Mexico weekly ledger., 1922-03-23

d telt suddenly SICK.
ROY, you're not still serious about
Nlna?"
II have never been anything else"
he said, delicately.
"But-but whyT' Harriet asked.
II like the girl" he reminded her
pleasantly. IL hope she is not entire
ly Indifferent TO me"
Indifferent She's at the age that
marries anybody" Harriet said, indlg-
nantIy.
"You give me hope" Royal said with
q bow.
Her father very violently opposes
H." Harriet said, after a troubled
silence.
." am well aware Of that. my dear.
Her father forbade me the house last
December. / submitted; the girl sub
mitted- But we made our plans. /
fancy we Will not have any difficulty
now" - =
you mean that you are engagedT'
"An understanding. We have CORE
sponded, seen each other now and than
through Ida Tabor. It's" he smiled,
dreamily,, extremely romantic. Of
course" he said. i
Harriet felt she could have killed
him.
You understand that she won't
have one penny. Roy. I know her ia
Their. He won't yield. He'll forbid ltt
hen not hesitate. II she does It
against his win, she will have to wait
three years for her money. Three
years. Roy, she wouldn't be happy
three weeksI MI. Carter spoke to me
about It the only time we've spoken Of
you. He said that ne was glad the
affair had ended naturally; that you
were not the man to make Nina happy,
and that ne would rather have her suf-
fer anything, and find out her mistake
at once, than have her heart broken,
and her money wasted, through sev-
eral wretched yearsl"
Blondin had listened to this quietly,
his eyes moving from her lips to her
own earnest eyes, and wandering over
her animated face.
II count on you to be my advocate,
my dear Harriet" he said, after a mo-
ment's silence. Richard Carter be-
lieyes in you; he has great faith In
your Judgment. If you represent to
him that you believe this to be a wise
step all round, we shall have no
further trouble"
II can't honestly tell him SO. Royl"
the girl interrupted.
Cant youY Blondin said. He
looked across the open hallway to
Nina, descending in fresh ruffies and
ribbons, and raised his voice. Here
she Shocking like the very rose Of
girls! Come on now, Nina, you aren't
going to belong to. anybody else but
me for a while!" he said. But as he
turned to leave Harriet, he added
again: Cant you2 Think it over"
The girl thought it wei with a mad
dening and feyerish persistence that
presently caused her a sensation Of
actual sickness. Vague speculations
churned and seethed in the weary
brain that could find no beginning and
no end to them. To have made a
clean breast Of the whole matter
months ago would have meant a de-
licious sense Of freedom from e
sponslbility now, but then under those
circumstances would she, Harriet,
have been here now2 Certainly, even
in the present purely technical sense,
she would not have been the second
Mira Richard Carter, nor would she
have held her present position Of trust.
and responsibility.
While Nina and her lover murmured
on the terrace Harriet brooded on
these things, and after dinner that
evening She gave Richard so sharp q
warning that he sent at once for Nina,
and with a clouded brow and angry
eyes briefly requested Harriet to be
present while he spoke to her.
Nina came at once, with an inno-
cent expression on her rather heavy
young face. She seated herself near
| Harriet, and her father went to the
point at once.
Nina" he said, seriously, you saw
Royal Blondin this afternoon, didn't
your And as Nina answered only
with an ugly glance at Harriet the be-
trayer. he added, Didn't I ask you
not to see him any more, several
months ago."
Eyes, you did," Nina said, In a low
tone, and with a heaving breast.
II hope, and we all hope, that you
will marry some day." Richard said.
But you are too young now to make
a wise choice. And until you are a
little older, you will have to take my
word for 1t that such an affair would
only lead you to misery and regret"
Nina mumbled something bravely.
* didn't hear you," her father said.
II said, ] didn't see what you could
do about itr the girl repeated. des-
perately.
For a few moments OF silence Rich.
ard merely looked grayely at his
daughter. Then he clasped his fine
hands on the desk before him, and
cleared his throat. s1s,J
II cannot do as much as / should
like, Nina" he conceded, "but I shall
do what ! can. But first let me ask
you: have you promised to marry Mr..
BlondinT
Silence. Nina looked at the floor.
Richard repeated his question.
sYes. I have-and you can't kin me
for lei" Nina said. and burst into
tears.
"WeL," the father resumed. when
Harriet had supplied a consolatory
murmur and d handkerchief, sTm
sorry, Of course. Mrs. Tabor carried
laffers hetxVean ven Ma aha9 Voy,