Show THE BLACK SHEEP by EARL I 1 MARBLE i copyright by dally story pub co well sister I 1 ve met my fate yes was all the response made by pretty edith somerby to her broth dr arthur somerby that is that was all the answer made in words but her tone and the mischief shining from her ees said a whole lot more but this is not a comedy its an idyl who Is she some one over at the hospital ah one of the nurses she la one of my patients keep right on we shall get the whole romance pretty soon will you go and see her what for A comans womans instinct Is worth a whole lot more than a man a judg ment will you go maybe so have you told her that you love her not in words but maybe in man ner 1 I guess I 1 shall be obliged to go what is her name ruth marlowe A right pretty name come around tomorrow and I 1 will give you my diagnosis of her case and can t you take a or some flower around so you can give it to her if apu are pleased with her perhaps and possibly I 1 shall have a story to tell you you will not propose to her un less I 1 say you may oh come now that s asking too much of a fellow well I 1 guess it Is at any rate I 1 will not be too hard on you nor on her right nor on her im terribly interested in those three words how very mysterious you are I 1 think there Is a romance here when edith called in the afternoon bhe was quite loaded down with a rather heterogeneous assortment of flowers and seemed to be going direct to the couch of ruth marlowe to whom she gave a rather searching glance and then turned in another direction what a beautiful lady said ruth to the nurse who paused by her couch just then what a beautiful bunch of flowers ehe bad yes I 1 think she did have come flowers but flowers would stand no chance to be seen by the side of such a face as she had she is very very beautiful 1 I thought she was coming to you with some of the flowers 1 will go and ask her to remember you before bhe gives them all away oh I 1 beg of you no she probably has a friend here tor whom they were brought at any rate I 1 should not want any one to ask her to give me any when the nurse met edith a few moments later she said to her such a pretty thing aa miss mar lowe said of you when you came by her couch just now yes 1 spoke of the beautiful flowers you were carrying and she said that your face waa so much more beautiful that she hardly observed the flowers 1 I think I 1 might return the comell ment from my glance at her face it was a very radiant one I 1 came part ly to her I 1 am saving these tor her glancing down at a cluster of violets she then went direct to miss mar lowes couch may I 1 sit with boil a few mo ments she asked taking the vacant seat it would make me the happiest woman ache I 1 saved these for you banding her the violets they comport so delight fully with your rare beauty thank you very touch U Is BO lovely of you except this one rose A friend of yours asked me to bring you a rose A friend of mine i did not know I 1 bad a friend in the world why yes a very dear friend of yours dr somerby oh yes dr somerby as a faint flush like that of the rose she took from her caller spread itself over her fair features are you are you his sweetheart no indeed spice of mis chief are you the flush OB her features turned to a deep crimson and then was succeeded by a deatel paleness which was succeeded in turn by a flood of tears no nol I 1 ara sweetheart net ow followed by paroxysm of why my dear what have I 1 done I 1 am go sorry I 1 thought I 1 thought from what he told me dut tell me all about it dear no no no he may tell you I 1 nave told him but I 1 would rather bear it from you it it will not be too painful weir I 1 will tell you I 1 think it will be a relief from this awful pain of silence I 1 was married or thought I 1 was to a mr howard gatenby Gat esby whom I 1 met and tell in love with at sight or thought I 1 did I 1 trusted him BO he came for me in an automobile and we went down into indiana he said he had no family or friends he waa a commercial traveler on the road and he said he would take me back east with him and and and after a few days he went without me and and then I 1 was very sick and some one sent me here to the hospital and were there no witnesses to your marriage oh yes and such a lovely aln ister who said he would send me a certificate signed and witnessed dut nothing came and my money all was gone and here I 1 am poor child we will see what can be done and you will not despise me now surely not my dear when did you tell dr somerby your two or three days ago and the name of the man who married aou howard gatenby all right dear we 11 see 11 we can find ham the doctor called in the evening welp be eald to edith it la not well f did you see her 7 yes she Is very lovely 7 and she told her story yes it Is very plausible edith t you do not disbelieve it no but what are you going to do marry her if she will have me why should a woman be punished tor a mans sin she always is as well as tor her own 1 dut her part was not sinful no only foolish and blind and she tell into the pit that was dug tor her Is there any way of finding out anything about this howard gatenby Gat esby 1 I got on the track of him a few days ago and found where the ceremony wag probably performed judg ing from the description she gave of the automobile but probably the aln ister was one of the crowd dressed up tor the occasion horrible well what shall you do marry her with your approval and remain here without your approval take her elsewhere where we shall not trouble you you will not trouble me dear I 1 love the girl too has she told her story to any one else no then caution her doing so you and I 1 can keep her secret how about fred why should my husband be told about it he Is your brother but he Is different how soon does he return from his european buying tour not tor several weeks marry her now if you wish and we will surprise him when he returns and so it was arranged the young couple had been settled in a wee flat two of three weeks when fred som erby returned the next night after his return as soon as he had pulled himself together fred and edith went over to call on dr and mrs arthur somerby glad to seo you old man said the doctor fred this Is my wife ruth ruth my brother fred but ruth only tell in a faint utter ing the name howard gatenby Gat esby |