The Daily Alaska empire., 1933-02-13

rroud. You made a promise when you were too much of a child ! to understand the nature of it and now it has become a matter of pride with you to keep your word. You never ask yourself if Mark is really happy in your care"
 Barbara flung back her head.
 T don't need to ask myself, I ask Mark instead-and he tells me that he is happy and that he loves me and that he wants us to mar ry."
 of course he tells you that. because you've made him believe Iit. Marks lazy Marks cruel, and there's side of Mark that makes him hold to you because with you fle can be as lazy and cruel as he chooses. How do you know that with me he might not learn to b. less crazy and less cruel"
 Because" said Barbara, icy lunrelenting, T saw a portrait he painted of you. He has never been sa cruel to me as that!" "Oh, Mark; Oh, Mark" Leila's hands were flung out, as though she sought for help. Then she went stifly back to the table, sat down and held her head. Barbara's anger had vanished utterly. She too, returned to the Itable.
 I'm terribly sorry I said that, Leila! Terribly ashamedl"
 After moment the muffled voice answered from under shield ing fingers.
 You needn't be. I provoked you to it. Has anyone besides your self seen it?"
 No" said Barbara, without a qLalm. She added, coming clos 'er-"It's destroyed now, absolute y obliterated. You can forget it and anything to do with it."
 I'd like to tell you about-the portrait" said Leila, applying lip stick and powder-puff with careful precision.
 You needn't tell me, Leila"
 We were seeing a lot of each ether. I think Mark wanted to fall in love with me; or perhaps he oriy wanted to feel free. He seemed to resent violently that he was not free; and yet he never contemplated for one instant giv- ing you up. It was as if he darent."
 I'm not his jailer."
 Are you sure you're not? Any way, he was irked and restless and he took it out on me, but orly, I swear, because he was irked. I don't naturally drive him to cruelty as you do"
 Its useless, this kind of talk" No, not useless. It's part of What lies between us and it's time we had it clear. =. Barbara, Mark and I decided at last-there was a fancy dress ball in town and we planned"
 I've told you I don't want to know"
 sg s And I've told you I want to tell. We left this hole of a place quite openly but I turned off the London road the other side of Texeter and We went down to a little village I know on the South coast.
 He gave me an emerald pend ant; a beautiful think, set in plat hum. But there was a girl there
 "a waitress-faintly like you and it broke Marks mood. Next day ne began to taunt me. went off the deep end-I threw the emerald a. him-we had a hell of row and in the end drove up to town, swearing he would stick alone there by the set for the rest of his wicked life"
 She bent and peered into the mirror in her bag and ran a fin- ger tip over the arches of her brows.
 < After I'd been in London at the flat-a couple of weeks, he sent me a photograph. I gaped at it Eat first I couldn't get the point of it all. You see, I hadn't seen the portrait, then" < Tt was a photograph of the por- trait?"
 Tt was indeed" Leila laughed the old, mocking laugh, a little bitter, a trifle amused. You've seen it, you'll know why I couldn't risk his showing it to anyone"
 "He never would have shown it. He couldn't"
 Don't be fool You know he would have shown it to all Kings Mallard if it had suited him. No one would have believed that I hadn't sat for it. He had been making notes of me for weeks, you see, and he evidently had his sketch box with him and