Golden Valley chronicle. (Beach, Billings County, N.D.) 1905-1916, 1908-08-07

care for Dick. II you had cared you'd
have married him two years ago. But
now that he's gone
Mary gasped and stopped for her
napkin, sitting up again with a red
face. Not care for Dick! Perhaps
Dick thought that too.
! "And, aside from that" went on her
father. II have been engaged to Ma
rian Howard for year. and l know
how you will feel about keeping me
waiting too long. OF course l should
not think Of marrying again while you
are with me-
! Mary thought she must faint. The
room went round aud round, and then
she heard Il voice, which must have
been her own, stifiy congratulating her
| father, heard him say something the
, words of which she could not listin-
gulsh, and then she was up in her own
| room.
oh" she moaned, what shall l do?
No one wants me. Papa is going to
marry again, and even he thinks l do
not care for Dick. must have acted
terribly for papa to think that. And
why didn't he tell me that he wanted
to marry: Id have been glad Of it,
| for theu could have married Dick and
would not have needed to worry about
| papa at all. Oh, it Is cruel! And now
1t is too late No wonder Dick stopped
caring if l acted like that-like they
seem to think l have" She sobl,ed
lniserably.
II like Marian Howard. l have al
ways wished could have her with ME.
I'd like to live with them, but they
don't want me either. Papa has said
time and again that such combinations
are always unhappy, and SO must go
away somewhere"
She sobbed herself to sleep that night
after hours Of wretched reflection and
almost desperate thinking. She did not
70 down to breakfast but when she
heard her father leave the house she
went downtown and drew all of the
money which she had in the bank.
Then she bought a ticket for New
York.
At noon her father, seeing how
wretched she looked at dinner, felt like
brute and came very near to spelling
the whole thing But she slipped away
too quickly to give him time to COM
nit himself, and when he was sure she
was In her room he called Dick eau
tiously up over the phone
Il guess you'd better come over.
I've made a beastly mess Of the
thing he said. Then he called up to
Mary that he had to go back to the
Office and told her not to sit up for
him and cleared out, feeling like q
coward
This was the chance for which Mary
was waiting. Hurriedly she finished
packing her suit case, wrote an ago
nized note to her father, and, after
dressing herself in the long coat and
dark veil which fleeing heroines al
ways wore in the plays she had seen,
che let herself quietly out at the front
door and reached the car. A young
man jumped OF the outgoing car, look
ed at her sharply and then swung up
the steps Of the ingoing car after her,
but she did not notice.
WAS this what her father had meant
In his telephone message?" thought the
young man. Well, he had made mess
Of 1t.
, 1t was raining by this time-a dreary
little drizzle-and when Mary alighted
at the union station she would have
. fallen on the slippery steps had not
, some one seized the suit case and
, caught her arm firmly. When she had
regained her balance the man did not
let go, but slid his grasp down to the
cold, wet hand.
: LET me go! What do you mean:
! she gasped, and then she knew. She
began to cry.
MARY, Mary, so contrary, come on
| home again" said Dick gently. 1--WE
didn't mean to 20 so far as this, dear
in our little plot"
"We-our plot! What do you mean
Did you and father fix all this up fo1
j, a trick? And-and"- To Dicks grea'
. surprise and relief she began to laugh
He had expected tears. anger, ever
+ rage. And then he began to feel fool
> ish
II guess got just what deserve
t was blind as bat" she said. "Wher
do you want lne to marry you, Dick
l IL you can forgive me enough to wan
4 me at all? Dick, you didn't think tina
: I had really stopped caring, did you?"
Mary's father was in the drawing
2 room when they got home and cam,
out into the hall to meet them. "We'v,
/ been out walking" said Dick blandly.
l Yes, ! see," said Mr.. Arnold, ignor
ing the suit case and Mary's unusua