Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1908-07-23
Carrying the argument farther, he
concluded that Mr. Pindar into whosa

hands ner letter to MIR. Mayhem had
fallen, would either take her to his
own house or direct her to suitable
hotel. In either case he felt sure she
would write letter to him or to his
sister before bedtime, and the next
morning she would take train back
again to claim her fathers letter and
to consult him as to what she should
do next.
Having reached this conclusion
while dressing, he went down to din.
ner in comparatively cheerful frame
of mind. Esther seemed little wor.
4 ried and wanted to talk about their
! late guest, but Clement treated the
matter apparently with supreme in
j difference. He was not consciously a
1 hypocrite, though he did believe that
i under the circumstances little pre-
i tence was iustifiable He had rallied
i against women with unnecessary We
4 lhemence for so long, had protested
i times without number that no woman
should ever be allowed to awaken his
i interest again, that he felt he could
1 not throw this role, aside suddenly
without subjecting himself to consid.
cradle humiliation.
! Moreover, he felt he had already
gone too far in revealing his feelings
4 Tho telegram caught him off his
! guard He feared he had shown agi-
tation In any way he had expressed
himself in way that was open to
misinterpretation. This would have
to be corrected, and the sooner he be-
gan the better. He was little bit
ASHAMED Of himself. He knew it
would be much more honest and he
roic to confess the truth and face all
4 the consequences. There was, after
I all, nothing to be ashamed Of in con-
\ Tossing to anxiety under the circum-
stances. Marion was only girl as
he had too often told himself, and he
| had undoubtedly spent good deal of
h time in her company, and he might
show concern now without exciting
remark.
ON the other hand, the opportunity
for correcting any wrong. impression
was too good to be missed. His moth
er'a keen and anxious eyes were upon
him Esther often saw more than she
cared to reveal. She had been little
incaAtious up to the present, and IL
he were not careful his peace of
mind might be permanently destroy
ed. Hence he was resolved tc let
them see that he was unaffected by
the experiences OF the last few weeks,
and he did his best to persuade him
self that his interest in Marion West
was what any ordinary individual
might feel.
1T really is awfully hard on the
poor girl, !" Esther said, as il speaking
! to herself
! Clement looked up from his plate
| and smiled.
4 don't know why you smile,
| Glen" Esther continued. ITO me the
ease seems almost tragic
1T is hard, no doubt, = he answered,
with pretended Indifference. But no
harder for her than for thousands and
! tens Of thousands Of others, and you
4 90 not NOTIFY ABOUT lnem.
4 should. il il knew them. Know
ling a person makes all the difference.
! Marion is so awfully young and mex
perienced to be flung adrift upon the
world. Besides, I've got to be very
fond Of her.
That IS foolish. Esther, as i have
/ told you before" her mother chimed
Lin, severely. You should never grow
interested in mere stranger-here
to-day and gone tomorrow This girl
can never be anything to you-the
lachances are you will never see her
i again. Is
II would not say that. mother.
1 Clement remarked, mildly Her faith
er's letter will be sent back here, and
she may return for IT,
When it can be sent to any part Of
the kingdom for penny Don't talk
nonsense, Clement
Also, she may wish to consult YOU
about her future. She has great faith
in your Judgment, and she has proved
/ the Kindness of your heart
AAeA " 8 AOOhSQ98fup SuQu6uIy
/ and met her sons eyes. The compli-
4 ment evidently pleased her. what
does she know about my Judgment p.
she quest ned, Iii less frigid tones.
suppose she has kept her eyes
open, = he said with q laugh.
And you think II possible she NAV
return here sincerely hope she
win do nothing OF the kind She has
no claim upon us. and You know how
the@g very name west irritates me-,
OF course we may never see her
again, ne said, with pretended indif.
1 ference. But In the chances OF hu-
man life no one knows what may
happen
I should be very sorry II I thought
va should never see her again, Esth.
4 er interp posed. 1t would be quite out
q reason. She was given Is us u 81
the sea. and she belongs to us, Is
Esther. Esther!n Mrs. Mawean In
i tterripted hen will you get those
fantastic notions out ipf yo,ir head and
1 learn little psaetical comnon
asa vi isss ss x gsss sEsss y q