Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1906-09-27
Love
Is enough
By O. K. PHELPS
Copyright, 1906, by c. II. Sutcliffe
By O. K. PHELPS

E-====== ====z=====-g
shut your eyes tight while | tell
rou story" Alwyn commanded. 1T
hSgins as stories ought always to be
Sn. once upon time -
Dear me, | know l shan't like It,
Those once upon n time things have
grown to be such a bore"' Lolita muir
INJURED plaintively, but without in the
least checking the story teller.
lie ran on, his eyes fixed high above
her head. a foolish fellow, foollsher
than the common, set himself 10 hate
wisdom, whose other name is wom-
an
"IIe got his come-uppance, of course.
They always do in stories, never out
of them" Lolita interjected dispassion-
ately.
This time Alwyn laughed. Whose
other name is woman-woman,' he
repeated with all the emphasis of capt.
tails. But you're dead wrong. He got
no come-uppance. 1t was rather his Ill
luck TO come down very hard-so hard
he groyclcd in the dust when one par
ticular woman looked him over with
out seeing him That has happened,
let me see. abput three times day for
full six wrei-s. Result'-
"Ouc hundred and twenty six grow
els. ;f yo.r figures can be trusted.
doubt il. | doubt, indeed, If there is
au,t..ng Trustworthy about you" Lo-
lta flashed 1T him, with smile SO
covly engaging it took all the sting
from her Siccch. Suppose you stop
being ti"esollr." she went on. Il don't
ask y1u to be- sensible I'm so far from
sensible myself But let's get away
from the eternal me. There must be
such lots Of THINGS better worth while"
what viii YOU have? Shall l dis
course on ships and shoes and sealing
wax and cabbages and kings|" Al
! wvn asked. his voice submissive
enough but dancing rebellion in his
eyes.
Lolita smiled demurely. Il think"
she said, with an air of grave refec-
ton, IF you don't mind, l had rather
hear things about Gordon Fleming"
There's nothing | can tell you-he's
so openly, 50 Extensively, so disgust
lngIy rich and so patiently in love with
YOU" Alwyn burst out.
Lolita gave him a sidewiSe look. Are
you sure?" she murmured. Don't you
see it would be cruel to experiment
with my crcdulity|
"As cruel as your experiments with
my affection?" Alwyn flung back at
her. trying to speak tragicany, but
laughing in spite of himself. What a
, rogue she was to play with him so. She
loved him almost as he loved her. 1t
had been instantaneous had
hardly more than looked at each other
when eye spoke to eye. heart to heart.
But she had houted 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 abject devotion would
never suit her-he must show himself
n man of spirit and temper else he
would be no man for her.
1t was ten days since they had come
together ut the Glenwold house party,
ten blissful days Of Lolita and love.
Incidentally there had been walks,
rides, drives, golfng and moonllt
maunderiuCs. Mrs. ArklOw, Glen
woods chatelaine, had looked on in
smiling approval. Lolita had but Il
scant fortune, and Alwyn, though not
| overrjch, was clearly at the beginning
of a great career. Were not the Flem-
| lngs, father and son, behind him. the
! Flemings who had millions in hand
| and the potentiality Of other millions
| In their mere approval? 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
turned out very badly In a year there
| had been separation, later the threat
! Of divorce. but fate stepped in to save
! the family pride. The wife sailed away
! on ship that went down at sea. She
| had not been heard OF In the fifteen
years since. so 1t was safely assumed
| that she was among the lost. None of
| the few survivors had any knowledge
! Of 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, If 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 shcwn a disposition to en-
ter the liSts-a disposition which reused
/ in Alwyn rather pity than apprehen-
sion Lolita kncw-that was his sure
hope-kncw what 1t was to love, to be
loved All Fleming's millions were no
offset to the knowledge. Still, il did no
harm to make believe he was in fear
| OF them.
Lolita looked at him in silence for a
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
| frmcr lines At last she said abruptly
"Dont You see have to marry him
= don't shall marry YOU. ard that
ill be your ruin. Don't Interrupt I
must say ii al at once-I have not
promised, hjt thats how it 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 | had never guessed-of
1 an.