Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1905-11-20
DAILY SHORT STORY
MY PROMISE.

4
care OF her daughter Cynthia. eighs
years old.
| Margaret" said our mother the day
before she died, you know what I
have done for your
Indeed 1 do" 1 replied.
Now is your opportunity to make =
return Cynthia has no kith or kin u
rely on. Without your care know
not what will become of her. Promiss
me that you will be mother to her."
| Il will"
| TO do that you must not have CSS
| dren of your own. / know a woma01
| nature. We will never permit any
child's interest to stand In the way OF
| our own. Promise me that you will
not marry until Cynthia comes of age"
l was silent. ..l..
| AT least until she has married"
Again l made no reply
"Will you not promise me this?"
Il promise you that will not marry
| till Cynthia has love of her own-un-
| Ill she is engaged.
Ny foster mother sighed and turned
away. She knew she had no right to
/ ask such Il sacrifice. What had prom
| fsed was equivalent almost TO not mar
| rying at all. Eight or nine years at
least must pass before Cynthia would
love, and she might never love at all.
| Had l not met Irving Peck / would
| have promised my aunt all she asked
without hesitation. / had only known
him a little while, but it was long
| enough 10 tell me that L had met my
fate. The truest love, to my thinking,
is that which comes upon both the
man and the woman from the moment
they meet. Irving Peck and l each
recognized in the other Il mate. and
month after my foster mothers death
he asked me TO be his wife. When |
told him of my promise he did not ask
me to break it; indeed. he told me that
If did he would not respect me. He
said that he would merry no other wo-
man. and if Cynthia stood always i'll
our way he would never marry. We
did not think it best that we should
remain near each other. and Irving
went away.
l neither saw nor heard from him
till Cynthia was .seventeenE then he
wrote me that since she was of II mar
riageable age we might meet again. l
y
coquette. and there would be littR
hope of her choosing a husband. l
continued after this to hear from him
occasionally, but could give him no
hope. At nineteen cynthia had fiirted
with every young man i'll the village,
and. like Alexander there were no
more conqueSts for her to make. At
this time Il friend i'll Caldwell invited
her to Il visit, and Cynthia gladly ac
ccpted the invitation. | Wrote Irving
while she was away that he might
come to- see me. The truth Is, Cynthia
was so full of witchery and 'withal was
so much younger than l that L feared
to have him come while she was at
home | was disappointed to learn
from him that a special project would
prevent his coming till abOut,the time
Cynthia would return.
When Cynthia was fifteen she had
discovered the secret of my promise.
We slept together. and talked in my
sleep. | had never told her. fearing
that she might feel constrained to mar
~ on my account. But l did not know
her. Realizing that L looked to each
of her love affairs to release me. she
seemed TO take Il malicious plea sure in
tantalizing me. L wrote Irving of this
and l should not have done so. for ii
made him furious.
One morning 1 received letter from
Cynthia. and. to my great delight. 1t
told me that she had met man whom
she fancied she could love. She had
not thought TO give me his name, but
this OF little consequence to me.
for / would not know him. Her next
letter, written two weeks later, an
nounced her engagement, which meant
that at last l was free. Before finish
ing reading her letter / threw Ii down
and took up my pen To write Irving
announcing the good news; but, turn
ing to the letter again for the name Of
Cynthia's fiance. the room swan, and
! fell in a swoon. The name was wv
Ing Peek.
What strange-cOincidence had brought
these two together? Did Cynthia
know that her lover had been my low
er? Did Irving know that Cynthia was
the girl who had stood between US?
cynthia could not know the truth I'M
less he told her. Irving might and
might not know her. He had not seen
her before since she was a little girl,
but he must surely kn ow her by name.
Another week pass ed, and nothing
from irving Then ole morning car
rage drove up to the door, and man
L knew at, once that it was
irving. lie came TO the door with a
quick step, pulled thes bell and without
waiting for ii TO be answered strobe
INTO the house. On eeing me he step
ped forward TO take me in histarms
drew back.
I'VE are free" he said. Cynthia is
engaged"
What is our fire. ,dom worth since
you are engaged as Rell?"
Your promise VIZ S TO remain single
MI Cynthia should. become engage