Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1908-01-17
CHAPTER XIV.

%" ~ that he would not stand it
FoDs.' tbor marriage. l can imagine him
CIV. .,nising himself to break ner IN ana
pf'u.-.b ar to meek submission IN the tu-
0FIpS pitv those poor souls who marry
me' ,,- +bav have leased beforehand
DI't tbirk this is scarcely a time for
said he, after a pause, still
0alur' nnon the ground and tracing the
D@.-s If the carpet with the lash Of his
II know l am not perfect; but
TDIp ns+ admit that allowances should
!n,odp for a fellow under the influence
of-of emotion.
- ON willing to admit that man
- that condition is not responsible
nnuT h, actions-is that enou2hW
~ .rf ,o,, admit that, what am L to I'M
,.-.,ond nv your present attitude? You
"ID - forget what took place before L
vent away oson
Put l do not. You made me an oHer
-; marriage but am | wrong IN thinking
" w. Won made that under the influence
'la suotiop? I absolve you from respon-
,gi+r for action under that condition.
'G,- not suppose that you were beside
No., .,oIf when you made that proposal,
~ overlook the mistake as readily as
.bot Won have committed slnceE
'D~ AZ. mos not a mistake, Gertrude-l
,orsd YOU then as l love you now; nave
1,,,o bora this afternoon to ask you again
- Won will have me, faulty as L am-yet
boroe+ fpII0w-and be my WIFE
vnrso Gertrude was not greatly moved
.,tb This speech, which had very little
,anoor.nce of depth and sincerity IN 1t,
Issnitn the ouavering of that manly voice.
NAV I ask why you have thought 1t
necessary to ask me second Tune she
asked trying to fix his shifty eyes, ana
1oarn the truth from them.
well your manner seems to imply
that you consider the engagement broken
off,"
81 di5 think it broken off Had l not
reason to think so!'
"Ob yes; the way l spoke to you and
it+Da Laurie was objectionable"
He naused and looked down again to
osoona from her fathoming eyes. He had
probably thought that there would be lit
tIa difficulty in his way, and that he could
inst reconcile Gertrude, if she should re-
Sont his silence, with a few words or
kiss or two and without going into any
more vexatious explanation than mere
avowa of manly weakness under trying
circumstances. DR.. Audrey had told him
10 confess the truth, and conceal nothing,
adding that a woman would forgive the
man she loves anything except dupllclty.
But Lynn. in his own concelted, pig
headed way had fully relied on his own
cleyerness his contempt for women In
general disposed him to tell them no more
than was necessary. He would rather
have avoided an explanation which,
though it presented a certain attraction
in being untruthful would require good
deal of bolStering up to support his as
sumption of honesty and generosity. How
ever, he had bungled so disastrously in
his own attempt, that he saw no escape
from his dilemma but by acting now on
Awdreys suggestion.
The fact is" said he, changing his
tone with a slash at his leg, Il was pur-
pOSely brutal to little Laure. and you.
| wished you to take offense and relieve
me from the engagement"
That is what l thought-it was the
only construction l could put upon your
behavior" said she.
u dare say you wonder what my rea-
son was. l will tell you. l can't conceal
the truth, and l know we'll enough that
there's nothing a loving woman will not
forgive, except duplicity."
new warmth glowed in Gertrude's
heart. She liked those words; they were
good and true-it never struck her that
they might be DR.. Awdrey's.
l knew that through Keene's delay
was ruined-that l had nothing whatever
10 expect from my uncle's will. 1 knew
that l must no longer cherish the thought
OF making you my wife, in debt and pen
nlIess as | was, and-but there, you can
imagine the rest"
You wanted to give me the opportu-
nifty OF breaking the enga gement, before it
might appear that our separation was due
10 mercenary considerations on my part.
Oh' that was generous !" exclaimed Nurse
uerrude, carried away by her own impul-
SFe and generous recognition of an I'M
SelhSh-nay, a chivalrous motive on his
part All my warning was forgotten in
an instant.
did not want to tell you this" he
SAID in a tone that seemed to disclaim
any merit to gratitude
But you wronged me, Lynn" she said
Sehtly-''you wronged me, to think l
Wghf wish to break the engagement be-
cause you were less rich than you ex-
pected to be when you made me an offer"
She held out her hand to him frankly,
ana ne took it. If he had been wise
enough to tell her all that had passed be-
,"een him and Audrey she would have
'een MIS- without doubt. In return for an
0Pen aVowal, she would have swept aside
Uy warning and all prudential con-
Mueratons put the best construction on
"> motives, and scorned to entertain any
SuSp'cion of mercenary motives which
might oe suggested by his conduct. Now
was lne time for him to spring up and
Sut MS arms around her; but he hung
SHeA' the dolt. With that perverse idea
girls mental inferiority, he thought
N8d told her enough. Possibly he was
enjoyed IN being forced to abandon his
WI way of winning her, and act upon
'NeS more generous and manly adj
we, BerhaDS heliavinO that she was