Payette enterprise. (Payette, Canyon Co., Idaho) 1909-1935, 1912-12-26
DEFENSELESS
MAN
By JANE PINCkNEY BENNETT
Copyright by American Press Asso-
citation, 1911.

/ had been expecting a declaration for
weeks, and perhaps this added to my
delight. Alan is b steady, slow going
fellow, who never does anything in a
hurry.
There Is d girl In this town who was
once engaged to Alan. l met her at
Carrie Watson's last week. Her name
Is Wentworth-Kate NEWFOUNDLAND
from all appearances she must be
lovely girl At any rate, Kate says she
| is. 1t must have been embarrassing
for Miss Wentworth to meet me,
knowing that 1 was engaged to the
man who was once her lover, but she
didn't show 1t. Kate says she has got
all over that affair long ago. She said
something else l didn't like-that Kate
wouldn't marry Alan now if he were
worth ten millions.
|
I haven't been able to sleep nights
since heard that Kate Wentworth
wouldn't now marry Alan If she
could spoke to Alan about his old
fame, and he said that he didn't care
to discuss the matter. l wonder why.
There certainly can't be anything
about it that he's ashamed of. Yet
what Carrie said about 1t troubles
me. That a girl formerly betrothed
to the man one is to marry wouldn't
marry him if he had S10,000,000 is
not a pleasant thing for his present
fiancee to hear. Suppose he has some
weak or bad spot in him that she hap
pened to find out Pshawl / resolve
solemnly that III think no more about
1t.
1 went to call on Carrie the other
day and asked her what she meant
by saying that Kate Wentworth
wouldn't marry Alan now. Kate said
she didn't know. When l urged her
to tell me something abtdt it she said
she never mixed herself up in other
peoples affairs. So l let the matter
drop. Just as l was about to leave
her she said that out of pure friend
ship for me she would tell me some
thing she thought 1 should know.
Then she told me that Kate had bro
ken off her engagement with Alan be-
cause he had treated her shamefully.
asked what the shameful treatment
had consisted in, to which she replied
that there were so many things that
1he didn't care to name them, and
Rate wouldn't care to have her do SO.
My engagement with Alan is bro
ken. l just couldn't drive out of my
head what Carrie had told me about
last 1 told him about 1t. Instead Of
hurting back the accusation like a
man, he didn't even deny it. All he
said was that 1 had nothing to do I
with his previous affairs of the heart
nor he with mine That's all he would
say about it. Then l told him that if
such things were not cleared up be-
Ia our sides after marriage, and SO |
long as he wouldn't give me any sat
isfaction in the matter we had better |
call our engagement off. To this he |
agreed. gave him back my beauti- |
full ring. And oh, how l did hate to |
part with it.! I'm very miserable.
Oh, my goodness graciousl I surely |
shall have nervous prostration. Some
thing awful has happened. The en-
gagement between Alan Constable-my |
Alan-and Carrie Watson is out. But |
this isn't all. I've been told by Grace |
Fuller, Carries most intimate friend
and one of my own, too, that Carrie
Is wearing the engagement ring which
Alan gave me and which / returned to
him. To think that Carrie-the SER
pent-sbould have told me all those
things about Kate Wentworth and
Alan, breaking my match with him,
then accepting him herself. l do be-
ieve she told them to me purposely to
part us so that she could get him. oh,
my dear stars! l think 1 shall go mad.
1t Is three months since 1 heard that
Alan was engaged to Carrie Watson.
Today have received note from him
laying that his engagement with Car.
|
brought it about to show me how silly
was to listen to tales about him. He
lenies that he ever was engaged to
Kate Wentworth. He sent with his
tote the engagement ring and asked me
o accept it as a friendly gift, saying
hat he has no fault to find with me.
was simply caught In trap by an
woman. He closed by
syIng that the incident had preju.
iced him against marriage and he had
ecidod to stick to his club.
1 thought long while before decid-
ng to accept the ring as friendly
ift," but finally decided to do so. l
lone was at fault. Ny brother, whom
have told au about the trouble, says
hat man attacked by a woman is |
ractically defenseless and when ! q
yas told that he had treated former {
ancee badly should not have expect