The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1908-12-26

I'm not.
"You arel You arel" Her laughing
eyes challenged him to deny It.
well. perhaps / am" he admitted.
you must remember that he used to
be my professor Of zoology. / can't
get over my awe OF him all at once"
ITO think that / should have been
so deceived in YOU" she mourned.
why, the heroes OF your stories
would march forward to death with
fearless tread for their loves"
Henry Hilton condemned his crea-
tions cheerfully.
Tassie. fed up the stairway, laugh
Ing at him over her shoulder. Good
BY And hope papa won't eat you
up. You'll find me in the trellis seat
when you get through-if you're still
alive"
He contemplated pursuit, but decid-
ed that ineffective chase would be
undignified. SO he stood with his
hand on the door knob till she had
disappeared, then turned the handle
and went into the room.
A halfhour later Henry Hilton
emerged from the room with a shin
Ing exaltation In his eyes and a sense
OF lifted resolve in his heart.
The young man made his way TO the
trellis seat at the end of the garden
and came quietly round the lilac
bushes, expecting to take the girl un-
awares. But she was not there.
There was, however. penciled note
pinned by a rose thorn to the lattice
work.
Jean Willis has just come to call
She is ringing the doorbell now, and
/ must scamper 10 the house. VIII
be back when sle leaves"
Hilton, in large content, sat him
down and basked in the sun-beat
which so generously contributed to his
sense Of being wrapped about by
warm happiness.
Through the lilacs he saw Tassie
speeding Miss Willis on her way.
The girls chatted together for a min
ute or two on the porch before Hilton
heard the front door close again. He
gave Tassie five minutes. as conces-
sion to a girls diplomacy of delay. to
reach the arbor seat where he was.
But the five minutes passed. and ten
more on top OF them. The young
mans impatience sent him sauntering
toward the house. In the hall a maid
met him with a sealed note from
Tassie.
Go away. pleasel don't want to
see you now, don't think / ever want
to see you again"
That was all. The young man
stared at It with a mind dazed. scarce
comprehending even while the shock
OF It made his heart stand still. Pres
emily, though his mind CROPPED in vain
for causes, the significance of the
words came home to him. She did
not want to see him now-did not
want ever to see him again. But
why? What could it mean? What
had he done? He tore leaf from his
note book and sent It up to Miss
Farrar by the maid, who presently re-
turned with another note.
Il can't see you. If you are kind
You will go away"
Hilton left sadly, perplexed and
worried to the bottom of his heart.
His mind cast back and forth for the
causes Of her strange conduct. He
tried to reason, but his logic could
find no ground on which to stand. In
the end he sent a messenger boy with
a letter begging for an immediate ex-
PLANTATION.
He paced the floor in 9 stress Of
emotion till the boy returned. The
messenger brought a note from Tas-
sic. The envelope contained also an
other inclosure. Her note had neitbc-
heading nor signature.
I found this letter by the hall-tree
where It must have fallen from your
overcoat The envelope was addressed
to you in my handwriting, and sup
posed 1t to be one of my old letters
to you. For fun began to read 1t.
and then You will understand why
| do not care to see you again. Your
letters viii be returned at once"
Hilton opened the envelope of the
inclosed letter and found within it a
note that he must have slipped inside
the wrong envelope inadvertently.
He could imagine how Tassie had
looked at 1t first in puzzled bewilder-
ment and then in the sudden horror
OF shameful discovery.
Dearest Prince Hal-Why have YOU not
been to see me to-day, you bad bov?
Let me see, It's two days since you have
been here Is that a way to treat your
sweetheart? And you promised on your
word of honor, sir. that you would al
ways be mine Have YOU forgotten how
you told me / was your only lover? Am
/? believe there is another girl. There
are stories to that effect, and some of
them have reached me. Have a care. sirl
bid you to come up at once and ex-
plain to Your Sweetheart,
PEGGY ARNET.
A great relief cleared Hilton's
troubled face. Here was something
tangible to lay hold on, something to
be explained and cleared up. At least