Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1917-04-19

it again. 1t threw him into black pit
of agony and CONSERVATION.
Now, he could, but would not, be
lieve it, He wondered who the heart.
breaker might be. He remembered
that Lois had been fond Of Freneau
years before. He dismissed this sus-
picion with contempt. He loathed the
letter. Only towards and mischief
makers write such letters. He threw
this one from him as If it were some
thing unclean. Yet the anonymous
poison gnawed away In his brain. He
clenched and unclenched his hands
and paced the floor, beads of perspira-
ton dripping down his face.
At last he fought it out with himself
and decided that he would trust Lois
till she was proved unworthy. How
ever, the letter seemed to whisper
to him. "A little test will do no
harm"
OF course, Lois was guiltless, but
perhaps she had been careless of APP
pearances. 1t would be better to
wait and rebuke the indiscretion when
1t occurred. He had been talking OF a
trip South to meeting of board of
railroad directors on which his father
had placed him. 1t was not necessary
for him to 90. But he might pretend
that 1t was, and tell Lois good-by, and
pretend to leave, and then. He
dared not put the scheme into words.
But he dared not let the chance 60
past to make sure.
That evening, when he went home,
Lois greeted him with her usual
warmth. Before he had quite decided
what to do, he had told her that he
was called South for ten days, and
he had not urged her to go with him.
She did not ask to go. In fact, he
thought that she took the bad news
with just little too much philosophy.
He was tormented with shame and
suspicion.
The next day, when he went to his
office, he babe her good-by as if he
were the criminal and she the saint
He could not have imagined that Lois
only waited his departure to fling on
her hat and her veil and speed to
Freneau before he should leave for
his own Office.
She found him, and he gave her a
cold welcome. When she told him
that David was to be in the far South
for week, he did not seem to be in
terested. When she rejoined that now
they could be together without the an
noyance of David's presence, Freneau
solemnly reminded her of the danger
from gossips and servants. He must
walk warily, now that he was
betrothed to bank account like Stat
ford's.
To this Lois made the astonishing
answer that if New York was too full
of spies, she would go elsewhere. She
reminded him of beautiful village In
the Catskill mountains, and declared
her intention of paying 1t a VISIT also
she advised Freneau to happen there
at the same time-his fiancee, Gloria,
was too Ill to see him, anyway, and
he could give business trip as an ex-
cuse.
Freneau was indignant, but Lois was
dangerous. She threatened him again
with the awful weapon of suicide
against which there is no defense. He
realized that he was the prey of a
kind of blackmailer. He had once
thought of Lois as a conquest to be
proud Of; now he saw that he himself
was the victim and she the tyrant.
With one rash act she could not only
destroy herself but all Freneau's plans
Again he surrendered. Surrender
was becoming habit. He made one
condition. that they should take along
the letters they had exchanged and de-
stroy them. He wanted no written
evidence of his past to imperil his fu-
ture. Lois consented, and hurried
away, rejoicing.
She left Freneau in a mood of black
rage and remorse. The quality of his
remorse was shown in his medita-
lions. He thought of the many women
he had dealt with lightly, and he won
dered if any more of them would rise
to threaten his security as son-in-
law of Pierpont Stafford.
That very day the most pitiful of