Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1910-07-21
| HIS LAPSE
| ST MEMORY


When she saw the girl in the door
way the girl kneeling before the fire.
place exclaimed: why, Isabel! How
did you get in?"
Il ran right in" exclaimed the new
conner, sinking into chair, because
l was sure smelled something burn
ing. / supposed the house was on
fire. The maid was scrubbing the
front steps and she must have thought
me crazy. What on earth are you
building a fire for on a hot day like
this?"
The girl at the fireplace threw a
handful of letters on the little flame
which she had kindled. ooh, this isn't
a fire." she said tits funeral"
SO that's it," laughed Isabel. well,
who is the man? And, Edith, why
couldn't you have told me of your en-
| gagement in some other manner than
this-letting me run into the house
as though were thief or maniac,
just because you are having one of
those bonfires which we always have
on such occasions?"
You're wrong on the first guess"
said Edith as she threw the last letter
on the fire and turned to face her
caller. 1--we half mind to tell you
about It," she unused, "for it is an in
teresting story. If you'll promise
never to tell"
II promise"
Well, then, Isabel, do you remem-
Der anything about Jack Wheeler and
me?" 81
What kind of memory do you think
] have?" laughed Isabel do 1 remem-
Der! Have 1 recovered yet from the
nervous strain of trying to console
Jack when you finally made him I'M
derstand that you wouldn't marry him?
And didn't i absolutely refuse to be-
lieve that he was engaged to some
one else, until the wedding cards were
out? It's two years ago, of course,
but he was so madly in love with you
| that"
ut happened yesterday afternoon"
sad Edith, interrupting the remarks
of her friend. II dropped in at Amy's
and who should be there but Jacks
wife! 1t was positively her first ap-
pearance in Chicago. 1t seems that
1 her mother and Amy's mother were
little girls together. or something like
4 that. Anyway, there she was. Amy
acted as if she wanted to laugh, or as
II she were waiting for something
very dramatic to happen. Jacks wife,
however, seemed unconscious that
was anybody in particular
What Is she like? asked Isabel.
"She's nice little thing" said
Edith with the manner of one de-
termined to be just But she isn't
the kind Of girl you would think Jack
would admire"
"M-m-m," said Isabel, as she bent
down, ostensibly to fasten her shoe,
but really to hide smile.
mo, she isn't the kind of girl you
would think Jack would like. But
she is very well bred and rather pref
ty in quiet, demure way. We talked
about the things that every one al
ways talks about Then in some way
the conversation turned to names l
made my stock remark about the con-
/ veniences of having name as odd
as mine. Jacks wife then made her
longest speech.
You know my name was Smith,
she said, and for that reason any
name of more than two syllables al
ways seems strange to me. And you
know your name is enough to surprise
nearly any one on the first hearing
agreed with her. Then she said:
I've had lurking fear that / didn't
spell it right on the announcement
cards. You see, Jack didn't write his
list out for me, but simply told ME
the Names
"She seemed so earnest about it
that l assured her the name was
spelled correctly. AS matter of
fact, 1t was. Then I laughed and said
it was my first name, which certainly
is common enough, that had been her
undoing-she had changed my name
to Edna.
well, what do you suppose she
replied? That is joke on jack she
said, for l asked him what your first
name was and he said it was either
Edna or Edith, he couldn't remember
which. Then he thought a minute and
said it was Edna"
/. "she must be little cat" declared
Isabel.
II WONDER" said Edith "Still, she
seemed so unconscious and so demure
that I can hardly believe it. The
chances are that Jack really did say
that to her"
well, where do the letters come
in?" demanded Isabel.
"Ob," said Edith, they haven't
much to do with it. You see, the way
she said it was so perfect that /
came away telling myself that it must
all be mistake about Jacks having
been fond of me; that time had exag-
gerated to me the Importance of that
affair. So this morning l went down
to the storeroom and hunted around
for box of old letters that l knew
was there. hadn't thought about
them for months and why didn't de-