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Show BaaaBBBBBBBaBB aaBwRal BvJ?shisbBbb jsaaBRI. tfavRavRavRavRavRsBBl.' 4LLlBHHMBLan!BBBHHHHHHHHHV' aSB BsasBBJSBaflSBBBBSBSBHHBT't ssaC.ii.av' BaiMsrAHriHaBaBWrTBBHlaHBaMSBHHHHHHHSMr ,aaaSsLraaasBBSSalBSQal. TBSBaEBBBERBaam 'rSBOsBBCavTalHBllB The servants were naturally aasehtd. There wtre afew moments of ejacnlatory and "sorrowful surprise. When this had died away, Harriet haoVmore news. 'Tai goFnn to tell you two some, thing," she began. "You are the very first to know, and ,1 know you'lt be glad. Before I left the house last October, Oc-tober, Mr. Carter .did me the the great honor to ask me to to marry .him." Itgave her Inward delight even to vftlce It; it iBajV'tbi Htracle seem more real. Bottomtey and Pilgrim exchanged ex-changed stupefled iBlancea In a dead silence. "I met him at eleven o'clock today," Harrjet finished, simply, "and we drove to Greenwich in Connecticut, and, we were married at one o'clock." 'Bottomlcy and Pilgrim glanced again at each pther,glanced at Har-rlet, Har-rlet, opened their mouths slowly. "To, think of you beln' Mrs. Carter I" Pilgrim- marveled itf a "whisper. "Oh, sh-sh-sht You mustn't say It even I" Harriet caught both their hands. "No one must know. I only told you so that you would help me, so that you would understand I There will be ho change, anywhere" Bottomlcy shook n dared head; but Pilgrim looked at the other woman with kindly eyes, and presently said : "You'd have been a very silly girl not to take htm, and as I always tell the girls love'il come fast enough aft-envard!" aft-envard!" The words came back to Harriet, hours later, when the house was quiet, and when, comfortably wrapped In a loose silk robe, she was musing beside be-side her fire. Nina was asleep; to Ward, who was headachy and fper-Ish, fper-Ish, she had paid a late visit. Madame Carter had not come downto dinner, nnd when Harriet had sent In a message, mes-sage, had asked to is,Kcused from miy calls, even front Ma and Mlas Field, this evening. Nina hnd chattered constantly dt:r ing the meal, a runny had hud n tcr rlble time with them nil. And'Wur.1 and Nlnu .and "IloyaT the name tunl-ilenly tunl-ilenly leaped between them u;nln nnd been arrested for speedily. And Daddy had threatened Nlnu with u boarding .school, and Granny hud cried. "Where Is Mr. Itlondln now, Nlnn?" Harriet had asked. "Oh, he's round I" Nina had said., airily. "I suppose you put Daddy, up to sailng that I wasn't to hw so much of him I" she had added, wttli tier worldly wise drawl. "Not ut 'all," Harriet had said. "Ladybird and I are plunulni; a trip." Nina had further confided. "I shall be eighteen In February, you Know, nnd we want to go round the world. Wouldn't it bevwondorful to no with her, for site's beei about fifty times I" "Wonderful I" Harriet had been obliged to concede. "Hut, dearest child, what does your f.ither think?" "Father',' Nina had shrugged ro-gietfully. ro-gietfully. "But I shall be of agel" ulie had reminded her companion. "Yes, I know, dear, but Father's witrd for another three years, you Know I" "Why, Lndjblrd says" thti'feirl hnd been ready, and had spoken with Jliifched cheeks "Ladybird says that In tlmt cuse we'U go anyway, and Hlie'll jiuy nil expenses I That's the 1.1ml of friend, she Is I" "Love'il come fast enough after-word!'' after-word!'' Pilgrim had sold, and Harriet thought Pilgrim was ruthcr a wise woman, In her homely way. The girl Mlrrcd the lire and settled herself to nulch It. After whiiU Well, certainly not after anything so short, simple and unconvincing nS that three minutes with tho clergymuh today. The utter uiiienllty of that Intel beenied to blend wllli the silent, snowy day, and with thu dulled uiitl dreamy condition of tier own brain. Snow was fulling xoftly when slio had met RUlinrd Carter Car-ter at the nfllce, ut half-past ten, und hiion' lisped ugulnst the windows of the llmuiislno as they two, with In ing Fox, KUJinrd's kindly, middle-ngfil, middle-ngfil, eonlldentlul clerk, were whirled out of the city, nnd ou und on through tliO I am little wtntrv towns. Fox had ) ml 80IUO papers to which they ocui-olouully ocui-olouully referred; thu aid clerk was ihe only person to congratulate Har-r'W Har-r'W Miriiily when the brief and te-v, te-v, llilerlni! business wrs oer and site lull I er wedding riig. It was alone v.Itli Iofv that sho inudu the return tilp, Ukliiuil cutuo back by train, Mittiit ilu hour, and was at tho ofllca w)iei ility got there, Harriet did not see him ugaln; ho was 1n conference; and presently she quietly eot back Into the motorcar, and on her way to imvl Nlnu she slipped ho pluln circle iY k Jd Into her handbag. Pho hi d It out tonight, and put it on h-v hnro, ptctty liand, and held it to thu lire, nnd slowly the events of thu bewildering nid tlrlug dny wheeled uewnu i5er, una enry tne reajuy-of'tne l-tag1 assured her that It was not fell a iceafused dream. Married 1 And all alone before the flowing coals, weary from hostile encounters, on" her mar rlage night I ,She had Intended to write to Linda tonight; Linda was vexed With her, and small wonder 1 'For Harriet had left the little New Jersey : house almost al-most without farewells, had come down to'-an earlier breakfast even than Fred's, and had said briefly that she waa returning to the Carters, and would see them "ail soon. Why hadn't she told Linda) Well, for one reason, she had hardly be Moved her own memory of the talk on 'Christmas day with Richard. Then jJjFyflHiJHH saH sbbVLb iRi sbsi bbi taBBBBBBBBBBF'l B-. flB LbBBbYbBBFBBBBBBBb1 "It Isn't Exactly What I Expected Marriage to Be." she had feared opposition, feared Linda's shocked references to decent Intervals of mourning; Linda's frank belief that there wns no strong personal per-sonal feeling Invohed on Richard's part; Linda's advice to a bride. Harriet's, face burned at the mere thought of It. No,, she couldn't tell Linda yet; she was too tired to write tonight, anyway. Linda and Fred hud not been nt nil npprovlng, Chrlstmns night. David hud ropronched her, hnd disappeared curlier then was expect- i,!l- I-- , U,or ncc.eury; ni(.y unu u( taumi f their sunptclons. SSfelll I must go to bed," she said WBd. suddenly. She stood, one elbow a the mantel, her beautiful eyes fixed aarthe dying fire. It was midnight, .tlMMfoom und the, house very still, "It .IsBft exaetly what I expected inarriagu to' be." she inusid. "Uul after all," no said to herself, beginning to wove ( with last preparations ifor bed," 'lW'tarrled to the man I lore Beta- lg';can chnnge tlmt. And If he doesn't leva 'me, ho likes me. I've done notli; lag, wrong, und If my life Is Just s, 1IU .tkjslfferont frpin most women's, why, I iMll lme to tnriko the best of It I And 1 did tell lilnwl did tell him" Aatl her thoughts went back to the Mrst"few inluuies she Ihnd 'spent la IJMpfhanl's office that day. They had 'beea.almfe. dlscusslilg the last details f 'their astonishing plan, when she ,hn, suddenly taken the plunge. ,"Mr. Carter, there Is Just one thing I Slf "ctmrse," Harriet's cheeks had anted, "of course, this marriage of ours Is not the usunl niarrlag. nnd yet.i there Is just one thing of which I 'wsatfl like to speak to you before we "wa go up to Greenwich." And .find-htgibls .find-htgibls gra) eyes pleasantly fixed upon her sho hnd gone cm, confused but determined: de-termined: "I'm twenty-seven now and , perhaps I might have married 'seate other hinn before this except jfiat when I was seventeen 1 did Jail, In love with u maul And we were to bu married '1" She had stopped short; It was Incredibly hard. "He hnd or I thought he had, brought iiKmcthlng tremendously big and won-derful won-derful Into my life," Harriet had continued, con-tinued, "and I wn a stupid llttlq girl. Just taking caro of my sister's babies and reading my father's nooks" '.'You are utidor no obligation to tell bm, an thing of this," Ulclmrd had aald) Klmll), fur more concerned for her 'distress than Interested In what 'shs was saying. "1 must have known that there were admirers I I Hwure you thut " "No, but Just a moment I" Harriet had Inteiruptcd him. "I was Infatuated Infatu-ated I knew- that at once, God knows I've known It ecr since I I went nwny with him, little fool that I wast" A gleam of genuine surprlso hud come Into Illchard Carter's eyes, and h looked at her without speaking. "I'was taken ill the day I left with him. While I was getting well I had time to think it over. I knew then 1 was too young and too Ignorant to be any man's wife. I was frightened and I well, I ran away; I went bock to asyjrister. Both she and her husband retarded me after that as in some way Barked, unprincipled, unworthy" "Poor child!" Richard had said. ThSy naturally would You were no msre than Nina's agel" "So that's my history," Harriet had finished, simply. "I thought I' had don with men. And there have been men, men like Ward, for Instance, to whom I could have been married without with-out feeling1 that I need make any men tlon of that old time. But I wanted to tell ou." k "Thank you,. ery much," Illchard had said, gravely. "If the protection of my name and my houso seems welcome wel-come to you, after some battling with tho world, It will be an additional satisfaction sat-isfaction to me." And then before another word was speten fox had come in, annooncnia the car, and they had begun tho long, strange .drive. She got Into the luxurious lied, put out the bedside ll;ht, and lay with her hands clasped behind her head, thlnklnff. The clock struck one ; snow was Htlll falling steadily outside, but In hero the last ltnk glow of Srellght flickered ani1 sank flickered and sank lastly. Home sudden thought made Harriet "iiille ruefully. Slio indicated that It was unwelcome by turning over to hnry her bright head In the pillow, and resolutely composing herself for deep. , (CenUnned aeit weehi |