Beverly banner. [volume] (Beverly, N.J.) 1877-1964, 1925-02-13

so incredibly dear and true.
you, woman of mine, without a
name, who have come to me out of
nowhere because / wanted you! How
long have you known?"
I've known almost since the begin
ming that If you cared as much as
do, Lee, you must love me more than
| thought it possible to love-"
| He looked at her incredulously, and
between them the pale wrath of Els
telle fioated for just moment He
had trusted her. He had vowed never
to trust again in any woman.
Then it was dissipated in the sun
shine of their love- do you care
enough to trust yourself to me and
take the chance of what the future
may bring to us?"
Il love you enough to trust you alto
gether, Lee" she answered.
But there was just the shadow of
a little fear in her eyes, "Oh, my
dear, l am afraid, awfully afraid OF
the time when---when remember. Do
you know that since l knew ! loved
you, and thought you cared for me,
l have sometimes prayed that / may
never remember? / have been afraid
of what may be lying in wait for us,
waiting to overwhelm us, as If 1t
grudged our happiness.
you must not let yourself grow
morbid" But Lee, too, felt the wings
of that shadow of fear beat past him.
There is nobody else?" he asked.
"We shall not find that we have been
tricked like that? 1t would be unbear-
able"
mo, no! I'm sure of that, Lee;
surer than that I stand here, that
have never loved anybody else.
know that so well, Lee; for if there
had been, should have felt 1t by
instinct; however deep down within
me the memory of him lay buried. No,
love isn't like that; 1t doesn't lose it
self like that. There is nobody but
you-never anybody but you.
"But what I'm afraid of is that
something else, something terrible may
come between us"
There's nothing else that could
| separate u.s."
IF you were engaged?" Lee would
no sooner have deliberately stolen an
other mans sweetheart than his wife.
To him love was a thing of eternity.
It was either very young mans view
or very idealistic ones; yet there
are men of mature minds who hold
that doctrine; that was why the af-
fair of Estelle had broken his life.
Suppose / had become engaged to
someone / didn't love, Lee?"
you couldn't. You don't think
she felt thrilled by the CONSERVATION
| in his voice-'that you-you have,
dearest?
mo, I'm sure / haven't. But"
she persisted, II just felt curious to
know what we would do, in case"
"Oh, then-why, suppose we'd have.
to go to him and tell him that we loved
each other, and then, of course, he
would release you" answered Lee,
looking troubled. "Still, we don't have
to think of that possibility, dear, do
wei"
| III COURSE nOL, lJStt Bic duSWcTcu.
But again he saw that she knit her
brows in perplexity, and he knew that
she was thinking, thinking. trying to
reunite those travelled strands of mem
DRY.
"You don't live in the range, Lee, do
your asked the girl presently.
mo, 1 live at Manistree. That's
long distance away. I've just come
here on business"
Wont you tell me what your bust
ness Isl"
Lee hesitated "Well. It's secret in
a way, though I'm not under any
pledge" His instincts were to tell
her, and yet the training of eight years
seemed to seal his lips against her.
"You see, I'm acting for Others"
"Why, then of course wouldn't ask
you to tell me, Lee" she answered.
"Only I have a curious sort of feeling
| that your business may be bound up
with me in some way, that perhaps
1t means your going into danger"
IT don't think there's much danger
attached to it."
But she caught that much" with
alarm. "A little danger, Lee? You
know, l couldn't bear you being ex-
posed to danger. But-what Is there
beyond the range? You see, I've been
talking to you about the range ever
since first heard you speak of 1t. and
yet l don't really know where we are.
It's curiSas. too, because for the first
week after my illness, / didn't seem to
care Is there a city beyond the
ranger"
mo, thank God, all the cities lie
behind us. Nothing but forest"
But are you going to see someone.
meet someone?"
There's a Moravian mission three
or four days journey away"