Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-09-03
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By
chr AM'WILLIAMSON

JlLitilS IayHe penny dreadful stories.
But you cant go on doubling when a vir-
tuouS old lady claims a man as her own
SON had to accept the fact that he was
Jack Winston
For an instant 1 felt as if it were play
ana L were some one in the audience
looking on. 1t didn't seem real or to have
anything to do with me. Then / caught
MS eyes They were saying, DO forgive
me- and with that 1 realized how much
.here was to forgive. He had made me
behave like a perfect little fool, giving
MIN good advice and tips-actually tips,
-teiiinS MIN Cor very nearby that he
was quite like a gentleman" and hun
dreds of other outrageous things which
all rushed into my mind as they saw your
whole past life does when you are drown
ing. ~
l gave him glance-1uite a short one,
because l could hardly look him in the
race thinking of those tips and other
things f ~ ~
Ihen l turned away and began talking
70 uad' out very likely 1 talked great
nonsense, for hadn't the least idea what
L was saying. except that I kept exclaim-
ING the same five words over and over.
iike monograph doll, Il am glad to see
you am glad to see your"
maps had presence of mind enough
to invite the dear thing to take Stall
n ~ me, Tor the sake of escaping from
, lor, anyway. | woke up from a
ao. .', oi cream to find myself walking into
d sum ner house alone with dad
ION you think" he was saving "tba+
10y ..p 'leated Mr. Winston rather rudely?"
,ra nu9ely repeated. How has he
IF fsy You me- rea1 should ni, like to know?
turned Dad. in that nice. calming w,v ho
mas "iich. even when you are ruffIed m
n M .s you feel ike a kitty-cat being strok,
So very ro MS See grille dear. that you have
having a chat with him. and if ba tolls tha
ruin ne appears to have served YOU prattv
w., WI but perhaps you will say he doesn't
teI TIE truth as to that?"
On; ne served me well enough-too WELL"
auiu l. BUT let's not speak of him
want to talk about you"
hefes plenty of time for that" said
Eau 49,, We come to stay-fo- while Be-
lore We begin on me- let's thrash out tbis
matter of Mr.. Winston"
II deserves to be thrashed," l remarked.
Trying 10 laugh. But I've heard things
Ihtt sounded more like laughs than that.
hoped Dad didn't notice it was wobbly.
n,d ne .!s tod me the whole story vent on
Dad' so perhaps I'm in a position to Judge
peter than you. Women are supposed to
i .aNe no abstract sense of justice, but l
thought my girl was different You hear
what lnston has got to say firs; and then
please ~ o'
II don't see anything abstract in that.
IL $ purely personal" said I. Mr. Win
ston can't expect me to hear him. or even
10 see him. again"
lie ne hopes. not expects: as a chap feels
ABOUT aasob ,, going to heaven" said Dad. I'll
le ..r MIN; and You can get it over"
DO nothing of the kind" 1 exclaimed
Let him stay with his mother
Il guess I'm competent to entertain his
mother for few minutes" sugscs ted Dad
She . a very pleasant-looking lady"
when saw he was determined, just shut
my lips tight, and let him 60 What |
meant 10 do was to whisk out as soon as
MS nj! back was turned. so that when Mr..
w lnston should some, he would find me
gone There was no danger 1a wouldn't
understand why; and a decided action like
that on my part would settle everything
for the future.
But as got to the door 1 saw him. not
SIX feet distant. He must eith4r have been
on the way 10 the summer house when Dad
left me. or else he'd been waiting close by.
Anyhow. evidently he and Dai couldn't
lave said two words to each other; there
hadn't been time; and there was Dad
off as If to find and entertain
Lady BrighthelmstOn. l should almost
have had TO push past Mr.. Winston. if I'd
persisted in escaping. which would have
locked childish, SO quickly I resolved to
stand my ground-in the summer house
and face Ii out. My heart was eating so
fast 1 could hardly think, and l had to
shake. that after all he was the guilty one,
not l. before l could catch at even ii decent
amount of savor faire.
Naturally as ii was the only thing to be
eyes had asked before. Can you forgive
me?''
| always thought Browns voice one of
the incest things about him. unless, per-
hapS, his eyes: and both were at their
very incest now. l hadn't realized till he
came to me, how much I should want to
forgive him. / did want to, awfully, but 1
felt ii would never do; and l think 1 must
have been commercially dignified as 1 an
swered: The hardest possible thing for a
woman to forgive man is making her ri
dicuIous.'
But, then" he cut in, quite boldly, 81
don't ask you to forgive me for a sin l
haven't committed. only for those l have"
You have made me ridiculous" 1 in
sisted.
Il fanced it myself; but I didn't
a chance of being near you. even under
false pretenses 1t is for deceiving you
that ask to be forgiven. l lived Il good
many lies as Brown, but, honestly, I be-
sha'n't be able to bear my life if you
don't"
4 can't forgive you" sid. again
Then punish me first and forgive me
a fterward-very soon. / deserve that you
should do both"
Il think you do deserve the first, But
don't quite see how or why you deserve
the second"
Because 1 worship you. and would rath-
err be your servant than he king of Il coun-
try in which you didn't live !
oh! / couldn't say another word, for
thinking of Brown being in love with me,
and there being no reason why L shouldn't
let myself love him too-eXcept, of course
ones self-respect after all that had hap
pened. But just for an instant | didn't
think about that last part; and ! 50
surprised. and so happy-or so shocked
and so unhappy Il couldn't be sure which;
only, whatever the sensation was, it was
very Violent1, that | was speechless
Brown took advantage of that, and talked
n great deal more / tried to look away
from him, but l simply couldn't. He held
my eyes, and after he had told me whole
chapters about his thoughts and feelings
since the very first day of our meeting IT
occurred to me that he was holding my
hands too-both of them. l am not sure
he hadn't been doing il for some time be-
fore l found out, but 1t was his kissing the
hands which brought me to myself.
1t seemed too extraordinary that Brown
should be doing that-almost as If l were
dreaming. And to be perfectly frank with
myself, 1t was an exquisite dream; be-
cause such strange things can happen in
dreams, and you don't seem to mind bit.
Luckily. lie didn't know this; and snatch
ed my hands away, exclaimng: Mr.. Win
ston.'
Don't call me that" he begged. Call
me Brown.
But you are not Brown"
Il love you just as much when / was
Brown and more. If you only knew what
thousands of times | have longed to tell