The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-05-22

On, SPOKE once and grieved
tnee sore. remember all that
Jean Ingelow.
"Oh. it's you'll" commented Reeda
ungraciously
She looked up from the basin of
soapsuds on the dining room table.
she was washing her great-grand-
mothers Beleek-a task which she
was averse to intrusting to hands less
careful than her own. Inwardly she
was meditating the reprimand she
would bestow upon Janet for permit
ting this particular visitor to enter
unannounced.
You don't appear Overwhelmingly
glad to see mel" returned Aubrey
Bowden.
She sent him a swift glance-one
Of obvious annoyance. He was stand
Ing in the doorway, tall, athletic. In
his leather coat, corduroy knicker-
bockers and high rubber boots she
was forced to admit that he made a
gallant figure.
But she dropped her eyes and went
on with her task.
Not so Aubrey Bowden He kept
his gaze fastened upon her-a gaze
1890 "AAAAiASASd1 anu aQOIlng.s Ger
tainly she looked extremely pretty.
ner blue morning gown enveloped in
blue apron, her sleeves rolled up
over her bewitching dimples in the
elbows, a flicker of angry color show
ing through the fairness of her cheek.
BoWden made fresh conversation
al plunge.
I'm going down to the Kankakee
marshes inc h. \ s9rrxx--
are a lot of the follows going-my
cousin, Andrew, and some more,
Reeda," Quizzically, as she still evinced
no sign of interest, 'taren't you go
ing to wish me good sport? I came
six blocks out of my way to tell you
about it,
She found it hard to resist him
when his voice had that husky note
In ft-half teasing, half loving But
she hardened her heart and replied,
coldly:
"Only this, Aubrey Bowden. that I
don't wish to know for the future
where you go or what you do. After
the outrageous way you acted Tues
day evening-going away and leaving
mo alone for half an hour at the
odfous Bella Wier-Ive decided that
do not wish you to call here any
more!"
The pale rose in her cheek had
uSGpeHoO TO CdTnaL1On.
ooh, say, Reedai' He laughed
protestingly and took a step forward.
you don't mean that, you know! I
was not gone more than ten minutes.
I used to go to school with Bella
Wier. And 1 hadn't seen her for
you may see her as often as you
desire after this!" said Reeda, signi-
| ficantly.
There was no smile in the young
| fellows handsome eyes now.
"Reeda," he said, quietly, took al
mel"
He was beside her. She felt her
self forced to obey that grave com
| mand. She lifted to his face her
gray, black-fringed eyes, filled with
a sul1enness foreign to them.
"Say you don't mean to break with
| me for a trifle,' he pleaded. "Why,
1 love you, Reeda. You know that"
ST have nothing to reconsider" She
never knew afterward how she man
aged to enunciate the cruel words. ST
want you to go away and never come
to see me again"
For one breathless moment they
stood looking into each others eyes
And there was that in his face that
| dumbly reproached her. Before she
could bring herself to make retrac-
ton he was striding to the door.
"Good-by, dear" he said broken
| ". 'TLI hope
| The sentence trailed off into 81
lence and he was gone.
The girl stood staring at the closed
| door It looked like the door of fate
| itself-s1ut fast in her face. She saw
it through a gush of belated, futile
| tears
| The day wore on-a dull, wretched,
aimless day. She could settle to moth
| ing. Every object brought some
memory connected with the man she
\ had sent ont of her life.
| When she dressed for the evening
she found herself selecting the gown
| he best liked and realized with q
| wretched pang that he would no
| She hated the pretty rosy silk. with
| its ecru silken laces and coquettish
| little black velvet bows.
| So for1orn she felt, so lonely, SC
| bereft, it was with slight surprise that
| on picking up the evening paper she
| scanned a tragic headline. But as
| the full significance of what that
! CHASTITY line of type indicated became
plain to her, she gave a cry-a faint,
weak, desperate cry. And her moth
downward, on the floor, the paper
clutched tightly in her hand.
| To bring her back to consciousness
was the first thing to do-to find out
what had shocked her, the second
And the paragraph in the paper
| telling of the accidental discharge OF
] a gun among a party of hunters
bound for the Kankakee marshes re-
yealed the latter. For the name OF
the man fatally wounded was given
| as that of Aubrey Bowdeni
The physician, bending over the
| girl as the fits of Inconsistencies
succeeded one another, shook his
| head grave1y. 81 am very much
| afraid-'' he began.
+ queer. glad cry from Reeda start
led them. She was sitting straight up
| her arms extended. The man at the
| threshold sprang forward-caught her
| in his arms.
sit was Andrew-poor Andrew" he
explained. 1.-THE reporter got the
names mixed. I've flesh wound
from the explosion, nothing more.
| hurried here. I feared you might
| learn of the accident. And, Reeda
| 5;6 x-o.1 care then uaIch p