The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1915-04-10

Knows
Freddy, You are beside yourself
Your father would not marry a cheap
show girl You know that And you
must not forget that your mother was
a foreigner"
His eyes fell "Pm sorry I said
that" he exclaimed, hoarsely.
Lydia, leaning rather heavily
against the door, spoke 10 him in a
low, cautious voice.
Did you tell Mr.. Dawes and MI
Riggs?"
He stopped short mo! And they
waited up to see If they could be OF
any assistance to him in an hour Of
{ peril! What a jokei Poor old beg
gars! I've never felt sorry for them
| before, but, on my soul, I do now.
1 What viii she do to the poor old
chaps? I shudder to think of it And
! she'll make short work of everything
/ else she doesn't like around here, too
Your mother, Lydia-why. God help
US, you know what will just have to
happen in her case. It's"
Don't speak so loudly, dear-please,
please. She is asleep. OF course,
we've shan't stay on, Freddy. Wen
have to go as soon as"
His eyes filed with tears He seized
her in his arms and held her close
It's a beastly, beastly shame, darling
| Oh, Lord, what fool a man can make
of himself"
You must not say such things" she
murmured, stroking his cheek with
cold, trembling fingers.
But why couldn't he have done the
fine, sensible thing, Lydia? Why
couldn't he have-have fallen in love
with-with your mother? Why not
have married her if he had to marry
someone in"
Freddy" she cried. putting her
hand over his mouth
She kissed him swiftly. Her cheek
lay for a second against his own and
then, with a stifed goodnight, she
broke away from him An instant
later she was gone; her door was
closed
The next morning he came down
earlier than was his custom His
night had been a troubled one. For
getting his own woes-or belittling
! them-he had thought only Of what
this news from the sea would mean
to the dear woman he loved SO well
No one was in the library, but a huge
fire was blazing. A blizzard was rag
ing out-of-doors. Once upon a time,
when he first came to the house, a
piano had stood in the drawing-room-
His joy at that time knew no bounds;
he loved music. For his years he was
no mean musician But one evening
his father, coming in Unexpectedly,
heard the player at the instrument
For a moment he stood transfxed in
the doorway watching the eager, al
most inspired face Of the lad, and
then, pale as q ghost, stole away with
out disturbing him. Strange to say,
Frederic was playing a dreamy waltz
of Ziehrer's, a waltz that his mother
had played when the honeymoon was
in the full The following day the
piano was taken away by a storage
company. The boy never knew why
it was removed.
He picked up the morning paper
His eyes traversed the front page rap
idly. There were reports of fearful
weather at sea The Lusitania was
reported seven hundred miles out and
in the heart of the hurricane She
would be day late
He looked up from the paper Mrs
Desmond was coming toward him. q
e queer little smile on her lips She
/. was a tail, fair woman. an English
type, and still extremely handsome
e Hers was an honest beauty that had
s no fear of age.
a "She is a stanch ship. Frederic she
said, without any other form Of greet
t ing. she will be late but-there's
really nothing to worry about"
/ I'm not worrying" he said con
e fusedly. Lydia has told you the
g? the news?"
t Yes
l. Rather staggering. isn't it?" he said
e with a WY smile. In spite OF himself
o he watched her face with curious in
tentness-
a Rather" she said briefly.
K 'I suppose you don't approve Of the
o way L"
II Il know just how you feel poo
e boy Don't try to explain I know
You always understand he said
/ lowering his eyes.
Not always" she said quietly
;? We'll, it's going to play hob witt
p everything" he said, tanning hi
hands deep into his pockets. Hi
Is shoulders seemed to bunch forwart
It and to contract.
:" Ct am especially sorry for Nj Dave
IF and Mr. Riggs" she said Her voic
D. was steady and full OF earnestness-
"a DO they known"
10 They were up and about at day
u break, poor souls Do you know
% Freddy. they were starting on IN thi
II blizzard when met them in the half
s. The deuceI IIShope it wasn't o.
D. account Of anything may have sal
1 to them last night" he cried. ia GEM
Id inc contTition-
2 She smiled NO. They had thei
le own theory about the message. Tn
" storm strengthened It They wer
ct positive that your father was IN gTea
sr peril. They were determined to cha
Ut ter vessel Of some sort and start o.
s. in all this blizzard to search the 80