The enterprise. [volume] (Harlem, Mont.) 1899-1926, 1916-02-03
All, how her heart ached, ached! Yet


she spoke smoothly Some one cana.
bic must do this work, and nobody
works for nothing these days. not even
Tor patriotism. You are a good deal Of
a boy. Perhaps you ought not to have
told me. The fact that you do not lil:e
the work gives me to infer that 70"
still retain some Of Your ideals. and
consider that remarkable in a r.,,'
who is thirtyGve.''
To patter along like tlnt. 81
thought, without,a break in he" vo q.
"Drat Uncle Billy" he ',"g.ac.i.
"Thirty-five makes ME fec 30 IN old
man. But ] don't know: n "cr fct'
more than twenty up in this country"
''Is there really dan@er:"
II don't know. But never mind that
Don't go to Pid@in tH.no: ow." he
urged 1mpulsively. "pn'.t 80 out there
any more. 1t il Ike tH.,' and truly
dangerous. This is Tire time Of year
for the sudden north gales. They por
out of nowhere almost before you can
turn head on to them. You can always
ride Il sou WestVr Gown the river, no
matter how hard Il h'9ws but no mo-
torboat af1cat can N.t;;,t ar the saw
agery of these northers-wh can1e,d.
short, choppy, smashing and running
mile u minure l know; l was caught
iii one once. l think l told you about
it,"
After all, she was an actress, con-
summate
81 am not afraid. l can take care of
myself. ! love the danger-the game
of chance. Didn't l tell you that was
born at sea 7?
"You might be the brayest woman
living, but ,Arst would not be Of use to
you if you We're caught out there
Very wei, after this week, then,
l promise not to go out to Pidgin.
Will that do?"
II suppose it will have to do. All,
Diana!'
mo, Mr.. Cranford.'
She stood up quickly, and of neces-
sity he rose also. Just good friends.
l know. The moonshine the beauty
of the night. 1t gets into ones head.
Just friends, always. Another Sep
TENDER l shall come up, mayhap, and
We'll fish and hunt again. Please be
just a boy, don't spoil it. What do
you know about me? Nothing. And
l am not in the mood to make conf
dences. Please, just good friends
II should lie if l told you did not
love YOU
II am sorry. If you cannot accept
my friendship upon the basis l offer it
there mustn't be any more shore din
ners"
mo hope?"
None
1T is simply impossible not to ask
why"
II cannot marry any man. Mr..
Crawford. if that will comfort you.'
With dread foreboding lie said, ''You
are already married?'
She did not answer.
81 cannot let you go out of my life
like ths!''
II don't want to go out of it.
Friends. am very unhappy, very
lonely. Friends"
Friends, if you will have it so.
But it's JOLT This is funny old
world. Ten days ago l didn't know
you existed; now I'm asking you to
marry me, and you belong to some one
else"
But you are going to be brave
about it. You're going to be the out
Of door friend, and some day you're
going to be glad that couldn't marry
you"
He wrung her hand and held it as
he helped her up to the road.
| She stood in the shadow of pine
and watched him 60 along the road,
his head bent, the spring gone from
his step. Watched him with unwav-
ering dry eyes till he vanished from
view around the turn in the road.
! Heavy footed, she traced the path to
the house, entered silently, and went
up to her room.
! She did not light the candle, but sat
down by the window and stared again
at the winking lights far down the
west, and breathed hard, and muttered
lowly, and shut her hands.
Pidgin island. Day by day, hoping,
waiting, watching. That he should
have made such confession to her,
like boy who had done something he
was ashamed of and was sorry for it.
Reprisal? No. They should not
harm one hair of his head.
1t was a long, long way back to the
hotel that night.
Never the road seemed so weary.
Once, going before him over the white.
dusty road. a deep purple shadow sail
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