Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1912-08-10

! tically the same now as then 1t Is she
J who must decide her course and
mine"
! That Is perfectly honorable. / have
no criticism TO offer. ] have only her
happiness at heart"
J Then. II you please. sir. since am
rather awkwardly situated here. I
should like very much to see Miss
Grace this morning"
! He bowed in his lofty way and left
me. Within half hour servant
j.. brought Inc word that Miss Grace
would see me in the drawing room.
She was seated I'm a wide. low chair
near the sunny window. half hid by
the leafy plants that grew In the
bOxcS there. She was clad In loose
morning wear over ample trinoline.
her dark hair drawn in broad hands
over the temples, half confined by a
broad gold comb. save two long curIs
which hung down her neck at either
side. II seemed to me she was very
thin-thinner and darker than ever.
She held out her hand to me. and II
lay cold and lifeIess In my own.
Perhaps | have been a little hur-
ried after all in CHASING myself as an
al,+olute pauper." | explained as she
read my letter. II must go out there
and look into these things"
Going away againf" She looked
up at me, startled.
"For a couple Of weeks. And when
1 come back. Miss Grace
So now l was up to the verge of
that same old. definite question.
She sat up IN the chair as though
pulling herself together in some sud,
Den resolve and looked me straight in
the face.
Jack" she said. why should we
wait?'
ITO be sure" said |; only do not
want you to marry Il pauper If any act
Of my own Gan make him better than
a pauper in the meantime"
You temporize." she said bitterly.
You are not glad. yet You came to
me only last spring. and you
Il come to you now, Miss Grace" /
said.
"!Ah. what a difference between then
and nowr' she sighed.
For time we could find nothing tt
to say. At last was forced to bring
up one thing did not like to mention.
Miss Grace" said /, seating myself
beside her, last night. or. rather. this
morning after midnight. found
man prowling around in the yard"
She sprang up as though shocked,
her face gray. her eyes full Of terror.
you have told!' she exclaimed. My
father knows that Captain Orme"-
1t was my own turn to feel surprise.
which perhaps showed.
II have told no one. 1t seemed to me
that first I ought to come to you and
ask you about this. Why was Orme
thereT'
She stared at me. "He told me he
would come back some time" she ad-
mitted at length" All the while she
was fighting with herself. striving. ex-
actly as Orme had done. to. husband
her powers for an impending struggle.
You see," she added. The has secret
business all over the country. will
own believe him to be in the secret
service of the inner circle of num-
Der of southern congressman and bust
ness men. He is in with the southern
circle-of New Orleans. of Charleston
Washington. For this reason he could
not always choose his hours of going
and coming"
Does your father know Of his pecul-
lar hours?"
81 presume so, of course"
81 saw a light at a window" I be-
gan, whose window / do not know,
doubtless some servants. 1t could not
have been a signalr'
"a signal? What do you mean? Do
you suspect me of putting out bea-
con light for a cheap night adventure
with some man? Do you expect me to
tolerate that sort of thing from your"
II ask you to tolerate nothing"
said Il am not in the habit Of sus
pecting ladies. But ask you if you
can explain the light on that side of
the house."
Jack" she said, finSing out her
hand, forgive me. admit that Cap
tain Orme and carried on u bit of a
Irritation after he came back-after he
had told me about you. But why
should that-why, he did not know you
were here"
NO" said l dryly. II don't think he
did. am glad to know that you found
something to amuse you in my ab-
sence."
Let US not speak of amusements in
the absence Of each other" she said
bitterly Think of your own. But
when you came back it was all as it
was last spring. ! could love no other
man but you, Jack. After all, if we
are quits, let us stay quits and forgive
and forget. Let us forget, Jack"
sat looking at her as she turned to
IN bor