Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1914-10-20

one evening ] thought I 50 y the vUav
ont Of II all. Sallie PTentiss came ore.
to ask father if couldn't Join mart,
Of girls who had graduated from or.
school and were going abroad with orc
of the teachers. / jumped at the
chance. I'd always been crazy 70 On
abroad. but I didn't think Of that .,
all. It only seemed 10 me way ~
getting away from New York and an
the hundred million people who want.
ed me to talk with them. so I leased
father till he said I could 20.
Aunt Mary"-she paused with a sol.
eun forefnger upraised-'ff you eyer
want to be by yourself don't 20 to I'm.
rope with party Of girls. Why. New
York was a desert Of solitude com.
pared with that party! They're all a
little bit older than | and had been
abroad before. and they promised one
another-I overheard them and felt Ike
jumping overboard-that they wouldn't
let dear little Puss get lonely and home
sick
well. Of course didn't draw a
breath during the voyage that wasn't
shared by the others, and when we
landed in France it was Just as bad
Miss Hopper wouldn't let one Of Us so
much as stick our nose out alone. be-
cause it wasn't proper, and one Of the
girls always roOmed with me- The only
time when l wasn't supposed to be
ready to talk and be sociable was when
l was writing letters. / tried to use
that as pretext and would sit aud Just
thing. But what satisfaction was there
in thinking about oscar and whether
was in love with him or not while
had to keep my pen juggling up and
down? l soon gave that up!
FINALLY l gave up trying and put It
off until 1 sailed for the trip home.
knew the girls We're going to stay over
till a later boat, and | knew you liked
to be still and quiet. and l thought I'd
have long days of leisure all to myself.
When / said goodby to the girls in
Liverpool they asked me to say hon
estly If I'd been lonely or homesick,
and you should have heard me! just
shouted, We'll, should say notp They
looked so pleased-dense things!
1.-THE passenger list scared me little
so many names on it Of people who
live right near US and know me so
well-but l thought maybe they'd be
sick or something. | never dreamed
folks could be so hatefully well! They
knew me right away, and they've been
laying themselves ont to give me a
good time. A good timer She repeat
ed the words with a bitterly ironic ac-
9Th.
every waking minute. l declare, I've
been ready to jump over the rail. There
isn't anywhere you can go TO get away
from people on Il ship. The Mason girls
insisted the first night out that should
move my things into their big stateroom
on the promenade deck and take the
berth Ella was to have, only she decid-
ed to wait over. l begged on my Blended
knees to be let OFF, but Mrs. Mason
thought it was because I was afraid Of
being in their way, and she wouldn't
listen to me- No, indeed. my dear
she said in that overbearing way she
has when she wants to be kind. Mary
Helston's daughter is like one Of my
own. You must come and stay with
us and be like q member of our fam
lily. Well, l was.'' my niece concluded
savagely. ''This is the first instant I've
not had a Mason of some sort hanging
around me. That eldest Mason boy,
the one that's in Princeton, has been
trotting after me all the time his sis
tiers left me alone. And then you come
up on deck'-she began to laugh Wild
" again-''and ask me if I've been
lonely. Why. Aunt Mary. here we are
actually coming into New IoFk-weH
be THERE in few hours. | promised
Oscar I'd give him his answer on the
pier. and | don't know any more WHAT
10 say this ODD of September than / diu'
on the nth of May. How can think
with such an incessant humming ana
Duzzing in my ears every minute: I'm
afraid TO see Oscar. ! don't feel as II
I'd really recognize him when / see
him. I'm so ratified"
She paused. and / opened my mouth
10 speak. when great change came
over her pretty. worried face she
,azed down the deck with beamlnS'
;tarlike eyes. and her lips parted IN an
happy smile. When she
spoke her voice took on au indescFlD'
sble cadence OF amazed delight
why. there he is now" she eA-
.Iaimed. He must have come aboard
With the customs officers Oscar heFe
ann
1t must not he supposed that sue
ave this information TO satisfy IN!
on my part she was eF''
ently only thinking aloud. for no one
ouId have been more obliyious Of 70!
presence than she rs the young Hah
anne toward her. his hands outsiFe'eu'
d in an eager gesture Of welcome
he tIun% herself into his arms IL
assion of content. ana these were 'n'
words with which sne
rerted him. uttered with 50 hear'le'
II accent AZ 10 leave no possible d'0''
+ her sincerity;
''Oh. Oscar. I've been SO lonely WIZ
ut YOU"
Oct. 20 IN American