Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1906-01-18
The Man Who Would
Never Betray
b. cosMo HAMILTON

| - tCopyIgnti Ivo3f ~ lVeoP" . SS"s'
l want you to tell me. I've got my
own ideas on the matter. Was Din
ton coward or liar?
There Is q woman In the story, and
| Dinton has straight nose, a fine
mustache, and he stands six foot one
| in his socks.
Canon Dinton had one son, Maj.
l Carbis one daughter. Their houses
| lay near to each other in village OUT
side Gloucester.
Harry Dinton and Mary Savernake
Carbis knew each other by sight before
either was able to pass the time OF
day in words tabulated by Johnson.
/ For some years they were wheeled out
side by side. For some years they ran
together hand In hand. Then came
| Harrow, and school for the daugh-
ters Of gentlemen" at Brighton. In
the holidays they raced on ponies.
blackberried and kissed each other In
a brother-and-sist way. Then the
boy entered the SHOP" as his father
had wished to do before him, and the
girl remained at Brighton. In the
] holidays they still raced on ponies,
played tennis and golf; but they black
berried and kissed each other no more
| in brother-and-sister way. At IL
they were, very secretly (no one must
| know, engaged to be married. Haf-
RVS mustache could be twisted; just
half Mary's hair had gone up.
Jove, how time slips on from chapter
| to chapterl
Harry Dinton grew into fine young
man, straight hacked, clean-eyed, hard
of hand. On the great day upon which
he came down to the drawing-room in
his first uniform he looked every inch
q soldier.
"Will he do, Dinton? VIII he DOT"
psaid the major, with slight moisture
in the corners Of his eyes, due very
likely to govt.
"He's credit" replied Canon Din
ton, in the stiffest speech he ever per-
petrated, due, very lIkely, to govt also,
ito his father, to his friends, and to
the nation"
"Eh, Mary my dear, ehY"
Eyes, indeed" said Mary, while IN
her heart she cried: "He's man, and
he's mine-he's mine"
And then Harry Joined" and began
to live as most of them live; he bought
things he couldn't afford, and gambled
and paid up with other peoples money,
and fiirted little with young married
women. Soon, quite soon, his mental
perspective began to change. The
three figures which hitherto had
dwarfed all others in his sight became,
, respectively, dear old dad" funny
old chap" "poor little Mary"
Poor little, Mary read, and re-read'
and kept his letters-we know the let
ters-and laid her flowers, her heart,
her faith. her trust, at the foot OF the
pedestal upon which she had placed
| the image of the man who would never
betray, For you must understand that
Mary was no ordinary girl.
She was a hero worshiper, an enthu-
aiast. an optimist, believer IN things;
she was very simple. So far as sne
J knew. she had never possessed moth
er. you will remember. Her environ
ment also kept her from becoming a.
! other girls are. The country was all
. she needed. Her garden, her animals
the management Of her fathers house.
filled her days. Her designations were
, tha croouet matches she played with
the Canon and her father till the light
failed to be followed by cut-tnroat
bridge with them under the green
shaded lamp. She needed no frocks;
She attended no sales. She borrowed
, M money. She met no smart peo-
nle She saw no life, but she lived
II her own complete satisfaction IN ner
dull. stupid village. There were lne
letters, you will remember. 1--WE KNOW
1.-THE letters.) ,,,,tt,
no not for a moment run away WIZ
the notion that Harry did not pehevs
! the hIgh-nown, not badly-worded sen
timents he protested tri-weekly to the
Young woman he was to marry. A.
that time he did, although he received
MANY three-cornered notes from MIS-
Tarporley, who kept open house ano
Epossessed. no available husband. III
aid 10 himself that the whole thing
: was different; that, really and truly
|, Mary was the only woman In the
!. world zone has to be ordinarily civil
: don't y, see" And so, to the surprise
= Of his best pal, he still continued Il
J ulay the game, more or less ACCORDING
!. TO rules.
! Then came day when the regiment
was ordered to India. Harry spent bill
I. leave Al home. For the first few day
the general petting he received wa
very pleasing. Then the croquet bore'
him and playing bridge for love didn'
amuse. It was all so quiet, 90 slow
; 40 off-the-map. There were man.
t things he was missing, the opera, VIII
q but that doesn't matter; q new play
9 polo match at Hurlingham. Q
y course. Mary was the most beautifu
= Rirl in the world and all that; but VIII
= didn't somebody tell her not to YEA
z dresses cut in that wayf They weren'
Z worn. And hsr hair-nobody did hal
eli that outrs manner. Everything nri
= lated him