The Lambertville record., 1923-07-13
hOugh. to ask myselt SUCH a ques.

ASK yourself now. insist-lt ls
my right"
Her merriment died.
Il am. And. Horace" she said, re-
garding him ily--"honestly--I
don't know the answer"
Yet in that moment, exactly, she
seemed to herself to have the answer.
Yes, something had gone out of her.
now and forever. Funny, but you
couldn't crack and make over your
nature for nothing
"oh. you don't know2r he said dark
ly. well. the times come for you to
find out
"Why2 What's your interest In the
ancient point? Haven't | the best
authority for saying that love wasn't
| meant"
| That's enough Of that; won't have
this attitude any longer. Plenty OF
time-and kisses. too. ii seems--for
every whippersnapping nincompoop--
nothing at all for the man you mar
/ ried---"
But, my dear Horace, l can't turn
myself on and off like hot-water
faucet And the nincompoops never
taught me that the heyday of ro-
nance"
"Stop provoking me this way"
Willingly. Good-byl But, indeed,
| you mustn't think of me as stranger,
Horace l assure you I'll always thlyk
Of you as among my very best friep
His dim face became flooded With
color
you're my wife, do you understand
that? My wife,
wife Is relative term" she said
little family, again seeking to pass
him. "But I'll leave you now
''rm id If you will.r said the man.
In terrible voice.
And, his dignity broken altogether.
he seized her furiously In his arms
The violence of that embrace aston
Ished her. Still more surprising, per-
haps. was the wave of resistance. Of
instructive repulsion even. that swept
through her,
| She succeeded. In extrieating herself
and backing away rapidly, shaken and
angry, vigorously rubbed with the
palm of her hand the cheek her hus-
bands lips had just grazed Still, h-r
fixed smile Knocked him.
Don't you think. all things consid-
cred, that's quite a llberty2"
He lunged for her saying gutturally !:
"Fll show you liberty You for
| get yourself-you need to he taught"
mo l--p-posltively. you don't know
me well enough for this Please -
You brute l--"
She managed again, though with diff
fculty, to free herself from those vio-
lent clutchIng arms. Her light airs
we're gone. She had thought Just now
that IL Horace touched her she might
actually hate him; II had not occurred
to her that she would fear him. yet so
1t was. Now, as he came after her
again, muscularly potent and nltogeth-
er wilful, panic, suddenly and unac-
eountably, took possession of her.
! Without having planned anything of
the sort, she wheeled abruptly In her
! tracks and fled away from him.
If that was confession Of weakness,
unlucklly It did not settle her difficulty
on the spot. With dismay she heard
the large feet Of Horace pounding af.
ter her down the path
She ran as for life
II was n sight for the gods, no doubt.
In the stlll midnight, beneath the
serene moon, In this lonely place, Wild
ly and prlmltIvcly beautiful, through
the groves and among the crsgs sped
the slim white-cad wife, dark hair
flowing after and hard behind, grunt-
Ing and snorting, menaclng, too, chased
the heavy-built man, her husband.
Different from the home life OF the
queen, indeed
On the open path his clumsIness was
equalized. She looked back, fearfully,
over her shoulder; he WIS gaining on
her, no doubt of that Instantly she
left the path, scrambling over the
rough boulders which hanked II here,
plunging into the eopses, II such they
we're, bounding away through the vlr.
gin woods, sure-footed as n fawn. With
wild bursting OF foliage and cracking
of boughs, Horace leaped after her.
On the difficult terrain her superior
rimbleness gave her advantage; the
distance between them steadily WI
70 dened. Once she heard his hoarse
voice painting, stop, tell you, stop -
Now the strange thrill of the chase,
the throbbing excitement of the quar-.
ry, set her blood aire She thought,
Pursue and love-" and, laughing
f..... q
And then, as she sped across sweet,
open space, glade no doubt, pow
dered with bright moonlight, she
glanced back again, unwlsely; alas.
her foot caught In a trailing vine and
she pitched to the sward The mlsfor-
tune, which wasn't rectified In a sec
ond, cost her her lead. Releasing her
self, rising dizzlly, she found the pur-
suer almost upon ber--almost. but not
quite She Just eluded his fingers.
breathlessly dodglng; she doubled and
turned; and so. In moment, sudden
ly, she found her feet set on the wind.
ing path again, and 10, just ahead, was
the old landing, md beyond, open wa
fer.
She had forgotten the water she
welcomed the sight OF II now. She
was quite spent. and those resolute
feet We're close behind. Flying over
the loose board, the harrIed wife dove
cIeanly into the haven of fhe lake.
That Horace would follow her in
this maneuver had not occurred to her.
He was an Indifferent swimmer, and
his sinus as we know, was- sensitive.
Never having seen him angry before.
however, she had no doubt underest-
mated the force Of his RACES In fact,
the conquering male did not hesitate
an instant His ponderous body flying
out feet first broke water hardly n
second behind her own.
UnhappiIy for her, the lake was
shallow here. a tall man could stand
paper published in the county may be