The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1902-08-01
THE FIVE O'CLOCK EXPRESS.


sions-as she was wont to describe her
self-shook her head slowly. fF5
'Still, you love me-" insisted Wilmot
softly.
NO." she answered; Il do not think I
do ...'.'.{:# :
Look in my eyes and tell me that"
said Wilmot quietly.
why not?" she said, with little
laugh, and raised her eyes straight to
his. There was only moments silent
gaze between them, but in that time an
exquisite flush stained her face and her
lips curved tenderly. She recovered her
self quickly. IF do" she said quietly,
1T does not mean anything"
You mean-'
'"That l have no faith in it. Love
may he beautiful thing, the theory of
it may be beautiful. but it fails to work
out that way in MARRIAGE
My dear girl said Wilmot quickly,
do not talk that way. l do not like to
work out in marriage. when the love does
not continue beautiful, it simply means
that it never was there. There is moth
ing more to il"
You will have to admit that it is a
pretty good imitation then,' she said,
"AcI IL ucCelNeS lille peOpIc Out VI ten.
it, -
Wilmot did not reply. He leaned
back in his chair and allowed his eyes
to wander around the pretty drawing
room that had grown so familiar to him
the last few months. He believed he
could name every object in it. He had
picture and studied each article of adorn-
tment, waiting eagerly for the swish of
Eirginia's gown on the stairway. 1t was
a strange thing if he could not marry
the woman he loved when she loved him.
He sat staring at the floor. thinking
hard.
II do not know what am going to
d." said Virginia, musingly. She rest
ed one elbow on the arm of her chair,
her face in her hand, and looked at him.
Il do not know what is going to be-
come of me. 1t is an empty, cherries
vista have before me-"
"What you are going to d." said Will
love. Mind you--the man you love! You
know that most women merely marry
the men who love them. There is
great difference
''There is something fascinating about
the fact that a man loves you, even if
you do not care for him at ALL" she
admitted
"Wilmot rose to his feet and squared
his broad shoulders.
THAT was your trouble" he said.
She raised her hand to him with a
faint appealing gesture. Don't" she
begged--"don't tell me what the mistake
was, even if it is all over. You don't
time.' A mist of tears fell from her
eyes. Wllmot crossed the room in long
strides and crushed both her hands in
his. His arms ached for her, but he
only said "Poor little girl,'' under his
breath.
she cried. II never learned to take IN
happiness WE'LL never could make the
best Of anything. I was born rebel.
If thing was bad, always threw it
away. Don't you see, never can make
throw away"
Poor little girl ne said softly.
she said. 'SThe 1niversee ~ a,l G6e1S'
No, Virginia." he said. "the universe
is all right and life is all right You will
find it out in little WHILE You struck
rock with your little bark-that is all.
You had too many OF these dreams-so
many of them that you could not get the
ali right for you e YETI He w sudd sGs out out
his hand OH her hair, touching it rever-
emily. She sat staring at the rug at her
feet with absent eyes, a melancholy droop
at her mouth, her thoughts busy. He put
his hand under her chin and turned her
face. up to him sharply. The want, the
longing, the loneliness some echo
Of her own-that she read in his struck
her like knife. She put both hands
against him and pushed him away. "You
must not" she whispered; ''you must not
love me. l believe you do love me, but
you must not. Do you not see that I can
not marry again? l am afraid. I should
be watching all the time for the signs of
the awakening. Do you not see that it
would be poisoned from the start?'
Wilmot walked over to the window
and looked out OIL the avenue. The day
was dull and cloudy. Some children were
running up and down the pavement, and
their shrill cries, as they darted back and
forth in their games, awoke some vague,
dull pain within him, some indefnable
the inadequacy of life. He turned to
her suddenly. II am going away" he
said.
Away" she repeated. "Where?''
''Some place where / will not see you
again for a long time" he answered So
berly.
You are very foolish she said.
cam IT, he replied quietly. "You mean
that l have been. But am not going
to be so any longer"
"What do you mean?''
81 mean that man is fool if he stays
near woman who does nothing but give
him pain. have to save myself, and the
first step l am going to take toward it,
Virginia, is to get out OF your neighbor-
hood.'
He smiled at her with friendliness.
She caught her breath and was silent a
moment.
"Why cannot we go on seeing each
other just as we have all summer?" she
asked finally.
"Now, look here" said Wilmot, with
some irritation, 1--WE are not children, and
mans love is not an air plant. 1t
doesn't feed on nothing. No, it will do
me good anyway, to be away from you
for while.'
"How long?' she asked.
How can 1 say?" he answered. ''The
only thing I can do is to start. And
that reminds me that I ought to be
about it."
when are you going?" she asked
TREMENDOUSLY.
Tonight" he answered, shortly.
your mind?"
''There is only one thing that could
make me do it, he replied, firmly. Her
foil