The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1920-01-12

The cnSrf drifted Iazt.y WIN the
Ieurrent ciwsa 10 The low bank OF Il
piacil. Ii. svaw .tvcr that ran through
the woods. A young man lay in its
bottom with eyes closed his face
MARRIED by the expression OF bitterness
and the stern set mouth. Edgar Raw
ley, noted young painter and received
in the best society, was seeking balm
fo,. bruised heart and hurt pride.
ac had asked Marion Bracebridge,
one of The beauties of the debuiantes,
10 marry him, and after few months
epga cement. she had, without warning,
sent back his ring with o cruel little
note that "she thought that they were
not congenial enough to marry
Then The news came of her engage
mcnt, aud tie engagement of the sea
sons belle, Marjorie Brooke; Marion
to Alan Coe, The banker, and Mar
joiie's 10 Stanley Lewis, the poet. Half
the young girls and all the women
were frankly in love With Stanley and
they envied Marjorie her possession.
Just as lie was sending The canoe
out into mid stream viii. Il sweeping
stroke, he heard loud call for help,
and looking up the bank he espied a
girl in pink dress with her hands
held in front Of her, seeming to push
some object away. With Il spring, Ed
gar landed on the bank and picking up
a large club which was sometimes used
TO push boats out into the stream, he
hnstened to the scene.
When he neared the girl he gave q
start OF surprise a. he saw that it wns
Marjorie Brooke, but he stiiled cry
OF alarm for there on the los was n
tliree-f foot diamond RATHER. swishing
nearer and nearer, and rafting fierce
". With vell-aimed blow the club
landed with singing force on the head
of the rattler. crushing 1t Immediately,
aud both watched the Shiny body with
its beautiful diamond markings wrthe
in its death agonies.
Then he turned 10 the girl: There
are not many OF those large rattlers
around here. am surprised that this
one slohd have ventured out 81 all.
Suddenly she made q little rush, and
throwing her arms about 'iirn kissed
him firmly on the mouth and then heS
40 ilte path before he had vaguely
s,snsed hes actlon. Somehow II was
Plea surabie thought thai she had kissed
him, he that thought that he must be
lacking In something so ;hat no WON
an could love him lie turned slowly
and then hls eyes caught book which
she had dropped, and stopping he
picked It up also q lille lace,hordered
Without realizing what
he was hoinc he had read The page
that was s.ns open. How could |
ever have thought that WAS in love
with that person.
Il viii never be deceived BY my feel
ings again mean never 10 fail in
love II can help IT,"
There was rnprc on the closely writ
ten page. but that was all that Edgar
read before be came TO himself that he
was reading II girls personal secrets.
Thinking 10 send them TO Marjorie
on the following day. he dropped them
in his pocket and turned the canoe
honleward A few hours later in his
den, smoking, suddenly he had an in
spirasipn. and hastily he ran up the
short flight of stairs 10 his lighted stu
do. There was an unfinished painting
there Of the low bank. the stunted fir
trees and the sweeping forest beyond
the placid river With quick. sure
strokes he sketched In the figure of a
young girl in pink dress, with large
shade hat hanging down from her
her hands stretched out and
an expression OF such fear that invol-
untarlly would make one shudder. and
lastly the venomous snake. with It's
diamond markings. He called the pic
ture Fear" and knew without doubt
that II would be we'll received at the
prize exhibition in the fall.
The following afternoon he made his
way to the little cottage which Mar
jorle occupied and found her drying
her hair by the hedge. She thanked
him rather dlstantly for the return of
her property, and then began TO talk of
the various nothings that make up
when two persons are oc-
cupied with their own thoughts. Sud-
denly,he said "I did not know that you
broke your engagement to Stanley
Lewis, until read the paper yester-
day"
She looked at him for moment and
then said: well. It is woman's
privilege to change her mind" Then
she hastily changed the conversation
TO other matters that concerned the
world which they had left behind.
The days slipped by, and the sum-
mer was drawing slowly TO close and
both vaguely felt that parting would
be hard, yet neither would acknowl-
edge TO themselves that they had
grown to care. Then, one afternoon,
Marjorie was not at her accustomed
place and Edgar learned that she had
left suddenly for home.
Three months later. in the large
drawing room at the fashionable town
home of one of the great society lead
srs, an exhibition OF the prize paintings
was held, and the prize picture which
had won the medal at the academy
was to be shown for the FIRST time.
While the polite chorus Of obs and
lh's was ripping through the room,
va s,.