Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-08-28
4 Reading fol W6men ondo al the &1MN
THE PLOTTERS
A New Serial of East and West
by virginia Terhune Van de Water

: she-just how hard up Douglas
! was. She knew that this was the
! hardest Summer of his or her exist
ence. The farm was a dead weight
upon him. He might feel it was his
| duty to part with it. Yet how he
| would hate to do so-how- she
would hate TO see the dear old place
pass into other hands! This was
the home that had belonged to her
grandfather and to her father-the
home to which her parents had come
as bride and groom, and to which,
later, they had brought their chill
| oren each Summer so that the little
ones might have few weeks of
country life.
4 Romantic Spot
For Elizabeth there was a laalo of
romance about the place, and it
was associated with some of the
happiest memories of her young life.
And now she and Douglas might
lose it. The only thing that could
enable them to keep it would be a
sudden and phenomenal success for
the young physician.
The girl had often reminded her
self how much depended on John
Buffers recovery. Lately it had
seemed certain that he was on the
high road to health. Yet if his ILL
ness had been. as Douglas had as
serted, entirely a matter of nerves,
what might be the effect upon him
of learning that his physician and
his physicians sister had been de-
ceiving him rs to their relations to-
ward on5 another-that Lizzie
Moore" was really Elizabeth Wade.
that the girl whom he was learning
to care for (she acknowledge this
to herself now) had deceived him
Systematically and persistently?
What could she say if he accused
her of all this?
Clifford Chaplin would tell him the
facts. There was no way of pre-
venting that. The dies was cast.
The mischief had been done by now.
john Butler knew at this very in
slant that she was Douglas Wade's
sister.
She prepared for bed, then put on
her wrapper and slippers and walked
softly up ana down her room, too
nervous to sleep. She must think
out some course of conduct. some
thing to tell this man were he to-
demand an explanation of her.
She longed to confess the truth TO
him. 1t was not so bad after all.
At least it did not look very daming
to her. Yet from the viewpoint of
the man himself it would certainly
not be pleasing.
She would have to say that her
brother had told her that John But
| Ter was the victim of over-study and
nervousness. increased by too much
care from his mother and by an ex-
aggerated idea on her part and his
of the s;ravity of his condition.
4 Hard Question
Nobody likes to be informed that
we are not ashamed of the ills of
the flesh We are horribly ashamed
| of any mental twist.
To be sure she could inform John
, Butler that his mind was now all
! right.
| She laughed bitterly to herself as
! she reflected on the way in which
! he would receive such an assur-
| ance from her. He would resent
| the suggestion that he had ever been
mentally unsettled-in short, that
he had been a hypochondriac. What
man would not be angry at SUCH an
! accusation?
She could rot explain to him that
it was more his mothers fault than
his. de was not the sort of man
who would allow any one to init
mate that his mother was to blame
for anything.
She might as we'll be honest with
herself She was afraid to confess
the truth, for she wanted to help
Douglas to the full extent of her
power.
She stood still, as if a sudden
| self-revelation smote her
Yes, she wanted to help Douglas
At first that had been her one aim
But now another desire exceeded
that. She wanted to stand we'll in
Buffers estimation. She realized
that it mattered tremendously tc
her what he thought of her. She
had learned to depend upon his
friendship.
Was friendship the correc
word? She asked that question
sternly. Before she could answer i
another question thrust it self int
her brain.
Was friendship the only feeling
that she herself had for John But
Ter?
ITO Be Continued)