The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1914-09-01

81 suppose it is not necessary to let
her know before the marriage takes
place." he said. 81 would rather it had
the aspect of a-surprise."
Certainly not, Mr.. Phayre," an
swered the old lawyer. How much is
the sum you were thinking Of settling
on Miss Baird?"
"One hundred thousand dollars" an
swered John.
"A large sum, Mr.. Phayre," suggest
ed the lawyer. rubbing his hands
thoughtfully.
1T will still leave me a hundred
thousand Of my own" John Phayre
replied.
well, Mr.. Phayre, I don't went to
dissuade you. but-well, often a man
acts impulsively and regrets it after
ward"
II shall not regret it," answered
John. please draw up the settlement
in such a way as to make it absolutely
irrevocable in case change my mind
or-die."
The lawyer drew up the settlement,
and John left him. He went to his
bank and drew out = hundred thou.
sand dollars in notes. This he mailed
to himself at q post Office in the West.
Nobody at Shoshone Station knew
anything Of John Phayre's eastern
connections.
Then John went back to the hotel.
Are you going fishing again, John I"
inquired Dorothy affectionately, put.
ting her arms round him. Il wish you
wouldn't fish above the weir, John.
You know a guide was killed there
last fall, when his boat drifted over
the rapids"
"Oh, l can take care Of myself, Dor.
othy," answered John, smiling. Il
wish you cared for fishing, Dorothy.
After we are married l shall initiate
you into the joys of fly fishing"
1t was something of an effort to
John to play the game. And the real.
ization that the girls affection for him
was simulated one made it doubly
hard. But at last he was gone, and,
half an hour later, he sat in his boat
above the weir. casting his line.
He fished for about two hours,
thinking hard. As every fly fisherman
knows, the sport is conducive to men.
tai exercise. He had fully made up
his mind when the two hours were
ended and five large trout lay in the
boat. He would go back to Shoshone
Station.
The thought Of Ine3 was curiously
insistent with him that day. Igno-
rant? Unlettered? At least she was
the type Of woman who would always
be true to her chosen mate. And he
must give Dorothy to the man she
loved. Poor little Dorothy! He was
able to think Of her now without q
shadow of regret. He had loved her,
but the discovery Of her love for Ar
mold had shown him that his heart lay
westward, where he had once thought
It lay. The faces Of Inez and Dorothy
rose up before his mental eye, a. in
. picture. He scanned them carefully.
He saw himself and Dorothy, he grow.
ing old, she approaching the mature
beauty of middle life, disconteuted.
trying to fight down her dissatisfac-
ton with life-then Inez, and the
placid current of their life together
on the great plains
He threw his hat into the boat and
put on q cap which he had brought In
his pocket. He put his fishing, tackle
into the boat also. Then, with his
knife. he cut the rope that tied the
craft to the tree trunk. Afterward,
holding the severed end in his hands,
he frayed the strands, 60 that the rope
should seem to have snapped rather
than to have been cut.
Having done this, he released it and
let it glide down the stream, and stood
watching 1t.
1t drifted slowly, gathering impetus.
Then the river bore it faster upon its
breast, and 1t spun no more, but head
ed straight forward toward the treach-
} erous rapids beneath him. Faster and
faster: now it was going full speed
toward the rocks. How like his life!
How like Johns life!
It shot forward as swiftly al an
arrow. stopped for a moment spun
broadside on, ana then, posing itself
upon the brink. ii leaped down among
the foamy boulders to the placid lake
below.
John stood and looked after It. The
lrrevocable act was done. There was
no going back now.
And he did not want to 20 back He
had set Dorothy free. After a decent
interval of mourning she would marry
Arnold. The hundred thousand dol
lars that he had settled upon her
would be quite secure. It would at.
ford the lovers a comfortable income.
and leave something over for old
Baird.
John Phayre smiled contentedly al
he sat upon the banks and let tha
warm sun stream on his face.
An hour later he rose to his feet and
made his way across country five
miles. to where the Transcontinental
halted to take on water As he reached