Evening star., 1930-12-10
INsTALLMENr xvIr.

ANSTALLMENT XVII.
TNHE next morning STANLEY tele.
phoned Shirley that he must
tax to her, and took her TO
But Shirley was not inter-
ested In his feelings.
You've never been married before,
stan" she reminded him, but havel
Every one feels that way"
Here's the thing" STANLEY sAid. "Do
we really love each other?"
why, certainly we do, darlingl"
Shirley answered feassuringly, as she
nodded and smiled TO q friend several
tables away.
II really ought TO 20 down to the
farm tomorrow night" he said souriy
AneereQ ct her manner.
Is that woman there?"
you mean Margaret Yorke, Of
course she's therel she and the hid
stay there now"
Stan. honestly, do you think It's
faif TO me" Shirley was beginning
when the man interrupted her roughly.
on, for Gods sake, drop It! / tell
you she's nothing to me. Come down
yourself, II you don't believe me"
cant tomorrow" she decided "But
might Saturday. And, sweetheart" Z"
sne added, I'VE don't have 10 have Miss
Stanley made no answer. He was too
angry to speak, and she saw 1t. FOR
the rest Of the meal she was her sweet
est self, and she left him with her
usual upward, pretty smile and a kiss
from her gloved flngertips.
Stanley went back to his ofice. The
Winter rain fell and fell. And 90 an
other cold. early morning shut down
ana another rainy morning found Stan
az nus club, more apprehensive and dis
turbed In his mind than ever.
suddenly, without premeditation. he
rushed straight from his breakfast into
the cold, wet, bleak air, jumped into
the roadster and headed for the ranch.
When he turned the car in at UD-
lands, shaft Of watery sunlight sud-
denly enveloped the old place.
"Homel" his heart said, warm and re-
Nora, beaming, told him that Miss
Yorke and the young boy had just this
minutes minute stepped out.
Stanley, deep peace possessing him,
Changed into rough clothes and went
after them. Long before he reached
them he could hear their exultant
voices.
They were some hundred yards above
the pool, up the stream. Battersby was
with them. All three were In great eXs
citement over the course of the Quito,
whose brown, flooded waters had been
choked and diverted under the bridge,
BY fallen trees, branches, twigs, all the
rubbish that had been washed into Its
swollen course in the late storm.
"Oh, hello!" Margaret said. eagerly.
giving him her cold, wet hand and q
radiant smile from her glowing face.
viii you look at this villain riverl
Battersby says that It'll tear the whole
basin out and ruin the tennis court We
| just found it," And then. close beside
him, she gave him a swiftly changed
smile. and asked In an lindertone,
You're tired-is everything all right"
And suddenly it seemed to Stan that
ne was not tired and that everything
was suprenlely all right.
A memorable morning followed, when
he and she, aided by Jim, by Battersby
and one Of the Mexicans, changed the
course Of the Quitito
BY the time this was done it was I
O'clock, and, after the briefest Of ablu-
lions, Margaret, Jim and Stanley went
In TO luncheon.
"Ahd now" Margaret said afterward,
now wonder If we might have a
jim. superfcialiy sponged by Nora.
clad in his. little crash wrapper and
conceded q rest in Margaret's arms
rather than the orthodox nap, was
spreEled luxuriouslv upon her knees.
There's something I want to tell
vOu-something that's very hard to tell
aay bne," she Began sftst second.
II assure you that III regard 1t as
sacred" Stanley said.
"It's always hard to admit that one
has made mistakes" she said, feeling
her way slowly. This, the flfst part,
Is about mine. think told you that
lost my mother when was 16. We
meant to be. It's q lonely life. My
heart almost broke when had to 60 on
without her. Two years later, the day
I was Ii, ! was married. For almost
all girlS-yUung girls--marriage, at the
| first, Is oddly disillusiUning, suppose, /"
she said. my marriage plunged me
F, straight into hell. don't know what
sort of life makes man like my hus-
band. His standards. his ideas, his
views of women were-simply inde-
scr.bable. He was an animal--a clean,
| well groom~d, somewhat witty and very
rich animal, that was ALL Drink, food,
sleep and me, that was what life meant
TO him. He thought jewels and silk
stockings could buy forgiveness for
Anything.
"It seems to simple to say to q per-
fectly healthy girl Of 10, Wen, there
was the library, there were studies.
know there were. But It was no use |!
grew actually sick with despair; I
couldn't shake it on. And then he
got furious with me, tired of me-he
would disappear for days, for actual
| weeks, at time-there were other
women; he didn't hesitate to tell me
| that.
$50 finally 1 did what was inevitable,
suppose. told him 1 must be free,
and took his money! hate to re-
member that-and I went away, disap-
peared. He told me that I would be
back as soon as my five thousand was
gone, but I've never seen him since that
horrible hot Sunday. I don't know
where he Is, event"
Nothing disgraceful in all that, Mar
garrett" Stan said.
."Ah, but that isn't hail.. she an
swered, with a rueful smile. ~ took his
place in New Jersey, where an old
woman I knew lived. I hadn't been
there for two weeks before knew that
what had suspected, what ! had
feared. was true. There was going to
be-a baby"
She began to tremble very much and
Stanley reached out and took her brown
hand and held 1t tightly.
MY one fear" Margaret went on In
b quick, anxious voice, was that my
my husband would know. Even before
my boy was born / was only afraid
that omel1ow-somehow- father
would get hold of him and make such
man of him as he was himself. Stan
lived on where was, changed my
name-and my darling, my darling, was
born.
well. then. Winter came, and there
was q fiu epidemic. II came to us, and
my old guardian and friend. Mrs