The Green Forest tribune., 1910-03-25
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Meg's Elopen1ent
By MARTHA McCULLOCH WILLIAMS
lCopyrsht l909 by Associated Literary Press)

tOopA llSuL, lJJJ by AS
 Meg Bertram had refused her Cous- in Roland many times, but she had meant to please her family and herself by marrying him, until the Hon. Clay Cecil came to Lowville.
 The Hon. Clay was tall and blonde and languid with a dropping mustache, and an intermittent drawl-he ex- plained the trace of western burr mar ring it by tales of life on his Cousin Glenham's ranch Glenham had quit the ranch to fill an earldom; at least. that was a logical inference. The Hon. Clay was always admirably vague in his statements. Lowville ladies said he was "so unpretentious." Men there. contrariwise. thought him inclined to play his hand for it's full worth.
 Still they had to admit there was no offensive display of what the Hon. Clay called side" His card read simply Clay Cecil" with "Autocars" in the lower left hand corner. He dressed we'll, had money in reasonable amount, and though he was lucky at bridge played a scrupulously fair game. Nobody ever had known him try to turn an acquaintance to profit.
 Notwithstanding this, Roland did rot trust him. The distrust was quite apart from Meg-at least, Roland told himself he would have hated the fel- low if there had been no woman in the world
 The Hon. Clay ignored Roland's hospitality in a way that was truly masterly. It stood him in hand to do so. Roland and Meg would inherit pretty well half of Lowville, and much beside, when Grandmother Bertram, who led as well as owned, the town, should be gathered to her fathers.
 It was a startling triumph for the Hon. Clay to sell grandmother the first auto car ever owned in town He him. self had hardly dared hope for it. Pos sibly it was this initial triumph which inspired him to try for a greater one, nemely Meg herself. She was as hand some as she was rich-moreover, she had an air, one that, he told her often would make a duchess jealous.
 The car buying was really her doing. She liked new things. dash and speed, and the oversetting of ancient bounds, Roland was in all things conservative He would not ride in the car except to bear grandmother company Meg had to put up with folk outside and the chauffeur. But she was never lone some. Notwithstanding other sales due to the weight of grandmothers exam pie, the Hon. Clay found time for many spins beside her, and at length, as her enthusiasm mounted, offered to teach her the art of running the car.
 Meg was enchanted, but grandmoth- CT put her foot down against the plan. saying, laconieally, that she didn't mean to have S7,O00 turned into scrap iron for a girls folly. The Hon. Clay bowed and smiled, and in strict pri- vacy told Meg her lessons might be- gin in his runabout.
 Thus it came to pass that early upon an August morning. mistv-moist. but lacking dew, Meg slipped away un- seen. and five minutes later was spin- ming beside the Hon. Clay across the countryside. Up, down, back and forth, around corners, down by-lanes the red car twinkled. Meg never in her life had been so ecstatically hap py She held the wheel, but all the working of it came through a stronger hand that fell over hers-and some times during longer than was strictly necessary.
 She hardly noted the clinging nor did she note distance, direction and the fact that clouds boiling up. had quite hidden the sun. She was even obl1vlous to the fact that they had left the level farm lands until hill steep and rocky, almost stopped the trig ma chine. By good hap and caution the car was coaxed up it. At the summit, Meg looked about, a little apprehen. siyely There was a far view, all hills and hollows, with sleeper swelling hills at the boundary-and not a single house in sight-scarcely, indeed. a sign of human occupancy.
 Turn back! It's going to rain" Meg said. sternly.
 H0 HUH. Cldy lduSHeQ. 4Ou mean it is raining-hard," he said q think there's barn down there in the bol- low. Anyway. we'll look for it-any shed in such a storm"
 Inside of five minutes they had found the barn and were under shelter but drenched and dripping. Meg, more over, began to feel desperately hungry In the excitement of the expedition she had eaten no breakfast. She clapped her hands as her companion drew from some recess a small ham, per, full of good things.
 You're a special providence every way" she said with a grateful smile setting her white teeth in sandwich. as she spoke.
 The Hon. Clay also smiled. 'T think you'll find out know how to take ex- cellent care of you,' he said. Much better than that huff, Roland. Won't he be wild when he knows?"
 "What?" Meg asked, startled.