Americus times-recorder., 1919-11-11
SANDRA is SHOCKED BY ALET
TER FROM ROSE.
CHAPTER CXXII.

| had another long letter from
Rose Kemp. My heart ached as
read it, and tears filled my eyes. Of
ten during the reading I had to wipe
them away so that l could see the
words.
Dear Sandra: The end has come |!
l am about to leave Walter. l can
endure no more. l have suffered so
that l feel old. Oh, so old. And
L look old too, which in his ewes is
unforgivable. He has been so open
in his affairs, that I can no longer
retain a shred of respect and live
with him. l might have known that
marriage begun in deceit-it was
deceit when l did not tell father and
mother, or you-would end in fail
ure. But loved him so, Sandra. I
was afraid I would lose him if | did
not do as he asked. l knew his rep
utation, spoke to him about it. But
he swore he never had loved as he
loved me and that was the reason he
had been called a philanderer; that
now he loved me, he would never
stray again.
81, little fool that | was, believed
him. He was handsome, he made
love SO wonderfully. was his angel,
his heaven" I WINGED at the express
sion, 'his little love, and thousand
other things that I longed to hear,
and that l believed he meant.
"The sad, the awful part of it all
is that l still love him-still love to
hear him say those very things he
said when he was urging me to marry
him, Now l KNOW he doesn't mean
them, yet l shut my eyes and my
mind and try to comfort myself that
he does think a little of me.
81 think. Sandra, that men who
protest too much are never men of
deep feeling, Walter protested over
much. He is shallow, and without
honor-with women-as | wrote you
before. 1t is strange what a queer
angle some people have on things,
isn't it? Walter has the name here in
Chicago, as he had in Hendon, of
being strictly honorable in business.
His word is considered as good as
his bond among men of affairs. Yet
he will lie to wheedle, and cajole one
woman after another without the
slightest conjunction.
"Once | told him | wished he would
meet some woman whom he REAL
LY loved, and that she would treat
him exactly as he had me. What do
you think he said? That he was
love-proofv Then he went on; 4
did love one woman, but she was as
inaccessible as the stars. Because
she had the bad taste to love her
husband
"Can you imagine anything more
cruel than that speech? Someway
l have always thought he liked you,
Sandra. Do you suppose, just be-
cause he knew he couldn't have you,
he imagined himself in love with
you? But he couldn't really be in
love with anyone but Walter Kemp.
II know you will regret that I am
so miserably unhappy. l have writ
ten father; told him the whole story
of repentance on my part; of the ne
glect and unhappiness caused be-
cause | was so selfish, so, self-willed.
But | also tried to make him under
stand how dearly I loved Walter.
Dear old dad, he DID understand
and there is nothing but love and
at home for me. He
wrote me to come at once and he
would attend to all details for a di-
yorce if l still wanted one. | DO
want one at times; then at other
times I feel that if l free Walter l
never can be happy again, because l
will have lost all hold on happiness
when | lose him. / cannot eat or
sleep, | am so miserable. Perhaps
f l leave him for few weeks, he
will miss me and want me back. l
,hink l shall try that. will go home
although it will be hard to face the
girls and~boys if they know, and see
what happens.
81 think of you often, dear San
1ra, you and your husband and that
precious baby. How wonderful it
must be to be married to a man who
loves you, thinks of you-instead of
one who neglects and embarrasses
you. Love from your unhappy
Rose"
"Poor Rose~ l said as l laid the