Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-11-29
ne. ! am asking your consent TO marry
Ter. I'believe II is still customary

ah--I may say tentatively engaged.
am sorry for you. Perhaps 1t would be
Just as we'll II you did not walt for her
to come In. She will be"
Mrs. spofford, I am obliged to con-
foss TO you that I have already spoken
TO Miss Clinton, and / may add that
she is not tentatively engaged. She has
promised to be my wife"
She drew back as IL struck. She was
silent for many seconds.
IL would appear that my consent Is
not necessary, Mr.. Percival." she said at
last: why do you come to me?'
. Because. while you may not suspect
stiniy.
She received this with slight nod OF
the head and no more. ~
My niece, no doubt In her excitement,
has neglected to ask you one or two
very important questions" she said lev
ely. First Of all, have you any means
,,5ssnlS OF convincing US that you do not already
He started. you are right" he said.
That Is an important question. and she
has not asked 1t. l have no means or
convincing you that have never been
honor is the only thing can offer"
She regarded him narrowly. DO you
consider that sufficient, Mr.. Percival?"'
Il do" said he simply. She waited
pressed by his failure 10 do so. So far
as he was concerned, there was nothing
more to be added.
How are we to know what your pas,
life contains? Yeu may have left your
homeland In disgrace, you may even
have been fugitive from justice. We
nave no means Of knowing. You were n
stowaway on board the Doraine. That
much at least, wo do know We know
nothing more. You are smart, you are
cieVer. surely you must see yourself
that under other circumstances under
Sorinal conditions. my niece would not
have condescended to notice you, Mr..
percival. We are on an undiscovered
,-:and, remote from the environment. the
society. the" =
Permit me to remind you Mrs Spof-
ford. he interrupted, a trife coldly,
mat you just remarked that you know
nothing whatever about me. Isn't It
barely, possible that NY life may contain
something desirable in the shape OF
FAMILY. position and environment"
Il recall that Mr. Gray did speak of
knowing, tho Perclval family. My niece
lever allows me to forget It." ,,
>, Mr.. Gray did not know my family,
lie knew of my family, Mrs. Spofford, X
that conveys anything to you. Not that
they would not have been proud to have
known him. for he was gentleman. As
Tor my own case. I can only say that ]
am not fugitive from justice nor have
| done anything more disgraceful than
the average young man who has been
through college and who, ignoring the
counsel of his father, proceeds to find
cut for himself the same things that his
iather had found out great many years
betore-and his father before him, and
50 on back to the beginning of man Ny
great-grea t-grandfather on my mothers
SIDE was n comparatively recent settler
IN America. He didn't come over from
scotland until about 1850. My father's
people came over IN the days of Lord
Baltimore. Most of my remote ances-
tors were very wicked men. You VIII
ana that one of them was executed In
~ Il lNW, -.I.
Lady Jane Grey went to her death. and
another was openly In love with Mistress
Nell Gwyn, thereby falling into disgrace
Win monarch named Charles. ad-
nit that / come OF very bad stock"
A fleeting twinkle lurkod in her eyes.
You arc very adroit. Mr.. Percval."
which Is as much as to say that
have an agreeable. and interesting way
or lying. Is that what YOU wish to
imply. Mrs. Spofford?"
mot at all. I say you are adroit be-
cause you place me In an embarrassing
position. II 1 believe your confession
that you come of bad stock, I must also
believe that you come Of an exceedingly
very low. MY niece. Mr.. PercivaI. is an
orphan. I am and have been her protec-
tor since she was fourteen years OF ags
She ia the possessor of large fortune
in her own right. Her father-who was
my brOther-gave her into my care
when he was on his death-bed. 1 leave
you to surmIse Just what were his dying
words to mo She was his idol. I have
not failed him In any respect. You ask
me to give my consent TO your marriage.
! cannot do so. No doubt you will be
married, just as you have planned. Shs
loves you. | have known II for months.
| have seen this day and hour coming
yes, ] have seen it even more clearly
than she, for while she struggled desper-
ately to deceive herself she has never
been able to deceive me. You are n
strong, attractive man. The glamour of
mystery rests upon you. You have done
rrodIgious deeds here, Mr.. Perclval. All
Of this recognize, and should bo unfair
to my own sense Of honor were | to deny
you my respect and gratitude. must be
fair. Fear has been the cause of my
sir, but fear for my niece Now I am
confronted by the Inevitable. The thing
have tried so hard TO avoid has come
to pass. In these circumstances, ! am
forced 10 confess that ] have not been
without a real, true admiration for you.
admit that have felt a great security
with you in command OF our camp. But,
even so, you are not the man | would
have chosen to be Ruth's husband. The
time Is surely coming when we will be
delivered from this island prison. when
we will return to the life and the people
and the conditions we knew before ca
am thinking of that time, Mr. Percivat,
and not of the present. / fear my niece
is thlnkins only of the present and not
of the future"
He had listoned with grave Difference.
Forgive mo II ! appear importinent,
Mrs Spofford, but Is II not, after ALL the
past you are thinking about?"
' She did not answer at once His ques-
ton had startled her
Youth does not 1.-Two in tho past" he
1T deals only with the present. I,
love Ruth ClintOn-,-I love her with the
love man can feel for
woman,
island. il w we arc fatcd 10 spend the
rest Of our lives here, 1t will endure To
tha end"
; You are speaking for yourself" she
said. can YOU speak for Ruth?"
can you" lie added boldly, THAT is
what I meant when / asked II you were
not thinking chiefly OF the past. 1 can
but | can say this: sho loves me now,
aa love her, and in her heart she has
ago-that her love Will endure"
IL daresay | do think more OF the
past than OF the present, MIR. PerCival
You are right about the future. 1t Is
q blank page, to ho glorihed or soIled by
what is set down upon It, Fate has
thrown you two together was so writ
ten In the past that you you despise.
A single turn of the mysterious wheel
Of fortune brought you into her life.
Half a turn--the matter of minutes
and you would never have seen each
other and you would have gone your
&c parate ways to the end OF time
without even knowing that tho other
existed. No doubt you both contend that
you cannct live without each other. 1t
is the usual wall Of lovers. But are
you would have perlshod II you had
never seen each other?'
The note OF irony did not escape him.
He smiled. "In that case, Mrs. Spof-
ford. We should not have existed at
ALL"
s,hn rhnnl. hnr hnnl donnn L.I..-.I..