Show the k fourth 0 h L lovely v I 1 Y lady L CL d y 0 A by THERESE BENSON service D the bobbe bobbs merrill company ILL CHAPTER XIV continued 14 tour your secret sniff tried to speak brightly but there was a load on her heart that seemed to weigh down her spirit I 1 can guess what it Is and im I 1 m glad it if youre you re happy ever and ever so glad stone she held out her hand which he re carded frowningly without taking sit down over there he motioned to a chair on the other side of his desk not rising to place it for her then he leaned his elbows on the blotter and bent toward her 1 I wonder if you re as good a guesser as you think you are sniff too leaned her arms on the desk resting her head in her bands I 1 guessed last night she said I 1 d never been certain before id I 1 d never seen her when she was not grotesquely fat in her own house ashes she s charming stone I 1 so that was the reason you went off with susan phelps and left ett me in the lurch he exclaimed petulantly that was a mean trick when you knew I 1 wanted to talk to you how was I 1 to know that emif asked annoyed at his unreasonableness you never even looked at me all evening and a good reason I 1 had for that stone declared it made me perfectly furious to see you sitting there wish ing me on mercy wishing you on mercy sniff echoed his words helplessly honest ly stone I 1 don dont t know what you mean before lie spoke again he pushed the fittings of the desk irritably here and there then with one sweep he shoved them all aside and leaning across it looked directly into her eyes I 1 mean I 1 in in love with you mad ly foolishly insanely in love with you so much in love that I 1 im in afraid to look at you in public for fear III I 1 II 11 mur der any puppy who happens to be talk ing to you don dont t you know you are 04 I 1 ez 1 I mean I 1 m in love W th you madly foolishly insanely in love with you a dream come true even as a child I 1 told my mother I 1 meant to marry the girl in the miniature his its eyes held hers he ile was bending nearer and nearer the effect was hypnotic with an effort sniff wrenched her gaze away the very first day I 1 saw you it was all I 1 could do to leave without telling you mercy she must think of mercy lercy she had promised to help her and maybe mercy was a prey to the feel ings that were tearing at her now to save herself since she dared not meet his eyes she fixed her attention on his mouth that had been the tea fea ture sh had held in doubt vicea hen first she saw him tender sweet chy w hy had she ever questioned it and then it smiled and mercy was forgotten oh stone she cried softly 1 11 I never knew I 1 III ed your mouth before but I 1 love it I 1 in glad I 1 in glad you do he mur aured as it sought hers and as their I 1 ps met pass on leaped 1 ike ke an elec trie spark from the one to the other if it had been unrecognized before even sniff was aware of it now for a space time stood still dirling darling sniff said I 1 can cant t WP we t dont don t you see it t be honorable mercy paid me to help her to marry you how flow can I 1 go to her and tell her I 1 in going to marry you myself instead well refund her money stone said lazily content to wa t for whit he now knew was his even yon you couldn coulden t force me to marry that p ece of perfection and you don t I 1 ave to tell her anything I 1 id d love ione to do it chasn t she made me go in fear of cip for years ill call her on the telephone and tell her were we re go gong ng to be married when are we going to be married dearest tomorrow on I 1 don t know cried d q tract edly 1 I ive ve always been such a success in managing mani ging other peoples le s af fairs while I 1 seem to be an awful fool about my own let lets s make it tomorrow then stone said taking up the telephone after that III manage your affairs for you ring three on this line please I 1 stone I 1 do you mean to say you have a party line to no wonder miss mercedes knew all your plans hello 11 I 1 Is that you septem s tell miss mercedes I 1 d like to speak to her yes it its s mr air nesbit dont say tomorrow stone ill 11 have to bring my sisters here aal an 1 cousin mab must be she knows knos already stone inter ejected lo 10 mercy just wanted to make an announcement to you you won t be surprised ton you re such A clever girl he grinned impishly at sniff and went on I 1 in engaged to miss lovely yes were we re going to be married very soon thank adf awfully ily tell sniff that yes thanks again youre you re going to take gregory s tip his aunt Is post authentic and able to introduce you everywhere III send him over to give you all the details he hung up tip again grinning companionably at sniff just as easy as that she knew it all the time she says seemingly everybody knew it ex capt me emif smiled back thinking how young and handsome hind some and gay be was happiness was already making a new man of him I 1 don t under stand why nobody took me we into the secret I 1 suppose pam knew it and susan and eve not pam he answered quite seri sert bously she Is too busy with her own affairs but susan of course and I 1 dont see anyone keeping anything much from eve what did it matter sniff asked herself she had always said it was easier to hide a conflagration than a love affair only she had not meant that to apply to her own romance I 1 in still not altogether happy about your neighbor I 1 she nodded her head in the general direction of Pock rock moss you may be stone assured her you see madame there i something I 1 scarcely dare confess to you you really are getting a left over I 1 in a jilted man mercy fell so in love with her own loveliness that she felt it should not be wasted on a mere country squire in ole she s out for a title and greg who s a good chap with a sense of humor and a lot of family feeling has steered her up against one of his own rela fives who will present her to the queen and the other assembled aristocrats and who Is much in need of ohp ready what we were conspiring about at dinner last night when I 1 was so unhappy staff said I 1 guessed that was what was the matter this morning stone cried tri antly when eve warned me that cometh ng was wrong and that I 1 d better stay at home and comfort you just then two thoughts struck sniff so simultaneously that she could scarcely say which was first stone must never know of her dis ills appointment or her hurt at her broth er ers s broken faith and was there any chance that she was wrong in her supposition that he was the buyer of Love lylea the mere thought set her trembling she must know and at once she was in a panic at the possibility there theres s only one thing needed now to make me quite content she be began gan and that stone asked that bill lee should sell us love lylea by jove haven t I 1 told you when that was my secret I 1 stone exclaimed I 1 wrote bill lee that I 1 wanted to give it to you for a wedding present t that rather taking things for granted sniff inquired mildly no stone wagged his head sol emaly I 1 dlan didn t tell him you were going to marry me it might have been some other fellow it was plain they d be after you in swarms before long just cast yoi yot r mind back to that fool blanton anyway I 1 asked your brother to keep ft it a dead secret because I 1 wanted to surprise you sniff s cup of happiness was now running over billiee bill lee gasn wasn t a cid and a t cheat and ungrateful she looked back at her lover with shining ees he would never know what a wedding present he was giving her the dogs ro rose se ana stretched then seeing the tableau stood on their hind legs and pawed jealously at their mas ter and mistress THE sl i |