Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1914-11-19

/ should Ike TO have you help me, II you
can. You see, Miss Elizabeth, ! am
taking q little yachting party to Key
West. and / ought to keep in touch
with business affairs. If you could ac
company us. you can have another
holiday when we get back"
The yachting trip was to take about
six week.. Miss Elizabeth had never
been at sea; much as she wanted TO
see Tom again the invitation vas ir-
resistible. The colonel told her that
there were to be three or four other
ladies. They were to go aboard the
vessel at the little private dock at
seven in the evening, a week thence.
Miss Elizabeth wrote a letter to
Tom, explaining the situation and
promising to come home as soon as
she returned. Then, at the appointed
hour, she accompanied the colonel,
who called at her boarding house in a
taxicab, to the pier.
The yacht lay alongside the wharf.
A Waterman paced her decks, but,
though they inspected her from stem
to stern. there was nc sign of the 9TH
ers. They had sat down for a mo-
ment in the dining saloon. The girl
was becoming a little rvous
we will have, dinner now" said the
colonel.
wait a minute said the girl hur-
riedly. when will the others be
| here? Your sister-is she not expect
ed before we diner
/. The colonel pulled his mustache and
t looked hard at her. Then he stretched
> out one hand and patted hers gently.
my dear" he said, 1--WE are going to
be the only two passengers aboard this
! trip"
: The girl looked at him with terrified
8 eyes and rose from her chair with a
Q little gasp. To the last day of her life
! she always pictured the colonel thus,
seated before her, pulling his dropping
/ mustache, and smiling at her with
4 such a kind expression on his face.
II though you understood, Eliza
' BETH said the colonel in tones Of
grave politeness. There was reproach
q in his voice, but Colonel Slice could
never be anything but a gentleman.
"But-you said-you said" the CIR
4 exclaimed; and even then she could
not quite believe it., But presently she
/. understood. She was not at all angry
She. felt the tears Of humiliation rusf
to her eyes, that he should have mis-
understood her SO. And there wal
more than humiliation-there was rea
sorrow for the loss of a friend, thu
only friend she had had except Tom
VI since her parents died.
VI Are you going Elizabeth" aske'
A the colonel, watching her.
y She began buttoning her coat. "Yo'
= ought not to ask me- thatrO, wha
have l done to make you think othei
wiser" she pleaded
my DEAR" said the colonel, "
Thought you understood the situation
n. Perhaps | was wrong; I,had no wish :
deceive you. That is not my way
There are certain conventions
why did you think | was taking 20
out to luncheons and dinners?"
"As a friend" she cried holly, fee
ing her cheeks burning. ny
He shook his head. MEN of fifty d
not make friends OF their lady en-
~ployees in that way, my dear" he al
swered. Il am sorry. Let me hel
y you with your coat"
They went up the stairs to the dec
IT. and stood side by side there for a mi
ment. Everything in Elizabeth's lii
"a. seemed to have crumbled into ashe
"a. She turned.
er 81 am sorry" she said. 6" wish
er had understood. Good-by."
It; For the life Of her she could nj
a summon any indignation against hir
She did not feel the insult then, on
the unbearable loss.
a Colonel Slice took her hand in b
m. and bent over 1t. They strolled up tt
ne dock; he called a taxicab and escorte
be her to her door. Then he raised h
ne, hat and left her.
au On the following morning a speci
Ike delivery message arrived Tor tne gil
bly, asking her to hold her position at II
lily store till the colonel's return. Th'
need not meet, he said, but he trust'
LeL. she would take charge Of his interes
he till he could make arrangement
ian Elizabeth went back to business.
nat She did not see him again. II
to yacht was wrecked in the great stor
are that ravaged the Florida coast til
up summer. Colonel Slice appear,
uld again. He doubtless died, with all t
on crew. But he had had time to ma
: certain arrangements. The girl foul
md herself the possessor Of a substanti
legacy. But she never told Tom all t
circumstances. That was a page
her life that she tore out of the boo
A Fair Exchange.
oro Mrs. Reginald Vanderbilt, Newpor
most beautiful dancer, enliyened ma
luncheon and dinner parties there Il