Great Falls daily tribune., 1920-05-20
Tbe Trlbune -.
Womem's s Corner
Tbe Trihulre

He gazed at me doubtfully, evidently
debating whether. in case | were i'll. 1t
was safe to carry me in his car What
decided him / do not know, but second
later he shut the car door with decision
and returned to his wheel. As we swung
out into Seventh avenue | tried TO
school myself to self-controL scoring
myself savagely for the weakness which
had made a woman's fancied resemb-
lance to Grace Draper so unnerve me.
But it was of no avail.
The beautiful, cruelty mocking face
flashed before my eyes as yivldly as
when had last seen it upon the night
that sent poor old William Trumbuil
and drug -crazed Mrs. Allis into eternity.
Even the rage and hate which distorted
it then could not rob it of its striking
beauty. The sheer loveliness of her,
triumphant even in that hour of shattef-
ing humiliation and defeat, which had
haunted me at intervals ever since that
night, came back to me with redoubled
force.
/ hope am as brave as most women.
but fairly covered in my seat at the
fanciful possibility that Grace Draper
might come back into my life.
Haunting Memories.
Grace Draper! The girl who had come
so near to wrecking my marital happi-
ness that I could not think of the slen-
der margin whereby it had escaped de-
struction without shudder. The girl,
who in fiendish revenge for her failure
to win Dicky's love away from me, had
schemed his death and had been thWart-
ed only by the last minute maudlIn
repentance of Harry Underwood. Ihe
girl whose influence upon Dlcky, even
though / knew that he loathed her. |
vet physically dreaded. | could not rid
myself of the feeling that Grace Draper.
alive and freed from her prison boncs.
was a menace of evil in my life from
the consciousness of which l would
never be free again.
A STANCE Message.
Ny mind went swiftly as drowning
persons over the many incidents OF
nv life in which this girl with her
angels face and her devils soul had
figured, fingered longest, with terrifled
fascination upon that summer day, III
the year following my marriage when
she lay, shamming delirium from her
self-inflicted wounds, pretending to go
over tender scenes with Dicky. DR..
Petit had exposed her shamming, but
the quiet malignance of her words and
tone as / left the room that day l never
have been able to bury SO deeply as to
forget them altogether.
"But you will never know, will you,
Madge, dear, just how much OF what
| said was false and how much true!
With the resolve to believe my hus-
band utterly | had striven strenuously
to put the remembrance of the words
and the woman who had uttered them
entirely away from me. But there had
been moments, as / had known there
would be, at her bedside that day, when
her words had come back to me with
intensified power to scar and scar The
sight of the woman whose figure re-
sembled Grace Draper's had brought
such a moment to me, and even my
dread of the woman was dwarfed by the
old gnawing doubt which was tearing
at my heart.
I forced myself to composure,. how
ever. as the taxi turned into Lillian's
street. tried to appear as if nothing
had happened when Betty, my friends
faithful old colored cook, opened the
door.
"Come right in, Miss Madge," she ex-
claimed with broad smile of welcome.
Use been watchin' foh yoh chile, foh
de las half hour. Mis- Lillian she had
to 90 out unexpected like, but she'll be
back directly. ! 'spects she TUX her
foot in her hand and is maxim right
smaht down de aVenuu. She say yoh
was to 60 into her room, do any prink
in yoh wanted, an she tole me to
specially tell yoh not to 60 into the
library till she got back
Wondering at the queer message, |
turned to enter Lillian's wonderful
white and crimson living room. As
did so / caught sight of hat .and top
coat in the hall. Lillian had o masculine
caller then whom she did not wish me
to meet until she was with me.
Who could it be?
NExT-"How Madge SteeIed Herself |
{or I I'LL, ~ Anuc