Golden Valley chronicle. (Beach, Billings County, N.D.) 1905-1916, 1910-07-15

ton ship, ana MHrsrry felt the snasheS
tightening about Der. !he arms OF the
service were long, and they were reach.
ing out. She had been Oh the point Ut
slipping away. and they were stretch.
ing out to rec;;,ture her. And in the
ten days that followed she saw i'rater
almost daily and Waglmm but twice.
ITS different. In the service can
accept Mr.. Prater's escort: he's .Iim's
friend" she vourhSafed to her cousin.
as the latter venturcd to protest against
her going alone 10 the matinee With
the naval officer.
"And Miller Wagram is q relative
You can go with him better than with
stranger"
"Ah, but he isn't stranger; he's
Jim's substitute" and Margery forced
gay little laugh.
Hes what?' Cousin Kate was
shocked. and somehow the explanation
sounded rather lame. To tell the truth.
Margery was miserable. She had
reached point where she felt that she
had to come to decision. Jim's out
line had become hazy. his lovemaking
stereotyped. She felt the distance be-.
tween them was widening hourly.
while Wagram was a real personality
to be reckoned with. His flowers, his
candy. his books. were all pleasures she
must take into account, and now she
must either decide to 60 on with a
shadow or cast it aside and confess
that she was mistaken in the strength
Of her affection for Jim.
Prater came home with her after the
matinee and stayed until Cousin Kate
felt obliged to ask him to remain and
dine. He accepted. and in the even
ing Wagram called. Prater's intuition
told him that this was Jim's most for.
midab!e rival. and he was hostile in
consequence.
When Margery went up to her room
she had come to the conclusion to write
to Jim at once and break off her en-
gageEelt. Fearing lest her resolve
might weaken in the morning, she sat
up till after midnight trying to word
her letter so that it should not sound
too cruel and yet to show that her
decision was final. When she sealed
the envelope she was not satisfied. and
it was white faced, fearful eyed Mar
gerry who crept into bed and sobbed
herself to sleep. She had not dreamed
the actual break would hurt so much.
Wagram came in the morning to es-
cort her to church, and she kept him
waiting beyond the traditional half
hour, aud it took her so long to dress
that she forgot to mail the letter lying
on her desk. The day was busy one.
and she had scarcely time to think, but
when Wagram tried to draw her away
from the others. suggesting that be
had something Of Importance to tell
her. she put him off.
mot fought" she urged.
''Ihen tomorrow. Will you listen to
me tomorrow. little girl?"
She nodded. not daring to trust her
self TO reply. In the morning she
would post the letter to Jim. and in
the afternoon she would tell Wagram
what she had done. Nevertheless. in
spite of the fact that she had stifled
all regrets. her sleep was broken. and
when She awoke her head ached so
frightfully that she could not raise it
from the pillow.
About 3 O'Clock in the afternoon She
crept downstairs for cup of.te Her
cousins had gone to musicale, and
the house was very quiet. The tea re-
freshed her. and she curled up on the
sofa in the library and rested cozily
among the cushions. She awoke with
start to find Il tall. clean shaven man
looking down at her. heart full of
love and longing in his honest eyes.
She stared up ut him. wide eyed, a
culprit.
"Margery. my darling. have l fright
ened YOU: / wanted to take you by
surprise. sweetheart. so l told Prater
not to tell you was on my way home.
But now. Margery. speak. Aren't you
glad to see nle?''
He was terrified at her continued ST.
lence. This was scarcely the girl
whose memory had never left him day
or night. whom he had loved during
the long. dreary months he had spent
in the tropics. She had changed; she
was no longer dainty child; she was
woman. And then he grew tender
Women were made of softer stuff
than men. She knew what his COM
ing portended. and she was a bit
afraid. In little while she would
forget and give herself up only to the
Joy of their reunion. He had been too
impetuous. He should have let the
maid announce him. But as he had
been as sure of her as himself he
had insisted upon going in alone.
At the sound of his voice Margery
felt her heart stir painfully. and as
she kept on staring at him his dear
face gradually blotted out all memory
Of that other till when he paused and
the silence between them grew en-
! barraSSiNy \ rush of feeling SV3 NM