The Sauk Centre herald., 1929-12-26
OUT OF THE
RUT
PAGE EIGHT

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to go. Sometimes he even omitted
the formality of asking, merely re-
marking that he'd be around for
her at a certain time
She was thirty years old and
since they had been in high school
her escort. Living so near he was
in and out of the house constant
ly. When they were younger, peo-
pie had smiled in kindly fashion at
their devotion and expected a
wedding in short time, but the
expectation had died as the years
went on. The rest of there little
crowd married and set up their
households. Envying the girls she
knew were busy with their new
furniture and curtains, Edith would
have died rather than to admit to
any of them that in all this time
Loring never once had spoken OF
marriage. She felt humiliated and
at fault.
He cared for her she was GER
tain and he took her affection for
granted. It was a rut in which
they travelled, always on the same
line, getting nowhere. Deep in
her heart for a long time now had
been growing fear that nothing
ever would change the situation.
Popular, handsome, adored by his
mother and two sisters. Loring was
far too comfortable to feel the
urge to change and establish his
own home, Life was too kind to
him, In fact, she was too kind to
him. But determine as she might
she was never quite able to carry
through any plan to break the
shackles of habit, to make other
friends among the men, to estab-
lish her right to win her own
place in life. She had been a pref
ty girl and was now too handsome
a woman to remain unnoticed but,
though she fought the fact, no
one in her eyes ever measured up
to Loring Black, selfish though he
might be.
The summer in which she had
bye with a heavy heart and smil-
ing lips, resolved to break away
from the chains which held her,
Loring had gone to New York to
Sc her off, had filled her cabin with
fruit held both of her hands at the
had held both of her hands at the
gangplank.
Hurry home, Edith" he had
begged her." This is a terrible
idea of yours, this trip! Don't
know how I'm going to stand your
being away"
They had looked at each other a
trifie breathlessly amid the jost-
ling crowd and then the gong had
sounded and he had left her. And
that hope died out. All summer
she had thought of the time when
she should go home and when she
did rteurn his unaffected joy at
seeing her had swept away all her
stern resolutions. HoSng was Lor-
ing and she would take what was
given her thankfully, though she
hated herself for what she felt
was lack of spirit.
Loring is never going to marry"
his mother was in the habit of
saying. 'He is too devoted to his
sister and myself. Why should he
marry when he has a home like
this-run with no trouble and care
to himself?" She said it before
him, anxiously when he was young
er, proudly as he grew older. She
had feared at first that Edith Flax
man would have won him away.
Even Loring himself could not
have told how he had placidly &C
cepted things as they were with no
great desire to change them. When
the right time came, he told him
self, Edith and he would marry
There was no need of speech, they
understood each other. All this
time, he insisted to himself when
his inner self reproached him, she
had been free, he had not tied her
down to waiting. Yet if she had
not waited he knew he could not
have endured it.
Edith's married sister was at
times outspoken. you are a fool
to let Loring Black monopolize you
all the tine," she told Edith. "He
has no right to cut you off from
the rest of the world and do moth
ing more. He loves you and doesn't
know it. It is up to you to bring
things to head. Either marry
him or send him away. Or do you
expect miracle to happen?"
Flushed and miserable, Edith
had fared out at her sister and
silenced her. Bitterly she told
herself that no miracle would hap
pen, nothing would ever change
things as they had grown to be.
She and Loring would grow old
and gray in this lifeless companion
ship. At times she looked unhap-
py and there were lines on her
face.
And then Loring Black, hector
ed by an insistent pain in his side,
went to the consulting room of a
noted physician, was received by
an associate doctor who after an
examination and questioning told
him to return the next day for the
great doctors advice after he had
studied the chart the assistant was
even then making out. He was not
to worry.
Blithely "a hours later Loring
Black ran UP the same steps and
was ushered into the inner office.
He sat there, handsome, confident
and at ease and Doctor Morehead
regarding him, felt the recurrent
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