The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1918-04-11


knew, was her only salvation.
Ana so she got through the week
Saturday evening came, and she went
home, drending Sundays ldleness, with
It's memories. The people at Mrs.
Stouts establishment, she plainly
saw, were growing n trine shy of her.
She had never been on terms of init
macy with any of them during her stay
there, hence their attitude troubled
little after the first supersensitiveness
wore or. But her own friends, girls
with whom she had played In the pima
fore-and-plgtail stages of her youth,
young men who had paid court to her
until Jack Barrow monopollzed her
she did not know how they stood. She
had seen none of them since Bush
launched his last bolt. Barrow she
had passed on the street just once, and
when he lifted his hat dlstantly, she
looked straight ahead, and ignored
him. Whether she hurt him as much
as she did herself by the cut direct
would be hard to say.
When Sunday noon arrived, and the
phone had failed to call her once. and
not one of all her friends had dropped
In, Hazel twisted her chair so that she
could stare at the image of herself In
the mirror.
you're in n fair way to become q
pariah, 1t seems" she said bitterly.
What have you done, | wonder that
you've lost your lover, and that Alice
and May ana IIortense and all the rest
of them keep away from you? Moth
lng-nOt thing-except that your
looks attracted n man. and the man
threw stones when he couldn't have
his way. oh, well, what's the differ
ence? You've got two good hands, and
you're not afraid of work"
She walked out to Granville mark
after luncheon, and found seat on n
shaded bench beside the lake. People
passed and epassed-couples young.
sters, old people, children. 1t made
her lonely beyond measure. She had
never been isolated among her own
kind before.
A group Of young people came saun-
tering along the path. Hazel looked
up aS they neared her, chatterlng to
each other. Maud Steele and Bud
Wells, and-why, she knew every one
Of the party. Hazel caught her breath
as they came abreast, not over ten feet
away. The three young men raised
their hats self-consciously.
"Hclo. Hazel :" the girl said.
But they passed on. It seemed to
Hazel that they Quickened their pace
a trifle. II made her grit her teeth
in resentfu anger. Ten minutes later
she left the park and caught car
home. Once in her room she broke
down.
"Oh, I'll 90 mad II I stay here and
this sort of thing goes on" she cried
fOrlornly.
A sudden thought struck her.
"Why should ! stay here?" she said
aloud. "Why? What's to keep me
here? can make my living any
where"
"But, no." she asserted passionately.
II won't run away. That would be
running away, and | haven't anything
to be ashamed of. | will not run"
Still the idea kept recurring to her.
II promised relief from the hurt of
averted faces and coolness where she
had right to expect sympathy and
friendship.
The legal notice of the bequest was
mailed to her. She tore up the letter
and threw 1t in the fire ms Il it were
some poisonous thing. The idea Of
accepting his money stirred her to per-
feet frenzy. If she could have poured
the whole miserable tale into some
sympathetic ear she would have felt
better, and each day would have
seemed less hard. But there was no
such ear. Her friends kept away.
Saturday of the second week her
pay envelope contained a brief notice
that the 0rm no longer required her
services. There was no explanation,
only pcrfunctory regrets; and, truth
to tell, Hazel cared little to know the
real cause. Any one Of number Of
reasons might have been sufficient.
But she realized how those who knew
her would take II, what cause they
would nscribe. II did not matter,
though. The very worst, she reasoned
could not be so bad as what had al
ready happened-could be no more dis
agreeable than the things she had en-
dured in the past two weeks. Losing
a position was Il trllle. But 1t set
her thinking again.
She stopped at a news stand and
bought the evening papers. Up in the
top rack of the stand the big heads Of
, an assorted lot of Western papers
caught her eye. She bought two or
three on the impulse of the moment,
without any definite purpose except
to look them over out of mere curl
osity. With these tucked under her
arm, she turned into the boarding
house gate, ran up the steps, and, upon
opening the door, her ears were glad
dened by the first friendly voice she
had heard--lt seemed to her--in ages,
q voice withal that she had least ex-
pected to hear. A short, plump woman
rushed ont of the parlor, and precipl-
tated herself bodily upon Hazel.
"Kltty Ryan! Where In the wide,