Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-06-12
THE LOVE GAMBLER
BY Virginia Terhune Van de Water

David DeLaine caught his breath
paler.
MY past!" te ealiood.
Yes she began, 'abont YOU
having BEEN
| She paused. A light football IL
the hall above warned her tina
/ Norah or one of the ether maid:
might be listening.
'Wait-step in here" she ordered
leading the way into the drawing
! room.
| David DeLaine had not been ii
this room before. Even now he gave
| it only a passing glance. But in tha
! stance he saw that the apartment
was large, that there was a granC
| piano here, that the polar-bear rus
! lay on the floor and that the furni
ture was upholstered in a soft sha i,
! of blue. He looked anxiously at the
! slender girl in the midst of these
| luxurious furnishings.
He had a peculiar feeling, as If hi
and she were together amid sur
roundings to which both had beer
boin: that Trey had thrown off the
DISCUSSES they had assumed TOWARD
each other and were the David DE-
! Laine and Desiree Leighton whom
| Aunt Jeanne had loved and longeC
to make happy.
Something clicked in his brain a.
the shutter clicks in a camera, anc
he remembets, that this was :G;
daughter of his employer and ht
but a common chauffeur; moreover
that she had referred to his past
and that he had been startled by
this reference. She must not sus'
pect who he was!
With an effort he spoke. "My
past?" he repeated interrogatively
Yes" she replied gently. my
father told me that you did not wish
the fact that you had been in the
service known by outsiders. He sug.
gested that you shrank from people
enough to be in the army-that you
are rather ashamed of what yol
call your accident"
She waited for him to confirm OF
deny this statement He did neither
So" she went on, Il can guess why
you pretended to be Irish to-day.
In spite of her seriousness. a little
smile curved her lips as she looked
at David and fancied his posing as a
full -blooded Irishman.
He saw the smile. His own lips
twitched and his eyes twinkied
Thank you," he said, for under
standing"
David Thinks Fast
He was thinking fast. He had net
supposed that she would put this in
depreciation upon his tactics with
regard to Jefferson. He had feared
that she would suspect that he was
trying to conceal his identity for
-1,n
attributed to him. He drew a breath
of relief. For the present, his secret
was safe so far as she was con-
cerned.
WAS that all you wish to say
to me?" she queried.
Then he recalled his reason for
asking her to give him few min
utes for explanation.
NO, Miss Leighton. First of all,
want to apologize TO you for
causing you any discomfort or an
noyance by my action"
"I do not understand" she re-
joined. mystified for the moment.
You see," he explained, IT could
not help overhearing what Mr.. Je-
what that gentleman said about me
and I also heard your reply. II
was most kind of yoa to try to
excuse my seeming lack of patri-
otism, and 1 regret that I made
such explanation necessary
She was regarding him lntently,
and he saw creeping into her eyes
an expression of surprise that re-
minded him that he was addressing
her as an equal. In his earnestness
he was letting slip his assumed
manner. "I mean" he floundered on,
that for a servant to make it nee
essary for lady to explain his posi-
tion is. to say the least, most pre-
sumptuous. And I wanted to beg
your pardon, miss"
She smiled. but it was an arti-
fetal smile, lacking in humor.
"I see what yon mean, Smith. II
shows very good feeling oil your
part to wish to say all this. BuI
really it was not necessary"
He backed toward the door
THANK you. miss. / hope I may not
be so inconsiderate another time
He had reached the front door
when her voice reached his ears
again.
A Clint of Humor
Smith" she said, coming out into
the hall, 'if any one else asks you
EN- mbarrassing questions - such as
MT. JeHeTSOH must nave asked TO
move you to do what you did-just
pretend you are Irish, if you like
or French. or any other nationality
except, of course, do not pretend
to be Germanw
Again she smiled, and this time
there was a CLEAN of genuine mirth
in the dark eyes. The chauffeur's
face lighted. and he laughed softly.
THANK youl" he murmured. IT
will remember. But hope net 10
have to impose upon your kindness
to such an extent again. It was
almost objectionable.
When he had gone and closed the
door behind him, the girl stood still
for several minutes, her lips com
pressed. her brows drawn together.
She was thoroughly puzzied--no.
only by David's manner. but by her
own mental attitude. $40 hal al
ways sneered at women who joked
and talked freely with their chauf-
feurs4--and yet she had actually en-
joyed this little talk with Smith.