The daily Alaskan., 1918-09-10

r that crowd of butterflies back there,p holding his head in the direction of Washington. Tt seems, however, that I am mistaken"
 aButterfIes!h Louise exclaimed in- dIgnantly. Butterflies, indeedl Every one of the crowd is at work, and hard at work, at that. Do you think il. easy to spead all night at Union station meeting troop trains and to stay there until six o'clock in the morning hand Ing out coffee and sandwiches to men who have had nothing to eat for hours and hours and"
 aThe uniform is becoming" he re- torted in an ugly tone. T saw you in yours"
 ITO say nothing of the strain upon one,s sympathy. Only last night Marion Harland cried like baby over an old man and his wife who had come for glimpse of their boy who they had heard was on his way to Camp Gordon. Did they find himf, No. h. stead, they were told bis company had left suddenly for France. The boy was in the engineers. If the girls were butterflies do you think they would have been moved over the sore trouble of those two old peopleT Her voice was steady in It's wrath. "Would but terfiies go day after day to surgical dressing rooms; would they care for three Belgian children and knit and knit, and knit?"
 "Hysteria," he returned stubbornly. "There are a great many In dead earn est, but there is also certain number that have gone into the thing for ex- cItement and effect. But this Is aside from the matter in which I am inter- ested. Why did you write this note and send back your ringf"
 Of what he said she caught but one word. "Hysteria! Ohl You great brute" Two angry tears rolled down her cheeks. He saw them, although sine had quickly turned her head:
 Leaning forward he took her resist ing hand firmly in his.
 I've do not seem to be getting any where, Louise, just further and further from the thing that means everything to me. to both of us. Ip spite of my bewilderment I know you think you have some good reason for what you have done. Leave the others out of it. Dear, am very unhappy"
 But she harked back to something he had said. "Where did you see me in uniform?" she asked, abruptly.
 At the station two nights ago."
 "And you did not speak to mef
 Unfortunately, could not. was with the general" q did not see you" There was an edge to,the tone that caught his atten- ton.
 "That would not be surprising in the crowd"
 "You were not in the crowd when I saw you. There were but two, you and"
 He took her hands now and forced her to to turn toward him. You saw me? Did you see who was with mer
 q saw a woman's head against your shoulder. That was enough" 'Was that why you returned your ringT
 "Wouldn't you call 1t g sufficient reasonT
 Appearances are often deceptive" he said slowly. q thought you trust ed me-" ' '''' ....
 Against the evidence of my own eyesT ... ......
 "Yes, and because you say that you believe me unworthy of trust"
 If conditions were reversed. what would you thinkT
 'That would be an entirely different matter" he returned shortly. "Often situations arise that place a man In a position in nowise touching the loy- alty he owes the woman he loves. and I love you. Louise."
 'You will not explainT
 aT cannot, dear. You must accept my word that there was no disloy- atty"
 She turned to him impulsively. "I would have given everything pos sessed to get that letter back. I beg ged the carrier to give 1t to me, but he wouldn't. He looked sympathetic and said: Sure, if you've quarreled with him, miss, you'll have to write another. This now belongs to him. IT was furious. And I was heartsick and started home to have 1t out with myself"
 "That was what I was doing. I was given a weeks absence and was on my way home. have dandy plan to prevent future complications. What do"
 Here the conductor interrupted, looming big in the dim light. Pretty bad, captain" he said in passing, "ff- teen hours Of 1t. But we will be in Winchester soon. They have dug us out from the other side. A terrible storm"
 "A blessed storm" Robert Lee answered, as his hand sought and -A L.