The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1917-05-05

"To save you from the ignominy
of arrest
"And by doing so have placed me
In a far more discriminating position;
one infinitely harder to explain You
did not think of that, Monsieur. You
urged me to come with you; almost
forced me to do so. You led me to
believe your life was In danger if YOU
remained In Chicago, yet refused to
leave without me. You gave me that
one choice, of coming with you, or
compelling you to remain. In a mo-
ment of weakness | yielded; fed with
you Fer your sake l have sacrificed
my reputation, my good name. And
now you tell me cooIly, there was no
cause, no occasion. Can l have heard
Alright, Monsieur"
She had forgotten where we were,
those hundreds of feet of air between
us and the water below Her eyes
were dark with Indignation; her hands
grasped my arm, and her lips treabIed.
With pressure of my foot l slowed
down the motor, and we foated, barely
moving, the propeller scarcely audible.
If l plead guilty." 1 asked quietly,
will you take into consideration some
extengating circumstances"
Are there any? Could ANYTHING
excuse such an act?" Indignantly.
That viii depend upon yourself,
Mademoiselle. In my own heart
am justified. There is an adage that
all Is fair IN love and war; then surely
the two combined excuse unusual meth
DDS. However l am willing to rest
my case on the frst-loxe!''
She drew back from nae scornfully,
hut with no lowering of her eyes
Lovei Are you sure you do not
profane the word? Is compromising
a girl your idea of love? You think
they will not learn the truth back
there in Chicago? that my friends will
not hear? But they viii; Schmitt
viii whisper it; that detective will
not remain dumb. The gossip of it
viii creep from lip to lip, accompanied
by many sly smile. You can con-
ceal crime by influence possibly, but
all your consuls and ambassadors can
not curb scandal. Once in the air,
it spreads. That is what your love has
done for me, Monsieur"
! caught the appraised hand, and
held It, IN spite of her effort to draw
away.
That is enough; now listen to me, ;"
in a tene which quoted her. "You
have played with me all night, but
this is my turn to be heard | am no
boy, not to know my own mind You
insist love is not born in a night, but
L doubt If 1t is ever born In any other
word / have to say. MademoiseIle.
have loved you ever since we sat in
that restaurant alone together. l
know not what made me your captive:
that is mystery; but confess the truth.
Your doubt does not change the fact.
l am man, and have seen much of
life; l have known many women of
charm and beauty, l have pretended
love, even while my heart scoffe1 at
the possibility. l had reached a stage
where l almost believed there was no
such resity-that the conception of
love was a mere dream, a boyish de
fusion, almost an insanity Then l
met you, locked into your face, listened
to your voice, your laughter, gazed
into the depths of your eyesSand
awoke! l found your presence meant
life to me-new life 1t did not
require month, or a wear. for me to
learn this; it was the gift of moment
From then until now I have had but
one thOught-you."
She stared at me, fascinated bv
my earnestness, with lips parted, and
cheeks flushed
t'But / told you-''