The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1919-10-01
When Rhoda
Atoned
R JACK LAYTON


had grown up among them, and many
remembered the days Of his eare-free
boyhood, Paul had among them No In
innate or eonfidaRt Even a natural
affection for the opposite sex seemed
to have been denied him.
Paul, falling iAto the succeeding Ane
Of lawyers iM his family, took Mp the
business where his father laid IL down,
and moAsstly started upSn his career,
with neither alteration Asr improve
meat Of the old, wGfi-known ofice. But
I'm PauIs practice there was this differ
enee, money was not an important fac
ter; his ambition was 70 remedy mat
tiers where most needed. And his free
RoRgultationS were N great benefit to
0s countryside. The housekeeper
who prepared PauPs meals in the IN
changed home Of his father spoke ad-
mirinEly Of his sweet and patient dis
position.
Many maideAs who secretly admired
his Ane dark eyes and the Whitening
wavy hair on his forehead, sighed dis
eensolately at his tndiRsrence. PaWl's
distinguished bearing and manner Of
speech must always bring to him an
: admiratioA. neither SOught nOr desired.
Rhcda CMruth, iM her stately man
sion at the end Of the towns avenue,
had come the nearest to winning
PaHl's friendship. But as years
passed even that friendship seemed to
drift into a sort OF perfanctory &C
Quaintance.
It vas not strange that Paul's inter
est to his tSwnSpeople remained.
! RhOda was altogether charming; even
| now with her hrst youth past, the
charm remained. And Rhoda was
wealthy, sole heir to her Aunt
/ Agatha's fortune.
One evening, when the early moon
! light turned the tall poplars to stl-
| yer, Rhoda came forth In her white
gown and, descending the broad stone
| steps Of her home, walked swiftly
down the long street to where q MgAt
still burned In Paul WeNster's eAiee
window. And when she had climbed
the narrow stair 20 his door, she stood
breathless and pale, awaiting his ap-
| Dearance. Paul, too, was pale when
NE saw her there, but he bowed eour-
te0uRly aS she stated her Srrand.
"T have c0me," said Rheda, ''to have
yea straightsn out some property pa
pera. I am going to-dispOse Of my
home"
"Your home" echoed Paul. Ab-
sently he drew fsrth q chair, and
Ehoda sat down and looked into his
eyes. It was very long since they had
sat like this. Paul arose abruptly.
Rhoda smiled.
II WISH" she said, ''to donate my
home for q city hospital, and you, to
arrange the matter Wait" she inter
Eupted Paul's evident intention to
| speak. 81 want to explain myself"
'You, who knew me: lin my girlhood,
will remember Aant AgStha's eompIete
dominion over n1e. There were those
who put a false construction upon my
doeility, believing the hope Of obtain
| ing aunt's property to be nay motive.
But this was never SO. Only one I'm
my place could realize the penalty Of
disobedience to her wishes. In one Of
auRt's frightful hysterical attacks
don't know what else to call them
annoyance or disregard for her will
would be sure to bring on q spasm
which might last for hours, leaving
both her physician and myself ex-
hausted. And so-when fell I'm love
not with q girls passing fancy, bHt
, MS q woman must love bat once and
forever, failed TO acknowledge the
truth to my aunt, knowing that her
wish was to keep me free-unmar-
ried, as she had been, and the con-
tinued dispenser OF her charities
But-my lover was also dominating
and his cause was just.
i Impatient ut my dsllying, he tool
!. me with him one summer day to q
country parsonage, and-we were mar
ried. You see, / cannot yet speak OF
J, that time without a break in my voice
and tears il my eyes. I loved him
so, yet like one other traitor-I had
denied him within the hour. Master
fully my husband announced the fact
of our marriage standing beside my
!. Aunt's chair, and while her face al
ready growing nvid turned to mine
: denied the truth-poer, fearful
trembling coward that 1 was. My
husband had gone, would have calleC
him back. But the shocking announce
ment brought on one OF aunt's pro
longed attacks. And-when she had
gone, they read to me the will. Be
cause of my allegiance to her, i was
sole heir to her fortune.
When my husband heard, he DO
Iieved what all had believed before
him but with deeper reason. I wal
, so despicable in his sight that my let
tiers to him came back unopened, anC
no soul, save an old country minister
ever knew Of our marriage. So now
Paul. come TO you TO help me to dis
pose Of that which was never right
fully mine"
The weman's voice ended tremu
lousy, while the man with tense face
leaned toward her.
and then, Rhoda?" he added gent
ly. what will you do? Could you still
care for this man whose hurt was 81