The Winslow mail., 1911-04-22
Jerry's
EaiGhfulness =
BY ELEANoR z. PORTER

I e BY ELEANOR q. PORTER a {
A1az-
The letter was addressed to Miss
Marion Hartley and not for five years
had Mrs. William Saybrook been that.
She was at the old Hartley homestead
on visit to her brother and his wife
when the letter came and the postman
smiled broadley as he placed the mis-
siye in her hand
"Yessm that's all; but guess that
belongs to you ali right, Mrs. Say
brook even if you haven't been seeing
much of that name lately, eh?' he
bantered ioyially.
1T can't be-but it is-Jerry!" she
breathed And he doesn't KNOWN
married."
With a dismayed cry she tore open
the envelope. The letter. in an en-
tirely different handwriting from that
on the envelope, began: Jerry Hap
good who asks me to write you this
letter, feels too i'll to do more than
superscribe it, but he requests me to
say"
Mrs. Saybrook continued to read, her
eyes widening and her cheeks paling.
At the end she crumpled the letter in
her hand and hurried down stairs to
the living room where her sister-in-
law sat sewing
Kate, what shall I do?" she burst
out Jerry Hapgood is sick-I mean
he's better and he's coming back
for mel
And who may Jerry Hapgood be?"
smiled Kate, TRANQUILITY. Surely, not
a kidnaper?"
Worse than that. He's a lover
my lover. Kate, what shall do?"
Even the placid Kate was stirred
now.
your lover! Why Marion, what
are you talking about?"
about Jerry Hapgood, cried the
younger woman, feverishly, sinking
into low chair IT'S awful, Kate,
perfectly awful and you must help me
out. You see it was ages ogo. l wasn't
but IS; and he-wel, there was-an
understanding, I'm afraid Then he
went away--'way off, west or south.
or somewhere, and wrote Well,
that went on for a year or two, then
all of sudden his letters stopped
right off short And how was l to
know? I thought he'd died or forgot
ten me, or found somebody else. of
course, and naturally |. didn't want to
be found wearing the weeping willow,
so well, William came along about
then, anyway, and II couldn't help
myself"
"Of course not"
But Kate, listen; this is the awful
part Jerry didn't die, or forget, or
anything It's dreadful story, all
shipwrecks and wars and imprison-
ments and sickness. The doctor my
letter was from doctor-iust told me
little of that but he said that Jerry
was gaining fast and would soon come
and tell me himself himself. Kate!
He's coming here and he expects to
find me Marion Hartley waiting for
him Kate. what shall I do?"
Do? Why GO right along the even
tenor of your way, of course, When
he comes-if he does come-he'll find
out very quickly that you aren't Miss
Hartley and that you aren't waiting
for him
But think Of him--how he'll feel!'
Nonsense, Marion! After all these
years I fancy he'll survive.
Marion uplifted her chin with an air
of wounded dignity.
You don't know Jerry Hapgood,
Kate. If you did you wouldn't say
that in that tone of voice. Besides
why Kate, they were simply awful
those letters, she walled suddenly;
both his and mine. They were for
ever raving of truth and love and 10y
atty and high ideals. And he-he was
the kind that-that never gets over
things, And he thinks now that II
have been true, too-as true as he's
been
Mrs, William Saybrook did not men
ton Jerry Hapgood's name again for
some days, but that did not mean that
she had forgotten him. She trembled
at every knock and held her breath
every time the door bell rang In
spite Of her angry remonstrance with
herself she found, too, that she could
not don a gown nor arrange her hair
that she did not have a thought for
the possible effect on eyes that had
seen her last as an t8-year- old girl.
She was shocked and shamed by all
this. She told herself that she was
actually becoming disloyal to William
William, at about this time. began
to wonder mildly at the length and
warmth and frequency of his wifes
letters.
But as the days passed and no Jerry
appeared Mrs Say brook began to
breathe with less apprehension Then
one day. it happened She met the
man face to face in the woods near
the town She knew him al once She