Rural Retreat times. [volume] (Rural Retreat, Va.) 1892-1918, 1915-07-02


visit. or course he told her nothing
They had become secretly engaged
the day after he had rescued her from
the auto bandits. They were secretly
engaged because Florence wanted II
SO. For once Jones suspected moth
Ing. Why should he? He had trou
bles enough. AS a matter of fact
Norton was afraid Of him in the same
sense az boy is afraid of q police
man.
But on this day, when the time
came, he accosted the butler and drew
him into the pantry.
Jones. they are after me now"
You? Explain"
Norton briefly recounted the DELHI
crate attempts against his life.
You see. I'm not liar enough ia
say that I'm not worried am, dew
ilishly worried. I'm not worth any
ransom. I'm in the way, and they
seem determined to put me out of it"
To any other man I would say
travel But to you I say when you
leave your rooms don't go where you
first thought you would-that is. some
usual haunt. They'll be everywhere,
near your restaurants, your clubs, your
office. You're methodical young
man; become erratic. Keep away
from here for at least three days, but
always call me up by telephone some
time during the day. Never under any
circumstance, unless / send for you,
come here at night. Only one man
now watches the house during the
day, but five are prowling around af-
ter dark. They might have instruc-
tons to shoot you on sight. l can't
spare you just at present, Mr.. Nor
ton. You've been a godsend; and If
1t seems that sometimes I did not
trust you fully it was because / did
not care to drag you in too deep"
Deep? Norton thought of Florence
and smiled inwardly. Could anybody
be in deeper than he was? Once 1t
was on the tip Of his tongue to con-
fess his love for Florence, but the
gravity of Jones' countenance was an
obstacle to such move; 1t did not In
vite 1t.
To be sure, Jones had no real au-
thority to say what Florence should or
should not do with her heart. Still,
from all points of view, 1t was better
to keep the affair under the rose till
there came more propitious hour in
which to make the disclosure.
Love, in the midst of all these
oil Cham r1~,,oa -,
one side, millions on the other, and
yet love could enter the scene Sc
renely, like an actor who had missed
his cue and came on too soon.
Oddly enough, there was no real
love-making such as you often read
about. A pressure of the hand, a
glance from the eye, there was seldom
anything more. Only once-that mem
orable day on the river road-hsd he
kissed her. No word Of love had been
spoken on either side. In that wild
moment all conventionauties had dis.
appeared like smoke In the wind.
There had been neither past nor fu.
ture, only the present in which they
knew that they loved. With her he
was happy. for he had no time to plan
over the future. Away from her he
saw the inevitable barriers providing
against the marriage between a poor
young man and very rich young
woman. A man who has any respect
for himself wants always to be on
equal terms with his wife. It's the
way this peculiar organization called
society has written down its rules.
Doubtless relic Of the stone age,
when Alb went out with his club to
seek wife and drag her by the hair
to his den, there to care for her and
to guard her with his life's blood 1t
is one Of the few primitive sensations
that remain to us, this wanting the fe-
male dependent upon the male. Per-
haps this accounts for mans lack of
interest on the suffragette question.