The Daily Alaska empire., 1932-08-09

BIe IEdll, OOllll SdlQ CdSudlly. always dislike wives being left be- hind when it means a long sep aration, as it probably does ir Merriman's case"
 Sondra's lips moved stiffly.
 Why do you dislike-wives be- ing left behind?"
 He shrugged his shoulders.
 Its unsettling for a man; it takes his mind off his work, and handicaps him"
 "Is1't that rather hard? Why shouldn't men who have to work abroad be married?"
 Abroad is rather a magic term. I was speaking of men who have to go where young Mer- rimaa has gone. It's not a wo- mans country as you know"
 "And I. if Mark had been a married man?' Sondra asked. He looked at her steadily.
 If Merriman had been a mar ried man, I shouldn't have given him the job," he said.
 It was not until late that even ing, when Sondra was dressing for dinner, that she remembered the letter which John Anderson had given to her that morning.
 She had slipped it into her bag and had forgotten it.
 That seemer queer, and very significant. of the way in which life had changed during the past 24 hours.
 She had even forgotten that her dressmaker was pressing for pay ment-she had forgotten every thing except that with every mo- ment the distance between her and Mark Merriman was increas- ing by hopeless miles. She took up the little handbag.
 The letter was stifl there, care- lessly doubled up as if 1t was something of no importance.
 Sondra tore the flap open with out much interest.
 What did it matter whether she wore pretty gowns or not? There was no longer anybody in town whom she cared to please.
 She flushed a little as she me- ~1, a ,,s nc llx, counted tho o,.ie,1 tsay,ty notes.
 One thousand dollars! she let the money slip from her fingers to the dressing table.
 Nobody would ever believe her if she told them that in return for such gift she had given mo- thing-would never give anything: people would laugh if they knew that moreover Anderson had nev- CT asked anything of her-probab- ly never would ask.
 It seemed an unusual sort of friendship-affection.
 It was so seldom that even very rich man gave generously without hope of return.
 Mark would be horrified; Mark would never understand She could imagine his indignation.
 Some day he would come back! and what then?
 For the first time Sondra look ed honestly into the future but tried to realize what life would be then--it ever-Mark came home
 She knew that if he made mon- ey all would probably be we'll, but if not?-if he came back as he went away - poor, without pros pects-what would become of the two of them?
 Could she face life in a subur- ban house-even with his love? she knew that she could not. There was always John; John would do anything for her-and he would see to Marks future. h. fluence meant so much nowadays; ViiC pA.OuSlit SOAlAOUCQ llCI.
 Of course Mark would get on he would make a position in the world, and they would find hap piness together.
 And in the meantime
 It was not yet 24 hours since they had said goodbye, and al- ready it seemer as if it was years ago that she had stood on the pier trying to hide from the world that Mark meant anything more to her than just an ordinary friend who was going aboard.
 Not yet A hours! and it might be five years before they met again.
 Was it possible to still love man passionately whom one had not seen for five years? People changed so. Mark might grow stout or bald. She smiled in- voluntarily at the thought.
 Five years! Five summers, five winters-five glorious springs, and all without Mark. She was his wife, though they had lived to- geth2r for only A few short, hours.