The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1919-06-27

informed Maud that her husband had
been violating the game law and
would have 70 serve q Life ip1prison:
ment. Maud. In spite OF hef ardent
suffrage principles, was quite ignor-
ant OF the law and before she recog.
nized Uncle Jake In the heavily false
bearded person, she had offered him
her entire worldly wealth II he would
go away and say nothing TO the au.
thorities concerning Rodneys guilt.
Then on the day that she went fish
ing with him he contrivcd to have her
hook attach itself TO a little package
that he had brought with him to the
brook and which proved, after Maud
had excitedly angled for five minutes,
TO contain q can Of sardines-a deli
macy for which she had q decided
aversion and OF which Rodney and I'm.
Gle Jake. not knowing this, had set IN
large supply.
Mild and even, stupid Jokes both OF
these-yet Maud allowed herself to be
annoyed by them.
He's dear In many ways" she
told Rodney, the evening after the
sardtne episode, but so long as he
JOKES cannot 5tHnd htm.
y wasn't going TO tell you" Rodney
replied, "but you see It Is Just because
Uncle Jake does Joke that I'm DO at.
tached 70 him. II he hadn't been a
Joker, you'd now be Mrs. Somebody
else and I'd be.a disconsolate old bach
elor."
1t was in midsummer and Maud
the eighteen.year-old Maud who mont.
ed very archly then and still wore her
curls merely tied In the back Of her
neck instead of In the present psyche
was four or five hundred miles
away from Rodney, who was working
In the city in the office OF the Uncle
Jake who had not yet found occasion
TO retire.
Rodney had danced with Maud and
sent flowers to Maud on occasions, Just
as dozen others had done, and as he
had done to dozen or 30 besides. OF
course he thought she was pretty, and
when there were other men trying to
put their names on her dance order
Rodney was always as eager as the
others.
But it had never occurred to him
that he might want to marry her. In
fact. Rodney-in spite of twenty-five
years-had never thought very much
about wanting to marry anybody.
But Maud at eighteen had definite.
ly made up her mind, that lurked some.
where beneath those soft brown curls.
that she did want to marry, and that
she wanted to marry Rodney Blaine,
thought she would have died rather
than to have let any one suspect this.
She had convinced herself-and at
eighteen one convinced oneself of such
matters quite easily-that there was
no hope. She had smiled and pouteo
as archly for Rodney as she had for
Tom and Bill and Walter, and Tom
and Bill and Walter had all in their
own way let Maud know that they
found her distracting and that they
dreamed of no greater happiness than
to be her slaves for life.
But Rodney had made no such pro.
testations and, though he always ask
ed for dances when he was about, he
managed to dance with other pretty
girl If she refused him.
Maud had thought 1t all out in her
eighteen-yearold mind. She was
quite sure that the case was hopeless
and that she herself had arrived at
the place where she must decide be-
tween a life of resinged spinsterdom
or the alternative of marrying the man
she merely liked.
This was Walter, Walter who had
come up to her mothers country place
o'press his suit with considerable per.
sistence. Maud had assured Walter