The Press., 1921-02-17
The Wrecked Deceiver
By R. RAY BAKER

the cares or GOclaIs Afe, muFnuTe'i Winnie Alton, as the cool breeze of
 Little Traverse bay caressed her brow,
 She was speaking to Leonard Brock well, who sat on the ho+el veTanda be-
 side her. striking iB'ag:nary flies on the railing with his dainty cane.
 Leonard was not dainty. He was
 more than six feet tall and the muscles
 of a perfect physique rippied under his
 Palm Beach suit. He was goOd-lo0k- ing blond young man.
 Winnie was the dainty one. heinz faShiOnably slim and only five feet
 three In height. :. She was a pro
 nOunced brunette, and a summeT-whlte
 frock with tilted pink hat made her
 look exquisite.
 'SYes, 'tis SO," replied Leonard. sfi-
 ding a yawD and watching a lake
 steamer loaf into PetOskey haTbOF.
 ''8ut, do you know. what appeals to me
 most Is to get away from driving the
 everlasting mOtOFcars. Eve had so
 much of it was glad to leave the
 cars in the garage and be able tO stretch my legs without depending "n
 gasoline"
 You're right" Winnie agreed.
 "Driving motors bOres me to death.
 Poor, pretending Winnie! Her So-
 cial obligations consisted of an O""A-
 sfOnal visit to q dancing assembly hack
 in Chicago, when she was not too tired
 from her activities behind the silk
 counter. And all the motor she had ever driven was the relic that did
 service on Aunt Martha's farm in ceEl-
 tFal Ohio, where she spent last years
 vacation.
 For four years Winnie had saved
 money, and 1t would have remained in the hank where 1t was put # if had not been for Phoebe Williams.
 All Phoebe had done was to go and get married. In sOne manner sine had caught a rich man. and now when she stFutted into the store she left an cleo. tFic out in front.
 That had set Winnie thinking, and she had come to the conclusion the only way to enjoy life was to have all the money one wanted; and 1t seemed the only way to such an attainment was by means of the matrimonial knot. Her roommate had agreed, in so far as the latter part of WinRie's philOs- Ophy was concerned. .-....
 "It's done lots and lots Of times" the chum declared, "Rnd the rich men are hooked the easiest at summer re- sorts. All yOu need is enough dough to live in style for a few weeks. at one Of those places. and the 4irst thing you know some son of the idle rich Is proposing to yon. It's easy1 they say. but for me, I'll stick to Jim Wilson. even if he is just truck driver"
 That looked gOod-n0t the truck driver. but the summer resort idea- % when vacation time came Winnie drew her seven hundred dollars from the bank, invested considerable DOT. tlOR of 1t In clothing and took a steam er for northern Michigan. At Petoskey she took a room in hotel close to the shore Of the bay and began her cam paign.
 Winnie had the looks and personal. Ety to win. and at the start the young men staying at the hotel paid homage tO her. One of them. a frail anemic youth who never drew a breath Un- favored with cigarette smoke, pro posed the second night she was there but somehow. for all of his evident wealth, Winnie could not bring her self to accept. She still retained girl hood ideas in which marriage minus love did not At. :....~ ..-s In the first week Winnie had three proposals to her credit and five hiah> arSd dollars on the other side of the ledger. She was progressing famOuSly. Out<she was not satisfied. Ali the men who hed placed themselves in her mar ket were wealthy, no doubt; but they were insipid parasites clInging for lf& to the riches thOiF more ambitious fa- liners had accumulated. .@ - Then along came Leonard Brook well, and she fell in love with. him. To be sure, the wealth that was SVi- dent in his dress and bearing attract Dd her as much as his handsome ap- peArance; but before she had known 1 him twenty-fOuF hours the money question faded into insigni0cance be- fore the nsaD's wonderful personality.
 She feared she would lose hils. 50 she felt obliged to continue the. pre- tense shR.had begun, which accounted 1 for her Feference now and then to her 1 social sphere back home. .g..s=...
 On the fourth night the climax l came. They walked along the beach. ] h the light of q full moon which 1 turned the blue of the water to barn. shed silver. They sat in an arb0F of l trees and there he proposed, and she accepted.
 ''The only girl ever could begin to ovO," he breathed, and she told hSrn similar things; and they were the ruth.
 But Winnie had a conscience, and 1t 'egan to tRtEuOe Itself. She tossed all aight in bed. unable to reconcile her elf to the idea of having won n ilus. 'and by deception. Here was this nan, rich in his ewn right. asking her 0 be his wife under the belief she was r ifs social and financial equal. She 1 'egan to wish he was not rich. that le was a common plOdder like her elf.
 Early in the morning Winnie arose md dressed. Der mind made up. She owed Leonard, but she never could eeept him under the circumstances. The still had q week of vacation left, nd she decided to spend it with Aunt fartha in Ohio.
 Before leaving the hotel she penned |,
 note and left it with the clerk. -
 Dear Leonard" it said, 'T am leav- az, and will never see you again. ' oVe you, but haUe been a wretched eceiyeF and cannot bear to look you 9 the face" ThfFty-six hOmfS later she loaped rom the ~tfaInxand into Aunt Martha's 1 rp1s. Aunt Martha escorted her to ae relic that had once been an au- lfnObile, and they drove to the farm. It was lonesome there; but Winnie - '