, "for you,
since l am allowed 10 voice. You wish
me to go, to shake off Windbury and the
past all the past, to start for myself"
he ended, with emphasis on the last
word. WELL then, will do as you
wish, Miss Grey. A proposition has come
to me for new and profitable business
connection, which was going to tell you
about. The place is far from here" He
paused q moment, in dread of what he
knew he was going to say, but concluded
firmly, II shall leave tomorrow"
It was Leila who was startled now.
What, SO soon? On Thanksgiving day