The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-09-06
TIE EVENING STORY
Revelation.


to become darkness. She hardly
| breathed, though she knew that her
door was locked, that she vas sup
posed to have gone to bed with a
slight headache, and that her parents
would not disturb her. 1t was a task
for her heart to keep on feeling hot
and angry enough SO that she could
| leave them without word and slip off
| to marry a man-any man-but least
| of all one like Henry Main, whom they
had done their best to keep away from
her They told her she was 200 young
| to know. Worse than that they want
| ed her to marry Max just because she
had been engaged to him before Henry
| came into the neighborhood for his
| summers vacation.
AT thought of Max she rose, smooth
| ed down her blue serge skirt and put
1 on her hat. Max had gone too far
when he ordered her absolutely not to
| speak to the other man. She did not
| like jealousy. He would see how that
| he had made a mistake. If he had
| just asked her not to-but no, even
| then she could not have helped loving
| the older, more sophisticated man,
with his tender, masterful ways. She
did not like TO go to him in this way.
| Finally she heard the little clock on
| the shelf downstairs strike 20, and
| though she was shivering with Scar
| and the misery of leaving her own
little room, she slipped into the hail,
her shoes in her hand. She waited,
heard her fathers deep breathing
| from his open room, and then slipped
down the back stairs to the kitchen
and out into the yard.
There was no moon, and Drusilla.
child as she still was, shrank from
going alone in the dark through the
| field to the bit of wood where he
would be waiting for her. Max was
always prowling about, since mis-
farm was neighboring, and might
come upon them. Now the slender
girl stole about the barn where old
d CT ant hnT h n q
and whinnied softly for attention
Drusie stopped a moment to lay ner
face against he kindly old creature,
and then passed through the orchard. |
trembling at every step, wondering
whether in the morning her mother
would cry. or whether she would just |
look gray and old as she had done
when she saw that her daughter was
dismissing Max.
AS she came to the bit of pasture |
between orchard and wood, she sud |
denly remembered Henry, and the
magnetic, half-hypnotism of him
numbed her senses and made her for
get ali but him. He would take care |
of her; he loved her; they would go |
to the city and real life would begin
for her.
blue eyed lover and his angry con-
tempt for the other man, his 1nJus-
tice, his almost violence AS II she
couldn't tell a good man from paa
to see any one she liked?
Rv this time, now fearless, she was
entering the wood path where little
farther on was the big tree where
Henry was waiting, and where under
some bushes waited suit case with
a few things she had taken out there
one by one, during the last few days.
She almost laughed to herself to think
she had reached the place without
somehow meeting Max-he had been
almost omnipresent the last rev
weeks, although she would not speak
to him. Henry had gone back to the
city and even now no one was sup
posed to know that he was driving
over for her from a neighboring town.
from which they would later take a
night train. She was glad she had not
met Max.
once safe in the trees she gave a
little low call like a quail, and waited
for an answer; but receiving none,
called again, and then listened. What
she heard was a crashing of bushes
at some distance, and suddenly the
angry voices of men: instantly sne
waiting for these people TO pass before
he showed himself.
Flat on the ground under the brush
the girl lay, her heart going like mad
with fear and suspense. The voices
were louder, and the men came nearer
she had put her hands over her
ears, but took them away now and de-
liberately listened. The first tone she
recognized was Max's voice, and de-
spite herself a great relief and sense
of safety crept over her. At least
dreadful could happen with
Max about. II
"I'Il be policeman, spy or anything
else when it comes to her safety and {
you dog! She doesn't have {
to marry me; | don't want her to IN
css she wants me more than she {
seems to, but at least l have put you
cut of commission! You're not even I
frst class scoundrel-just a cheap S
IL ~ tool . =
long to get your record looked up?
What about your being fired by Mat t
tox & Co.? What did it cost your peo- c
r1e to buy them off from prosecuting
you?''
something inside Drusie stopped.
She loved honesty. The men had |
,ome so close that she might almost |
nave touched them, and she saw that
Max held the other man by his col
ar, and that suddenly he broke away :
and aimed blow at his captor. $
In a moment the two were fighting E
crashing into the bushes,
Henry Main cursing. She was afraid
hey would tread upon her, and slip
bed up and hid behind tree trunk. a
I'd to stop them, but she dared not
move. They might hurt each other
lie might-hurt Max. Then she knew t
vhere her heart was. Why didn't Max s
peak? y
The thrashing ahaur stopped. and F
,eering about she saw dimly that one y
nan lay on the earth and that the V
,ther knelt upon him. To her infinite
eiief it was Max who spoke.
Now, you get out of here, and if z
-ou want decent home life go and y
~ to win back the wife you abused p
Until she divorced you, and be a father =
o the boy you're not lit to have! But q
-cu let my girl alonei She is mine, K
nd when you're out of the way she'll
ome to her senses. Now, you tell me
vhere she is pretty COMPOUNDED quicki W
knew you came here to meet her, n
nd it would be like you to let her be D