The Glenwood post., 1914-01-03
WHEN TACT WON OUT
sy NELLIE caAvev eiLnoae.

Afts1warA8. ~ aFess. taok o04 -
tve in0attsot turns ~ ~ Aovn tAs
rsso: tAsa eans haek aaA ct 6ovn
aoaia. tAAak1AG Aseply. 0eos ahrupf
Win DFoaDtsd hin = rss0aa tie -
vslsss aaA FsaA II over bseees ssaAiag
Il. II saA:
MY Dear Elsis: have kAoW for Q
ls0G t10o that you cared nothing for
~. anA that you did care for that
man. Ths enclosed clipping may not
come amiss-merely - . direct justiA-
cation Of my present course. This
much. let me say. In regard to your
latest oRense: hereafter 1t will not
Be necessary that you exert yourself
toward further deception, since 1t y
my unaiterable determination to put
oil thought of you forever out Of my
life. A. to Carrington. he II not worth
the sacrifice of powder and shot neces-
sary to eliminate his vile existence.
am making all preparation to dis
pose Of the home Immediately: your
personal effects will be shipped to
whatever address you may wish to
indicate. Please spare me the annoy
ance Of any reply. and the pain Of .
future meeting. All can be satisfac-
torily arranged through our lawyers.
Yours-Arthur Hartley"
Hartley went over the lines with
scorching cheeks. Surely he had not
been SO great a fool as to heap insults
like these upon q possibly innocent
woman!
With a gesture Of disgust he tore
no NJ oh A,,r 4 n
the fire. Next morning he bought .
ticket for the Adirondacks.
Elsie Hartley was in one of her ra-
diant moods when the surrey drove up
and left her husband standing on the
sidewalk before the Inn"
A minute before she had believed
him hundreds of miles away. tuggins
at the pile of briefs he had declared
it impossible for him to leave under q
fortnight.
Then they both laughed, and after
wards he went up to her suite to brush
up little. as 1t was almost the hour
for dinner.
His wife's noncommittal attitude
had left him moro in the dark than
ever. Two days ago he would have
sworn that she was guilty; today he
would have taken an oath Of just the
reverse. Yet there were the darning
bits Of evidence that NO amount OF
argument-or sophistry-coulA over
come. Should he trust her-or-
The sudden appearance Of . waiter
announcing dinner interrupted his
reverie. He put aside all personal re-
1scttoa and changed his clothes with
1l1patcA. 4 few moments later hs had
started toward the door. On the way
out bis eyes fell By accident upon .
crunpsed sheet Of closely written note
paper. The writing was in his wife's
hand. unnistakably. He read with .
su6ocating heart:
Dear Charley: There was . tt1e
When ! believed that I had unforts-
nstely given my heart to you. and that
! should never b able to live happily
away from you. But, thank heaven,
the knowledse Of my true feelings has
cone to ne before It was too late !
An sending this to you to stop you IN
New York. Do not come here, foe n
yos do I shall decline even to recag-
nise you. Ny husband ID an honest
and honorable man, and in every way
= far above the average. Should he
ever learn Of ny neanness, fear that
4 vsuIA b the end Of everything fs4
ne. You see II has come to this hat
I fs1y realise BOW how deep and gen1-
~ = tie feeling I have always -
for Mn, notwithstandilg this nisss.
abe a1air between us. II wos, I -.
ssss yos. sntirsly brought about ~ .
fascy On ny part hat Ae was begio-
n1ng to neglect ne. an repen&iag
.oest keenly this ridiculous folly, aDA
WITH the help Of God mean 10 be fsr.
ever true and honorable. Don't try 70
liss0ads me. for / was never 20 tfag
tsally determined in ny Nfe.-E- H."
When Hartley looked up from The
lstter his eyes were blurred and ach-
ing. Her only crime had been her
weakness, and for that he himself was
doubtless in part responsible.
He walked over to the mantel and
deliberately struck match. applying
the fame to the crumpled sheet Of
paper. When it had fallen to black
bits over the hearth he turned. For
some reason he had not heard the
door open softly, and the blood famed
over his face as he encountered his
wife's eyes fixed full upon him.
An awkward silence fell between
then. Hartley passed an arm about
her shoulders and bent swiftly to kiss
her.
Had she seen him destroy the letter.
and did she know that he had read
and knew 1t all? He would never have
the answer to that question, but the
warm touch Of the lips she lifted to
his caress solved all future problems
for them both.
Copyright. by Daily Story Pub. Coz
Those Prolific Hens.