Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-02-20
And So They
Were Married
BY HAZEL DEYO BATCHELOR
Copvrfoht, 1879, bv Public LEDGER Co.


RuTH oecided wisely 10 pre'eno W"
ire disinterest IN the matter ""e
told Scott innocently enough that she
had besitat ed about speaking plainly be- |
,.r. o,h
Ho''er "oulo nave pIa'heu 'o"'
suplained. "She disapproved of my go
ing Mt ALL II Won will remember"
=,
es pu't0
scott wondered it Ruth feally careu
70 little about the thing or If she were
ob,nsi,s yto b,sued himself bitterly
-, =, ,,, ,o,
LOT '"c part he hao plaEe" III '"0 mo
ter. Somehow he felt estranged Nom
Ruth. She was not the kind CT a Woman
,,.r,r,o Buth vas
.''0 e"''-o -
no ienlale vampire OF any thi"s oL '"'e
kind. She was a healthy. normal girl
she ,r.s "a nrodlct Of well-to-do parents.
,., -s..,,.. ,,..,,.t,. SO,
careluiiy hurtureu' careiu'iE oio"e"' "p
and with n mid-Ntctorian mother as an
example Therefore. too quick an alb
..r,,,or r-.sor+- -da,, fo,,iuism would
-, r..,,. .,t.i,,,
Us au''e "hely 10 ie"'e 'i
stoned and slightly callous. scott had
been too Young to realize this at first.
r,,, ,,., ,ro,,, an overape home
' -. ,,,,,,.
a girl VINO mas never had 10 "orN' ""''S
her in the conventional way TO a man
with different ideas about women, man
who through contact with women in a
cornradely fashion in the shell-torn VIE
lagos of France, has formed a different
ideal of friendship, and who without
much explanation or preamble has tired
these ideals on his wife by accepting ner
pretty much as another man. In france
there had been no time for romance
women had had no time to be feminine
save in their keener perceptions and their
ability to be tender.
And here was Ruth, just such a girl,
plunged into a totally different life from
the one she had been living. Here she
was given credit for QUALITIES sne uIo
not possess here sue was stl sItns "
meet Scouts ideals, Hhakihs li.se' s0e,
puarrelinG because she 'ileu ~ t,ea.
ately 10 save her pIlue' an" , .d3
SUN unconNinced uiiue,iie"ln. , tne
not want W oe ,ca,eu lI"e ' ,as.iooi
she did not want always 10 oe US.
ana reasohaolei sIie W"ilteu W pe ~
anish, not essehtialiy Woillairs .
wanted 10 pc pet'eu anu spoiiTu 90 al..'
made a lot or ana she Wahteu al, .nesS
attentions 10 coile l'oi,, $50 49,,
all she wanted scott an 10 hersei,, ai., .
inasmuch as she leII thdt ne couIu - ~
see things her way sne was 81 We ..7'. : iIt+e
hard to adopt ms ways ana was l'ot e!.-
Joying 1t at all h'urtherluore, '..c' "Ie
some women VINO catiiot nsne Ne, ,te,,
frlends asioe IRON tlvI, ~, -,
Ruth 1t was imposslpIe 10 De pi,',ollI.' t,
TO be merely frlendi!. her io.e Io' 80.
had deepened her entire nature put A.
hau leit her more ueLsH9eieSS s
other men than she had ever neen pelore
IN her IRE, lhere was al ~ .slo',n ,r,a,,
peal about her that was more uiall .
friendiy: IN tne oIuInaI ,.I. cDa,, ,an
OF lire, frlendshipS shareu WIN 80. 80, - ~
instance, this would not be SO hoticeaple,
but a iriendship' IKE t"e olle sne a, na"
with NICK larson hau pei9ohai H"''
ity that was dangerous
It was Ruth herseif VINO urged scout
TO 20 out the week following the one in
which so much had happened. They had
grown to tacitly agree on one evening
during the week when Scott could feel
free to 60 where he liked. Ruth never
played n part on those evenings. She
never wanted u free evening, az Scott
did. She never wanted 10 be entirely
free to do as she liked, out she telt that
she had to pretend that she did in order
to save her pride. What a ptiful little
farce II was
The conversation began casually. Ruth
said at dinner pleasantly enough. Have
you some nice plans for tonight"
mo. Suppose you and 80 to show.
We haven't been since I've been up"
"I couldn't tonight, Scott. ! have an
engagement"
This had been thought up on the spur
of the moment Six weeks back it would
have been impossible for Ruth to be so
casually untruthful.
when did you make it?" Scott asked
impulsively.
Let me see" Ruth pretended that
she was trying to remember back, and
she did It well. "Oh, I don't know just
when, several days back" She made no
effort TO tell him frankly what it was
and she hoped he would not ask. She
hated to tell a direct lie; the other was
NOT so had