The Arvada enterprise. (Arvada, Colo.) 1908-1970, 1918-09-05

. . e
A month passed.
During that thirty-day period she re-
ceived . brief note from Bill Just .
few lines to say:
"Hit the ranch yesterday, little per
son. Looks good to me. Went fishing
last night about shutdown. Trout were
rising nne. Nailed q ten-pounder.
Woke up this morning at daylight and
found . buck deer with two lady
friends standing in the middle Of the
clearing. loafed Q few days In Fort
George. sort Of thinking I might hear
from you. Am sending this out BY
Jake. WIN start for the Klappan
about day after tomorrow"
She had not answered his first let
ter. She had tried to. But somehow
when she tried to set pen to paper the
right words would not come. She
lacked his facility Of expression.
There was 20 much she wanted to say.
10 little she seemed able to say. Al
the days passed she felt less sure Of
her ground, less sure that she had not
sacrinced something precious to
vagary Of self. an obseasion Of her own
ego.
And slowly but surely she began to
view all the activities Of her circle
with q critical eye. Certain Of her
friends had become tentative enemies.
Kitty Brooks and the Bray womenfolk.
who were q numerous and influential
tribe. not only turned silent faces
when they met. but they made war O
her In the peculiar fashion Of women.
A word here, q suggestive phrase
there. Q shrus Of the shoulders. It all
bore fruit Other friends conveyed the
avid gossip. Hasel smiled and ignored
It. But in her own rooms she ragged
unavailinsly.
Her husband had left hsf. There
was Q man in the case. Thsy had lost
everything. The nrst count was suf-
acisotly maddening because It was .
half truth. And any Of It was irritat-
ing-even II few believed-dnce 1t
made Q choice morsel to digest In COS
Spy corners, and brought sundry curl
Gus stares on Hasel at certain times.
Also Mr.. Wagsta6 had caused the
Stockholders Of Free Gold . heavy loss
which WAS only Offset By the fact
that the Ere Gold properties were
producing richly. None Of this was
even openly flung at her. She gathered
II piscsmeal. And It CALLED her. She
could not openly defend either Bill or
herself against the shadowy scandal
mongers.
Slowly Il dawned upon her. With .
bitterness born Of her former expszi.
ence with Granville. that she had lost
something Of the standing that certain
circles had accorded her a. the wife
Of Q successful mining man. It made
her ponder. Was Bill 20 far wrong.
after all. in his estimate Of themf It
was . dishsartening conclusion. She
had come Of . family that stood well
In Granville; she had grown up there:
II lifetime friends blew hot and cold
like that. was the game worth playingf
In 20 far % she could she gave the
lie to some Of the petty gossip. Where
~ at first she had looked dubiously on
spending Bill's money to maintain the
standard Of living they had set up. she
now welcomed that deposit Of I'VE
thousand dollars a. Q means to dem
onstrate that even In his absence he
stood behind her financially-which
she began to perceive counted more
than anything else. 30 long - abe
could dress In the best. while she could
ride where others walked. 20 long -
she betrayed no limitation Of ~
sources, the doors stood wide. Not
what you are. but what you've got
she remembered Bill saying that WAS
their holiest creed.
II repealed her. And sometimes she
was tempted to 1t down and pour It all
out In letter to him. But she could
not quite bring herself to the point
Always behind Bill doomed the vast
and dreary Northland. and she shrank
from that.
On top Of this, she began to suffer
Q queer upset Of her physical condi.
ton. All her life she had been splen-
didly healthy: hss BODY . perfect.
working machine. a@l6tsd with no
weaknesses. Now odd spasmodic pains
REQUIRED without rhyme q reason In
her head. her back. hse limbs, strik.
ing her with sudden poisnancy. disap-
pearing ~ suddsnly.
She was stretched on the lounge one
afternoon wrestling nsrvously with Q
particularly acute attack. when vesta
Lorimer was ushefsd In.
"Yeu'rs almost Q stranger" Hazel
remarked. after the 0Fst greetings.
"Your outing must have bsen pleasant
to hold you % long"
TT would have held me longer"
Vest returned, ~ I DIDN'T have to b.
In touch With ny market. I could live
quite happily O ny island eight
months IN the ysar. But one can't get
people to come several hundred miles
to q dtting. And I feel inclined TO &C.
Quirs Q living ineo@s while my vogue
laseDs
sYou'rs rather Q wilderness lover,
arsat yoar Hasel commented. r
doat tAink yoa'd love Il % dearly II
700 w9e buried allve IN Il"