Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1914-10-30
A Proposition,
Not Propose
BY EUNICE BLAKE

1t is a wonder, considering DOW DoIn
young men and girls refrain from
marrying those whom they have long
known and are prone to take up with
some new acquaintance. that so large
a proportion of marriages turn out
well. / myself had a narrow escape.
/ am a happy wife and the mother Of
children and yet 1t was all arranged
that / should marry
This is the way it happened. l was
a playmate OF Mark Warren. l knew
him as well as If he had been my
brother. He was a practical sort OF
chap and. SO far as | could see. devoid
of romance. When he was twenty-one
and 1 twenty he M day said to me:
"Sue, you and l. in order to fulfill
a desirable destiny, must marry some
one. Why not marry each other? You
will know what you are getting and so
win l."
That was all he said. Just think Of
talking to & CIR. like thatl Not a word
about love: nothing but the bare state
ment that we would better marry each
other than some one we didn't know
much about just said to him:
.Mark, / would as soon marry a
wooden Indian as a man who would
propose like that. No. sir; when l
marry I'll marry some one love"
He smiled. and I knew he had ex-
pected about what / had given him.
He didn't push the matter, and not
long after that Howard Perkins came
along and captivated all the girls in
town. With all the others. / liked him.
Mark saw what was In the wind and
asked me one day who was my new
found friend. | told him that Mr.. Per-
of the assembly dances. and had
been told that he came Of an excellent
family.
Not long after that Howard Perkins
introduced his friend George Monroe.
Monroe was not a very aristocratic
person, but had the art Of making
friends. At least. he was a hail fell
low well met with everybody and
never spoke i'll of any one. He seem
ed to have a great admiration for Mr..
Perkins and told me that he was n
OF the finest fellows he ever met. The
result was that Howard Perkins and
George Monroe were at our house a
great deal. Mark Warren didn't seem
to fancy either of them-through jeal-
ousy, l supposed-and came very sell
dom. One day he Joined me on the
street and said:
81 see you have two strangers COM
ing to see you frequently. Don't be
so foolish as to trust either of them
without hunting up their records"
"Oh. l suppose you me "a to warn
me against marrying any n whom
Lhaya not known all my life and who
would propose to marry me to save
himself from making q matrimonial
blunder."
"Just So" he replied. with one of
those tantalizing smiles of his. and
left me.
Howard Perkins carried me right OF
my feet. There was something very
fascinating about him. Besides. he
took me out a great deal. He had a
way OF spending money IS though 1t
had no value for anything except to
purchase luxuries. He proposed to me
and / accepted him.
One day when Mr.. Monroe and
Howard and l were together Howard
said to me
81 would like to leave an envelope
with you containing $500. It's after
bank hours and l have to go out with
some fellow this evening and be up till
after midnight"
/ told him that l would keep it for
him, but would not be responsible for
it, whereupon he stepped up to the
clock and, opening a door in it, put a
roll Of bills inside, remarking that
they would be as safe there as any
where, and no one need be RESPONSE
BILE for them.
He left us soon after this. making
an appointment with Howard for the
next day. Howard dined with us and
did not leave me till late in the eve
ing. When we parted at the door l
little dreamed that it was the last time
I would see him.
The next morning I took up a Jews
paper and read of the arrest Of one
Edmond Edsall, who. under the name
OF. Howard Perkins, had been passing
checks on banks where he had no
funds and otherwise %swindling.
/ had read thus far when my head
swan. and | could read no further:
but. recovering myself. ! went on. to
learn that Il detective passing under
the name OF Monroe had landed the
culprit by putting some marked bills
in a clock for safe keeping when the
latter was present.
Great heavens. The man had stolen
money that had been left in my home
from his Owl friend.
/ was dreadfuIly cut up and mortf.
fed Mark Warren came to see me to
condole with me.
"Im sorry. Sue" he said sympathet-
that you should have had such
bitter experience. But just think
what a dreadful fate you escaped"