Evening star., 1919-03-16

secret marriage to Jack Morton. But
Keep on rerurring-at least until she
mad fnally won out. And there was
the eVer-present danger that her hus-
band. and her husbands father. might
somehow learn who Mary Regan was
and had been. And there was the
elder Morton, eager in his amorous
suit. And there was Peter Loveman.
who might any time. to serve his own
ends. proceed swiftly upon some
course that would mean disaster for
her.
And then. there We're those queer
feelings which had been stirring In
her since Maisie Jones. a choke in her
voice. had called har fin.--wonderfui.
and since Maisie. loving Jack. had
declared Mary had proved that she
would make far the better wife for
Jack. Mary did not understand these
them, and she tried to force. them out
Of her being. But despite this effort
there We're fear stricken moments
when. with all her dangers she felt
that she could not even count upon
herself.
The next morning she called up
Jack. telling him where she was. He
could telephone her as often as he
liked. she told him. if he would be
careful to speak only when he was
alone.
But she forbade him coming to see
her: that would be unsafe. as he might
be followed: Jack protested against
this order, but she was Arm. and at
length he gave his promise.
AS the days passed. days when she
thoughts and Jacks telephone mes
sages. she reasoned herself out of the
influence of those strange feelings be-
gotten by the behavior and the words
Of Maisie Jones tat least she believed
she did, and she reached n clearer
conception Of herself Cor believed she
did and of what must be her future
procedure. And the way she saw her
self, her plans. her motives. was any
thing but unfavorable. She was just
like most other women She wanted
position. yes--She wanted money, yes;
and she was getting them in exactly
the same way that the most proper
and honored women were winning
them. by playing her cards rs wo-
man. As for what she was hiding
well. wasn't all the world hiding
something? She was merely doing
what all were doing.
~ She Shea. came ns to see. see herssfdsspits the
her end---as making a fgure as a wife
that Jack would be proud Of before
the world. As Jacks wife she was
going to give him her best No mans
wife was going to he better gowned
and no wife could do more than she
with the will and the brains which
she knew she had. to hold her hus-
band up to the standards expected Of
a man OF large affairs. Later. after
she hade made Jack into a real man.
and through that service had somehow
managed to get Jacks father recon-
ciled. and after she had thoroughly
established herself with them and az
y noteworthy fgureNin their circle
later she would tell them Just who
she was and what she had been, and
by that time Mr.. Morton would recog-
nixe that she was the one woman In
the world who could have brought
and could still hold. Jack to such a
position OF worldly success
Thus she thought: as the lonely
days went by. But as more and more
she saw Jack az the foundation OF
her plan. so more and more did she
see him In another possible aspect
This second possibility grew to be her
chief concern.
All this while her mind had bAen
reverting again ard again to Ciif-
ford. After a time clifford and her
dominating concern began to be link
ed t"Rether Al t,Iength there came a