The Washington times., 1931-04-03

A brat, II you ike. 1ScScAAOlA1S
the convention, the dull petit
ness of two good-hearted but
entirely commonplace SpinSters,
resenting the mess I thought
my mother had selfishly made
of her life and my own; and
therefore welcoming the ex-
citement, the sudden freedom
of war time. Ready, too, to
fall head over heels in love
with the first youngster who
fell in love with me. I won
der" she asked, driven to hon.
esty by some basic craving
within herself, II wonder,
Lorry, If it would have lasted?"
Lorrimer looked at her In
wonder. After a moment he
said:
"That is what she-Mary
Lou" he hesitated over the
name, asked me-"
"When?"
Long ago, when thought
she was-you." -.
almost any clear-sighted
person would ask that" De-
light remarked, "given some
idea of the circumstances. Look
here, I only saw that girl twice,
once very briefly, but I can un-
derstand, I think, what sort
Of a character she gave me
while she was understanding
me. Don't delude yourself
that I'm like that, for, very
probably, I'm not. And in a
sense, she made me up out
of whole cloth, no matter
what cues she had from you.
She wrote her own part. For
the girl you knew in London
hadn't much character, to
speak Of, either good or bad"
After a little silence she went
on.
An Amazing Tale
when she came to me and
pitched me that amazing yarn
I thought I must be dreaming.
IL wouldn't have considered
turning up again, I would have
let you all get out of the en-
tanglement as best you could
If she had not told me that
your mother was very much
against having me produced,
so to speak. That annoyed me.
It would annoy anyone. I don't
think, however, I had any par
ticular designs" she laughed
again-"on you or anyone else
when I promised Mary Lou to
wait a week, while she tried
to persuade Mrs. Lorrimer to
see what she called Justice
She's awfully young. What an
idiot you were, Lorry, not to
have seen how young she is!
You must have thought I'd
found the, fountain Of youth
somewhere. Well, I didn't"
she interpolated. But I came
out here out Of pure curiosity;
I hadn't q thought Of crashing
the gate. Not I! It was un-
fortunate, for you, especially,
that you are so fond Of nature
you permit those wood paths
of yours to grow hidden roots.
I couldn't help turning my
idiotic ankle. And that's that"
whether you meant to have
US find you or not" said Lori
mer, I'VE have found you"
IF I married you, Lorry-
mind you, I'm not saying I
SHALL would have your
mothers hostility to battle with,
all the rest Of my life"
She saw the shadows deepen
in his eyes and the sudden
firmer set to his unsmiling
mouth.
my mother hasn't had q
chance to know you yet" he
told her quietly. "You must
remember that when I returned
to her from the war, she had
heard nothing from me in
months. And I returned pretty
much of a wreck, mentally
and physically, with just one
thought in my mind, to find
you again; with the fixed idea
that we had been married, that
you were my wife. 1t was con-
siderable of q shock to her;
and when, after engaging agents
to search for the record Of the
marriage and for word Of you,
she discovered absolutely moth
ing, she quite naturally became
convinced that II you ever had
existed, you existed no longer,
and that we were not married.
The deception she and DR..
Mathews undertook when Mary
Lou, with her resemblance to
you, came here, was undertaken
solely because they felt that my
condition called for 1t, and so
didn't. I suppose, look very far
ahead"
Not to Blame
"You don't blame them, then.
or her?" she asked, curiously.
mo. Not now. But it couldn't
have continued much longer"
he answered, staring out of the
window at the moving pattern
of tree branches against the
clear, blue sky. II think they
imagined that, gradually, as I
became more like myself, I
would remember everything, I
would begin to question more
closely and perhaps come to
the right conclusion by myself.
I din't believe, however, that I
would have ever done so. l