Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-07-03

ming he had been willing to let her go,
ne Gilbert had said. I'm love one loves
and the other consents TO be loved she
| repeated TO herself Her own love per
haps had blinded her to his unresponsive,,
! ness Unresponsive? She thought OF
their brief love-malting In the steamer
and a faint flush dyed her face and neck.
| No, no, no-she would not believe that
Martin was pretending when he said he
loved her
! She pulled herself together II was Gil
bert she should be thinking about, not
Martin. Could she bring herself to marry
Huron? Just as she had known inwardly
that she would give mp her lover, so now
she knew that she would never marry
the man she did not love. She supposed
she would have to go back and tell him
so. There would be another scene-she
hated scenes like those that had been
forced on her lately. Gould she
bring herself to go back under her moth
er's roof. TO live on friendly terms with
Huron-the woman who had caused her
fathers death the man who had profited
by her dlshonor.
An idea flashed into her head. Why go
back at all7 why not cast off the old life
entirely. at least for time, Martin was
all she wanted from the past. and he was
not to be thought Of why shouldn't she
throw Off her name, her identity. and dis
appear7 She was young and strong and
had brains Surely she could earn her own
living as other women without her edu-
cational advantages had been forced to
do. She felt a load Of worry fall from her
shoulders. II would be all adventure.
Work, adventure-what could there be
better TO drive out the thought OF a for
hidden lover On the whole It would be
wise. too. The blackmailer could do
nothing when he was ignorant OF her
whereabouts Huron would not betray
her mother when there was nothing for
him to gain. Maud wondered she had
not thought OF this before. She hurried
back to the farmhouse and packed her
suitcase In fever to be up and doing.
In the train the difficulties that her de-
clsion would involve began to force them |
selves upon her or course, they would
try TO find her. Gilbert, as he had said. |
would not easily give her UP. They might !
employ a detective even. It would never
do for her to go back to the house N
Edgworth Square for clothes. She must
manage with the few things she had in |
her suitcase. As regarded money she |
had still most of her quarters allow |
ance. 1t was not much, for Mrs. Plessey |
only gave her E120 a year She took out |
her purse and dressing case and counted |
four 1ve-pound notes and GO lis. Sd IN
cash-roughly e24. These would last her
for n few weeks, while she looked for
something to do. She had not much jew
elry-she regretted now that she bought
so little, STILL there was her gold watch
bracelet and a couple of fairly valuable
rings and small packet of pearls she
had been given on her last birthday.
Long before she had got through the
money they represented she would have
found someting to do.
OF course II would be easy enough for
Gilbert TO track her TO Cranlelgh and on
to the London train (Martln wouldn't be
likely to do so-he might even be still in
ignorance of her disappearance), so she
would have to throw him off the track
she had no heavy luggage 20
betray her She took bus over Waterloo
Bridge and picked up n taxi in the Strand.
She didn't know where she was going TO-
She would have to find rooms first of all
To the young London girl who lives at
home with her people London is to all
ntents and purposes foreign city when
she is thrown on her own resources.
Maud had not the faintest idea where
you got rooms in the metropolis. Men,
she knew, had them in Jermyn street, but
hose were bachelor chambers OF course
lots of students lived at South Kenslng-
ton and Chelsea, but those were districts
she must avoid like the plague. Perhaps
Hampstead way would do as well as any;
she didn't know many people out there.
She told the man to drive her to Totem
nam Court road. There she bought news
papers and took another cab some little
distance up the road.
After a search of some two hours,
guided by the apartments columns OF the
newspapers, through goomy back streets
md faded crescents that had once known
better days, the girl found herself IN
stalled In clean and fairly comfortable
'Ooms near Regents Park Somehow the
glamour of adventure had faded away
She only felt she was doing the right
would be better than liv-
ng under the same roof with her mother
,r Gilbert Huron. Tomorrow she would
begin to look for work.
CONTINUED TUESDAY,