Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-03-19
THE GIRL WHO
SMILED THROUGH
By Marion Rubaneam.
Ccnvr,put. George Matthew Adams.
WHEN DAVID CAME.
Chapter So.

Chapter 80.
As for David, no one ever iouna NM
self in a moro curious position.
An his life he had been slngiiariy IN
d;ff.rert to oirIs. To be sure, the English
.r;ris ,v;,b their marvelously healthy skins
and the;r ready comradeship had attract
ad him somewhat, but only as friends. He
had never felt sentimental towards
any Of them. When he travelled, 1T was the
art Galleries rather than the social life
M tho various countries that appealed
to him. His first real acquaintance with
american girls came with college, tor
the school he attended was co-educatonal.
Rut even then, his mind had been abb
sorbed with work, and the girls played a
minor part in his interests.
Then his opportunity came to put
into practise the theories he had been
studying. He was to take position as
instructor and rs one of the ovrr-seers,
on the Model Farm which the state. was
opening as an inspiration towards scientit-
ic farming. This work had brought him
in contact with Mr.. Joyce, from whom
the state had purchased the farm, and
through Clara he had met Alice.
81 never knew q girl like her, he con-
fessed to Clara one June night shortly
after the meeting. 'She has the incest
ewes. They laugh all the time she talks
There never was a girl ike Alice,
Clara answered enthusiastically And she
told him briefly the story OF her chum
the fathers death, the mothers IN
yalidism the tiny income that could only
be made to reach by the utmost economy.
And she manages to make little on the
side. Clara said II don't see how she
does it. OF course, she could take posi-
ton. and help that way, and when hcr
mother grows better, she w,ll-hut just
now $40 week is considered fair salary
in this small town, and she would nave
to pay almost that to . woman TO look
after her mother. =,
"Yes, Alice is 8 rare cresture, Mr.
.Jovce remarked ''She is the happiest
girl we know, and has least cause TO be
so She wins her way with everyone
with a smile. I could tell you of hundred
cases where her cheerful laugh has brought
her through. It's been q tonic to her
mother"
For time this genuiness and optimism
fascinated David. He had never met a
Girl like this before. Sometimes her con-
slant cheerfulness irritated hm-her
consistent refusal to worry, bothered
him. A girl. 90 his mind, should worry
over her appearance And Alice would
not. Bit except for this carclessness,
David found her perfect.
And now he had lost her. A week after
his engagement was broken with her,
he was promised, or had promised, to
marry another girl. And David WAS
still vague as to how II had come about.
Moreover, by its very nature, 1T was the
sort Of thing he could not discuss with
anyone else, without being cad.
Lois was charming, OF course. HIS
heart warmed at the thought OF her,
and her sweet voice and manner, her
deep blue eyes and the shine of her hair
when the sunlight caught IT. She was
quite the most appealing girl he had ever
met, pet and play aything-but he did
not particularly want pet and play
thing for wife.
Not knowing what he intended TO Say,
he rode In town and went to the Falr-
banks house. Perhaps Alice could do some
thing-wha,, he did not quite know.
Perhaps Alice would SAY she had never
actually broken the engagement. that
all she meant was he should keep away
until he felt quite sure he did not love Los
That would give him what he called Z
legal loophole OF escape. For, OF course,
he was not engaged TO Lois Il he was al
ready engaged to Alice!
He hated himself as he rode N. He
wac not the philanderlng type at al,
but here he was in the position OF the man
who plays lightly at love with more than
one woman.
viii Alice see me- he asked Mrs
Fairbanks anxioCsly, rs he came up tc
the porch.
Il don't know. David. Mrs. Fair.
banks told him shes upstairs. If you'll
wait. I'll go up and ask her
He looked closely at the little womaI
to see whether he could tell from her face
what he might expect from Alice. But Mrs
Fairbanks was too gentle, and too weak
TO snow the resentment she felt against
David. vet she could not be cordial either
She succeeded in being absolutely hui
man blank
You must think me a cad DAVID
said niserably The worst of tits | cam
explain for | cant even explain ii to my.
cell. Perhaps Alice viii understand.
Mrs. Fairbanks stood for a moment IL
the doorway. She opened her mouth tt
saw something, changed her mind, anc
went In without word. Her shoulders
were bent. she looked frail enough 10 bt
blown away by the slightest breeze. DavlC
watched her climb the stairs, holding K
the banister for support. After an agoniz-
ed few minutes, She came down again
alone.
David knew the worst then
Alice begs YOU to excuse her" Mrs
Fairbanks said quietly Her voice was un.
emotional; but as she watched David gC
down the path, her eyes were full OF pity
Observation-Disclosures