Grainger County news. (Rutledge, Tenn.) 1917-current, 1918-03-14
IN THE RAIN
BY $. GODFREY.
iCopyrIght. I9ls. western Newspaper Union

butt0ned his macintosh closely arOuhu
him and stepped under the projecting
roof of the little station. The village
was a mile distant and the prospect
Of fioundering through the downpour
afOot was not agreeable. He muttered
some adjectiyes relative to the wealth
er, and was surprised to hear femi'
nine voice dose to him ask:
II beg your pardon; can you tell me
the means of getting to the village at
once2 or course, mean carriage"
Ralph threw his cigar, freshly light
ed, across the track, then wondered
why. He was not in the habit of dis
cardlng cigars upon being addressed by
persons with whom he was not &C
quainted. He answered.:
Don't know, I'm sure. hope, er,
a carriage can be secured. had de-
cided to wait inside for a time"
He opened the door and bowed as
she passed through, observing that her
attire was faultless, and tried to imag-
Inc what brought her to this deserted
country station. Ralph inquired of the
ticket agent If he could get carriage
to drive to town at once, and being In
formed in the negative, seated himself
beside his new acquaintance.
"There doesn't seem to be any way
out of It," he said, sunless we walk"
"Then / suppose must wait for the
RAIN" she said.
awe If you do not object" he cor
rected. II should be honored to act as
porter" glancing at her valise, "and es-
cort."
"Thank you indeed, If you will be so
good, though fear 1t would be presum-
ing too much upon your kindness"
"The kindness will lie entirely In
your allowing me to assist" he said.
Through the hazy transparency Of the
veil he could distinguish handsome out
lines, and eyes that shown and laughed.
There could be no necessity for wear
ing 1t indoors. Her voice sounded as
the voice of one he had heard often,
somewhere. A suggestion of q soft,
modulated drawl was pleasing. Who
among his feminine acquaintance pos
sessed that popularity of accent. Sud-
denly he turned toward her and scruti-
nized her intently.
It was In London, three years before,
he recalled, that he had met her
and after meeting her he had post
poned his return to New York. Her
party travelled to Paris and over the
continent. and singularly, his plans
took him to the same places. When
they parted he had promised to write.
But he omitted to include his street adj
dress In his missive, and she had no
means Of learning the location of his
Office. A mustache adorned the lip
which had been smooth when she knew
him In Europe.
'I've run out here on some live stock
business, and as I'm not expected,
there's no one here to meet me. Other
wise my transportation facilities would
be entirely at your service"
"If 1t comes to that, 1t Is / who
should excuse myself for being here"
she replied. II have been invited to
the wedding of college friend, and
thinking l could not come sent regrets.
Then at the eleventh hour I managed
to get away" smiling, "and So"
"And so we're here"
She looked at him questioningly. He
wished he had an invitation to that
wedding. He only said:
"The rain has ceased. Shall we
start?"
Certainly, If you wish"
II ought to introduce myself. My
name is Ralph Allen. My home is in
New York." The statement did not
sound very smooth, but he had opened
q subject.
Il am very glad to have met you, Mr..
Allen. can't thank you enough for
bothering to help me tonight"
II should like you, please, not to
speak of that again. Once for all, 1t is
a privilege. But 1t is so pleasant now.
And I was thinking of a girl l knew
once. She was very much like you.
That's why I speak of her. You-you
don't mind?"
mo; should like to hear" she said
slowly, looking away from him. Then
be continued:
"She was in England several years
ago, and we met" He spoke as though
recalling memories to his own mind,
and did not look at the woman at his
side. II only knew her a month, and
perhaps shouldn't have taken the lib
erty. But couldn't help thinking-so
much of her."
"And your
IT had to return to New York. II
would not have been fair to tell her so
soon."
"You think so? Selfish"
II wrote to her, and she would have
answered, thought, but I never heard
from her."
"Tell me, do you make practice of
leaving your correspondents to guess at
your address? She-she may not have
known where to writer"
II don't understand. She knew ]
lived in New York"
"You might have been thoughtful
enough to mention your residence OF
your Office number"