Evening star., 1940-03-13
.WlLNn
MWhNER

be courteous.
Afraid Of Poverty.
Elaine marrying some one else
1t seemed fantastic and yet Betty
wasn't the type who would say o,
write anything which wasn't true
Yes, Elaine was going to be mar
ried. Probably the man was Stuart
Looking back, he could see that
he had been doing the wrong thing
all along. He should have married
Elaine that first day in New York
He should have married her
whether he lost his fortune or not
Elaine hadn't been interested in q
life OF luxury for its sake alone.
She had been interested In him
and in whatever sort of life he
cared to give her.
But he had been afraid. He could
acknowledge that to himself now.
He had been afraid to live in q
world of work and worry and
poverty, and that was Just the type
OF world 1t would have been had
he married her then. With all
respect to his dead mother, he
felt she had not been truthful
when she told him she would never
have disinherited him. Oh, she
thought she was telling him the
truth when she told him that,
but that was because she was
weak and dying. Alive, she. would
have been as merciless as she had
threatened to be.
Yes, he had indeed been a spine-
less fool, unworthy OF any girls
love. But that was over now.
Somehow, ever since his mothers
death he had the feeling of being
unafraid of anything life could
offer. He had changed; peculiarly
enough, he had matured. But
1t was too late. Or-was it? Did
he still have a chance to win
Elaine back? He pounded his fist
anxlously on the rosewood table.
He had to win her back. Life
without Elaine wouldn't be life:
1t would be hell!
The chauffeur appeared in the
door carrying the suitcases and
coughed to attract Eric's attention.
I'VE won't have much time to
catch the plane, Mr.. Reardon," he
said apprehensively. wen have
to hurry"
Eric Is Determined.
"Of course" Eric snuffed out his
cigarette, followed the chauffeur
from the house and got into the big
limousine. He glanced back once
at the house as the car sped down
the blue-gravelled driveway. In a
window on the second floor he could
see Helen's golden head at the
curtains. He smiled over the
thoughts that must be running
through her brain. Yet, oddly
enough, he knew she was thinking
along the same lines as he. She
was wondering too if, when he re-
turned. Elaine would be with him.
She would be. She had to be.
A stern light burned in Erics ewes.
He had gone to New York for her
once before, a horrible caricature
OF man. He was going again, but
tnlS time a man who knew what
he wanted and who was determined
to get it.
1t was good to be out on the
water. 1t was good to stand in the
bow Of the big ferryboat and feel a
crisp, salt breeze whip at her tin
Cling cheeks. It was good to stand
with her eyes skyward and watch
the first feeble, pink rays of the
rising sun dissipate the gray murki-
ness OF night; but above all it was
good to be away from the apart
ment. far, far away from the ex-
element Of preparing for her
wedding and immediate departure
from New York.
Elaine sighed appreciatively as
she leaned against the rail of the
boat and looked out across the
still waters of upper New York Bay.
All about her was the peace and
quiet she had been seeking. Her
teeth flashed in a pleased smile.
She was glad she had decided to
leave the apartment and Jane and
Betty and Clara and the lovelorn
Jack to take this short voyage to
Staten Island and back.
Out here she could think. What
mattered the occasional cry of
hungry gull as 1t swooped eagerly
down towards the slate gray wa
ters; what mattered the occasional
hoot of a tugboat's deep-throated
whistle? Compared with the ex-
element and chattering voices
back in the apartment these noises
simply did not exist. Yes, out here
she could think.
And she needed to do that badly.
This afternoon, at l o'clock, she and
Melvyn would stand before the
minister in the Little Church
Around the Corner and be made
man and wife. Proposed to yester-
day and married today!
(Copyright, 1910, by William Newbauer.
To be continued)