Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-07-16

once inflicted. Today it was difficult to be-
lieve him capable of evil. He had tried to
forget the past. Why should not she? There
was another girl. Perhaps their engagement
had been announced She knew she was
treading on dangerous ground; but she ven
tured to ask him.
"Gretchen!' he replied. ooh, Lord, no!
Not yet. You see, she has some ideas of her
own on the subject and it takes at least two
to make a bargain. Miss Janney is a fine
sport. Life is a good deal of a Joke with her,
as it is to me; but neither of us feels like
carrying it so far as matrimony. We get on
beautifully. She's frightfully rich. | sup
pose III be too some day. What's the use?
It's sheer waste of raw material She has
romantic sort of idea that she wants poor
man, the sort of chap she can lift out of
gray atmosphere. And L. his voice sud-
denly grew sober, "you won't believe that I
too had the same kind of notion
1t was some moments before she under
stood what he meant; but the. silence that
followed was expressive. He did not choose
that she should misunderstood.
"Yes,H he added, 81 mean YOU"
She laughed nervously. "You didn't ask
me to marry YOU"
mo; but l might have explained why l
didn't if you had given me time. | don't
think realized what it meant to me to leave
you until learned that | had to. Perhaps
it isn't too late to tell you now"
She was silent, and so he went on.
u was engaged to be married. | have
been since | was a boy. 1t was family
affair Both of us protested; but my father
and hers had set their hearts on it. My
governor swore he'd cut me off unless did
as he wished, and l was afraid of him. |
was weak, Camilla. I'm not ashamed to tell
you the truth. | knew unless | made good
at the mine that | should have nothing to
offer you. So thought that if | could get
you to come East, stay awhile, and meet my
father, time might work out our salvation.
1t was the other girl | was thinking about.
/ was still pledged to her. | could have
written her for my release: but matters came
to a crisis rather suddenly. And then you
told me of your engagement to MIR. Wray.
You see, after that | didn't care what hap
pened Perhaps ought not to speak to you
in this way now; but it was on your own
account. don't know what | said to you.
| only remember that did not ask you to
marry me; but that l wanted you with me
always
HIS voice sounded so very far away to
II Camilla, like a message from another life
she had lived SO long ago, thatit seemed al
most message from the dead. She did not
know whether what she most felt was happi
ness or misery. The one thing she was sure
of was that he had no right to be speaking
to her in this way, and that she had no right
to be listening But she still listened. His
words sank almost to a whisper; but she
heard.
a wanted you to be with me always. 1
knew afterward that l had never loved any
woman but you,-God help me!-that l
never could love any other woman" he
stopped again.
In her corner Camilla was crying softly
tears OF pity for him, for the ashes of their
dead.
"Don't, Dear he said gently.
She thought he was coming toward her,
and raised her head to protest; but she
saw that he still stood by the table, his back
toward her. She turned one look Of mute
appeal, which he did not see, in his drec-
ton, and then rose quickly.
"You must never speak in this way again,
she said, with a surer note. "Never! |
should not have listened. 1t is my fault.
But have been $3.50 glad to hear that
you didn't mean what you said! God knows
l forgive you, and only hope you can un
derstand-how it was-with mel You had
been so friendly, so clean! 1t wounded me
horribly. 1t made me lose my faith in all