Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-07-10

! L OC1bl4NG - I6C0pIlOI VI I>O11J y IulpdS-
stoned words was Characteristic of him.
- He heard her to the end, his dark face
impassive, his eyes inscrutable, and then he
said evenly:
Before you married me, told you the con-
ditions under which I was making you my
wife. You accepted them. l don't want to
talk of this now, because you are i'll, and
hardly aware of what you are saying
I'm not ill.," Lorry interrupted. "My brain
is perfectly clear, and 1 know exactly what [
am saying"
Then you're a poor sport. You're not
making the best of things"
oh" Lorrys cheeks were suddenly hot
with shame.
cts true, isn't it,"
Her words rushed to her lips, but she bit
them back. She wanted to tell him that it
was true but that there had cen no escaping
from him. He had pursued her, he had insist
ed upon making her his wife, and now he was
accusing her of being a gutter, of not living
up to the contract.
She sat there silent for so long, her slim
fingers f1eXed on the arms of the chair, that he
finally decided she was not going to answer
him, and again he left her to herself.
Alone with her thoughts, Lorry reviewed
the situation. After ALL wasn't Courtney
right in what he had said? Even if he had
pursued her relentlessly, she needn't have
married him. She had never told him Of the
queer dread he inspired in her; he was not
aware of the fact that she was afraid of him,
that his nearness made her leart jump up in
her throat. All he knew was that she did ret
love him as he loved her, and, after all, hadn t
she been poor sport to tell him that she
hated him? 1t wasn't true; she didn't hate
him. And yet she hardly knew how to analyZe
her feelings toward him. Surely this dread of
him spelled dislike, aversion, and both were
akin to hate
And then, quite suddenly her pride was
up in arms. He had called her gutter.
Well, she wouldn't be that. He need never
again accuse her of not living up to their con-
tract. After all, he had right to expect a
wife who was at least cheerful companion.
She would do her best to hide her feelings;
she would play the game. And, having made
up her mind Lorry ate her dinner, and found,
afterward, that she felt much better.
But to play the game easier said than
done. Reason she would, she could not
bear him to touch her; she could not bear the
feeling of helplessness that it gave her to feel
his arms around her The sense ton of being
engulfed made her want to catch her breath,
and, in the days that followed, she was more
than ever helpless because of her jured foot.
But Courtney was strangely cons1derate dur
ing those days. He absented himself from
her side as much as possible, and every one
was so kind to her. Barry Andrews spent q
large portion of every day at her side, and,
whenever he was with her, Courtney took
himself off to play golf or tennis. In her
heart Lorry was grateful to him.
At the end of three days she was able to
hobble about with the aid of a cane, and, after
a week, save for q slight weakness in her
ankle, she quite herself again. On the day
they were to leave Lorry was standing before
the dresser in her room, adjusting a veil,
when Courtney came up behind her. Instant
ly she turned about TO face him. She COu d
not bear to feel his eyes upon her without be
ing entirely prepared for that concentrated
gaze, and, as she stood looking up at him in
quiringly, he swept her suddenly into his
arms.
my darling" he said over and over, his
lips against hers, "do you still hate me so
much? We're leaving today, and I'd hate to
think that here, in the place where you've
meant so much to me, Id actually inspired
hatred in your heart"
She shook her head quickly, holding him
away from her with hands that trembled. 81
don't hate you. 1 was wrong when l said
that"
His arms had dropped away from her, and
she drew long breath and tried to smile.
"Be patient with me, won't you?" she
asked pleadingly; but her one thought was
the hope that he would not touch her again.
Continued Thursday. Renew your subscrip-
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