The Winslow mail., 1917-05-04
REBELLION
BY SUSAN E. cLAGETT.

Ahdh at lue WI0el Sdlu, DuC you 8ESVo
not told me what you would offer ig
its place. There is no need for yOu ss
go into the byways and hedges 40
search of the creature man. I can
name four who would deem it priv.
ilege to spend the rest of their kvea
in your company and / know that yesu
have sent them to the corners Of the
earth. RalstOn is in Japan, Howard
and Lawrence are driving ambulancee
in France, Chapman is with PershinQ
in Mexico. Why did you do it7"
Sophia Isham looked at her ccns
panion with somber eyes She could
not smile, although the note of amu0e-
ment in his voice would have been
contagious if the subject of their tnlE
had not been a vital one to her.
"If l tell you that not one Of them
has asked me to marry him, would y0s
believe me?"
Certainly not" His reply was ena.
phatic.
$50 | supposed. Neither will you 6G.
lieve me when ] tell you that / have
never been asked in marriage, bumilE&Se
ing as is the admission. But it is true,
nevertheless. Men find in me pieag-
ant companion, a good comrade. / asa
their cOntidant but our friendship has
never crossed the dividing line betweeM
pleasant friendliness and the deepen
feeling. That l cannot arouse admsEa-
ton, love, has cut deep.
"That fact is burned into my Gg@-
sciousness and resent the attitude ef
the world toward the woman vFR0
would strive for her happiness by seaE.
ing it for herself. 1t is a man-TBa3s
world, with man-made customs and,
perforce, she who finds no favor IN
his sight must bow to the inevitable
and accept the fate thrust upon her.
Convention forbids the least little atcD
across the boundary of his dominsGa,
even though she may see happiDegg
beckoning to her from the farthest coz
ner. Why should she be looked uDO1
askance if she venture over that line
of demarkation?"
"Well, what are you going to 90
about it?' he asked with evident
q standstill to allow heavily loaded
wagon to pass on the narrow road.
"NVhat would you suggest that VIII
take the place of the old-establishefa
order of things? You are SO esseR-
TALLY feminine that 1 cannot imagine
you taking the initiative in such mato
terS"
'Why not?" she retorted with pas
sionate warmth. Because aEn
passed by must I forever give up the
thought of love, of companionship, GAs
feel of a warm little body within nag
arms? Or, if not passed by, must 4
take what is offered when unoffercd,
there is better which might be maine
If could but overcome the reluctance,
entailed by convention and my womaE-
hood, to ask for it?"
"There is a possibility, you know.
that you may meet with rebuff. Have
you thought of that?"
She drew in her breath sharply. 81
have a right to happiness" she an
Swered stubbornly. eff it will not
come in the accepted way ! will fight
for it. 1t will be hard but ! must"
Until now he had not taken her Seri-
ouSly, but there was a strain in her
face, in her figure, in her clasDed
hands that made him feel her earnest
ness. He had known her for many
years, had been a constant visitor in
her home and thought he knew her
every whim and caprice, but this In
tensity. underlying her usual cool
friendliness, took him unawares. He
was frankly uncomfortable.
"You told me there were four" she
said presently, breaking the silence
that had fallen between them. "They
were not lovers, but if they had been
my choice would not have been made
from among them. They were good
dancers, perfect escorts, desirable as
comrades, but nothing more"
''How can you say that when you
know what they are dong?" he asked
gravely. "Do weaklings go to the bat
tlefield?"
mo. But there was a lack hard to
explain. What they are doing will de-
yelop traits that would have forever
lain dormant but for the horrors Of
this awful war. But when they left
they were not the men to whom 1
would give my hearts blood and think
nothing of the giving" She turned to
nin suddenly. "What is your defni-
lion of a man?"
He looked at her thoughtfully.
About the same as yours, 1 think.
Force, integrity, honesty of purpose,
gentleness consideration for others, a
carrying out of the right as he sees it
40 matter at what cost to himself"
She nodded. ''That is what / want"
she said tensely, "a man, not the pre-
tense of one"
you have found such a oneY'
'Yes."
"You have told him that you care?"
h,,+ 7 It'll