The Washington herald., 1913-11-19
BESTLAD PLANS.
By A. MARIA CRAWFORD.


"You certainly know human nature too
well. Jean, to suppose that man gets to
be thirty without having had any love
affairs. or at least without having be-
lieved himself to be in love several times"
How do you know that our affair Is
any different from the others, when YOU
merely supposed yourself to be in love2
That has been my argument all along.
You tell the next girl about me just what
you have told me about all the others?
You didn't really love them, you said;
you only thought you did, Walter. You
can't convince me-"
You are inexorablel It isn't fair to
bring up a dozen petty love affairs. /
never asked any girl but you to marry
me-"
'T am hattered," Jean smiled. "I won
der how managed to get you to pro-
pose. I am certainly not as clever as Mrs.
Humphrey Carter"
At last the cat was out of the bag,
thought the man. The arrival of the
pretty little widow TO be one Of his
sisters guests at a small house party
was responsible for changing the girls
attitude to him. The evening before he
had. been sure that Jean cared. He looked
at her as she leaned her head against a
high-backed chair and stared into the
fire. There was no longer the mocking
little smile on her lips nor the droop TO
her eyelids that promised a time Of teas-
ing for him. She was evidently unhappy.
He inwardly cursed himself for having
been a fool Why, he asked himself. Bit
terly, had he ever made love to please
the vanity of little Martha Hall, who
later became Mrs. Humphrey Carter?
Her husband had lasted little less than
1--WE years, and just because he had never
married in the meantime Walter Baxter
knew that Carter's widow attributed his
state of single blessedness to the fact
that she had marTAad another man. He
was sincerely and honestly in love with
Jean. She was the first girl he had ever
thought about seriously in his life. She
knew nothing of women's schemes to get
even with a man.
Jean raised her frank blue eyes to his.
You may have thought that you loved
me, Walter, but il Mrs. Carter's mar
riage, so many years ago, affected you
so that you never wanted anybody else,
1t must have been the best love OF your
life. You know l am just old-fashioned
enough to believe in and want the only
great love a man ever feels for any
woman There may be many little loves.
as you contend, but there is only one
great and abiding love. 1 am sure of
that
Jean, dear, / never wanted to marry
Martha Lots Of women are like that.
II you tell them they dance well, they
are foolish enough to think that you
want to marry them and so dance with
them through life
But she told me, with tears in her
eyes, just how dreadful you looked when
she told you that she was going to marry
MIR. Carter"
"She did, burst out Walter angrily
'Tf you want to credit that woman, then
you can just believe all she says!'
He flung himself out of the room be-
fore Jean could realize what had hap
pened. She sought soIace in tears until
she remembered that in a little while
all the guests would come in to dress
for E big dinner to which Il dozen sup
Elementary guests mad been invited.
Swollen eyes would give Mrs Carter an
undeniable advantage over her, so she
dried her tears instantly, resolved to look
her best and SO prove to Walter that
she didn't care il he did love some
body else. She thought over what he
had said. Could a woman as sweet as
Mrs Carter appeared to be really az
tempt to keep her from marrying Wal
ter? He was the best-looking man in
their set. and certainly the cleverest,
for he had established a wonderful repu
tation for a young lawyer. So, reviewing
fer recent conversation with the widow