The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1932-12-30
CHAPTER Nv

from church to cook, was not an en-
tire success, either in her eyes or In
the eyes of anyone else who attended
it, with the possible exception Of
Blanche and Philip.
In the first place, it was prepared
somewhat hurriedly, and with sore
and grieving spirit-a combination Of
misfortunes which has proved dis
astrous to more pretentious banquets.
Going into her cousins room with the
bowl of ice and pitcher of icewater,
Mary found Paul. clad in pale-blue
pajamas, lying on his back in bed, his
face lined. and white, black rings
about his closed eyes.
In spite of her wholesome freshness,
Mary was by no means stupid She
knew perfectly well that shows" in
Wallacetown were apt to include other
things ION the side," and she knew,
too, that drawn, mask-like pallor
might be as certain an indication of
dissipation as puffy flush.
"Oh. Paul. she said reproachfully,
"how can your"
Paul sat up in bed, reaching for the
icewater. "How can whaty' he
asked GROSSLY.
"You know"
I'm sure don't. You're not very
definite. Put some of that cracked
ice in handkerchief, will you, and
wrap it around my head"
e;I Do 10
down again, and kept very still for
some minutes, his tense expression
gradually relaxing. Then he smiled,
and put his arm around her.
you're an awfully good girl, Mary"
he said softly Il don't know what
should do without you. Won't you
give me kiss? You haven't yet, this
morning."
"Whom did you kiss last?' asked
Mary in a hard voice.
"Why you, right after supper last
night! Don't you remember? That
is" Mary's gray eyes were looking
straight into his, and there was some
thing in them which Paul found it i'm
possible to meet. "Look here" he
broke off angrily, ''you are getting to
be the greatest prude, do you know
1t? And an awfully suspicious, jeal-
Gus one at that. / went to Wallace
town with Jack Weston and some of
the White Water crowd-no one else
from Hamstead."
"By some of the White Water
crowd don't suppose you mean our
friends and relatives there, do you?
You mean some of the girls and fell
lows that have just come to work in
the new mill?"
swell, what If do? There's no
harm in working in mill, is there?"
''No--in fact, I think it's rather bet
ter to work III mill than it is to loaf
on farm. Go on"
II won't go on said Paul. more
angrily than he had spoken before.
you're enough to drive a fellow to
drink-or worse supposing had done
anything worse. But what does it
amount to-kissing a pretty girl that
you've had lark with, when you say
ood-night'-anyway It's only what
she expects. 1t doesn't mean any
thing"
"It doesn't seem toto you," replied
Mary, very quietly.
"Oh, Lord mean, Of course, 1t
doesn't amount to anything wrong.
Come back here"
But Mary was gone, shutting the
door behind her.
Outside the house, she hesitated, her
lips quivering, her eyes full of tears.
She couldn't-she couldn't-go home
feeling the way she did, and start
getting dinner. The village clock,
striking eleven, decided her. Unde-
tered by the rain, which was still
gently falling. she walked up the road
towards a little mountain which was
part of the farm, and called in mem.
DRY of the first Blanche. who had loved
to go there, Countess HILL"
It was very quiet on the mountain.
Mary, walking up one of the wide,
needle-strewn paths that led to the
top, the soft rain hardly penetrating
Luc LulSh IISCo, DCSdu, diLuOSl lLlic-
diately, to find peace and what she
wanted still more-time and space to
think resolutely about Paul. What
should she do-what ought she to do?
Break her engagement? How much.
she asked herself, with quick little
culver of pain. would he care if she
did? Why was she always fated to
make herself so unattractive to him,
to be so tactless, when she was trying
only to be fair and honest? And
would either of them be any better off
if she made what would be, to her,
heart breaking sacrifice? In vain she
admitted that neither her reason nor
her instinct should allow her to love
man whom she did not respect or
trust, not nearly as much as she al
ready respected and trusted Philip
Starr, who, twenty-fOur hours earlier
had been complete stranger to her.
The fact remained that she did love
Paul, with every fiber of her being, far
more deeply. far more passionately.