The midland journal., 1917-02-02

N
family. But, warn you, If ever hear
of Christine's husband getting an apos-
tie spoon"
She smiled up at him. "You are
looking very grand today. But you
have grass strains on your white trou-
sers. Perhaps Katie can take them
out"
Quite suddenly K. felt that she
thought him too old for such frivolity
of dress. 1t put him on his mettle.
'How old do you think am, Miss
Sidney?"
"Not over forty, I'm sure"
'Tm almost thirty. 1t is middle age,
of course, butt Is not senility."
Clearly the subject of his years did
not interest her vitality. for she harked
back to the grass stains.
'Tm afraid you're not saving, as you
promised. Those are new clothes, aren't
theyW
"No, indeed. Bought years ago in
England-the coat in London, the
trousers in Bath, on motor tour. Cost
something like twelve shillings. Awful
ly cheap. They wear them for cricket"
That was a wrong move, of course.
Sidney must hear about England; and
she marveled politely, in view of his
poverty, about his being there. Poor
LIE Moyne foundered in sea of men
dacity, rose to truth here and there,
clutched at luncheon, and achieved
safety at last.
'To think" said. Sidney, "that you
have really been across the oceanl 1
never knew but one person who had
been abroad. It is DR.. Max Wilson,"
Back again to Doctor Max! LIE
Moyne, unpacking sandwiches from q
basket, was aroused by sheer resent
ment to indiscretion.
'You like this Wilson chap pretty
well, don't you?"
"What do you meanw
"You talk about him rather a lot"
This was sheer recklessness, of
course. He expected fury, annihilation.
He did not look up, but busted him
self with the luncheon. When the ST.
lence grew oppressive, he ventured to
glance toward her. She was leaning
forward, her chin cupped in her palms,
staring out over the valley that
stretched at their feet.
"Don't speak to me for a minute OF
two," she said. ''Im thinking over
what you have just said"
Down through the valley ran a shall
low river, making noisy pretensions to
both depth and fury. He remembered
just such river in the Tyrol, with this
same Wilson on a rock, holding the
hand of pretty Austrian girl, while
he snapped the shutter of camera.
He had that picture somewhere now;
but the girl was dead, and, Of the
three, Wilson was the only one who
had met life and vanQuished it.
"I've known him all my life." Sid
hey said at last. you're perfectly
right about one thing: I talk about
him and think about him. I'm being
candid, because what's the use of be-
ing friends if we're not frank? I ad-
mire him-you'd have to see him in the
hospital, with everyone deferring to
him and all that, to understand. And
when you think of a man like that,
who holds life and death in his hands,
of course you rather thrill. II hon.
estly believe that's all there is to it,
'sIf that's the whole thing, that's
hardly a mad passion" He tried to
smile; succeeded family.
'Well, of course, there's this, too.
know he'll never look at me. I'll be
one of forty nurses; indeed, for three
months I'll be only probationer. He'll
probably never even remember I'm in
the hospital at ALL ...
II see. Then, if you thought he was
in love with you, things would be diff
ferent2"
''If thought DR.. Max Wilson was in
love with me-" said Sidney solemnly,
I'D go out of my head with JOY"
To hide the shock with which he
realized that she was, unknown to her.
self, already in the throes of a roman
tic attachment for Wilson, X. suggest
ed descent to the river. She accept
ed eagerly, and he helped her down.
That was another memory that out
lasted the day-her small warm hand
in his; the time she slipped and he
caught her; the pain in her eyes at
one Of his thoughtless remarks.
I'm going to be pretty lonely" he
said, when she had paused in the de-
scent and was taking stone out of her
low shoe. II shall hate to come home
at night" And then, seeing her vince:
'Tve been whining all day. For
heavens sake, don't look like that. If
there's one sort Of man I detest more
than another, it's man who Is sorry
for himself. Do you suppose your
mother would object if we stayed out
here at the hotel for supper? I've or
dered moon, orange-yellow and extra
Size."
81 should hate to have anything or
dpred and woStpd -