The Kalispell bee. [volume] (Kalispell, Mont.) 1900-192?, 1902-12-05

straight into his eyes. 81 hate a lie.
AS to this truth, I already know it.
He had deserted me- If he still had
any love for me, it was choked by his
own troubles and fears"
at is hard,'' Morrison began.
at was hard" she corrected him,
shut it was known and suffered weeks
ago. Let us not speak of that Tell
me what must be told and advise me
as to what must be done"
Morrison stood speechless. His heart
was throbbing out the question: What
if | told her a lie? If | had brought
her false messages in this bitter hour?'
Presently they sat down and talked
together long time with sincerity,
without eXaggeration, without blame
for the dead, who in life had been him
self and no other, working out the ma
ture that was in him.
Viola was an orphan. There was no
one to whom she could naturally look
for aid at such a time. 1t was neces-
sary that some one should take into
his hands that tangle of business af-
fairs which Dudley Warner had left
behind him. Morrison asked for this
task, and Viola had no alternative but
to intrust it to him. So when the dead
had been laid to rest he went to work
to bring order out of tt strange chaos
of debts, with the result, that many
men had sound pecuni.ry reason to
bless the fate that had taken Dudley
Warner out of the world.
1t was a matter of months, and Nor
rison stretched it out as long as he
could. He had begged of Viola the
privilege of making no report to her
| until he could make complete one.
| She was a child in matters of business
| and did not realize nature of the
obligation which he Ia. ssumed. She
expected in the end long schedule of
| debts, which she would labor to pay.
In the meantime she lived cheaply
with her friends in Newark and mar
rowly met her expenses by the returns
from few pupils in music.
Morrison saw her rarely, and his life
| was haunted by the dread of what she
| must eventually face. 1t was in his
heart many time to falsify the whole
series of accounts, to force balance
in Violas favor and conceal from her
forever the fact that the source of it
was his own pocket. At the last he
| compromised the matter with his con-
| science. He would confess the fact
that he had incurred some expense in
the settlement of the estate, but would
say that it was a trifie and would beg
| Of her in the name of their old friend
ship to permit him to cancel it. And
that was what he did.
She heard him through without COM
ment or question, with a waiting calm
that frightened him. He dreaded to
hear her speak of him as a creditor, to
hear her say that she would work to
pay him. The cold sweat was on his
forehead at the thought. For the best
part of year he had dragged this mat
ter along, and she had worked as well
as she could for a living. There is lit
tie more for a woman in this world.
When he had concluded his state
ment, he paused, and she was about to
speak, but he checked her.
"Viola," he cried. "there is more than
OAC Aldu III ILLS WOlAu 1OA NhoAh \
would do this thing, and, more, why
| can't be the same friend to you that
| would be to John Newton if he were in
the same trouble? Why, he and I
would laugh over it, since am so rich.
He would know that was glad of the
chance. Can't you look at it the same
way? Well say nothing about this
money, and-and if you need some
more
She checked him with a gesture, and
it seemed to him that her face bright
ened with some hopeful thought.
"Can you tell me. indeed" she said,
shat this is all a friendly service?
Can you do this for me just as you
would for your cousin? | can see how
man might accept it, but a woman
seems always a beggar. Yet if you
are my friend'-
She paused, and Morrison looked at
her with sort of agony. He was back
again in the same familiar situation
The easy way was the false way, the
way of a lie.
"Viola," he said. '|there is something
in me that is not quite honest 1 am
led too often to take the path of eva
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