The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1914-06-19
IheDkUGHrER of
DAVID KERR II
y Harry En5 Tootle
Illustration, y 14y 11l7..<s 3
~ Harry Kin{T 70

listened. Il have lived away from Bel
mont" she went on In an eveE, re
pressed monotone that cut him to the
heart, since / was a little girl, toe
young to understand, and was
brought up to believe that my father
was-well. just the opposite of what
he 10. 1t was all a mistake. OF course
1t was no fault Of mine, but | must
suffer for 1t Just the same. ! had ev
erything money could buy: and then
you came-and-and l had love"
Her voice trembled for the instant
Wright could not stand it.
"Gloria!" he cried, seeking to stop
her. but she went on again in the same
impersonal manner.
but no one was really kind to me
| lived in a fools Paradise. ! did not
know the truth" Then vehemently
losing control OF herself: "Oh. why
did you ever speak to me of love!
You, OF all men. to make my humilia.
alton doubly great"
Don't speak SO, l beg Of you.'
Wright commanded. Can you believe
that l nave not 6uUere0.
She chose to ignore his question.
"Oh. IL / had never come home! II
] had even not gone to Judge Gilbert's
office that day! It was fate, Joe. It
was fate. ! a see 1t all now. We
boast that We dominate circumstances,
the gods laugh and are our masters
still. Looking back the way we've
come from that first night | met you
here | can see that every step, relent-
less as death. was leading to that cay
when | learned the truth about my
father
And you know"
Everything. That's why I'm here.
It was really such 4 little time ago
that | came back to Belmont. yet 1t
seems ages. Oh, why didn't you go
away! You must have seen how 1t
had to end. Since I came home and
first met you. I've lived and suffered
and grown old. And | had dreamed
such dreams!" Here she paused, as II
to fight back the painful memories of
those rainbow dreams. Then She ad-
mitted them. And they became roster
and rosier-beeause OF you. Even the
disappointments my fathers lack OF
polish caused me were nothing-be-
cause OF you. Then you ceased to see
me. and | didn't understand.
Il wanted you so very much-then-
and you did not come. l know now
what 1t was; the election was coming
on. you had begun to fight my father.
You knew / didn't realize his position
In Belmont. I'm sincere. / want yon
to know | understand how hard it was
for you. my friend-because-I be-
lieve you loved me-sincerely."
Sincerely. Gloria" His reply was
almost a sob. You know l begged
you to 60 away. I would have fol-
lowed you, and you would never have
known"
That's true. but the gods laugh and
are our masters still. | felt that !
owed 1t to my father to remain with
him in Belmont. Then came the day
in Judge Gilbert's office. Did ever a
girl have a courtship crowded into half
an hour? So short a time there wal
between those few words of love and
the rude awakening which followed
that there remains to me now not
a sweet memory of that avowal
which all girls cherish SO. And then
well. that's why I've come today. I
couldn't let you go away without ask
ing you to forgive me for what |
said In Judge Gilbert's Office"
There's no need OF speaking of for
glvcness. Please do not say any
She was not to be deferred from her
set purpose. and therefore affected not
to hear. going straight on with her
You see, I was proud Of my father.
All my life he'd been an ideal, not q
reality, and ! thought him incapable
Of anything else. It turned out / was
wrong-what | said about YOU"
mo. Gloria. you just didn't under
"But Just the same. l was wrong.
and wanted to tell you so before |
went away. l knew l should rot be
here when you return. and so l came
you're not going to leave Bel
Yes. l am. Do you think / could
Her tone made Wright's heart
sink. mo, l lack the courage. Joe.
The moral courage. There's that much
of the butterfly left in me. I'm not
and brave like you are"
Gloria could not know how his
strength and bravery were Slipping
from him little by little as they talk.
ID. Her very presence was weaving
Ito subtle spell about him. sharing him
With her wan beauty, maddening him
With the thought that he was losing
her. So she was going away. He
wondered why. specializing on how she