The daily morning Alaskan., 1903-04-02
THE LOVELIEST
 GIRL IMAGINABLE


 Kate ward." Then. after s pause. Are you her first lover
 We'll. no. not exactly. Tber was q iellow she met several years aEO-a neasly sort of chsrp l fancy-who was Co desperately In love with her that she look pity on him and engaged herself Q him. It was broken on. however" Did you get all this information trom herT"
 By DO means. She simply told me that she had been engaged My infer nation came from her cousin, Anita Srifnth.-
 Anita Grlfith.'
 "You seem surprised. To you kDow herg'
 "Yes-no. Did she give you the cause of your aancee's break with-the other tellowr'
 Well. yes. Anita was Indirectly mixed up In tue matter. Yo0ng Steve Grifhth was led Into gambling by the other fellow as you call him. and ceeced."
 Indeed"
 T judge from the way you take the information that you know something about the affair yourself"
 "I know that Steve Grifith Is q little villain. always gambling. always bor' rowing. In other words, he Is dead beat"
 "of course q this Is nothing to me Kate was in duty bound tO tell me she bad been engaESSi The cause Of tbs break was another mattrr."
 Surely you are sot coocerned In that"
 Besides. I was myself eaEaSed ee- tnr~."
 ''To whomT"
 Anita Griffith"
 -Phew, And that Is how yOa EOS this story. Was shs. too. the lovehest girl imaEinsbleY
 Well. tO tell the truth. was much pleased with Anita. but l knew all the while she cared nothing for me. and thAt cools a fellow o1 after awhile" ''oh. yes: it cools him on. decidedly. or sets him on tre. But how did this ehangc from one girl to the other come abOuty'
 'lt was thls way: Anita introduced me to Kate. aud when she found l fancled her she nobly left kaie the field. When l asked Kate to marry rae and she told me that she bad been engaged, was troubled, for 1 feared that she loved the fellow and was go- ing to marry me only because l was a rood match financially. eoniided To Anita, who put me ln possession of the faetS"
 she was Very kind to you"
 Yes. Not many a girl would have acted so disinterestedly with q man Co whom she had been engsged'
 Did n ever oScur to you that she might have had uOtiyeE'
 What motive could she have possi' Ny had:'
 '~The other fellow"
 ~You mean that ste wanted to Get him for LerSelf:'
 That's what hsS occurred Co me. If you knew her. you would not have so bad sn opinion Of her"
 -I do know her
 What? You knew hev-intitaaIelyf ~Very intimately anu her afnaneed husband"
 .what-yOu? You the man she waa i'm I,y,. with all the while: My dear feIow. | congratulate you on being en- gagged to the loveliest woman imas lnable.
 Thank YOU" Ind the speaker aroSs spd left the room. That evening. 0y sp,esI appointment. MeS Katherin' Ward received him ln ta' Smal psrl1i. having given orders tha, she vas a, home to DO 0ae else. not even her nanee ~Psrdoa this intrusion" be aid: .-hut. as wrote in my note requesting an interview. have discovered eer- tain reasons for your action in break ing with me.
 aNot through me. 1 was pledged to secr,cy and kept my promise"
 .srhe story thAt drew young Steve Gririth Into gambling and neeeed him is false"
 ~I had the word ot the girl 10 whom xan are now engaged
 ..I win not accuse her. l presume >-r mother lied ts her Co account for money he made away with"
 A pauor slowly spread over the girfs face.
 gro prove what 1 say. here is a lstteS rrstten by Steve 0rirtth sn hour ago a,sslnx the whole story"
 .I don't want t0 Dee h It b too !hts We are both engaged"
 -I am nOt. Ny engagement was Aroksn this afternoon
 "On what gr0undT'
 Well. since 1 must tell aA or noth- ,.g the man who has supplanted ne , vtth you Inpocentiy told me a story uroying eoneiusively that the woman to whom l was engaged had caused the breach between you and ne. As .rou m knew ths facts l broke ny .ux.RsmenI You are ths woman | Lave and would marry. If not yoo. efu de unwedded."
  Six mouths later.
 .T eougratulsts you oo your snyase
 =. . .,rr former dancee hin