The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1916-11-02
TWELFTH lNSTALLMENT

what ls the matter. dearr' asked
Cleo quickly. noting the anguish In
Hopes face. Has anything hap
penedf-
For e long moment he stood motion
lsssL Then. summOning all his cOur-
age be prohered her the letter.
Read e." he said in a tone 20
hosrse that II was little higher than a
whisper.
FILLED with forebodings OF she knew
not what. Geo unfolded the closely
written sheet This II what she read:
Dear Jarvis:
This y a humniafing letter for a woman
10 have 10 writs 90 a man-but ~ has 90
be written. Do you rsmsnber-but Of
courss you do--ths Aberuethy's house
party a, Lake Placid last summer And
DO you remember how we lost our way
the afternoon We started 10 climb white
face and how. the storm coming up. We
took refuge IN that deserted cabin and
spent the night there together IN the for
est1 q shall never forget how the wind
Tnoaned there. and the rain lashed the
roof all through that interrninabis night
We were afraid We would not b believed
II we told the truth. you remember. %
when wo got back 10 camp the next morn
ing we told the others that we had spent
the night At tho Lees cottage II was
foolish-an insane thing-but we did a.
They say that lies have a way Of com
ing home 10 roOs,. and Il Is quite true.
for that lie haS come home and Il roou;-
ing on my bedpost-A great black. ugly
thing that II driving me wild
II seems that q few days after We left
Lake Placid HaHei Abernsthy happened
20 meet Mrs. Lee at the boat club and
thanked her for taking care OF Us OF
course. Mrs Lee had no idea what Hazel
was driving at. and said so-and then the
cat was out OF the bag. And II anything
were needed TO make matters worse. one
of the guides told Mrs. Abernethy that he
had seen US coming out Of the cabiD st
seven o'clock IN the morning
Hazel as you know. IL a modern edi-
tion OF the town crier. and. thanks TO her
industrious circulation OF the story, every
one knows that we spent the night to-
gether In tho cabin-and. OF course. puts
the worst possible Interpretation upon H.
You know and I know that we did no
wrong. but no amount OF denial will con-
vince others OF our innocence. I'm not
blaming you. Jarvis. but you have com
promised me. Indeed, I already begin 10
see signs Of ostracism. At the Hlldreth's
dinner tho other night that impossible
Mrs Norton asked me n I didn't prefer
the unconventionaiity OF life In the woods
20 the staid existence one leads in New
lYork-whereupon a general snicker ran
around tho table. You will understand
therefore. that life has become perfectly
intolerabie.
Under such circumstances. Jarvis, there
Is only one course open to a gentleman
and l know that you are a gentleman
You proved that by the way you con
Quoted yourself In the cabin. Is there
need, then. for me 20 tell you what you
should dot am fond Of you and am
sure that I could make you happy. with
implicit faith that you will do what is
right by me. ! eagerly await your reply.
Arectionately. INEZ.
For what seemed TO them both an
eternity. Cleo. her cheeks drained 81
color. stood as though turned TO stone.
staring at the letter with unseeing
eyes. At last she spoke:
"Who Is this womanT'
"Her name is Inez Machin." replied
Hope. "She belongs TO quite we'll
known New York family. | met her
last summer at house party in the
Adirondack"
do you love herT
Love herr he repeated bitterly.
mot the least In the world. There Is
only one woman whom I love-and you
know who she Is, Cleo"
''ls II true, as she says, that you did
nothing wrong1"
"On my honor as an officer and a
man | swear II, Cleo"
"Whht are you going to DO about
Il. Jarvis7" she slowly asked at length.
ut is for you TO decide. Cleo" he
answered miserably. my happiness.
my future, is in your hands"
81 must have time 10 think" she
said Come to me this afternoon.
-. will give you my decision then. 4"
Late that afternoon Hope came e.
her for his answer Though her eye
were swollen from weeping she WI
calmer. more dignlhed, than he had
ever seen heI
Jarvis" she began, II have spent
the whole day trying TO decide what
is the right thing for us to do. You
are. as this Miss Machln says in her
letter. a gentleman and In such
a case gentleman has no alternative
:. Jarvis, you must marry her"
But am going to marry YOU"
cried Hope.
mo. dear" said Cleo firmly, though
her lips quiyered. "you are not going
TO marry me much as ! love you,
could never be happy as your wife
knowing that another woman had a
claim on you and now. dearest
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