Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1912-11-07

only resources were his strength. not |
of mind but of body. He made anoth-
er most damaging mistake at this
juncture.
I'VE are alone here, and / am mas
ter, remember" he said meaningly.
Come, let's make up. Give me q kiss
for my pains and"
Il have been alone here for a month
with a other man." answered Enid
Maitland who was strangely unafraid
In spite of this threat. "a gentleman,
he has never so much as offered to
touch my hand without my permits
sion; the contrast is quite to your dis
advantage"
Are you jealous of Louise Rosser?"
asked Armstrong suddenly seeing that
he was losing ground and casting
about desperately to account for 1t,
and to recover what was escaping him.
why, that was nothing, a mere boy
and girl affair" he ran on with a spe- |
cious good humor as If 1t were all a
tri1e. "The woman was, l hate to
say it, just crazy in love with me, but
l really never cared anything espe-
cially for her; 1t was Just a harmless
sort Of Irritation anyway. She after
ward married this man Newbold and
that's all there was about It"
The truth would not serve him and
in his desperation and desire he stalk.
ed everything on this astounding lie.
The woman he loved looked at him
with her face as rigid as a mask.
you won't hold that against me,
will your" pleaded the man. II told
you that I'd been a mar among men,
yes, among women, too, here in this
rough country, and that / wasn't
worthy of you; there are lots of things
in my past that / ought to be ashamed
of and l am, and the more I see you
the more ashamed / grow, but as for
loving any n else, all that I've ever
thought OF felt or experienced before
now is just nothing"
And this indeed was true, and even
Enid Maitland with all her prejudice
could realize and understand 1t. Out
of the same mouth, was said Of old,
proceeded blessing and cursing, and
from these same lips came truth and
falsehood; but the power Of the truth
to influence this woman was as moth
ing to the power of falsehood. She
could never have loved him, she now
knew; a better man had won her af-
fections, a nobler being claimed her
heart; but If he had told the truth re-
garding his relationship to Newbold's
wife and then had completed 1t with
his passionate avowal of his present
love for her, she would have at least
admired him and respected him.
You have not told me the TRUTH"
she answered directly; you have de-
hberately been false"
Cant you see," protested the man
drawing nearer to her, how much I
love your"
"Oh, that; yes I suppose that is
true; as far as you can love any one
! will admit that you do love me-"
$50 far az l can love any one?" he
repeated after her. "Give me q chance
and I'll show you"
But you haven't told the truth
about Mrs. Newbold. You have calum.
mated the dead, you have sought to
shelter yourself by throwing the bur
den of a guilty passion upon the weak
Ell vessel; it isn't manlike, 1t isn't
Armstrong was a bold fighter, quick
and prompt in his decisions. He made
another effort to set himself right. He
staked his all on another throw Of the
dice, which he began to feel were
somehow loaded against him.
you are right" he admitted. won
dering a~nxiously how much the woman
really knew. ut wasn't true, 1t was
a towards act, I am ashamed Of It.
I'm SO mad with love for you that /
scarcely know what I am doing, but
/ will make a clean breast Of 1t now.
I loved Louise Rosser after a fashion
before ever Newbold came on the
scene. We were pledged to each 9th.
er; a foolish quarrel arose. she was
jealous Of other girls
"And had she no right to be?"
"Oh, l suppose 80. We broke IL of
anyway and then she married New
bold, out Of pique l suppose, or what
you will. | thought / was heart-brok-
en- at the time, 1t did hit me pretty
hard; 1t was five or six years ago;
was a youngster then, I am a man
now. The woman has been dead long
since; there was some cock-and-bull
story about her falling of a cliff and
her husband being compelled to shoot
her. / didn't believe it at the time,
and naturally | have been waiting to
get even with him. ] have been hat
ing him for five years, but he has
been good to you and we will let by.
cones be bygones. What do ! care
for Louise Rosser, or for him, or for
what he did to her, now! ] am sorry
that ! said what ! did, but you will
have to charge it to my binding pas
sion for you. can truthfully say that
you are one woman that J have ever
craved with all my heart. ] will do
anything, be anything. to win you"
II was very brilliantly done; he had
not told a single untruth; he had ad-
mitted much, but he had withheld