The Lambertville record., 1906-09-05
Love
Is sGnougb.
BY o. X. PHELPS
Copyright, 1906. by c. II. suteline
BY o. K. PHELPS

You Il story Alwyn bmmanded. ut
begins rs stories ought always to be
gin once upon Il time -
Dear me! | know | shant like It.
Those once upon Il time things have
grown To be such Il bore" Lolita muir
INJURED plaintively, but without in the
least checking the story teller.
He ran ON, his eyes fixed high above
her head, Y foolish fellow. foolsher
than The common. set himself to hate
wisdom. whose other name is wom
an
lie got his come uppance, of course.
They always do In stories, never out
of them" Lolita interiected diSpassion-
ately
This time Alwyn laughed Whose
other name is woman-w woman" he
repeated with all the emphasis OF CAPT
tails But you're dead wrong. lie got
no come-uppance. 1t MAS rather his Ill
luck to come down very hard-so hard
he groNele in the dust when one par
tieular woman looked him over with
out seeing him That has happened,
LET me see. about three times Il day for
full six weeks. Result
"One hundred and tweutys six grov
els If your figures can he trusted. ]
doubt it, | doubt. indeed. If there is
anything trustworthy about YOU" Io-
lita flashed nj him. with Il smile SO
coyly engaging ii took all the sting
from her speech. suppose you stop
being treSotne,' she went on. Il don't
ash You 10 be sensible. I'm SO far from
sensible myself. But let's get away
trlm the eternal me There must be
such lots of things better worth while"
What viii you have? Shall |. dis
course ON ships and shoes and sealing
WaX and cabbages and kingsT" AL
wyu asked. his voice submissive
enough. but dancing rebellion In his
cYeS
Lolita smiled demurely. Il think"
She said, with an air of grave reticc-
ton. "lf yoa don't mind. l had rather
hear things about Gordon Fleming"
There's nothing can tell you-he's
so openly, 81 Extensively, SO disgust
mels rich and 50 patiently in love with
you.9 Alwyn burst out
Lolita gave him a sidewse look. Are
you sure she murmured. Don't you
see II would be cruel to experiment
with my erednlitYf3
As cruel rs your experiments with
my affectionf' Alwyn flung back at
her, trying to speak tragically, but
laughing in spite of himself. What n
rogue she was TO play with him So She
loved him almost as he loved her. 1t
had been instantaneous they had
hardly more than looked ut each other
when eye spoke to eye, heart TO heart.
But she had foutcd him daintily all
along. thereby making him more than
ever captive And he In turn had
teased and veXed her, now with exag-
gerated and open devotion, now with
reproofS for wholly imaginary faults.
Really he did not think she could own
a fault she seemed TO him perfect and
altogether lovely. But In spite of his
overcoming. he had wit enough to see
that tame and abjcct devotion would
never suit her-he must show himself
Il man of spirit and temper else he
would be no man for her
1t was ten - since they had come
together ut T.. Glcnwold house party,
ten blissful KS of Lolita and love.
Incidentally there had been walks,
rides, drives, golting and moonlit
mnunderings. Mrs. Arklow Glen
woods chatelainc, had looked on In
smiling approval. Lolita had but
scant fortune. and Alwyn, though not
overrich. was clearly at the beginning
of great career Were not the Flem-
ings. father and son. behind him. the
Flemings who had millions In hand
and the potentiality of other millions
Ia their mere apprOvalf Gordon Flem-
ing. the son, was well in the middle
age; he had married very early-as had
his father before him-but it had
tdrned out very badly. In year there
had been separation later the threat
OF divorce, but fate stepped in to save
the family pride The wife sailed away
on IL ship that went down at sea. She
had not been heard Of In the fifteen
years since so it WAS safely assumed
that she was among the lost, None of
0s her She was, moreover, so slight
and frail she could hardly have lived
through the terror.
Morally and legally her husband was
free-to love. 10 WOO, to marry, II he
chose. So far he had not chosen. In
deed, until Lolita came in his way wo-
men had been to him as shadows
shadows which must be well and ten
derly used but given no further
thought Her freshness, her unspoiled
fairness her simple natural charm, had
swept him off his feet as completely as
they had bowled over Alwyn. At first
he had seemed to see how the land lay
between the pair and contented himself
with standing aside to watch their de-
light IN each other But for three days
past he had shown a disposition TO en-
ter the lists-a disposition which reused
In Alwyn rather pity than apprehen-
sion. Lolita knew-that was his sure
hope-knew what 1t was to love, to be
loved. All Fleming's millions were no
offset TO the knowledge. Still, it did no
harm to make believe he WAS in fear
of them.
Lolita looked at him in silence for q
minute, her face the while subtly chang
ing 1t smiled still, but with no mirth
In the smile, and the dimples and
curves somehow shaped themselves to
firmer lines. AT last she said abruptly:
'Don't you see I have to marry him?
II don't, shall marry you. and that
will be your ruin. Don't interrupt. l
must say II all ut once-I have not
promised, but that's how IL will end.
Last night had "A letter a home letter.
You know we're desperately poor rich
folk which is much worse than being
poor outright Mother has heard how
things are. That made her tell me
things things I had never guessed-of
debts, priyations humiliations she has
endured TO make me what | am, some
thing to retrieve our fortunes. Mr.
Fleming has written asking her leave