The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1915-07-20

might be living with his wife at some
hotel On the whole, the mischance
had turned cut to be a welcome nov
city in her rather humdrum life
Next afternoon she had a surprise
the maid brought in cards for her
Mr.. and Mrs. Adriance had called to
see her. Perhaps fate had provisions
something had inspired Pen
to curl her hair and get into a pale
violet afternoon frock that became
her wonderfully well. Thus it hap
pened she was all unlike the forbid
ding tailOr-made self the visitors ex-
pected to find.
The change put them all at their
ease. The Advances, it turned out,
had several friends who were well
known to the Chesters. That had en-
boldened them to come over and ask
Pen to make one of a theater party
the following week, with a little sup
per afterward. They would see to her
safe conduct, with the mutual friends
in the party to serve as social insur-
ance. Pen listened to the invitation
as though IN dream-she could
hardly believe herself awake. But she
managed to make d very neat accep-
lance, and announced the fact to her
family at dinner with a successfully
casual air.
This was but the first of a series of
happy outings-to dinners, to theatres,
to concerts and many delightful en-
tertainments. After six weeks of it
Pen took herself sternly to task-she
was growing too fond of all this. She
did not admit it even to herself but
she knew she was growing fond of
Frank Adriance. He was not married;
it turned out-the gay young matron
who sat by his side at the theater was
MS slster-fn-law. Her husband was
abroad on business and theV were liV-
ing at a hotel for the winter.
All this the vivacious sister-in- law
told Pen in the first ten minutes of
their acquaintance, adding, with a sly
glance toward her good looking broth
er-in-law: The Advances do make
such fine husbands. 1 hate to see one
of them going to waste"
Then she had run on quite unre-
servedly about how difficult Frank
was-polite to everything in petit
coats, but so unsusceptible!" Declar-
ed he wanted a wife not of the cut
and-dried sort-a woman with char
acter and a will of his own. She must
be beautiful, too-at that Pen man
aged to change the subject.
One day when she was at her worst
-sallow and holloW-eyed from
her effort to crush her growing fond
ness for Frank-the affair came to
crisis. As it happened, she had dress
ed herself In a forbidding. slouchy
green something, at which even econ
omy in the person of Grandma Betton
had cried out aghast. Yet when
Frank Adriance, unannounced. came
upon her in the library, on her knees,
sorting old prints and papers, he did
not pause to see what a fright she
had made of herself. He lifted her
to her feet, looking earnestly in her
face and began with a husky tremor.
"Pen-darling-I can't live without
you-so-I-I came at this unearthly
hour to tell you
"Me?" Pen cried incredulously,
dragging him toward a big book case,
the doors of which furnished a dis
torted mirror. Look! Such a fright!
You-you must be making sport of
me.'
"A fright! You're a. goddess-just
now, I admit, slightly disguised"
Adriance returned, flinging his arms
about her: Say yes. dearest. I shan't
let you go until you do
You are sure? '' Pen insisted trem-
ulously. What can you see in me to
love?"
yourself, I loved YOU the minute
looked at you-tail and slender and
different-the woman of all the world
for me!''-(Copyright 1915. by the
Mcclure Newspaper SyndicateD