Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1912-11-14
the priest and the ring.

the priest and the ring"
Prue glanced at her sutton. and. obs
serving his downcast yes and tho
thought the joke had been carried far
enough. eve for her perverse humor.
Nay. dear Peggie, tits enough folly
for once" she said. Let the poor fell
low die in peace. What good would IL
do me to be the widow of a malefactol
publicly hanged. could never claim
the rights of such a w~idowhood!"
1T need not be known, coz Peggie
eagerly suggested. He has anothel
name-one quite familiar to you-ant
though he will die as Robin Freemantle
he will be married and buried under hi,
own name-or what he claims as hit
own,Robert Gregory de Cliffe."
Bot her hear>Ss repeated the nam,
in n of astt Mment, d Cliffe!'
. course. 1t is an assumed name
but twill serve none the less" sail
Sir Godfrey. with a constrained smile
DE Cliffe." repeated Prue; "'twouli
be strange. indeed. IL that name be-
Beachcombe would be greatly edited
If he knew l had a second opportunity
Of bearing his family name." She
laughed merr!ly. IL such a thing could
be taken seriously. this would almost
tempt me-"
AHA why AOS. CIlSO reggie i
protest l see no reason for throwing
away such a chance. You marry the
a tomorrow. and on Monday you
will be u widow. His body will be
laimed by a friend and buried under
the name of De Cliffe. and IL your
creditors harass you. all you have to
DO Is to produce your marriage ines
and they may go hunt. for their money
In Robins grave"
Prue looked irresolutely at Sir Geoff-
rey. Her caprice for this marriage was
almost played out. but she ANTE to
be coaxed out of 1t. n to make a
great favor of yielding up her own will
ful way to the circumstances and en-
treaties OF her lover. Sir Godfrey, on
The other hand. had rapidly turned the
matter over In his own mind and ar
rived at h conclusion that however
this escapade might affect Prue, 1t
would have two points in his favor.
First. the radiance OF those debts which
ne was so unwilling to shoulder, and
second. the advantage that the possess
sion OF such q secret would give him
IN maintaining his marital authority
later on. Sir Godfrey adored Prue.
u with the experience he had gained
OF her wiles and guiles. he had no OBJ
lection to the handling OF a weapon
that would keep them in due subiec-
ton.
He remained silent, SO after a pause
that began to be ominous. Prue said
softly. And you, Sir Godfrey; how
does this project strike you? Peggie
has given me a girls advice; 1 should
! ke a mans opinion"
He hemmed a little. and glanced from
n eXpectant face to another. 'Wom-
N wit" he began al last. lis often
more to the point than MANS"
in a slight hesitancy.
He laughed deprecatingly. ooh! my
dear Miss Margaret. I was not thinking
of laying claim to wisdom-merely to
logic, with which we poor dull Drained
men try to compensate for our lack of
FEMININE intuition. You. who are wise
as we'll as witty, can we'll afford to be
merciful-"
Still" persisted Prue. you are only
complimenting Peggie's wit: you are
not telling US what you think of her
scheme"
Margaret. soto voce.
My dearest Prudence. surely I do
not need to a that the idea of any
man having ever such a ghost of a
claim upon the woman 1 adore. is abb
horrent to me-" Sir Godfrey began,
rather pompously. "'Tis absurd to
think that a few words to a stranger
could free you from SO much anxiety.
while J. the most faithful of your slaves.
am forced by cruel Fate to stand aside.
for fear of a~ggravating your woes"
Having got thus far. however, 1t oc-
CURED to him that this was too serious
a view of the matter. so he went on
with a careless laugh. ITO be sure you
would only see him once-the fellows
audacity would be rightly punished by
such a torment of Tantalus-and your
creditors-the wretches have threatened
You with the Fleet, did you say? BY
Saint George, tits no more than they
deserve to be baked OF their prey-it
seems almost worth while"
II see" interrupted Prue, without the
least appearance of that
you agree with Peggie. We will con-
slider 1t settled. I'm SO glad we have
told o about it," she went on, in her
most vivacious manner. II really don't
see how Peggie and I could have man.
aged without you:. and to think that I
was foolish enough to be afraid YOU
would be Shocked"
oh! / am Observation-Disclosures. at tho
idea of any man" he began, but she
interrupted him, playfully shaking her
forefinger at him.
Now. now! don't let us try to be
sentimental about. 1t. The plan il q
very good plan; very sensible and in
genius. l am proud Of having originat,
ed 1t. Peggie. I know, Is proud of hay.
ing successfully carried the nego.
ttations. and o will have q right. my
dear Sir Godfrey. to be proud Of the
part you are going to play in bringing
1t to a triumphant end"
II am entirely at your disposal. my
dear Prudence said Sir Godfrey, rath-
er taken aback at thus finding himself