Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1907-01-16
!. At the \
Eleventh Hour

BY BEATRICE STURCES

A pile of notes Just finished lay on the
desk; two trunks, one already strapped
and the other standing open, indicated
a journey; several frocks occupied the
bed. piles of lingerie filed the chairs,
various other feminine belongings were
scattered about and a maid was hastily
transferring them to the open trunk
and the new hand bag which stood on
a table. Now and again she addressed
some question to the girl who still sat
at the desk and who answered In mono
syllables and with a preoccupied air.
"Oh, put In or leave out whatever
you like, Marie. 1t doesn't make bit
of differencev' she exclaimed at last
impatiently.
Marie, wondering within, obeyed, but
presently she came forward with some
thing which she begged mademoiselle
to try on.
"Truly, 1t must be seen If 1t Is what
you call all right" she protested, and
the girl rose and walked to the mirror.
She was wearing long, loose gown
of yellow silk, and her nut brown hair
was caught up loosely on her head.
Marie stepped in front of her for a
moment, did little adjusting and pat
ting this way and that, and then step
ped back with voluble expressions of
admiration.
The girl looked into the glass as II
in dream. and then her heart throb-
bed painfully. She had put off the full
realization of what she was about to
do and lived in vague hope that some
thing would happen to stop it, but now
as she looked In the mirror and saw
herself at last enveloped In the white
mist of wedding veil the bitter truth
came home. The bridal symbol, SO
sweet and lovely In itself, became sud
denly hateful to her. for in all its
zation that the next day Mt noon in St
Johns church she, Lucy Rutherford,
was to be married to man she did
not love. aa.5 srf
How different, oh. how different it
might have been
She tore off the veil and threw her.
self on the bed in passion of tears.
self over and over; she never could do
it, What did she care II Marie did
see? The whole world might see! 1t
could see tomorrow, and they all could
have their presents back-she didn't
care. 1t didn't make any difference
what her stepmother said or did or
threatened-she could marry him her
self. But, as for Lucy, she simply hat
ed Hugh Goring all at once and she
never wanted to see him again.
She sat up presently and bathed her
eyes in the water the discreet Marie
brought to her and felt better Then
as the maid turned again to her pack
ing Lucy thought miserably of GER
tain night six months ago when she
had quarreled so bitterly with Ralph
Anderson and he had left her pres
ence without one backward look and
a very vicious slam of the door. oh,
how foolish and trivial a lovers quar-
rel seems when six months have gone
by! Lucy knew that If she and Ralph
once looked into each others eyes
again it must and would be all right
once more. But how was this to hap
pen? In the heat and suddenness of
his wrath Ralph had rushed away to
the vague and indefinable wilds of
Texas, and Lucy never knew whether
he received that little note she sent
him the morning after their quarrel
She had said only: Dear Ralph-If
you are sorry, l am too. Lucy
Anyhow he never replied. and may
be by this time he was already in
love with some horse riding girl in
Texas, while she was supposed to be
making her last joyful preparations
for marrying another man.
"Oh, WELL" she had said to herself.
"a girl has to do somethingv
She rose and went over to the desk
place she drew a Photographic snap
shot of an athletic young man in ten
mis- flannels, with a racket in his hand
and a bright smile on his face Her
eyes filled with tears as she kissed 1t
and murmured, MY sweetheart, l
shall always love you"
While her lips still pressed the pic
ture a sharp ring startled her.
You answer 1t, Marie. It's probably
the caterer or somebody asking about
tomorrow. Tell them Mrs. Rutherford
is out and to call up in the morning."
The surprised maid, knowing we'll
that Mrs. Rutherford was in, stepped
out into the hall to answer the tele-
phone In a moment she returned.
ut was for you, mademoiselle-a
gentleman who insisted-so have
turn re switch"
Lucy sat down again at the desk and
took up the receiver.
Eyes. this is Miss Rutherford"
The voice at the other end of the
wire was strangely familiar 1t made
her cheeks burn, her heart throb and
her eyes shine. She almost dropped
the receiver