The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1914-08-23

Am yOuI SlIl.
Guess he thinks you arel Whoa
\ therel :. I'll get out and Ieac
him past sir? :. Well, if you car
H handle him. -. Now, now, old fel,
\ low, what are you afraid of
easy, easy now. Ho, boy
Don't mention it, sir-glad to stop
: good morningl"
"Jack?"
i Eyes, dearest"
IF l am going to eat that letter
you must tell me the secret"
What secret?"
About you and Joe Whittell"
| Alice, I can't, l can't You don't
understand"
Il am not asking you to drop him.
But I've got to know just have tor
And if | WON'T.
It'll pretty we'll show how much you
care for me"
/ But do care. Alice, my darling, my
darling, surely you know that, surely
you believe me! And besides, / never
wanted you to eat the letter-it was
your own idea Say, III let you off
eating it if you won't insist on that
question:
Jack, now listen. I'm serious, truly
l am-not Joking a bit, or pretending.
If you don't make a clean breast of it,
its good bye-and this time for everT
'Oh, you couldn't be so cruel"
Put yourself in my place. Jack. l
could forgive you anything-snything in
the world, and make allowances, and
love you all the better. and-and-Oh,
Jack, are we to quarrel all over again
about Mr.. Whittell? Your secret is an
insult to meP'
all tell you the day we're married"
"No-now~
Next week"
| "No-now!"
Tomorrow, them"
"No-now"
after lunch?'
"No-now. Jack. nowp'
, "You really couldn't throw me over
for that"
Eyes, could-and what's more will
l mean it from the bottom of my heart
true and honest, mean it. You needn't
groan like that Now be my own darl-
ing boy, and we'll stop right here, and
I'll hold your hand
ct isn't shady enough here"
81 don't mind that"
There's a beautiful little place about
nine miles this side Of"
mo, right herep
But you said you'd hold my hand" |
Now go ahead|
"Oh, Alice, am ashamed"
you ought to be so happy to think !
I'm going to marry youT
I'm too ratified Besides. you won't
want to when you've heard it"
Where did you first meet him-meet
Mr.. Whittell:" I
in Pawnee City, Oregon"
We'll. begin there"
NO. further back. l was Just out of
college. Harry Mathews and were
chums-"
Don't stop. Harry Matthews and
you were chums-go on"
"Oh. it's terrible. You mustn't think
its joke-it isn't"
oh, know that, Jack. Go on"
His brother was the most important
architect out there, and so when I chose
that as a profession-and Harry did,
too, you krow-we both went into his
Office together. 1t was an excellent
start, because the place was growing up
fast, and there was heaps of work to be-
done. Well, l was hardly twenty
and It was loose, free and easy, boom
town-what in the West they call wide
open. Alice, l went to the devil,
straight and swift. Drank. Not whisky ;
wish it had been-but absinthe. That 1
green stuff-you know it-and when it
takes grip on fellow he's done for. 5
1t killed Harry. but I managed to reach I
the gutter alive. Reached the gutter, /
and stayed there That's where Joe
Whittell came in. r
HE was a rich old lumberman. and y
we had built him a gingerbread palace '
and he took a great liking to me. i
don't know why-but he did. Used to
lecture me, plead with me, and all that. c
Not saint himself-far from it-but n
in comparison to me was a shining h
angel By degrees he became the only S
friend had. I alienated everybody but
their money till they
we're tired-sponged on them-got so
iirty and horrible that they'd run at
he sight of me. All but Joe. Joe made A
ne live in his house-treated me like g
son-Pd crawl back there every night, n
nd the Cinnamon would put me to bed. Il
didn't care. Used to call him a fool o
o his face. Curse him because he
wouldn't give me money to buy absinthe a.