The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1915-01-06
HER MAJESTYS FUND
BY N WELLER.

.(Copyright, 1914, by the Mcclure Newspa-
per s~yndicate.)
Elaine looked long and wistfully al
the beautiful ring lying in the palm
;of her hand. She had promised faith
fully that should anything happen to
her soldier boy who had gone to the
front she would take of his ring and
dispose Of It.
TT will only be a constant remind
ar of me-" he told her at parting,
"and If the battlefield claims me you
win forget me the quicker without
that. ring" :,
And Elaine had wept, as nearly all
|,of the women In England had Wept'
when the regiments had gone on VIII
|,pipe and drum playing. Jimmy
Thorpe belonged to the famous BLACK
|. Watch.
Elaine found her home. cherries
and decided upon a trip to- New York.
America at least. was neutral, and
there was little danger Of bombs ana
spies to further the wreck OF her a.
ready ragged nerves.
Two days after Elaine had sailed
for neutral lands Ethel Davis was
walking down Oxford street. She
stopped interestedly in front of a WIN
dow that displayed an odd assortment
of jewelry, embroidery, paintings, In
dian relics and historical gems OF. al
kinds. These were being sold for the
queens fund, and many q treasure
had been sent when perhaps the send.
or had not even a shilling to oher.
Ethel gazed longingly at some OF
the jewelry. 1t was one OF her hob
bies to collect odd bits Of adoEnment
She knew that she would be helping
to augment the queens fund should
she see anything in that assortment
that lured her into purchasing It
When Ethel caught sight OF the
beautiful ring that formed an p, her
own initial, she was lost. Never had
she seen a ring SO completely destr-
able as that one with her birthstone
set in to form her letter. OpalsI and
diamonds clustered with exquisite
charm made a most lovely ring.
|. Ethel went into the shop. When
she emerged her slim figure felt warm
and very much delighted with Itself.
The new ring was wonderfully dainty
on her hand and seemed made 70
adorn its new owner. ).
!, A few days later she motored down
to Brighton. Ethel was in the habit
of driving down in her luxurious car
and taking wounded soldier boys for
long, bracing drives. Z
/, The day that Jimmy Thorpe was
lifted into the seat beside her was Q
most exciting one for Ethel She
'gazed sorrowfully at the kitty who
seemed 20 be all bandages. and tucked
the rugs about him with her own ali1u
hands. =
"They are supposed to have done
for me now,"' he confided, as they
whiried away from the hospital. IT
was reported as having been killed.
NV mother tainted when she found
out / was still in the land%o Of the Nv
ing. Nice reception that, wasn't it3"t
Ethel smiled as she listened to Jim
my's loquacious tongue that had sui.
icient of the Scotch in It to charm
her American ear. "a, T. :
|. my girl, too. believes me dead"
he continued, "and I cannot commu-
nicate with her even now. Awful blow
it will be to her" !
Ethel realized suddenly what q real
Fly fearful blow It would be to any
girl to lose a Jimmy Thorpe She
was so thoroughly annoyed at herself
for blushing that she determined to
put down her chiffon veil and hide
herself away from his keen blue eyes.
During the process of adjusting the
veil those same eyes caught sight OF
the ring he had given Elaine and he
drew a swift breath. He was indeed
numbered among the ghosts.
ttTell. me-" he questioned quickly,
"just how you came by that ring-it
Is the one / had made for my aancee,
Elaine Harris"
When Ethel had told him the whole
story she flashed an indignant glance
at Jimmy r .
Il don't see how any girl could
bring herself to give away a ring
under those circumstances"
"She was only keeping her word to
me-" Jimmy said quietly.
"You could not have made me prom.
ise," Ethel told him with laughter In
her eyes, because If / hadn't loved.
you I most certainly would have loved
the ring. Strange that 1t should be
my birthstone and initial-isn't it,"
. mot SO very strange" Jimmy said,