Charlevoix county herald., 1911-06-17
CHAPTER XlI.-Continued.

He halted, looking as if he would
like to escape. but there was no way
of egress. This determined-lo looking
young woman had him at a disad-
vantage.
Il do not think" he said icily, that
there is any subject which can be of
mutual interest"
ooh, yes, there is," she replied Gag
erly. She was quick to take advan-
tagSx of this entering wedge into the
MANS mantle of cold reserve.
"F1esh and blood" she went on
earnestly, "is of mutual interest. Your
son is yours whether you cast him off
or not You've got to hear me. l am
not asking anything for myself. It's
for him, your son. He's in trouble.
Don't desert him at a moment like
this. Whatever no may have done to
deserve your anger-don't-dont deal
him such blow. You cannot realize
what it means in such a critical situa-
ton. Even if you only pretend to be
friendly with him-you don't need to
really be friends with him. But don't
his father, publicly withdraw from his
support? Everybody will say he's no
good, that he can't be any good or his
father wouldn't go back on him. You
know what the world is. People will
condemn him because you condemn
him. They won't even give him a
heaAing. For Gods sake, don't go
back on him now!"
Mr.. Jeffries turned and walked to-
ward the window, and stood there ga
zing on the trees on the lawn. She
did not see his face, but by the ner-
vous twitching of his hands behind
his back, she saw that her words had
not been without effect. She waited
in silence for him to say something.
Presently he turned around, and she
saw that his face had changed. The
look of naughty pride had gone. She
had touched the chords of the ia
theirs heart. Gravely he said:
"Of course you realize that you,
above all others, are responsible for
his present position"
She was about to demur, but she
checked herself What did she care
what they thought of her? She was
fighting to save her husband, not to
make the Jeffries family think better
of her. Quickly she answered:
well, all right-I'm responsible
but don't punish him because of me-"
Mr.. Jeffries looked at her.
Who was this young woman who
championed so warmly his own son?
She fas his wife, of course. But wives
of certain kind are quick to desert
their husbands when they are in trou-
BILE. There must be some good in the
girl, after all, he thought. Hesitating-
~. he said:
Il could have forgiven him every
thing, everything but"
But me-" she said promptly. Il
know it. Don't you suppose / feel It,
too, and don't you suppose IL hurts?"
Mr.. Jeffries stiffened up. This wom-
an was evidently trying to excite his
spathies. The hard, proud express
sion came back into his face, as he an
swered curtly:
Forgive me for speaking plainly,
but my sons marriage with such a
woman as you has made it impossible
to even consider the question of recon
ciliation."
With all her efforts at self-control,
Annie would have been more than
human had she not resented the insin-
uaNon in this cruel speech. For a mo-
mepf she forgot the importance of
preserving amicable relations, and she
retorted:
"Such a woman as me? That's pret.
ty plain. But you'll have to speak
even more plainly. What do you mean
when you say such woman as me
What have / done?'
Mr.. Jefrries looked out of the win.
dow without answering. and she wert
on;