The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1917-08-10

ITO be disslpated and not 10 care !"
Il She brushed Jack Wakefield aside
scornfully as she turned to leave the
room "rhat Is the worst thing that
can be said Of any man, she added.
Jack blocked the door just In time
J There was nothing to lose noN.fso il
didn't matter what he did
Before you go he said quietly.
"you may as well hear my opinion Of
YOU It's only fair, you know. As
long as you've gone out a your way"
II haven't gone out Of hy way she
interrupted, glaring at him as much as
her sweet blue eyes were capable Of
"on the contrary, It has been forced
upon me. Ii is true YOU may not have
asked me directly for my opinion Of
you. But--well, IN view Of other mat.
ters It was only fair that should only
tell you before-before we part for.
eyerw
He grlpped the portlere so that 1t
stretched away from the brass rod
above and began to snap.
That's all right he said. "But
you'd better know how / feel, too. 1t
Will be something at least for you to
look back to. Let me tell you in the
beginning that you haven't the slight.
est dea Of what you are talking about.
4 But llsuppose you are right when you
say that / don't care
What is there in every man Of such
human peryersity that always prompts
him, when he is aecdsed, to make hlla-
self out so much worse than he really
is? Jack Wakefield went ON reck-
lessly.
Eyes, Im one Of the boys, and l ain
going TO be as reckless as l please with
my own life. AS between the life
lead and some Of your sweet Sunday
school notions there can be no hesita.
tion on my part. | purpose to gamble
When ] want to- drink when ] want to-
swear when | want 10, and do general
Is as 1 please without let or hindrance.
And, by and by, when you have learned
a little more of this old world you will
find that man can be man for all
that"
And so they parted.
He went to his club and had three
highballs in succession.
She went to her room and cried It
out.
It sometimes happens, however, that
: good cry doesn't do much to relieve
the situation. Eleanor felt no better
the next day. Her responsibility for
this young man somehow grew upon
her To her ardent and pure glrlish
imagination she herself was to blame
for every excess that she felt sure he
must be committing now.
When she had first heard Of his dis
sipation it had come as a great shock
to her
And when she had confronted him
with it oil, and his carelessness had I
angered her so. she had turned him
off, she was only conscious that she
was doing right. Now, however, she
felt guilty What was he doing mean
while? Suppose in his reckless aban-
don he should commit some crime
She shuddered at the thought. After
all, would it not have been better to
bear with him In patience. to make
the endeavor to lead him back to the
paths Of rectude? Was this, after
an, not her woman's dutyg Besides.
after the stress Of their parting, she
found that 1t was hard to forget this
handsome, ering young man. She
loved him in spite Of his wickedness,
and his last words haunted her.
A mani Yes, she felt that under
meath his devil-may-care manner there
was man after all, in spite of the
fact that her own experience, strict as
1t had been, had never permitted her
to appreciate this kind Of tempera-
ment.
And finally there came the day when
she could stand 1t no longer. She
would not could not, shoulder this re-
Her letter was digniaed, yer suai-
eiently humble.
Il feel that have been wrong" she
wrote, "in saying what I did to you.
and ! hope that you will forgive me,
win You not? cannot, in my pride,
ask you to come back to me but il Of
your own free viii you care to do SO.
viii endeavor to show you that / real
lie my own imperfections." And 50
on.
Jack, who had been up at bridge late
the night before, read the letter
solemnly in one Of the recesses Of the
club.
He was sober enough now.
THE dear girl, he said, "she is, az
Ter all, made Of the right stuff. i know
how She feels. She is afraid that her
throwing me off viii send me to the
levil and even fbouob eba doosn,t