Red Lodge daily news combined with Carbon County news., 1932-12-28

funny old thing-what other rea-
son could there be?"
He shrugged his shoulders help
lessly. 81 don't understand wo-
men," he said. Seems to me
they're a rum lot"
He was unutterably thankful
when Beatrice said she must go
he breathed a great sigh of relief
as she Joined a party of friends
who had just come in.
A nasty, dangerous girl, that
what she was, he decided; he
hoped devoutly she would not
make it her business to talk to
every one as she had just done to
him. Of course he had always
known that John was in love with
Sondra-but we'll, if she didn't
wish to marry him and preferred
another fellow, it couldn't be
helped. Cass liked Sondra and
was sorry for her-she hadn't had
much of a life. There wouldn't be
any harm in warning John any
way; if Sondra was happy with
Mark Merriman it was no use TAX
ing chances that might lead to the
destruction of that happiness. 1t
was all very %perplexing; this a
riage business seemed to be the
sort of thing of which wise men
steered clear.
1t would have added greatly TO
his perplexity could he have seen
Sondra at that moment. She was
sitting beside Mark, laughing AMI
talking as if she had not a care IN
the world. Her eyes were bright
"a little too bright a careful OBJ
server might have thought, and
one of her hands held his.
"And when you're able to be
moved" she was saying gaily,
"Mr. Anderson is going to lend US
the little house I told you about,
at the shore. It's lovely there,
Mark, the sea is like champagne,
and the air perfectly glorious.
You'll soon be as we'll and strong
as ever"
Mark smiled-"I feel a different
man already, since | found you
again, Sondra-It was rotten be-
ing i'll, but all the time at the back
of my mind there was an migrate
full sort of thought that if only I
was i'll enough, | might be sent
home to YOU"
He looked a very different man
to the one who had said goodbye
to her a few short months ago,
but Sondra knew that every day
he was gaining strength.
Its only a question of time
the doctors had told her. "His
heart is naturally weak, but with
rest and care he ought to get quite
fit and well again."
1t was a week since he had been
brought home. A queer sort of
week it had seemed to Sondra, and
eve now she had not grown used
to being addressed as MRS. Mer-
riman' or to the sight of the we'd
ding ring on her finger.
1t seemed a long cry back to
that rainy morning at the pier
and to her own dread of seeing
Mark again, Sondra thought. And
yet at the first moment of their
meeting, pity for him, and a faint
returning of the old love she had
once felt, had chased all other
emotion from her heart.
Since then she had many times
tried to understand herself and
had failed.
She knew that her heart and
happiness were in John Ande--
sons keeping, and yet she knew
also that even if now he had been
willing to take her away, she could
not have left Mark.
Il suppose there are several
kinds Of love-" she thought hope
lessly. Cor else I'm not capable
of loving one man with my whole
heart"
Anderson had been to the nurs-
ing home several times, but she
had never spoken with him alone.
She had sat and watched him
while he talked to Mark, a queer
little pain in her heart, and yet
she was always glad when he went
away.
What's the use? What's the
use? she asked herself hopelessly.
| can't ever belong to him, and it's
my own fault, so / might as well
make the best of it.
But it was a difficult best-et
when she went back to her
at Mrs. Sears, things were
not so easy, and yet in her own I'M
accustomed way she tried to be
brave although always in her mind
was the strange feeling that none
of these happenings was real
that it was just a strange phase
through which she was passing.
Then one evening when she hal
come in tired and dispirited, Mrs.
Sears came knocking at the door.
"a lady to see you, Miss"
Sondra looked up without inter-
est.
"Who is it?"