The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1918-07-20
ALegal
War Bride
Copyright, 1918. by the Mcclure Newspa-
per Syndicate.)
BY ELIZABETH FORREST

picture of perplexity. THUNDER he
finally exploded, dashed the pen onto
the desk, and swerved around to his
startled stenographer.
"What is the proper thing to write
to an engaged girl?"
ut all depends on how well you
know her"
"HumphI If I tell you all about it,
will you help me with this matter of
etiquette?"
Agreed" And Mary Borden lis
tened.
"Well, Ruth Hampton and 1 grew up
together. She vas a good pal and
everybody's friend; she appealed to
me because she had intellect and good
nature. 1 always have liked girls who
can really do something.
'Then after both mother and dad
were-gone, Ruth and her mother were
like sister and mother to me. So when
j took up law, it was with Ruth that
I Sunderland / do believe she could
have passed the bar exams when / did,
had she been so minded. There was
never anything more than sincere
friendship between us, so I have had
no ties to draw me back to Morton dur
ing these busy years here in New York
1T has been nearly three" He hest
tated, but Mary Borden's twenty years
in the business world had nodded her
sympathetic nature into a character by
which harried men were ever inspired
to confidence.
But" he continued, although I was
fast forgetting Ruth, she was wildly
brought to mind this morning. While
reading my newspaper 1 CHANGED on
a picture of her, and the announcement
of her engagement. The picture doesn't
look like the Ruth l used to know, but
time, l suppose, does effect changes.
Now, Miss Borden, the really funny
part of my tale is this: 1 feel actually
angry that Ruth has become engaged,
and I've concluded that I'm what you
might call, NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. And
thanks, awfully, but I've just decided
that I'll not write her at all-she didn't
send me a personal announcement"
"But is it reasonable to expect that
of her? Do you write to her? Does
she know where you area"
Peters flushed. "Well," he grinned,
"you've got me in a corner. l believe
1t has been some eight or ten months
since I last wrote"
MAY I see that paper, p~lease?"
Certainly" Then Miss Borden
busted herself some minutes in the
reading of the article in question. She
started to read it again. At q sudden
exclamation from her Robert looked
at her inquiringly.
"Where did you say you used to
live?"
"Morton, KY"
"But, look, this notice reads. Miss
Ruth Hampton of Berkeley, Cal.,' so it
can't be your Ruth !"
Robert snatched the paper eagerly
from her and for a long time studied
the cut. "No," he said 1t length,
there can't possibly be two Ruth
Hamptons who look sufficiently alike
to be sisters.
"There has been time enough for
them to nave Travelled clear around the
world, for all my knowledge of Ruth
and her mother; so without a doubt
the simple truth is that they have gone
to California to live" .
He sat a while in troubled silence,
and at last tried to fix his attention on
some briefs. 1t was useless. His mind
wandered continually; and he asked
himself over and over "Why do I care,
why do I carer" There could be but
one answer!
At moor he lunched absent-mindedly.
Before returning he visited a Western
Union office and sent a telegram to
the postmaster of Morton. OF course
the message was an inquiry regarding
Ruth. But his conclusions of the MORN
ing were confirmed by the answering
wire, sent collect ruth Hampton and
mother left Morton last October.
Whereabouts unknown" And 1t was
now April After some time spent in
gloomy pensiveness he reused himself.
Robert Peters was not backboneless
and given to incoming. Frequently, to
be sure, he thought and wondered
about Ruth but "the world is full of
n number of things'-and wise men
keep busy. Robert was wise, hence
o~blivious, and not troubled by sleep
less nights.
C~lean-minded, re~d-blooded, energetic,
Robert grew daily more alive to his
cOuntry's needs. So by June he had
enlisted, since, so he said, "the law
schools are yearly turning out hun
dreds of young men as brilliant
and as capable as Further argu-
ilents were lengthy, s%uperfluous.
A few days before he was to leave
for camp he had his last case, a short
case. but rather difficult. There had
been trouble getting a lawyer for the
defense, so Robert did not know who
was to play opposite him, who had the
prosecution.
The trial lasted three days. The
DoorninC IF tho cacond dau Mice Dt,th