Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1912-08-16
The Argus Daily Story
Faint Heartily Everett Macburney
Copyrighted. 1912 by Associated IItera ~ Bureau.

action. nor did upbraid her. I SIM
ply said that | would do my best TO
maintain our past friendly status. but
whether 1t could be maintained or not
l did not know. l hoped it could.
arose, offered her my hand. which she
took without warmth, babe her good
by and told her that l would see her
again before my departure.
But l didn't. The barrier that l
feared would he the result OF lovemak-
ing had come between us. i could not
take leave of her both as a rejected
lover and as friend: therefore I would
not take leave of her at all. l depart
ed without seeing her. l considered
that had Joined the ''innumerable car
AVIAN"
The object OF my journey was to in
vestigate q business in which l had
been invited to take an interest Find
ing that It looked favorable l embark
ed in it and for five years was absorb
ed in 1t. At the end OF that time
concluded to take a vacation with two
objects in view. One was TO take a
rest. the other 20 so back 70 zay osa
home and visit old friends.
1t was about the same time OF year
as when l had come away that one aft
ernoon few days after my arrival I
went TO call on Alice, who was now
midway between girlhood and old
maidhood. / found her in the garden
where l had left her five years before
tending her flowers. Hearing some one
coming up the walk, she raised herself
and with trowel in her hand stood
looking at me. l saw that she recog-
nized me. but whether she experienced
pleasure or pain at seeing me again
could not determine.
She welcomed me with a certain cor
diality and led me to the same rustic
seat on which We had sat during our
last and memorable interview.
You are not married, l believer" I
said
Mo-
Il have often wondered why 1t is
that girls such as you are or were.
with lots of suitorS. very often don't
marry at all"
II suppose it's because they don't
meet the man they want or that the
man they want doesn't want them. For
my part, l would not marry any man
unless he loved me-"
But men have loved you whom
you didn't want.
81 have had men tell me they loved
me who meant 1t, and have had men
tell me they loved me who didn't. At
any rate, they told me in such a half
hearted way that it meant nothing"
| picked up my ears. For the first
time in the years that had interviewed
since my proposal l realized that 1t
was half hearted. Could 1t be that she
referred to mine as such a proposition?
Il remember" she continued. Ion
that afternoon when you were here
last you upbraided me for trifling 1t
seems to me that If man loves a wo-
| man and proposes to her to crafty a
/ curiosity as to whether she is trifling
or not with him he is the more repre-
! henSble of the two"
| There was something sadly reproach-
| full in this that made me vince.
IF you refer to me | certainly have
! paid for the wrong committed.
though | do not admit the charge. for
have lived lonely life since"
Il could only attribute your indiffer.
ent tone to curiosity"
you were wrong / did not realize
that my proposal was half hearted, but
l will admit that did not know your
refusal meant so much to me. We do
not know how much we desire an OBJ
ject till we find we can't have 1t.
Then we fret and fume and refuse to
| be comfOrted."
I'm that case. If the object is at last
attained. we find no comfort in IT"
mot So The not getting what we
covet shows us that we did not real
! lie how much we wanted 1t. / admit
that when we talked of this matter
years ago | was fearful OF refusal.
Fear is no weapon with which to make
! love"
at is a good weapon with which to
keep those apart who should be to-
gether."
A slight trembling in her voice when
she said this struck responsive chord
I'm my heart. / had not only injured
myself. but her. | had nothing to say.
why did you go away without com
Il could no longer come as a friend.
and | did not wish to come as a re-
jected lover. But enough Of this, Alice
/ /, who thought had some insight into
woman's nature. have been fool.
My stupidity has cost me infinite pain.
! now know that under my youthful
! friendship you was concealing an en-
during love. not love such as may
pass away at breath. but one that.
growing slowly, becomes an absorbing
passion"
Finding that words were inadequate
to express all felt took her in my
arms and told the rest in caresscs
Five years lost" she said through
ears. ION account Of a misunderstand-
ng."
They shall be made up for nv n
greater intensity OF those TINT are to
come"