Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1917-10-12

the girls were upstairs In their rooms
dressing. for dinner. l heard a light
step on the stairs, and a moment later
Gwen entered the room where l was.
I was sitting In a dark corner, and she
apparently did not see me. There was
q case of curios In the room, some of
which were very rare and some very
beautiful. Gwen went to this case and
took from 1t a tiny statuette, for which
she had expressed admiration. She
concealed 1t In her drapery n a few
minutes later passed out of the room.
Heaven preserve me! My fiancee was
a thief-a thief who would steal from
her bosom friend, who, at the time of
the theft, was entertaining her. Never
before or since have l experienced such
a shock. Surely this was too much.
l could bear with faults In a wife, but
not with ingratitude and dishonesty.
The only redeeming point about my
iancee's actions was that she hesitated
te drag me down to her level. She
shrank from marrying a man who
adored her, he to find out what she was
when it was too late.
With all my own faults, 1 am GER
tainly conscientious. / mean by this
If l do wrong I don't attempt to ex-
cuse myself. l deemed 1t my duty to
inform my hostess that she was har-
boring a serpent In my fiancee. But
I found 1t very difficult to do this. 1t
involved my first informing Gwen that
I had seen her steal. There was a re-
mote possibility that she could explain
her act, but l could not see how she
could do so satisfactorily.
When dinner was announced l dread
ed to go into the dining DON Pulling
myself together, | did SO. And that,
there was something on my mind was
very apparent. There were others
present besides the two girls, and all
were dampened by my saying nothing
and looking as If I had received a stab.
| When the dinner was over Gwen led
me into the drawing room and, turning
to me, said:
Something troubles you. Tell me
what it Is"
I stammered an account of my being
In the drawing room alone in the
cleaning, of her entry and, supposing
that she was unobserved, of my seeing
her appropriate the s~tatuette.
ut Is WELL" she said, that you have
discovered a serious blemish in me be-
fore tying yourself up to me for life.
My maternal grandmother was a KEEP
tomaniac. Had she not been a lady
she would have doubtless spent the
most of her life in prison. SINE she
was a lady she was followed by-a wo-
man employed to return what she stole
or pay the bills. l should have had
the strength to tell you hat I have In
herited this mania, that you might cast
me off. | can only say that ] had not
the moral strength to do So"
Here was a failing which, being in
herited, Gwen was not responsible for.
II she should become a confirmed In
valid, loving her as / did | would not
hesitate to marry her and devote my
life to her care. Should l cast her off
for this other physical defect, for
which she was no more accountable
than the other?
/ walked away from her to another
part of the room. This matter was of
too much Importance for me to decide
IN impulse. After pacing back and
forth a few minutes I stopped before
Gwen, who had sunk upon q sofa, and
said to her:
"Gwen, give me till tomorrow to de-
eide what curse I shall take In this
NATTER
She made no reply, but left the room.
Later Emily Tucker came in and said
to me:
what has happened? I"
81 can't tell you now. 1 must have
till tomorrow morning"
She, too, retired, and again l was
alone. Taking my hat and cane l left
the house that l might have the dome
of heaven under which to think. l did
not return till near midnight. Seeing
a light in Owens room, l called to her
softly. The window was open, and she
heard me.
81 have decided" 1 said. "Come
down and I will tell you."
She had not gone to bed and In a
few minutes came down on to the
porch, where 1 was, and, approaching,
stopped a short distance from me.
81 love you so well that I can't give
you up" l said. "In screening you
from the consequences of your misfor-
tune I shall be far happier than pass
ing a lifetime without you"
I supposed that she would stand
mute. I would approach her and take
her in my arms; her head would drop
on my breast in token that she accept
ed the sacrifice. What was my aston
ishment when she broke into a laugh.
And I was still more surprised to hear
it echoed from an upper window. I
recognized the echo as Emily's.
Stupid" Gwen said to me, how
could you have been deceived by such
a shallow trick? My kleptomaniac
grandmother was a minister's wife and