The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1945-10-11

what happens ana 60 on with IL.
He stopped abruptly, half abashed.
"Queer, my talking like this. don't
often. But there it isl wish could
offer you more consolation.
why, you have" said Elizabeth.
.'Have I? Howl"
"By being you. It's hard to ex-
plain"
THANK you." He took both her
hands in his and gave them a hard
grip. You're a swell girl, Eliza
beth"
When she went into her room and
turned on the light she felt a new
elation. She had not seen this side
of Spratt's nature before. Finding
it made her feel that for the first
time since she came to California
she had acquired, not another COM
panion to amuse her leisure, but a
friend who would be there when she
needed him.
The following Sunday, as they
were driving home, after brisk day
of sun and water, she leaned back
in the car, saying drowsily, "I'll
probably be asleep by eight o'clock
tonight. I'm so tired!"
ST am too" said Spratt, ''fun-
tired Let's do this often"
"I'd like to. But I thought you
worked most of your week-ends."
$50 I do, but that's been because
there was nobody interesting to play
with. l work too hard"
"Are you just beginning to realize
that?" she asked.
mot exactly, but I'm just begin
ming to admit it. Work can be like
liquor sometimes, an escape from
too much of ones own company"
She glanced up, expecting him to
go on, but Spratt remarked on the
coloring of the desert hills in the
sunset and said no more about him.
self. Remembering his remark lat
er, however, she thought she should
have expected it. She might have
realized long ago that like so many
other brilliant and ambitious men,
Spratt was essentially lonely. Yet
she had not realized it, and she was
glad to do so now. She needed his
friendship; it was good to know that
IN spite of his self-assurance Spratt
also had need of her.
When he asked her to marry him
she was not surprised. She did not
answer him at once. Spratt had CIV
en- her so much, more than she knew
until now, when she had to consider
the possibility of letting him go. But
she wanted to be fair, and in fair
ness there were matters that had to
be explained.
She explained them on an evening
when they were in her apartment,
Spratt listening with quiet attention
while she spoke. She told him how
she had loved Arthur, and how she
had suffered at being told he was
dead. 1T can't be easy for you to
hear this" she said.
It's easier now than it'll ever be
again" he answered. "Go on"
Elizabeth stood up. Moving around
behind her chair she put her hands
on the back of it and held it while
she talked.
"Spratt, you told me to take this
out and face it. I've tried to. I've
tried to be practical, to tell myself
everything | might tell somebody
else I've said to myself that maybe
Arthur wasn't worth what | gave
him, maybe nobody ever born could
deserve SO much. Maybe it was just
young girls infatuation, taking all
the romantic heroes of her dreams
and embodying them in the form
of handsome lover. / can say all
this, / can accept it with the cool
reasoning part of my mind, but be-
yond that it doesn't 60. My emo
tions, my spirit-what the poets
would call my heart-simply won't
accept it. Because I had what
had. The simple truth is that for
the year we were married Arthur
gave me an experience of ecstasy.
Ii he had lived I might have been
dlsillusioned. But what I'm trying
to tell you is that / wasn't disillu-
stoned, and now I never will be. Do
you understand what I'm saying?"
Yes. But you haven't said wheth-
er or not you want to marry me-"
Il do want to. But I'm not sure
you're going to want to marry me. If
you don't want to, say so. You're
too fine and honest to have anything
less than the truth from me, or to
let me have anything less than that
from you. Spratt, when Arthur died
something died in me. What ! feel
for you-it's strange to call it love,
because it's so different. It's not
alteration that sees no faults. It's
thoughtful and realistic. / like you,
/ admire you, have tremendous re-
spect for you. trust you complete
ly. I'd tell you anything. I know
you'll never fail me. But I can't
give you what I gave Arthur, be-
cause / haven't got it to give. It's
just not there any more"
She looked across the room at him,
listening steadily in the half-glow Of
a reading lamp some distance away.
She concluded,
1T would hurt me terribly to lose
you. But it would be worse to know
/ had been less than completely hon
est with you. There may be another
woman who can give you what I
can't, and if that's what you want.
please, please tell me So"
She heard soft, smothered little
sound from his direction, and saw
to her amazement that Spratt was
laughing. He stood up and came
over to her.
MY darling girl, you told me I