The Winslow mail., 1911-04-29
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|||Just Love |I'
CO BY JOANNA SINGLE EA
BY JOANNA SINGLE

an explosive combination of youth.
summer, moonlight and the propinqui-
ties of vacation house party. Jack
and Angie met in June, loved in July,
confessed in September, and by Christ
mas had coaxed her parents TO con-
sent to February wedding. The AL
lens were reluctant, for Angie was
ridiculously young, but they had no
objection to Jack
The course of true love ran. for a
time, most smoothly. Holland, Sr.,
gave his son an adorable little cot
tage; the Aliens produced a check to
cover furnishings. There was much
shopping. much trousseau making.
merry parties, and vows and kisses
hardly as surreptitious as they should
have been. There was peace-a
treacherous peace.
Jack had made one blunder-he had
not told her all" The experience of
his elders seems never to make a
young man see that when be puts his
heart for life into a girls soft hand
he is thereafter in tight place. She
will be supreme; she wants to be not
merely first, but all. She is Jealous
of his mother and sisters, his friends,
his bull dog, his pipe, anything what
ever that before her time loved him
or gave him aid or comfort No oc-
casion had so far arisen for jealousy.
and Jack forgot the weak place in his
armor. He was off guard
Angie had come upon his conscious
ness like oblivion of all that had gone
before. Like all lovers, he said he
had never loved any one else-and
thought he spoke the truth. It was
a secret unconscious disappointment
to the girl that Jack had no past"
whatever. She would have liked to
forgive him, to have consoled him for
sorrows-deep wounds of a crue. fate
from which her love would hence
forth protect him. She would have
liked details of past unhappiness of
fered up to her like incense.
Tell her before somebody else
does" is the first commandment to an
engaged man. Jack disobeyed-- and
suffered. At first, to do him Justice,
he had really forgotten to tell Angie
about Tessie Burton. He had been
engaged to Tessie at college. The af.
fair was brief, ending in trouble as
the sparks fly upward. Tessie brok1
it because she saw another man. Her
methods were prompt, at least. He
had told Tessie he would always be
true to her. and wait for her until he
died, and other familiar quotations.
When he did remember this, he
know that If he told Angie now, she
would ask why he had not told her
before? 1t would have seemed Sc
rious, worth having hidden until he
was more sure of her No; 1t was too
late. Jack trusted to luck, and to the
fact that Tessie was in the East and
lived in another town. He thought
himself safe.
Early in January that fatuous young
man took his bride-to-be on one of
their many shopping tours, which
always ended with tea or chocolate
and lovers 'tete-a-tete before going
back to the family circle where every
thing was a hustle, despite the fact
that the wedding was to be strictly a
family d-intimate-friends affair. The
gift season, just past, had broken into
preparations. and dressmakers pos
sessed the house. Now Jack and An
gle were choosing the last of the fur
niture-a sewing chair and table for
Angie, who was hesitating between
mahogany Circassian walnut or per-
fectly cunning arrangement in a
wicker.
Enamored of the wicker, Angie
stood with a dainty gloved finger to
her lip and considered Jack was
loving every look Of her, the brown
hair and eyes, the demure, bird-like
plumage of brown cloth and fur. Alb
ject alteration shone from his eyes.
Then a light laugh beside him made
him jump--it was laugh he knew.
A cold wave scurried down his
spine, as he turned and knew that his
sin had found him out He lifted his
hat and took Tessies offered hand
Will WhdL grace uS might, WD1l6 Sne
swept Angie from head to foot with a
glance of her wide blue eyes. She
took in the situation, but waited for
her cue-to do her justice she gave
Jack his chance.
Jack fumbled shamefully. Had he
Immediately and delightedly present
ed Angie to his "old college friend,
Miss Burton, of whom he had so often
spoken" it would have been all right.
Instead, he presented Miss Burton
to Angie as he might have any mere
acquaintance. Angles perfectly court
eous but Indifferent manner showed
that she had never heard Tessie Bur
tons name before.
Tessie, hardly believing her own
senses, took enthusiastically prompt
revenge-she never waited. Chatting
lightly, she said she had come for a
week with Cora Chandler, and was
out shopping. Her manner to Jack
! e.,