Show D 4 tv N BYR or r s BY rhe flav before ions long spoof and bar burt e left on artud errand of reprisal aran elected I 1 home oon soon afterward and I 1 lit ac isled hi hr h r i to twenty two she d i a moment with the door latch in aws as though debating with her she should send me home I 1 tob iou bad had better come in ele alle said there are some things we I 1 ym od talk about I 1 i closed the boor behind me and 0 o c lighted a lamp and rind removed be ini ps come and alt sit down ebe she suid sud 0 alg o room tor for me beside her on an a I 1 cl cis lut at down beside tier her end ad would 1 il kissed her bat but eho she drew eliv M I 1 ilease don t 4 frak she said d rhen her eye eyes met mine I 1 saw a la hi them as of some wild thing to the death jean I 1 exclaimed alave ilave I 1 hurt or va frank not you nut not I 1 am hurt lurt and she pressed her hands 1 out her bosom as 28 though in physical 1 it la is so hard to know to be o what Is righta bow hat is 1 righta in books you will understand ab uk nb lt la is always to clear ore ie Is hero bero tle the other Is 1 a villain it Is so ay to know dut but in life I 1 don t ye oae there are so many villains villain er all 11 II vint doean doesn taake it any ler to decide tm afraid I 1 don t quite follow you a 1 1 suppose you don t asre 1 I 1 shrink as making it more clear to i I 1 tuve have tried and failed jenn r 1 thought our promise my promise 1 bina me it oat sont it can t she withdrew her tier x then quickly seized both my hande hands ilen lem oh ob my boy my friend my chum churn I 1 9 exclaimed an aej I 1 little crystal veils ils tiered between her tier eyelid eyelids aa as el of e ae 1 how illow can I 1 hurt yon sot but tn wo ltd ild he honal t have buve i a i dued r tile I 1 lost i in ii temper you today lod oser sp is tot I 1 u vi ere A i ng akes on tin him alinn ti ikani him hie tile ii 11 ur lar hum ir 5 our lapi I 1 if t hu iiii ir I 1 I 1 p ya yol I 1 nf or ill th it 11 kind r ii it apen ac ngien tin dear I 1 prom r I 1 nr it I 1 I 1 iut i ut i il aw klos at a help any don t xi see ito it s not unit that I 1 care enre so much baut the jole od anybody but be iw use I 1 love spoof I 1 ape I 1 to took ok the blow ille a gentle 14 1 I had the of prepared prep ired for it 1 I suspected that I 1 e 0 lid ild at length 9 1 want ont to stand in the way of at nr it abea I 1 fell from trow the with a ica oh h jean jem loani pleaded by n d you turn to spoof whom yon 1 know and away from met IS I 1 fallen so tar far short am I 1 so of to be desired that lou ou should 01 I 1 1 stranger in preferences she pressed her band hand against nay my W dont please I 1 cant ask ak roe me why the wind blows aby f the flowers turn to the i cant acts t explain I 1 would eer ever eo so lell d rather it had been you 1412 make it me met I 1 it la is la in your lad 43 0 NO o it Is 1 not BOL I 1 cant tt it I 1 44 tried and aud failed railed of 0 coaree coarse I 1 IJ marry you still but you would want ant me m va alth I 1 th a reservation in my larl art yu y u would despise me if I 1 our M d you like that the numbing shock ot at 09 kd w that jean was eppley had wed out of my life I 1 WM wad cons bous ut t her were true I 1 st t 14 11 re wanted with a reserva a e and arid so we eat in silence and in to gerbst with no sound bout us ex apt W ilia tv alas zi of the dock clock and the aplas of our own heart hearts until at ath jean to arose rebuild ibe the ore to k it as all my cue to leave adl vell what Is to be done dome about lold 1 I trying to speak la tit a matter of ilet va way illy although I 1 cor aoud ld not kedji kee 11 1 tr tremble enible out of my voice we s lt elear ear up the situation ome some wp rk we will explain eipl aln so far up a it 1 I oe be explained to jack and Maj majerle orle m not interfere with their mar ne W or their happiness and spoof to rc not lot know I 1 4 nt f not lot know knowl how tiow shall we 1 moan in he ile must not know why wily YOU i abringe 1 a post 13 laott off dont don t tee see t trank rank spoof must not know I 1 oe I 1 im tin bhe whispered the last cords J a it turned her head bead away as a S ashamed of her confession ile t enow ow aou a love himi to ro yog yo e IN that spat know you 1 0 o lie dt d t brank 1 ail I 1 he bus iiii not made love I 1 to your ot a 4 vord 10 tool pondering lint fact it if spoof ww trying try ini could win jean itaco in on ith me who been trying und kak b JL ad vantage of all oil the tile Itt intimacies linar les of at child hood what would happen when be he net set AL 41 P 1 A I 1 oh prank frank dont go like thail she cried her arms outstretched toward me himself to the business of wooing that he would do ao so as soon as be he knew new the coast waa was clear I 1 did not doubt for a moment 1 I think I 1 understand jean I 1 eald said as I 1 turned toward the door this happiness Is not for me it was too rauch to be expected I 1 bad had dreams dreams that are not goinns to be real iced ever I 1 had pictures but they must be torn out of my life I 1 hope you will be happy goodby oh ob frank rank F don t go like that I 1 ibe she rl io her arms outstretched toward m me a but I 1 had no heart tu to my torture in her presence I 1 closed the door behind me and want stunt filing through the drift drifts to toward aard tour teea tepa CHAPTER XII breaking lie the new news to jack and mar borle was no easy task but we got through It some way jact and bis his sister had an unhappy hour over it but jean jesin was adamant in her decision chere was to be no marriage man lace so far as she was concerned it was out of the question you are passing up as decent a chap as ever lived jacic jack told her on a 2 chance of spoof and you don t know that he even cares tor for you perhaps spoofs affections are already fixed lave you thought of that I bought of itt vve lain fain wake Biff lights hta with burning yea eyes and thought of IL it but what can I 1 do dot I 1 cant ask sak him yoa you could marry frank like ilka a lie kalble girl 1 I 1 only wish I 1 could but it to Is out of at the question and with that the matter had to stand jem jean doubled tier energies en erles la in helping Mer jorfe prepare for the treat great event and while she he tried always to greet me with a smile mile I 1 more than once surprised a apar sterling unbidden down her tier chok cho k I 1 reflected that it f I 1 was suffering euf ferin jean was ws suffering too ao but the thera er was no comfort rt tn in thai thal I 1 want jean to suffer and why she aft should her bean heart over me ra aba yet othise to berrr pie ine 3 a 1 vt M hr hor in tit UBI illy power lower f JIM irvi S tok t ok tit BOT 0 baulne or relt e we V e menly men ly lein timi ali tim will was not to be it double one after all nit that jean jelin and nd 1 L u considered ondel ond ml matters bit jack and marjorie Marj orle would be map mar ried as n h rufed 1 say tin 1111 sorry to bear chati that 1 mein me in about you and jean I 1 presume it Is only a postponement postpone menti but we g aae as e aitu DO no answer to that aution and spoor of course did not patis it christmas day dawned bright and coll cold with a whip ot of northwest wind and a skiff of 0 loose now snow sifting acroca the froien frozen prairies I 1 fund myself lying awake in the morning thinking of ef jear and of a all 11 1 I had bad hoped that day would woul d mean to me this it ti the th dream th lit waa was gone the picture ItrO I 1 had had to tear tour out of toy heart only it in t would not at kiy ay gone it plagued m me in iny lay sleep I 1 tt haunted me in every moment of the day that jeaa jeam be so stong at ong s an set so go amo atilt ond as it seemed to me so 0 o tin un ft rt i in spite of 0 all her delicate airi wiri I falness and strange li uncommon tie of spirit that was a side of jeans tha which all the years of our lind youth had not re 11 1 1 tu to roe me 1 I 11 hud 4 not rel I 1 0 of 14 I 1 e I 1 my suit I 1 hail accepted her dt om linn n hut but the old picture would come collie hiiop I 1 and this christ christiaa in maa as room morn inn in 9 isit twain before ty lly t y eyes it R stirred A biln me an tra if of spirit i lerr christmas shouted map star borle p pil wrig lri her tier bead into my toy room mar Blar jrie arif mia us coing going through a time of stran 03 gifted emotions her tier heart was alln tin n her own al blunt and hea beaty on liln and la in these day days etie she found tl ti e airl lip be between laughter anil tears nn tin extremely narrow one perhaps it wu was f fir ir that that ber he shout of merry ChrIst mast ended lo 10 something like a sob and with a little rush she plunged onto my bed and threw her anna arms about roe me she wrapped them around my neck and shoulder shoulders and ad drew my face to here hem and as her a cheek lay against mine a it little warm trickle of moisture wended its way down upon and across my up lips and I 1 felt her frame tremble aa as it t rested near me not crying marjorie Marj orle not crying on this of all mornings I 1 I 1 I 1 exclaimed although my a own throat was full not cring ing dear on cia my account to that question she snuggled closer 1 and after a little I X heard her wills la in my car it will corl I 1 6 all right in tim broth broter mine elie she aid said all right in time I 1 can cant 9 think I 1 can t believe belleve anything el elie elte te dont you feet eel dont don t yun yu know that it will and so to soothe her and that her greatest day might not be spoiled I 1 eald said I 1 knew it neild come all right in time but there wai wait a stone between my luers and a ba bia I 1 of iron about my chest kissed me on tl 0 e lip then raised her face and dried tier cea tyes bud suddenly denly she sprang to her feet and I 1 could not but admit bow how very rood good khe she as ast to took upon her tier dark bair bung hung loose about her she allowed a herself no curl raper noa non sense and indeed n dekief could have added to the beauty of her waving locia locks she wes was still itt in her nightdress although althou gb she bad drawn on something warm about ber her feet and uko like the good wife she was always to be sh she bad started the fire n duty which I 1 admitted properly fell fall to the man of the bouse house perhaps tt it is in a man should start the d aln that be so laci greatly enjoys having his big wile do it I 1 could bear fbi poplar stick sticks crackling as an I 1 lay watching her through moist and dreamy deamy eyes she was good to a look took upon so diff different from jean but still so good I 1 11 vitle up prank she cried wita with a sudden return to hor sai rinal ninner ninnor we have a tot lot to do today it was not until after our midday inea meal that I 1 went over to twenty two jean was in ber her room but I 1 mustered mastered the spirit to chaff chaft jack with icci a mingling of good wishes and humorous hu moroa sallies as ay my brain could command com milad and we finished the whole with an a ira 1 prompts sparring match la in the ae middle of the michels door M V lit auh Is rolar beak I 1 I 1 co commanded jam A oded or I 1 ll 11 fiend nil you to be tile awater with a busi I 1 stung asia I 1 o nun aung on kan BI aull nalini aan s lini lint lack we its wid 1 1 it 11 lots mat 1 lu is ene e like a 1111 alitt mid tie he TIM the arst of the leta lt a it U 14 pair ll at i at lit ilat that moment jea je a came out linking so rn antly it on can look that way that the fry f ry ot of marjorie Mar jorte seethed HI as the pry plary of one of sesser plea tit a desist the lie san she cum cume to me with an outstretched band haul merry christmas fraak frank she aid said looking me tile tn a tho ti face am why what lia has happened bapp ened to your 1 1 I was juit just practicing In I 1 said jock jack and I 1 want to exhibit this specimen of tny my handiwork to il arjorie before we are married it Is as well that the he should underhand understand but jew jean wa as gone one in quest of bat but ter with ith which she rubbed tny my swell lae ing eye and the caress of her fingers was wor Is the punch it iad d coit cost co it it wat waa now time to hitch the oxen to the rough sleigh or jumper which jack and I 1 had b billt flit into this the tile four of us could with a a me dHu culty be ii icken and as we re rell hesed zed sed it would tale tate at least an hour tor for buck and B leht to break trail to spoors we loaded tip ard started on our journey at a little before two spoof haj that the cere should take place t hi it h for no other reason that there be a honeymoon trip as far as from two to F fur stir tien and the mIn leter was expected lit ut three I 1 As the snow clad prairie crept by to the leisurely pl of ilek and ind bright ur the abound which th macd spoors house and stable gradually defined itself against the bright gray background backe round of the december after r ioa ron on spoof had been on the lookout and while oar our oxen still putting and blowing at lit a considerable dl distance from the shack ve saw him coniing over the drift drifts with hs h great rapid english stride lie was beside us in a taw faw minutes his wind tanned face wreathed in sallies miles bis his white teeth ellamine elearn Ele amIne lne tinder a short sandy mustache to which of late he had been giving some encouraged nt merry christens I 1 be cried the merriest ever evert he tie held out both arme arais and wre w all hook shook hands at 0 once nm and I 1 suspect that the bride elect pressed a caste kiss upon his cheek but bilt jacb as lawful owner could afford to be generous jean took no such liberty that would hare have been different the inside of spoors spoofs shack was at ways an example of orderly overcrowding it was full of useless furniture inappropriate clothing firearms saddles and bridles cartridge belts smokers equipment tobacco tine tins photographs magazines and an endless assortment assort mint of miscellaneous all placed and anti tended hven rhen spoof occupied it alone it was something of a mystery where it here he found space for in the midst of bis his possessions nut but now jean and marjorie Marj orle and jack and I 1 were crowded in as liell ell only to anti n r cumber number of others already there our eye had not yet become accustomed to the deml tivi twilight light nt of the interior when a familiar voice saluted us merry christmas eTry body it eald said didat I 1 warn youve what ud nil happen ha ppearl it U wa wax jake ile was sitting perched like a load on the wood box where he be could expectorate with conven vengence lence into the asheila of the stove we dragged him into tie tle center of the floor door anil and in the melee that followed jake lost bis his footing and at least of ua us were precipitated with him ob save my husband husban cL save husband I 1 cried bella donna in alarm while spoof gravely that perhaps the cogitation nut but come looie loose 1 I eta the minister said aid a straight clean clesa looking young man wb the ui bit roar ower o jake bad bed name Is locke this Is our friend eddy reddy pardon me by the way reddy what what to 1 your real I X should know tt it for introduction pur par poxes 1 I left it down east mild anid the indi 11 addressed aa an keddy it light gist boyish looking figure with a rho hoel at cl of carroty hair 1 waft WI braly it ie is theba ead I 1 he minister und and we liodis t ritti all nil ur around und reddy te is ui an t r IMO in our bomil air cocle con in a sen te he lie la Is s colef competitor lie ile runs the village pool room and slid I 1 am afraid draw draws bigger crowd crowds than I 1 do Q wednesday nights and perhaps on sundays Su too behind the blinds not bality pleaded kaddy there are ar no c the hop shop 1 I 1 believe eld said the minister fen IS bously that It eddys Is oc or a very honorable lono rable kind and filk u lir presence mence here today is 1 proof of at his hi bigness of heart As it wae was not convenient for his customer customers to come |