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Show i ' 7" 1 ' i i i i i i i ' r-TJfH TV7 IT TTTS A fc" I BY UPTON SINCLAIR ' LiiiilNJMjT" luJliiiiJAu) AUTHOR " OF "THE JUNGLfe" 1 fcaiewassssaessseina, ' eswawawweassnaWJSwwaSS-awawSSsMSSS 1 Ll 1 : - "And you re&lly xneaa sot to i&Any falsi?" stked th other. as be gated at her Just then which made him aeen to her a different aort of a m anas an-as indeed be was. She answered eery gently. "Mr.1 Harrison.", aba aaid," "it would bo a great happiness to me to know that anyone felt so much about me. But I could sorer Blurry you; I do not love you." "And you do not think." asked the other, "that you could ever - come to love me, so matter how long I might wait?" "I do not think ao." Helen aaid in a low voice. "I wish that you would not over think of mo ao." - "(To Be Continued.) ; CHAPTER XL -, (Continued.) Mr. Harrison, who was standing by the '-indow, turned whan bo heard her; ahe answered his greeting kindly, and then eat' down and remained very still for a moment or two, gazing at her hands in her lap. At last aha rained her eyes to him, and asked: "Mr. Harrison, did you receive the letter I wrote ycut" ''Yes," jho' other ' answered quickly. "I flid. - I cannot tell you . how much pats It caused me. And, Helenor must I call you Misa Davie?" "You may call no Helen." aaid the girt simply. "I was very aorry to cause you pain, she added, "but there was nothing else that I could do." , , i "At least, v the Joiner responded. 1 hope . .that you win sot. refuse to -xnjaln to me why this step is necessary?" "No, Mr. Harrison," said Helen." "it is right that I should tell you all. no matter how hard. it Is to me to do it. It Is sll be-tuse be-tuse of5 a great wrong that I have done I know that when I have told you you ' will think very badly of ma indeed; but I have no right to do anything except to speak the itruth." , She tatdithlsMn a very low voice, not al- tawjng her eyes to drop, and wearing, upon . her face the look of aadness which seemed bow to belong to: it always. Mr. Harrison gased at her anxiously and said: "You seem to have been HI, Helen." "I have been very unhappy, Mr. Harri- ! son." she answered, "and I do not - believe I can ever be otherwise again. Did you sot i notice that I was unhappy?" "I never thought, of it until yesterday."" the other replied. I never ones thought that you bad dose anything wrong." . "I have dons Terr wrong Indeed.' hs answered, his vole trembling, "for I do not think thst I had any right even to ask you to marry me. - You make me feel auddenly bow very coarse a world I have lived In snd how much lower then yours sll my ways of thinking are. You look surprised that I ssy that," hs added, as ho saw that the girl was about to interrupt him, "but you do not know much about the world. Do you sup- pose that there are many women in society I wbo would : hesitate to marry me for money?" "I dont know." said Helen, alowly: "hut. Mr. Harrison, you could certainly never It happy with s woman jrbo would do that." "I do not think now that I should," the man replied, earnestly, "but I did not feel that way before I did not have much else to offer. Helen, for money is -all that a man like mo ever tries to get in the world." "It Is so very wrong, Mr. Harriaon." put la the other quickly.- "When people Hve in that way they come to lose sight ot all thst Is right and beautiful in life; snd It is sll so selfish snd wicked!" (Those were words which might have) made Mr. Howard smile a trifle lhad hs Men there to bear them, but Helen was too much is earnest to think about being original ) "I know'-ssld Mr. Harrison, "and I used to believe In such things: but one never meets snyons else thst does, snd It is so easy to live differently. When you spoke to me ss you did just now you msds me seem a very poor kind of a person Indeed." .The man paused and Helen sat gazing at bins with a worried look upon her face. "It eras not that which I meant to do." the began, be-gan, but then stopped, and after a long silence si-lence Mr. Harrison took up the conversation again, speaking in a low earnest voice. "Helen," he aaid, "you have mads ms sse that I sm quite unworthy to ssk for your regard that I have really nothing fit to offer of-fer you. But I might have one thing that you could appreciate for I could worship-really worship-really worship such a woman ss you. snd I could do everything that I could think of to make myself worthy of you even II it meant the changing of all my ways of life. Do you not suppose that you could quite forget that I wsa a rich man. Helen, and still let me be devoted to you?" There was a look In Mr. Harrison's eyes "Until the drive, ssid Helen: "thst wss lbs climax of it I must tell you the reason , why I was so frightened then that I have m- friend who was as dear to ms as if he ' 'wars my brother, and hs loved mo very much, very much more than I deserve to - ba loved by anyone; and when I was en- fared ta you he wss very ill, and becauss knew I was doing so wrong I did not dare go and see him. That wss why I wss sfrsld to pass through Hilltown. The rea-. rea-. sos I was so frightened afterward is thst I caught a glixppss of him, and he was la . such i -dreadful way. Thia morning I found . that hs had left his boms snd gone awsy, no pns knows where, so that I fear I shall sever sea him again.""-.- Helen paused, and the other, wbo had eat down snd was leaning forward anxiously, anxious-ly, asked her, "Then it is this friend thst you lovs?" A Ho," ths girl replied. "It Is not thst; I X not lova snybody." ISut then I do not understand, west on . ?. , Harrison, with a puixled look. "You, poke of its having been so wrong; was it ' toot your right to wish to marry me?" And Helen, punishing herself as she hsd 5 earned so brsvely to do, did not lower her eyes even then; sh flushed somewhat, how vxv 88 she answered: "Mr- Harrison, da fe-ou jenow why I wuhed to marry you?" The other started a trifle, and looked very cauch. st a loss indeed. "Why?" hs echoed. VNo. I 4o not know that Is I never thought"- - i "It hurts ms mors than I can tall you to fisve to say this to you," Helen aaid, "for Vou wore right and true, in your feeling. But 'did you think that I wss that, Mr. Harrison? Har-rison? Did you think-that I loved you?" V Probably the good man had never been tnore embarrassed in his life than ha was liust thsn. The truth to ba told, hs was per- fectly well aware why Helen had wished to fnarry him. and had been all along, without eelhs anything' In that for which to dislike dis-like her: be wss quUe without sn answer io her question, and could only cough and stammer and reach for his handkerchief. The girl went ow quickly without waiting Very- long for his reply. - t. . , l owe It to 00 to tell you toe truth,", the said, "and then It will no longer eaues you pain to glr as np. - For I did not "love you at all, Mr. Harrison; hut I loved II that you offered me, and I allowed myself my-self to be tempted thus to promise to marry you.- Ever afterward I was quits wretched. . because I knew thst I was doing something wicked, and yet I never had the courage to f top. S,o It want on until my punishment rams vestorday. I hsvs suffered fearfully , tines that." - Helen had said all that there was to be said, - and she stopped and took a deep t-reath of relief. There waa a minute or two of tilence. after which Mr. Harrison asked: "And you really think that It waa so wrong to pion.ise to marry me for the happiness that I could offer you?" Helen gazed at ( him In surprise as she echoed. "Waa It ao wrong T" And at tbs same moment, even while shd wss speaking, a memory flashed across her mind the memory mem-ory of what had occurred st Fslrvtsw the last time ahe hsd been there with Mr. Harrison, Har-rison, A deep, burning blush mantled ber face,' and her eyas dropped, and shs trsm-. trsm-. bled visibly. It wss a setter response to the other's question thsn any words could har-Wn, and because in spits of Sis con- . tdAt i-h the world be was still In hia heart 1 a" rifltleman, he i understood and changed coi fr himself andj looked away, feeling p?r-btjf p?r-btjf mors rebuked snd bumbled thsn hs had aver felt In bis lifs before. to they est for several minutes without r"-.:k!r!e a word, or looking at each other, each doing penance in his own heart. At Uti in a vety tow, voice, the man said, "Helen, I do not know just how I can aver . apologize to you." The girl .answered quietly:' "1 could hot Jet you apologize to ms, Mr. Harrison, fjpr . , ' ! ' ' . . - ' . ' i . .. : . ' . ' - , . ' ' |