Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1913-10-17

@AA
inquire. If you prefer, I'll send for
one Of your old professors. and pay
his expenses. They took a good deal
of interest in the young college stu
dent who married and neglected Jo-
sephine Derry. They haven't forgot
ten it, If you have"
you don't know" he gasped, that
there's a penalty for coming to
peoples houses to threaten them with
supposed facts in their lives. You
don't know that the jails are ready to
punish Matchmaking, for you are only
a little girl and don't understand such
things. I give you warning. Although
you r in short dresses"
YES" remarked Fran dryly, 81
thought that would be an advantage
to you. 1t ought to make things
easier"
"How an advantage to me? Easier?
What have to do with your"
81 thought" Fran said coIdly, that
1t would be easier for you to take me
into the house as a little girl than as
a grown woman You'll remember l
told you I've come here to stay"
ITO stay!" he echoed, shrinking
back. your"
YES" she said, all the cooler for
his attitude of repulsion. 81 want a
home. Yes, I'm going to stay. l want
to belong to somebody"
He cried out desperately, But what
am l to do? This will ruin me-oh,
It's true, all you've said-I don't deny
1t. But l tell you, girl, you will ruin
me. Is all the work of my life to
be overturned? l shall go mad"
mo, you won't" Fran calmly as
sured him. you'll do what every one
has to do, sooner or later-face the
situation. You're a little late getting
to 1t, but it was coming all the time.
You can let me live here as an adopt
ed orphan, or any way you please.
The important fact to me is that I'm
going to live here. But l don't want
to make 1t hard for you, truly | don't"
Don't your" He spoke not loudly.
but with tremendous pressure of de-
sire. "rhen, for Gods sake, go back
Go back TOTO wherever you came
from. I'll pay all expenses. You shall
have all you want"
"All l want" Fran responded, '1s a
home, and that's something people
can't buy. Get used to the thought of
my staying here; that will make it
easy"
"Easyl" he calculated. "Then it's
your purpose to compel me to give
you shelter because of this secret
you mean to ruin me. I'll not be able
to account for you, and they will
question-my wife will want to know,
and-and others as we'll"
Nov, now" said Fran, with sudden
gentleness, don't be SO excited, don't
take it SO hard. Let them question.
I'll know how to keep from exposing
you. But do want to belong to some
body, and after I've been here a
while, and you begin to like me, I'll
tell you everything. / knew the Jo-
sephine Derry that you deserted-she
raised me, and | know she loved you
to the end. Didn't you yer care for
her, not even at the first, when you
got her to keep your marriage secret
until you could speak to your father
face to face? You must have loved
her then. And she's the best friend
l ever had. Since she died I've wan
dered-and-and ! want a home"
The long loneliness of years found
expression in her eager voice and
pleading eyes, but he was too en-
crossed with his own misfortunes to
heed her emotion. Didn't | go back
to S~pringield?" he cried out. "Of
course l did. | made inquiries for
her; that's why l went back-to find
out what had become of her. I'd been
zone only three years, yes, only three
years, but, good heavens, how / had
suffered! / was so changed that no.
body knew me-" He paused, appalled,
at the recollection. II have always
had a terrible capacity for suffering.
! tell you, it was my duty to go back
to find her, and went back. l would
have acknowledged her as my wife. l
would have lived with her. I'd have
done right by her, though it had killed
me. Can l say more than that?"
Il am glad you went back" said
Fran softly. "She never knew it. l
am SO glad that you did-even that"
Yes, l did go back" he said, more
firmly. But she was gone. l tell
you all this because you say she was
your best friend"
"A while g you asked me who I
am-and what"
"It doesn't matter" he interjected.
you were her friend; that is all l
care to know. l went back to Spring
field, after three years-but she was
gone. | was told that her uncle had
cast her off, and she had disappeared.
1t seems that she'd made friends
with a class Of people who were not
who were not-respectable."
Fran's eyes shone brightly. ooh.
thew were NOT aha aOroad 0fhau