Jackson County journal., 1919-02-21
CHAPTER Ili-Continued.

MIR. Gassett smiled. "Not old Wes-
les Kip's girl?"
Il believe / did hear Miss Kip call
gar father Wesley"
We'll, I'd like to help Yves out. I |
suppose ] might take a chance. Do |
YOU think you can pay for the ring in |
ninety days?"
Easily"
Wimbnrn would have promised to
,ear down the world and rebuild it in
llnety days.
u shall have to add a little to the
9rlce for the risk and the accommodate
,!on."
anything you like" said Clay mag
p.hcently.
Call it two hundred dollars.'
Certainly" One could hardly
auggle over an engagement ring.
I'm ask you to sign little docu-
uent."
with pleasure"
He would have signed an agreement
10 surrender a pound of his flesh.
Clay hurried out to find Daphne and
,asten on her the glittering gyve.
BE might have taken further alarm
rom the immense and greedy rapture
Daphne revealed at the sight of the
certified dew,lrop set in the golden
sirclet. Women are all misers when
Il comas to diamonds.
WiDiburn noted only the joy the
oauble gave to Daphne. and the pretty
submiSSiveness with which she poked
out her slender finger and Slid it into
the fetter. He felt that the kiss of
atiiance was worth years of hard labor.
1t was hard and bitter to rend their
remented hearts in twain, but he had
20 90 at last. She floated him to the
station in the little car and waved him
through the iron paling. She was un-
imaginably precious and pitiful as she
stood there, and he wanted to blubber
when the vestibule was slammed shut
and the train slid out of the station
ike a merciless snake.
DE vowed that he would work with
he strength of ten and pile up for
tune in the bank for her. But first
he must pile up enough to pay for that
solitaire.
Clay wrote Daphne a fat letter ev
cry day. He usually sneaked it ir
among his business correspondent,
and took great pains that it SHOULD
never miss the Lake Shore limited a
tiye-thirty in the afternoon. A spe
IA a1 Jol; e+n ho /,
Daphnes hands every next forenoon
But after the letter had gone h.
usually remembered that he had omit
Ted to include some message of fright
fully important urgence. So he ha
TO send her every night night letter
and frequently of mornings he mus
fire off a day letter. These cost Onl
sixty cents apiece, but often he ha
10 send them in double or tripl
length.
For occasions where time was ye
more unendurable there was the telt
phone-a pittance of three dollars an
twenty-five cents for the first thre
minutes, and a dollar and five cent
FOR each additional minute or fractio
thereof would bring his lips to Dapl
ne's ear.
From the little rubber mouth Of tt
receiver her voice came to him {
from a distant star by interplanetal
Communication. The sense of remOt
ness was unbearable. She seemed
be dead and wailing across eternit
Clay Wimburn was in complete di
tresS. His health wavered and his
tice work suffered till it won rebuk
and threats from his chiefs and col
nent even from Bayard Kip, wi
never suspected and was never told
Wimburn's infatuatiOn for his sistt
With lovers logic Wimburn pc
suaded himself that the only one WI
could save him from destruction w
Daphne. With her married and a
and ensconced in little nest in Ne
York, he could take up his office tas
with a whole heart. SO he began
write, and to telegraph, and to gro
across the living wire wilder a
wilder cries for help.
Daphne wept back and repaid
l0ngings In kind and suffered hea
rending ecstasies of yearning. A
finally she promised frantically
marry him without further delay.
With a desire to econOmize in p'
she broke the double news to her t
parents at the same time, telling tn
both that she was engaged and Il
she was about to wed.
They were stunned. They had ne
experienced suspicion of the &C
state of Daphne's heart affairs. II
really astounding how blind pare
are to their children's activities {
how much can go on under their no
Without catching their heavy eyes.
Daphne easily brOwbeat her fat
and mother into consenting to