The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1914-08-12

II 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" al
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.
We'll, Mr.. Phayre, don't want to
dissuade you, but-well, often man
acts impulsively and regrets it after
ward"
q shall not regret it," answered
John. please draw up the settlement
in such way as to make it absolutely !
rreyocable 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 i" hundred thou
sand dollars in notes. This he mailed !
to himself at 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?"
inquired Dorothy affectionately, put
ting her arms round him. Il wish you
wouldn't fish above the weir, John.
You know guide was killed there
last fall, when his boat drifted over
the rapids"
ooh, 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
izaton that the girls affection for him
was simulated one made 1t 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 fshed for about two hours,
thinking hard AS every fly fisherman
knows, the sport is conducive to men
tai exercise. He had fully made up
| Iio ind ub Tho hnnrc
ended and five large trout lay In the
boat. He would 60 back to Shoshone
Station.
The thought Of Inez was curiously
insistent with him that day. lgno-
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 a
| 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
| ii lay. The faces of lnez and Dorothy
| rose up before his mental eye, as in
| a picture. He scanned them carefully.
| lie saw himself and Dorothy, he grow
! ing old, she approaching the mature
| beauty Of middle life disconnected,
| trying to fight down her dissatisiac-
ton with liie-then lnez, and the
| placid current of their life together
| on the great plains.
He threw his hat into the boat and
| put on a 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
j holding the severed end in his hands
he frayed the strands, 90 that the rope
should seem to have snapped rather
than to have been cut.
y Having done this, he released it and
d let it glide down the stream, and stood
t watching it.
i 1t drifted slowly, gathering impetus
Then the river bore it faster upon its
# breast, and it spun no more, but head
o ed straight forward toward the treach
erous rapids beneath him. Faster and
l. faster now it was going full speed
toward the rocks. How like his life!
t How like Johns life!
8 1t shot forward as swiftly as ar
arrow, stopped for a moment, spur
d broadside on, and then, posing itsel
r. upon the brink, 1t leaped down among
J. the foamy boulders to the placid lake
8 below
h John stood and looked after 1t. The
irrevocable act was done. There wal
9 no going back now.
. And he did not want to go back. HI
y had set Dorothy free. After a decen
interval Of mourning she would marry
" Arnold The hundred thousand dol
a. lars that he had settled upon hel
r would be quite secure 1t would af
ford the lovers comfortable income
r and leave something over for ole
k Baird.
% John Phayre smiled contentedly az
% he sat upon the banks and let tht
u warm sun stream on his face
An hour later he rose to his feet ant
made his way across country five
70 miles, to where the Transcontinenta
e halted to take on water AS he reached