Mexico weekly ledger., 1922-02-09

nina. newly awakened; Ward, weaA,
eoyish, ardent; Madame Carter, fun Of
theatrical dignity and w~ell-rOunded
phrases. and lastly-simple. strong,
anxious to protect them all. wen from
their own fcllies-RichArd.
"Not q word Of blame, not o
1sly inzinustion," she unused. yet she
has shamed him, and he IL 80 honor
able: and she has made him conspicu-
eua, when he lie 90 modesto
She thought Of Isabelle, fresh from
0ermaine's careful hands. lying in her
exquisite white against the cushions
" a deck chair. smiling. In the rosy
Scattering light under the green avn
nag, at the infatuated man beside her.
-Ughp said Harriet, with a healthy
uprush Of utter disgust. These few
months would not be cloudless for Isa-
belle, by any means. And after them.
whati Was 1t conceivable that those
fatal sixteen years would fail to iden-
tify Tony and Isabelle wherever they
went, wen though the press was not
eagerly assisting them7 Supposing
that Isabelle never thought of Crown
lands, Of her handsome son and her
young daughter. Of the man whose pa
tience and cleyerness had lifted her to
all this luxury from an apartment In a
small town, would M memory Of the
place she had held, and the friend
ahips she hhd commanded, haunt heri
Truly there was always society for the
Isabelles, but to Harriet's clean sense
q seemed but the society Of q jail.
II wouldn't change places with her !"
Harriet decided, In the soft silence ana
darkness Of the summer night.
From Isabelle's problem her thoughts
went TO her own, to Royal Blondin. She
was wakeful and restless tonight sim
ply because she could not decide Just
how much she need fear him. Firstly,
was there any reason for antagoniztng
him, and secondly, would he hurt her
Il she didf For Royal could not punish
her without furnishing himself, and
could not Danish her from Crownlands
II he ever hoped to show his own face
there again. But Ninai
Was Biondin so bad7 She tried to
ask herself the question honestly, and
On honest shudder answered II before
Il was fairly framed. She tried to pic
ture Nina's marriage. their early days
together, the breakfast table, where
the crude little girl blundered and
@bundered In conversation. her helpless
devotion. that would annoy and exas-
perate him. She saw Nina's near
sighted eyes yelling with hurt tears ;
Nina's check book eagerly surrendered
to win from her lord a few delicious
hours of the old fiattery, the old atten-
ton.
'It would take a clever woman to
hold him." Harriet thought, "and 1t
wouldn't be worth a clever woman's
while"
Nina-Ward-Royal-Richard The
wearying procession began again. Roy
al might treat her with honesty and
honor, He was not small in everything,
and she had never done him harm.
Bnt--there might come the terrible mo-
ment when she had to face Richard
with the confession. Yes, she had
known him before. Yes, they had en-.
tered into q tacst compact. Yes, she
mad kept from Nina's father q secret
that, while It might be unimportant,
certainly should have been told him.
Impossible to think the thing to any
conclusion Too many possibilities
might alter the entire situation. If she
were married safely to Ward, for ex-
ample? But then she dared not mar.
ry Ward until Royals attitude was
finally defined. For II her position
were dangerous now, what would 1t be
II she had committed herself irrevoca'
bly, to deception by marriage? Wards
young, crude intolerance sitting II
Judgment upon his wife l-Harriei
shivered.
Suddenly she fell upon her knees
( and dropped her bright head agains
the wide baiustrade. For a long tim'
Harriet had not prayed. But now, Ii
q few words, and quite without pre-
meditation, there burst from her tn,
most sincere prayer Of her life. Sh,
looked up at the stars.
@God!" she said, softly, aloud. "hell
mel Make me do what is right, how
ever hard 1t is. Father. don't let m
make another mistakeF"
CHAPTER VIII.