The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1919-04-04

.
gasped in surprise.
"You were planning to be married
In church,"
"such funny questionsl Yes, Of
course"
''Why?''
'Oh, it wouldn't be nice not to-"
'You don't believe in divorce, then7"
ooh yes-yes, indeed-if people
don't get along together. think it's
wicked for people to live together if
they don't love each other"
Its love. then, that makes mar
riage sacred?'
ayes. Yes, indeed! OF counsel"
SIS it all right for two people who
are not Christians to live together ac-
cording to their creeds?''
"How do you meanY"
"Well, the people who lived before
there were any Christians-or people
who never heard of Christianity-was
it all right for them to marry?''
"Of course"
"It's not any one formula, then, that
makes marriage all right?"
"Of course not, it's the-the"
'"The loveY
81 think SO. It's hard to explain"
Everything is, isn't it?"
Terribly"
There was more silence. He took
a cigar from his pocket, held it be-
fore her for permission. She said,
"Please." He struck a match. She
glanced at his face in the little lime
light of the match. It was very hand
some. A pearl of drowsy luster
cleaned in the soft folds Of his tie.
The hands sheltering the match were
splendid hands.
She watched the cigar fire glow and
fade and the little turbulent smoke
wells float into the air and die. One
of them formed wreath, a strange.
frail, writhing circlet of blue filaments.
1t drifted past her and she put her fin
ger into it-her ring-fnger by some
womanly instinct.
7 "Now you're married to me-" said
Duane.
There was sudden movement of
his hands as if to seize upon her. She
recoiled little; his hands did not
pursue her. They went back to the
steering wheel and chung to it fierce
ly. She turned from his eyes, but he
gazed at her cheek, and she could feel
the blood stirring there in blush.
IF you loved me, would you marry
met" he said.
81 love I'm going to marry.
somebody else"
When?"
"Some day"
eff you're not happy with him, will
you leave him?"
''Oh, but I'll be happy with him."
$50 many people have said that !!
You've seen how seldom it worked.
If you ceased to love him, or he you,
would you leave him?"
eff is large order. Maybe"
Wouldn't it be wiser if two people
who thought they loved could live to-
gether for a while before they mar
ried?"
She felt her muscles set as if she
would rise and run away from such
words. t'Mr. Duane don't think it's
nice even to be talking of such things.
Besides it's growing late.'
sits not so late as it would be if
you married a man and found that
your marriage was CHASTITY mistake"
Hadn't we better start back?"
''Please don't leave me just yet.
This is very solemn to me. I've been
studying you a long time, trying to
get you out of my mind, and only get
ting you deeper in my heart. I love
you"
81 don't believe it,"
II know it."
s"Then you oughtn't to tell me-"
"Not tell a woman you love her?
Not try to save her from wrecking her
life and my own?"
"How wrecking my-her life?"
81 believe that if you marry Clay
Wimburn you'll be unhappy. He can't
give you home. He can't buy you
clothes. He can't support you.'
sThat's not his fault, just now
with the hard times and the war.
Please let's go home"
"To my home?"
That insolence was too appalling to
answer, or even to gasp at, or protest
against. 1t stunned her. He took adj
vantage of her daze to explain, hur-
riedly:
'You're not going to be one of those
silly, Old-fashioned idiot girls that a
man can't talk to earnestly and frank
ly, are you now? OF course you're
not. You're not one of those poor
things whose virtue consists in being
insulted every time anyone appeals to
their intelligence. are you? No, you're
a fine, brave soul, and you want to
know the trnth about truth, and so do
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