Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1917-03-10
WHOM THE GODS SEND
BY SUSAN E. cLAeETr.

"WiiI you tell me why you insisted
upon my coming just now, Betty7 |
really couldn't leave with Christmas
work piling up, but your letter made
me think there was dire necessity. I
expected to find you III. Instead, you
look as If you had been glimpsing para
disc" There was a touch Of wistful-
ness In the voice and some exnspera-
ton
That is just what has happened,
Pauline. ! am gImpslng II every min
ute. every hour of the day. My heart
Is singing, for ! am going to have a
home"
Is homer You have one. What on
earth do you meun?"
THAT Is true. but | have always
wanted one OF my very own. where my
wishes would come first after those OF
the ohly man.
my dear, Betty, You cannot mike
me believe you have found a man In
this God-forsaken spOtr"
81 did not find him. He came. To
UC buDCOu-
sciously retained n memory of girl,
a moonlit sea and northern lights. But
for my happiness. consciously, or other
wise, he came. Romance comes near
est to being the real thing on board a
slow-going steamer than anywhere else
In the world. was not looking for
romance. however. AS you know,
was sick, unhappy. had no heart to
talk, but somehow the tall Scotchman
managed to interest me. He rested me.
enjoyed every moment of that rest
and accepted him as one whom the
gods had sent for my diversion"
81 have never heard you speak Of
him."
Betty laughed. 81 forgot all about
him. Yet for time after my return
was keenly alive to his personality.
We had taken many little trips to-
gether after We landed and came to
know each other fairly well, but home
duties soon absorbed me and memories
grew faint until at last they disap-
peared entirely. Then all at once they
came D0ck TO me.
'The morning 1t nll came back l had
been so overwhelmed with work that
my soul had risen to revolt at the
thought | would never be able to get
away from the household drudgery.
Suddenly my inner consciousness took
a series of sOmersaults and found my
self standing Upon the deck of that old
steamer as she plowed through the
! moonllt sea toward the northern lights.
"When took my mental gymnastics
i was coming through the orchard and
then and there stopped short at the
sight of once familiar figure. Walk
ing up the driveway toward the house
was the very man who had come into
my thoughts the minute before. What
would you call that? Telepathyr
ut would seem so. l suppose you
were glad to see him?"
II was not" The reply was emphatic.
II was provoked. He should have let
me know he was coming. A girl may
be fairly free from vanity, but even
then she dislikes to be caught In a
huge kitchen apron with her face red
and wet from the heat. Before quite
realized II both my hands were held
close In his and he was looking down
at me In a way that found slight
ly embarrassing, and this was his
greeting:
81 thought l was never going to
have the time to come to you
ut was an absurd thing for him to
say. had not invited him to come
here and consequently was little at
sea as to his meaning. but before i
could ask him what he meant, to my
utter bewilderment he told me he had
come South to marry me. He seemed
to have taken 1t for granted that /
would be ready to say yes whenever
he had the time to ask the question.
isn't It odd. Pauline, how everything
worth while hinges upon little word
of four letters. With II the poorest
man and woman are rich, without II
the richest is the poorest Of Gods crea-
tons. That 1t should come to me some
day frankly acknowledge l have
hoped. but that 1t should come In the
form Of an awkward, homely. deter
mined mnh was not to my liking, for
he Is homcly.
But he was my first lover. That
fact threw a glamour over me. Yet
there was no lovemaking, at least, not
the kind of lOvemaking had read
about And with the glamour | felt
indignation that he should think /
would be ready at his first word. But !