Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-01-24

ing-room of the Ferguson home and
Miss Ferguson was sitting behind the
teacups, looking, at least so Crchton
thought, more beautiful than she had
looked that day he had first met her
almost two years before.
But this time" she said, you
have come to stay for a long visit ?"
Chicbton looked down into his tea
cup and smiled. ~ fear not" he
said. II am going away very soon"
You're so disappointing. Can't
you possibly stand us for q few
weeks? Where are you going this
time?"
Il haven't an idea" he sad, mot
the faintest, believe me"
That's even less complimentary to
us. What does Brooke say to this
| plan?'
81 haven't seen Brooke yet You
know I only arrived this afternoon.
] wanted to see you first; in fact,
it was to see you that l came back
to this country Not that don't
want to see Brooke, bless his soul,
but"
You wanted to see me?" the girl
interrupted him. Me-"
1T really isn't very amusing, as
d LIZA lltI III ldCIt ne SdlQ. II nap
pened about this way. You remem-
her that very soon after / first met
you two years ago I went abroad?"
The girl nodded
my inclination was to think about
you a great deal, but ] did my best
not to do SO. You see you were en-
gagged then to Ned, and for that and
other reasons tried to keep my mind
on other people and other things.
And then one day. when l was down
on the west coast of Africa, l got q
letter from a man who writes me
sometimes and he told me. So you
see there was no particular reason
why I should not think of you all I
wanted to, was there?"
And soon after that" he con-
tinued, IT booked back to civiliza-
ton. and when I reached Paris I got
some very important news"
Good news?" the girl asked with
out looking up.
Crichton shook his head. 1 mag
inc most people would call it bad
news" he said, land I do, too, in a
way 1t seemed I had taken some
sort of fever on the trip, and that
had rather complicated matters in
my system I went to see a lot of
doctors, and it was quite wonderful
how they all agreed about income of
them was quite hopeful He said /
might live a couple of months, but
the best the rest could do was thirty
days"
| Her chin still resting in her hands,
the girl slowly turned her eyes to his.
She looked at him slowly from his
head to his feet, as if she were try
ing to verify his words.
There were lots of other things !
wanted to do and see but, of course,
couldn't run all over the world IN
/ thirty days very well, could I? |
worked it out pretty we'll that day and
I argued and fought it out with my
| self for a long time. But gracious! ]
knew all the time what I wanted to
| do and what I was going to do, and
that was to come back and see YOU
and perhaps ask you to sing for me
again"
As Crichton finished the girl looked
up at him questioningly, but the mans
face was still in the shadow.
u don't know just what to say to
you, Mr.. Crichton," she said. "be-
cause really don't know you at all
and yet feel that I never knew any,
one quite so well. 1 didn't break
with Ned on account of you, but ]
| did do it on account Of your type, OF
rather on account of his. He was q
| good. sweet soul, but he was just like
| the rest Of them here-the men, and
| the women, too. for that matter, are
pretty much all made in the same
mold. I have to go back to my
fathers ranch three months every
year to keep near the earth and see
| all Of the sky at once. You were
different, and 7 wanted to know you
very, very much. / was going tc
write you to come and see me in town
before you sailed, and then"
And them" he asked.
| Then? Well why not? 1t CAM
make any difference now"
None"
"I didn't send for you because J
/ thought I cared too much"
But you knew You were not go.
ing to marry Curtis?"
yes" she said. 81 knew that from
the first day"
Then there must have been an
other reason"
The girl nodded up at the dark fig.
ure. Yes. there was another rea.
SON."
mot the old reason-the reason Of
every dullard that sits in a club
window, the reason why ever,
debutante is told TO keep. away from
! meY1
Miss Ferguson nodded,
Crichton, still standing with hi
back To the fire, clasped his hands be