Evening star., 1941-04-21

THE EVENING
pare with my own amateur efforts
Imagine how I felt when l found
that gun literally covered with your
fingerprints. There are moments I
shall never forget and that's Ger
tainly one of them"
Reasons for Silence.
The dinner so carefully ordered
was growing cold unnoticed by
either of them. Mark hurried on,
oblivious to everything but the girl
across the table from him.
Il nearly lost my mind! Isspent
the worst hour of my life right then,
crushing down one insane idea after
another, all the time frantic with
fear over all that the gun implied.
OF course, common sense finally as
serted itself and I came to the
conclusion that whatever had gone
before you had put the gun in my
pocket because you wanted me to
dispose of it. So I did. put it where
it will never be seen again-not as
long as rivers run to the sea-"
Sandra drew deep breath.
And, of course, I never gave you
chance later to tell me what YOU
had done. You were the last person
in the world I would ever think had
taken the gun. My driving fear was
the man I had seen at the window.
thought he had stolen it as a
warning to me to stop connecting
his name with Joe's death"
That is understandable" Mark
replied quickly. But actually by
carrying it off that day after you
had hidden it for "a hours I made
myself an accessory after the fact
When I realized what 1 had done
[ knew I could not tell you I had
it and I figured you would never
mention the subject to me. ANY dis
cussion between us would make us
accompliCeS, which technically we
were anyway, only no one knew it
not even ourselves"
A Happy Proposal.
A long silence fell between them.
Once more the music was playing
and Mark recognized a song which
must have been written for two
people very much in love. He
waited until the orchestra had fin
ished, then he said in husky voice,
choked with an emotion he could no
longer conceal:
All that is over and done with,
Sandra dear, and now I have some
thing of far greater importance to
tell you. And this, too, concerns
only you and me. Strange as it may
seem to you, I discovered many
months ago that I love you better
than anything else in the world and
want you to know it now Later,
when these unhappy days are really
only a memory, and a rapidly fad
ing one, I want you to marry me-"
Sandra'S eyes lifted to Mark Cot
tons face, and in them was a quiet
thoughtfulness that told much, and
at the same time very little, of what
was going on IN her mind. She was
thinking of Joseph Starr and the life
she had lived with him. 1t was only
a short time since that life had come
to an end, but now it seemed like
the hazy memory Of an almost for
gotten play.
There had been little happiness in
| that first marriage of hers. There
had been a great deal of misery.
knowing that she wasn't needed by
her husband, knowing that his work
his laboratory-waS the only thing
in the world that ever penetrated
the surface Of his being. Even in
those infrequent hours when they
were alone together she had felt
/ lonely. She hadn't known Joseph
Starr. She had never loved him
with the deep, wholesome, over
whelming love that she knew a
woman should feel for her husband.
Sandra's Heart MeltS.
And the tragedy Of those years
had built hard little case around
her heart, closing it off completely
from those things in life capable of
stirring emotions. She had thought
of herself that way before, and look
ing at Mark now she wondered If
that hard little case was still there
and was still so hard. Somehow
looking at him, she felt that the
) warmth, the kindness, the oh-so-
obvious devotion in his eyes was
somehow slowly melting the icy
hardness of that case. She still felt
the tender comfort of his hands
when they had touched hers a mo-
ment ago. AS she looked at him
and her lips parted in slow smile
and new happiness came into her
eyes.
With a sudden alacrity Mark got
to his feet and came around the
table to stand beside her chair
Leaning down he whispered:
Let's dance, darling"
AS he swung her out on the dance
floor he said happily because he had
seen his answer in her shining
eyes:
You will marry me, won't you,
Sandra-some day?"
Yes, Mark, Sandra replied softly.
Some day-Soon."
(Cor wright, 1871, Chicago Daily News, In:)
CTHE END0