The Washington times., 1928-11-22

gested. You're not especially
good as a juggler.
She attacked him so fiercely--
1t was like parching thirst
that, parodoxically, he felt he
must flee her presence, or COM
nit the blunder of crushing her
wildly in his arms. But she was
miles away from him, cool,
distant star.
A whip.lashing necessity drove
him to leave. 1t was q route, a
bolt to escape from his own i'll
timed impetuosity. Marian made
no effort to stay him. A vast
sense Of shame welled through
him that he had allowed him.
self to sink into a panic-a moral
disorganizatiOn akin to cowardice.
Impatiently, he put aside all pos
sible excuses
you've never been through
anything like this" he told him
self. bitterly, "but that's no alibi.
IL you had any brains you'd see q
way out-you dumbbell!'
Long hours passed as he sat
in his room postponing the effort
or going to bed. Unhappiness
had welled within him until he
doubted his own powers to face
the problem ahead of him.
Life had caught him UP and
was whirling him through some
gigantic machinery that nullified
the feeble efforts of his mind to
guess what it was all about. The
1iscouraging thing was that he
! could conceive Of himself only as
a toy, a plaything in the hands II
an awful and Wanton Fate. Only
one central shining focus Of truth
remained in his breast--his love
for Marian Thorndike. Nothing.
not even Destiny. could change
that.
He wanted. with aching earnesr-
ness. to 60 70 her-to put his
.1EeFy life into her hands and have
her mould him like clay. as she
willed and he would be anything
she desired-would shake himself
into the image of any ideal that
was in her mind. Yet, when he
had been in her presence. he had
faltered and stammered until ne
must have appeared as either a
fool or a scoundrel.
When he went to bed te was
as though he sought to hide AMI
shelter himself from storm that
was about to break. A new day
would come with new complica-
tions. Bernice Veressi, he knew,
with dread certainty, would re-
turn. In this he was correct.
Coming toward the house from
the barn he saw her alight from
an automobile. While car and
driver waited she came to meet
him.
An odd thing about his feeling
toward her was that she aroused
no anger In him.. Like himself,
she was in the grasp Of forces
that manipulated her; she was he
conceived, equally helpless with
him in the midst of some insolv-
able jigsaw puzzle Of Life. 1t
was possible for him to credit her
with sincerity--she actually had
no desire to ruin his life.
why did you hang up on me
when / telephoned you last
night" she asked, with a murmur
of unhappiness.
Briefly, he explained the public
nature of the party line system.
What are you. going to do?"
ne a5hSd neF.
Please take me around your
farm, Eddie, and show it to me"
she replied. why are you so
cold to me when I come out to
see you?"
We've gone over that stuff"
he tried to explain reasonably.
"If you have anything new to
say to me let's get it over with.
What's on your mind. Bernice?"
She linked her hand throuh his
arm. Where shall we go to talk
1t over? In the house,"
There was nothing to do but
take her indoors-whcre she would
not be visible TO anyone passing
along the road.
A faint instructive hope still
actuated him. They sat in the
long, old.fashioned living room,
and Eddie kept warily on tho far
side.
Il was awake almost all night
trying to figure things OUT Ber-
nice said, with a tone of reason
ableness.
II made UP my mind, Eddie.
what you can do / can do. Maybe
this trip down here is the turning
point in my life just as in yours.
/ am going to stay, darling, going
to settle in the country, in the lit
tie town a few miles from you.
There are plenty opportunities for
girl ike me"