Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-07-05
INSTALLENT XVII.

u
wv 81 s; * x (: i s. !: +!
Monterey Hotel that
night" she resumed, finding her words
slowly And he kissed me good-by
and said that he would always love me
and that belonged to him. believed
him. was all excited, but not ashamed,
not one bit unhappy Gail. thought
that there was something heroic about
tt
dot didn't come in until after I did,
and of course didn't give her any hint.
But we talked things over and decided
that we'd get up early the next day and
give the boys the slip. We were wild
at them! But the next morning the
boys said that they were sorry and
they'd drive us home quietly and the
whole thing would blow over.
st was-well, Of course, hadn't slept
all night, but 1t was a sort of pleasant
excitement, too; I felt-sort of swim
ming, in emotion, you know, and said
I'd like to watch the Pebble Beach golf
for q little while, so we went there.
Van was there, looking stunning, OF
course, and terribly sweet; and we had
O few words together
Il wanted to get home and get rested,
and have things 60 back to normal. So
we started about II o'clock and then
Then, of course, the accident came.
] thought Van would come to me the
minute he heard. But he didn't. He
stayed away thought would lose
my mind, worrying and thinking and
wondering II that would come out In
the evidence, too-where I'd been from
midnight until o'clock Saturday night.
"And then when he did show up In
court, he only would laugh. and
couldn't get him back to that mood
and he didn't say anything about an
engagement.
"Once when said something he
huShed me up as II he were scared even
to think about it, and said his step
father would cut him of without a
cent II he ever dreamed Of 1t! He said
that the main thing was to keep out Of
jail"
Gail could hear him. She could re-
member the ethereal little Ariel Of three
years ago; she remembered the casual,
laughing Van. Ariel struggling with
the saddest problem any woman ever
knows-youth, faith, gayety. security,
wiped away at a blow-and Van noisily
jovial over her whispers, her aSides, her
anxious smiles and too-ready tears.
You see, Gail, 10 days after that
trial I knew what was facing And
he didn't even like me; he didn't come
near me. I telephoned, sent notes.
but he wouldn't come. You and EIDE
were so pleased that the trial had sort
of exonerated me and that I was
SOLDERING down; saw It, and every one
was so happy, and all the time-this
tiger tearing at me-"
You poor little thing!" It was the
first note of sympathy that had come
into Calls voice and Ariel answered 1t
by quick blinking of filling eyes.
1T was all my own doing, Gall"
Isn't it always?" Gail asked slowly.
Those had been happy days for her.
Days in which she had discovered Dick,
time the little sister had been walking
beside her In the shadows deeper than
death.
"You can't think what it was" Ariel
said. "It's-well, there seem to you to
be just two classes of women in the
world. The girls who are-in trouble,
and the ones who aren't! And no
others. And you say to yourself, If I
ever get out-if I ever get out"
Il can't imagined"
"I told Van. I didn't know what
else to do! He didn't believe me or he
said he didn't" Ariel resumed, land
the next thing I knew some one told
me calmly that he'd gone East. There
was just one thing, Call" She
paused. Just one thing that kept me
from killing myself" she added. And
that was you"
mel"
you. You kept talking about how
we all had to hang together and get
through the hard years, and carve out
our destinies for ourselves. And I Just
couldn't do it! I couldn't shame and
hurt you that way.
THE day after Van left, I told Doro-
thy And she said what he said, that
she didn't think 1t was true. But they
went away too, Gail. She must have
told her mother, and do you remember
that Mrs. Camp took Dorothy East to
school right away"
"Beast!" Gail whispered. looking
away.
80 then I had nobody, Gail. I
couldn't tell you or Edith; I was afraid
to tell Phil"
"Ariel-you poor child"
Van didn't answer my letters and
time kept going on Gail, and had no
money! couldn't get away and I
couldn't stay at home. And when I
thought Of Dick and that maybe If I
was nice to him he would want to
marry me right away-in time"
She laughed bitterly, fell silent
again.
What q fool was!" she said.