The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1919-03-22
CHAPTER XVIII.

Perhaps it was because they had
seen so many horrors during the past
four-and-twenty hours that these
seemed all to have fallen away that
night at staff headquarters. There
was q brief hour of rest after inter
minable labors, the lines had been held
and the great assault repealed in con-
fusion; for that hour every man seemed
bent upon forgetting the incidents OF
war, and something like gaiety ruled
in the meSSroOm.
All the past seemed very far away to
Captain Mark Wallace as he stood
with Eleanor in the little cottage gar
den.
"When the auto comes to take you
back to the hospital l shall feel that
my new life has lost the best part OF
it's PROMISE" said Mark.
1t was a long and extraordinarily
imaginative speech for him, and he
stood shamefaced after he had said 1t,
like boy who has delivered grown
mans aphorism.
~,
knew who l was, and you could not
you could not have believed my father
innocent and yet you had faith in me.
You must have suffered when used to
talk about my dreams of him, and you
hid your suffering and your knowledge
because of me-"
'That was nothing, Eleanor"
Captain Mark" she whispered, bend
| ing toward him. IL kissed you to-
day."
''That was nothing, Eleanor"
Captain Mark! What do you mean?
How dare your
Mark looked utterly disconnected. Il
meant mean, Eleanor, I'm just your
old guardian-a sort of old friend, you
know, and you were glad 1 had come
back SAFE"
20, Captain Mark" said Eleanor.
shaking with helpless laughter which
disconnected him still more; and yet
he thought her lashes were wet with
tears. Captain Mark, are you really
going to make me say it?"
"Say what, my dear?"
"That 1t ought to have been you"
"But you mustn't let that worry you,
Eleanor. It's often done in such cases
Il just thought you were too old to
kiss. You know, wanted to"
80 thank you. thank you said Flea
nor YEARLY. Captain Mark, you dear,
absurd guardian Of mine, 1 see you
| TO
love you. and have loved you only, and
nobody but you, all through my life,
from the time I got your first letters to
the time you came to see me at the
Misses Harpers' school, and from then
to now"
Mark looked at her In incredulous
Joy; he was no longer capable OF feel
ing establishment. but it all seemed like
a happy dream, unreliable but. while 1t
lasted, dear beyond all imagining.
.The Colonel knew it. And-Others.
Everybody did but you. And do you
know why have told you what I've
often pinched myself to keep from tell
ing you? Because you loved me with
out exactly knowing it"
"But did know 1t, my DEAR"
without exactly knowing it, and
when you admitted a little bit of 1t to
yourself you were prompted to commit
those foolish acts, to be so rude to me
and hurt me so much. But woman Is
never deceived. She always knows. /
knew"
"My DEAR" said Mark solemnly, 'you
have been everything in the world to
me since that very first day outside
Santiago"
"Of course have. AS you have been
to me. And that is why told you, so
that we two should not be unhappy all
our lives. You see, dear Captain Mark.
it isn't as If you didn't care for me. II
had cared and you hadn't, I should
have hidden my feelings and never let
you dream Of them, and you never
would have. SO it's really you who
have told me all this, and I've just
been interpreting your thoughts, be-
cause all I did just now was to tell
you what you wanted to tell me with
out knowing that you wanted to tell
me what you did want all the time.
Isn't that so. Captain Mark?"
"Yes," answered Mark, feeling COM
pletely ut sea, but incapable of contra.
dieting anything that Eleanor chose to
say.
isn't that so, Mark. dearT
"Ot course it u.s." said Mark.
$50 you have actually told me that
YOU care Tor me, and you war me to
give you my answer. Is that wat you
want me to understand, 'Saptain
Mark7"