The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1921-04-09
Chapter SO.
LOST.


A long description of the apartment
followed in Myra's letter; and further
activities of Emily, now in town and
allowed out only for an hour a day.
Myra evidently had no intention of re-
turning to the little home city.
II can't, you know, because Tin
wants me to be near him. / suppose
/ must tell it sometime, and may as
we'll do it now. Tim and l are en-
gagged"
1t came to her just like that, and
Ruth, reading the letter, suddenly
went cold all over. Her fear of some
thing like this had been SO great that
she took Myra's letter up to her room.
to be alone when she read it.
So it was true, So Myra had hirted
with him. So the almost inevitable
result of their propinquity was this!
Ruth never finished reading that let
ter. 1t was a cruel pain even to look
at il. Days later she found it where
she had hastily stuffed it into her desk
drawer, and she took it downstairs and
burnt it in the kitchen stove. stirring
the black ashes until they mixed with
the red Goals and could not be seen
any longer.
her head felt cold. her hands were wet
and like ice, and for some time she
could not think clearly. Myra and Tim
her Tim, the tall, strong, impetuous
boy who had swept her into his arms,
who had kissed her and who had de-
clared he would never love anyone
else,
And to Myra! In the old days Myra
had not liked him much at least, she
had given no evidence of more than
casual friendship before Ruth. And
Tim had not liked MYra at all. He
had even said
She went to her little treasure box"
where she had kept all his letters. She
wanted to see what he had said, ear
lier.
But much might happen over the
winter Her own letters could not
have been interesting. All winter she
had stayed home and worked, She
never had anything to tell, except her
steadily increasing love, and perhaps
he had tired of that. Certainly Myra
in her cozy, luxurious apartment, with
her splendid dresses and her numerous
engagements, would have proved much
more fascinating than herself-poOr,
dull, little keeper of a lodging house.
But she did not read the letters over
again, not that day, nor ever Several
tunes she tried, but the hurt was too
great, and one day some time after
wards, she took the whole box and
without opening it, burnt it and its
contents. But for a long time she
could not bear the sight even of 1T, and
never used the bureau drawer she KEEP.
it in.
But why didn't Tim write? If it
were true, he should say something.
They were not actually engaged, but
surely it was understood. For he was
to go to the city and send for her when
he could afford to marry. If he could
not afford to marry her, he could MOI
afford to marry Myra. Some comfort
came from that-at least the engage
ment was settled to that extent.
If only she could have gone to the
city. Tim would have been near her
and Myra would not have
Have what? Perhaps they really
were in love, Perhaps Myra truly
cared and it was not filtration. Per
hans Tim really wanted Myra, not
herself.
Ruth could not stand the four walls
of the room. They imprisoned her
She put on her hat and started out
She did not want to go through any
part of the town where she would
meet her friends, for her face might
betray her feelings. Besides, she could
not bear the sight of anyone she knew
So she cut through some small
streets, and found herself over in the
factory district. The houses were
mere novels; even the best of them
were depressing in their ugliness.
She walked along dirt streets lined
with two-story brick houses. with
lights burning inside (since it was
getting dark and dirty little children
swarming outside along such pave
ments as existed.
How dreary it was Spring came
beautifully in her part OF the town
with green grass and overs. Here il
came as mud puddles and it stirred
I'D an odor of rotting food instead OF
the delicacy Of blooming flowers. She