Polk County news-gazette. (Benton, Tenn.) 190?-191?, 1913-12-25
CHAPTER xxi.
The Hour Of Reckoning.

The Hour Of Reckoning.
Mark Robertson and his wife, left
alone together, in the other end Of
the great library, faced the situation
for which Grace had so long been pre-
pairing and for which her frightened
years of preparation had proved SO
useless.
Mark strove for speech. But for the
first time in his roughly aggressive ca
reer. suitable words1 here denied him.
Alternately he 10y bio tell her in
naked terms .Eh9 e was and how
utterly IL. d!fhaL tbs, the =; L.
gush Of self-pity urged Jam to reproacH
her for the wrecking II his ideals. the
blasting of his happiness. Vanity
coming part way to has aid. he framed
and left unspoken--a curt sentence
of farewell. And, In the end, all he
could say was:
why didn't you tell me?"
1t was not what he had intended to
say. 1t was banal. 1t expressed none
of the stark moods that seethed in
him. Yet as she did not answer, he
found himself asking once more:
why didn't you tell me?"
And now, unknown and unwished
for, there crept into his bald question
note that was almost of entreaty.
Tell your" she echoed. ooh, If you
knew how I've wanted tot"
Then"
81 didn't dare. didn't dare"
Truth and honor surely"
your love meant more to me than
truth and honor. ! sacrificed them to
keep it. would sacrifice them and
everything else to get 1t back. Is
that shameless? Perhaps. The truth
usually is. If had told you, you
would never have forgiven me. You
know you wouldn't. If I've wronged
you"
"If you had loved me as a true wom-
an loves, you would have told me-
You would have had to. You could not
have deceived me like this. Love
doesn't feed on lies. 1t was my right
to know everything, so that l could |
decide my own course. Instead, you
have led me into this trap. There is
no escape now. And it is too late to
reproach you or to try to make you
realize what you have done. You say
your love for me kept you from tell
ing? Believe that, If 1t Is any COM
fort to you. +"
you say / don't know what true
love is" she laughed bitterly. I'm
afraid / can never learn it from you
So your love has died? Love cant
die. any more than God can die. You
have never loved me-"
e."
Never see now that you didn't
For you don't know what love means.
| lived for you. Every thought and
word and act of mine was shaped for
you. And for you alone. l knew you.
/ knew your faults. your follles, your
brute savagery. And l loved you for
hem as well as for the good that was
In you. But what was 1t you loved?
The woman you married-or a snow
white sanity reputation? II you cared
1nly for the reputation-that is gone
forever. But IL you loved me-the
woman / am-then I've been every
hing you thought l was and wanted
ne to be--ever since the first moment
,ou had the right to think of me at all.
gave you my life, from that time on
nd forever. And 1t has been all yours.
Before then. 1t was mine"
and yet you let me believe II was
verything-your whole life-your
lrst love-
ut was. All that was worth the
diving. All that had ever been worth
he giving. 1t was my self. oh, cant
,ou see that a woman's body and
leart and soul belong not to her first
over but to her FIRST love? No woman
AN even guess what love is until she
las found It. And found 1t only