The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1917-08-16

voice lacking little Of the ridiculous
stiffness of his words, not much. rs
there some place where we can talk a
little more-privately than here? l
shan't keep you long"
"There's room here somewhere"
she said.
The room she led him to was an ap-
prOpriately preposterous setting for
the altogether preposterous talk that
ensued between them. 1t had mosaic
floor with a red plush carpet on 1t, two
stained-glass windows in yellow and
green, thanking an oak mantel which
framed an enormous expanse of mot
tied purple tile, with diminutive gas
log in the middle. A glassy-looking
oak table occupied most Of the room,
and the chairs that were crowded In
around 1t were upholstered in highly
polished coffee -colored horse-hlde, with
very ornate nails.
"It's dreadfully hot In here" Rose
said. "You'd better take Off your coat
She squeezed In between the table and
one of the chairs and seated herself.
Rodney threw down his wet hat, his
newspaper, and then his raincoat, on
the table, and slid into n chair oppo'
site her.
~ want to tell you first" Rodney
said, and his manner was that Of O
schoolboy reclting to his teacher an
apology which has been rehearsed al
home under the sanction of paterna
authorlty-T want to tell you how
deeply sorry am for
He had his newspaper in his hands
again and was twisting 1t up. His eyes
didn't once seek her face. But they
might have done so in perfect safety
because her own were fixed on his
hands and the newspaper they crum
pied.
He didn't presume to ask her for
glveness, he told her. He couldn't ex
pect' that; at least not at present. H'
went on lamely, in broken sentences
repeating what he'd said already il
still more inadequate words. He wa!
unable to stop talking until she shoult
say something, it hardly matteret
what. And she was unable to say any
thing.
The formality of his phrases go
sitter and finally CONCEALED into I
blank silence.
Finally she said, with gasp: "
have something to ask you to-forgiv
me for. That's for leaving you to flint
out-where l was, the way you did
You see thought at first that no on
would know me, made up and all. An,
when | found out l would be recog
nizable, it was too late to stop-or a
least 1t seemed So. Besides, though
you knew. / saw Jimmy Wallace ou
there the opening night, and saw h
recognized me, and-I thought het
tell you. And then kept seeing othe
people out In front after that, peopl
we knew, who'd come to see for them
selves, and / thought, Of course, yo
knew. And-I suppose was COW
ard waited for you to come.
wasn't, as you thought, trying to hur
you. But l can see how 1t must hav
looked like that"
! He said quickly: you're not t
blame at all. / remember how you Of
'ared to tell me what you intended t
do before you went away, and that
, wouldn't let you."
! Silence froze down upon theI
, again.
81 can't forgive myself" he said @
last. II want to take back the thing
, said that night-about being di'
, graced and all. / was angry over nc
; having known when the other peopl
did. 1t wasn't your being on the stag
, We're not as bigoted as that,
ave come to ask favor Of yol
though, and that is that you'll let m
let us all-help you. l can't-bea
| having you live like this, knockin
about like this, where all sorts
things can happen to you. And goin
. under an assumed name. I've n
= right to ask q faycr, know, but I d
: I ask you to take your own name asal