Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1912-10-12

pcration. If l were q man, and
had the girl I loved on a train. I'd
get her married II had to wreck
the" she caught her breath. paused
second in intense thought. and
then. with sudden radiance. cried:
Harry, dear!"
Yes, lowell"
Il have an idea-an inspiration!"
Eyes. pet" rather obviously from
bin, but with absolute exultation from
her: Lets wreck the train!"
II don't follow you, sweetheart"
Don't you see?" she began excited
ly. when there are train wrecks q
lot of people get killed, and things.
A minister always turns up to admin
lister the last something or other
we'll"
"Well!"
We'll. stupid. don't you see? We
wreck n train, minister comes. We
nab him, he marries us. and-there
We are! Everything's lovely!"
He gave her one OF those looks
with which a man usually greets what
a woman calls an inspiration. He did
not honor her invention with an
alysis. He simply put forward an OBJ
lection to 1t. and, man-like, chose the
most hateful of all objections:
ITS a lovely idea, but the wreck
would delay us for hours and hours,
anG I'd miss my transport"
Harry Mallory. If you mention that
20 m I
I'll have hydrophobia. I'm going
home"
but, darling" he pleaded, you
can't desert me now, and leave me TO
go on alone?" She had her answer
glib:
IF you really loved me, you'd"
"Oh, l know" he cut in. You've
said that before. But I'd be court
martialed. I'd lose my career"
What's career to a man who
truly loves?"
It's just as much as it is to any
body else-and more"
She could hardly controvert this
gracefully. so she sank back with
grim resignation. We'll, I've pro-
posed my plan, and you don't like it,
Now. suppose you propose something"
The silence was oppressive. They
sat like stoughton bottles. There the
conductor found them some time
later. He gave them a careless look,
selected a chair at the end OF the
car, and began to sort his tickets,
spreading them out on another chair,
making notes with the pencil he took
from atop his ear, and showed back
from time to time.
Ages seemed to pass, and Mallory
had not even a suggestion. BY this
time Marjorie's temper had evaporat-
ed, and when he said: If We could
only stop at some town for half an
hour" she said: Maybe the conduc-
tor would hold the train for US"
II hardly think he would"
He looks like an awfully nice man.
You ask him.
"Oh, what's the use?"
Marjorie was getting tired of de-
pending on this charming young man
with the very bad luck. She decided
to assume command herself. She
took recourse naturally to the orig
inal feminine methods: IN take care
of him." she said, with resolution. "A
woman can get a man to do almost
anything II she flirts a little with
him"
"Marjorie!"
Now, don't you mind anything
do. Remember, it's all for love Of
you-even if ! have to kiss him"
Marjorie, won't permit"
You have no right TO boss me-
yet. You subside." She gave him the
nerest touch. but he fell backward
into a chair. utterly aghast at the
shameless siren into which despera-
ton had altered the timid little thing
he thought he had chosen to love. lie
was being rapidly initiated into the
complex and versatile and fearfully
wonderful thing woman really Is,
and he was saying to himself, What
have / married." forgetting, for the
moment, that he had not married her
yet, and that therein lay the whole
trouble.