The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1916-12-02
AS THE NOON ROSE


s--A -----4 =
et se aa f1a sh@dsw ~ the he-n-
Es % ia ercted flley. i see-e1
sr 1-z resaezx lz ne creEe1-
iaE sx II c1rrle1 his eyas and
1azAl AS 1rzln slrss1y Sex EirA zas-
p@
Tea ne te1zGn E-4qpe1 and he
sank Gmrly into a g4rzaa ch4lr. she
Tad r.aant X after ans He lad feared
araster erzac1- de had n0z Liked
tAe g.iut 10 Aar eEes Is she said.
II Il really Is im1ortant zleer ne
nud@r TIE hemloeka as lA= l-9sl rises
1lrd ROW. Not an instant Sooner.
aar 81 instant lzser. It's NJ lucky
hour. Lu-a q Ey patron saint yol
kroa. Ard be very careful SHAT goG
say. Doat dare spesk ny nale. Tie
mo0a maids don't Ike 70 be called y
1ame. l. breaks the spell
Irupish She had looked and implshly
stle lad laughed but she had meant
il after aHL The chase Was endAd-
Perpetual puzzle, he mused. thar one
blt of fantastic fesnininity should -
Ansfer B man long immune to the rest
~ the fascinating slstefh0od- II this
ease. there positively was % account
ins for IT, he was perfectly able 70
reason about his infatuation- he adj
ulited frankly that Aladge was not 80
beautiful. not 50 charming. NOT 50
good. not In any way 50 desirable as--
trau fcr instance. Marian Eiting.
A subtle change crepf over his hag-
gard face. Strange that az this june
tare. when his whole being was cen
tered On another. Marian's serene face
should rise ike a star over the turbu-
lent sea Of passion.
Odd that SO rare a creature should
set her heart on any one man. and on
I him Of al men. 5he was the sort OF
girl who would make any man an ideal
vile. His mother. his sisters, all his
friends would approve her as heartily
as they would object TO Madge-
DID this thought shake his iron pur-
DoEeg He asked himself candidly. and
the answer was swift and sure Not
fof the lnfnltesimal part Of an In
stant. It was rank folly, he knew
/ little better than lunacy-pure mid
/ summer madness-but that simmer
Of white there under the trees was
/ more to him than all the rest Of crea-
4 ton.
AT any rate. he had been scrupu-
Iously careful. He had nothing 10 re-
/ pr0ach himself with. If by word OF
/ look. II ever 50 unnwittingly he had
/ given Marian cause 10 feel that he
was interested iu her, there would be
bur one thing 70 DO.
/ However. he had been unfailingly
circumspect. and his woOing Of Madge
had not been done in a corner. i
had been spectacular. Some day
Marian would ind a man more worthy
Of her alteration; and yet-he frowned
uneasily. He knew people--and IT was
his life work to study them-and lie
was aware thar Marian was Just the
sort. In the circumstances, to 90 un-
! mated to the end--tO be q sort OF old
maid aunt TO his ana Madge's chill
dren.
He smiled wryly. A second mother,
rather. and they would need one. Il
was difficult to picture Madge moth
er.
At any rate. he was glad Madge had
q friend like Marian He had watched
that attachment spring up, grow and
blossom ike a lovely plant; and he
had rejolced IN II, although it had In
terfered with lis already difficult
courtshlp. The two girls had become
almost inseparable. He had scarcely
seen Madge alone for days. One out
side their Immediate circle might well
have doubted which girl he was pur-
suing.
He glanced at the sky again and
started alertly. Along the horizons
edge the gloom was fading a trifie. He
drew a deep breath. The crisis Of
his life was at hand. His feverish
gaze flew back to that statuelike fig
ure under the trees. How motionless
(, ii was. He had not supposed any liv-
Ing woman could be stu SO long. Sure
\ ly this hoded weA for his suit. Al
-cady butterfly Madge was folding her
wings.
The faint gleam slowly frightened
and broadened. Presently. pale gold
crescent appeared, tiara-wise, on the
brow Of the hill. Howard watched
IL grow with gaze solemnly intent. Just
what phrase should be use2 Wen, the
greater the occasion the simpler and
/ palmer speech should be.
As the moon rose clear OF its moor
ings and floated above the distant
tree tops, he sprang up and strobe
stealthily across the grass. Madge,
facing the moon. did not see him and
evidently did not hear him until he
bent over her winningly and whis-
pered, "Moon maid, will you be my
wifeY
Then the girl stood up and turned
astounded. delighted, asserting eyes.
I-I-thcught--r she began. broke
on with a half sob and sank into his
waiting arms.
All his life Howard was increasingly
glad each time ne remembered that
his own crestfallen countenance had
been In the shadow; for the wonder
ing. radiant face that was r ealed to
him BY the light Of the mocking moon
,,-es the faca of Marian FItlngf