Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1933-05-18
CHAPTER III

spread her arms helplessly, and the
young mar stared at her.
Il had hoped not to tell you-she
was speaking In a soft, tired voice
until after we should have been d.
vorced or had the marriage annulied
detested the Idea OF 4 campus
dal-or gossip-or whatever Ii would
have been was waiting until gradu-
alton. Then | was going west or 10
France or somewhere and quietly have
the whole miserable affair ended But
seeing Ivy-with hIm-thaf rather
changed things about, Larry.
Il understand. wish you had told
me before. though. And. going back
to the beginning what caused
you toto become uninfatuatedy
She gave a little smile of dlstaste.
Several things. Larry. I'll talk frank
ly-because 1t Is your right to know.
Before we were married. Pat and |
agreed that the marriage was to be a
mere form until summer. We were to
be good friends. Just as we had been
since be came to Mariand-but that
was all 1t wasn't long after the cere-
mony that he made 1t clear that he
didn't intend to keep the bargain
Her cheeks were flushed and Larry's
were dead white.
mo need to go Into detail II
wasn't very pleasant l didn't regard
myself as his wife and told him So
He was rather nasty about It. One
thing led to another and then
we had our first quarrel" She gave
a short. bitter laugh .-One can find
out a good many things about q man
when he Is thoroughly angry. I found
out about Pat Thayer then Before
we had finished | told him that he
might have saved himself the trouble
of going through with a marriage eefa
mony. told him / intended to get q
divorce Immediately. and then. Larry.
was when the cIoven hoof became un-
~mistakably visible.
He refused to consider a divorce
! had married him with my eyes open
He didn't intend that I should have
any grounds for divorce And II I
cared to bring action. he'd fight 1t LIN
such q way that the Marland campus
would become a thoroughly uncom-
Portable place
Il hated that Idea. Larry. / lore
Marland. 1 wanted my degree ron
here. / stalled him of, and was sur
prised that he seemed content to walt.
day-he came to me and
asked the loan of a large sum OF
money 7"
Good Lordi You don't mean '
Precisely BlackmaiL- / refused
and he threatened to spread around
the campus the story / had been try
Ing to keep secret No divorce. mind
no annulment- He intended 10
insinuate to let the student |
body form Its own opinions. / called
a blackmailer. and he cheerfully
admitted that he was. He said I'd
never miss the amount he wished to
borrow-which Vas true-and. any-
way. | loaned 1t to him In the months
that followed / loaned him more
money, Larry-tust to keep his filthy
mouth shut. And 1t isn't the amount
But 1t was terrible to feel that I WINS
being bled by a man whose name /
bore Time after time l deter
mined to end 1t by suing for an annuL
nent- Then I'D think about the en-
oarrassment OF staying on nj Nariand
the gossip became genera-and
[. wasn't brave enough IT WAS my
plan to wait until after / had my de-
sTee then to end the affair
egally." She paused for a moment,
hen turned impulsively toward the
7oung man. II wonder III you under
@Of course / do, dear"
@And You think ! was cowardlyg"
"Not a bit think you've been
'ather fine about 1T
She noticed his manner OF talking.
here was nothing soft or gentle In his
'oice. 1t was obvious that be was
making a distinct effort to keep him
elf under control
She was surprised. 1t was the first
line In the four years she had known
that she had ever seen him
by anger. There was some
hing primitive In the ugly Set OF his
Ips and the blue OF his eyes had
hanged to an icy gray.
i've kept pretty quiet, Tony" he
aid. choosing his words with metic-
lous care. AT first / was all with
at Goodness knows I'd be the last
ne to blame him for wanting to mar
y you. | even"-he hesitated for the
riefest fraction OF an instant. and
Is cheeks flushed---T even didn't
him when you told me that he
'asnt aWfully keen about keeping his
art OF the bargain about
bout waiting until summer for 4
oneymoon.
But the rest OF 1t It's pretty
often. That any man should havs
you because you have a little :
that he should have black :
you for two years; that he .