OCR Text |
Show lllJj BY WILL SEAT. DELICATE party gown '" vor t-ne backs of : HSaSCjB Graham stood oa the j f dPWBMKi 'n dreamily Into the' WpWWRW fire hon the fjnEjSk$ doorbell rang The f 'wlPSc caller was Mr:, True- I i Jw Q blood, a ner neigh-j 1 bor, and a trustsd I ' friend of the family i "My dear, have you heard the news?' the good lady broke out ex-I t Cltedly, before she had fairly seated r' herself, "Morris Burton Is back In town again' They nay he's going to , VMmodel the old homestead and settle down here." Anno drew a quick, sharp breath Morris Burton had Jilted her five P'yearB beforo and eloped with a red-kCll red-kCll haired heiress on the morning of their v wedding day I "No, I hadn't heard," she answered I after a moment. "He'll be at the parly tonight ' Mrs I Trueblood went on quiverlngly "lie's' fewagered Dr Bliss that h'll prove, be- Ktore the evening Is over, that you're Ti M ta muc1 In love with him a? ever! jjHtffow perfectly outrageous!" I Whatever Anne may have felt, she surprisingly c.-lm "Thank you Rjfor telling me." was all the vouch-' 'tied - i I "Of course you'll stay at home to-f to-f M aighf "Ko Wny should I? I must meet I Morris sooner or later. I've heard,"' he added musingly, "that his rich wlf died last summer and left him all her money." Mrs Trueblood looked at Anne curl-! ouely a sho rose to go. Was the dear I girl going to make a fool of hersolf again over the band&ome scamp? The ru'nutft Anns found herself alon she went itralght to a cedar chest In the alcovo and gently lifted out a white satin gown that had lain ; thero for five years There t.8 a half-defiant Impulse to put It on and meet her talthlesB lover thus arrayed, but she presontly laid the glistening robe back again In Its sweet-smelling receptacle Mr9. Peyton's rooms wers full to overflowing when Anne arrived upon the scene A quick Interchange of! glancss as she entered told her that she was an object of speculative In-tar In-tar eat to the assembled gussts For Just one burning momsnt she felt Uko turning back, but Prof. Lw-sou Lw-sou was coming toward her. He named a tower of streneth and ner courage revived And then, for a necond, her heart stopped beating "By the way, Miss Graham," the professor said with seeming carelessness, "an old friend of yours Is here toalght Morris Burton Bur-ton of New York. Perhaps you hud heard " Se he knew the old story? Of course it had been town talk " 'Yea, Mrs Trueblood told me." she replied, recognizing the kindlv (rapt (ra-pt Ise that had led him to give her, timely warning, "it Is Ave yeart since Mr Burton went away, I wonder If he Is much changed " She was oulwurdh composed, and Professor Lawsou drew a breath of relief Whether the meeting would be an ordeal of not, be need fear no weak betrayal on her part And yet Anne'a limbs trembled under un-der her au she slipped away Into the crowd She could not have told which feellDg predominated, dread or loag-lag loag-lag Suddenly Borne words came to her ears from behind a screen of palms. "Everybody 1b wondering If Ance haa remained tingle on Morris Bur-ton'e Bur-ton'e account. We will soon know " "She won't speak to him If she haa a pajrticle of pride," was the spirited response. "But women are such fools " Ann hurried on with bnrnlng cheeki Suddenly a group of acquaintances acquain-tances parted before her, and ehe was face to face with her old lover. In a hushod silence she held out her hand as If they had parted on the friendliest terms. Welcome home, Mr Burton ' He flushed with surprise and gratification grati-fication There was no pretense of resentment But then she had been very much In love with him Of course sho knew his wife w&s dead, and thero was no barrier between them His. wager was aa good as won! "Thank you. Anne, for this kind reception," h said with a complacent emlrk. "It's Just what I expected. Do you know. I came tonithl euvraa. ly to see you. Let's find a quiet corner cor-ner where we can talk." Anne accepted his proffered arm He looked down at her curiouslv she had moro than fulfilled the promise of girlhood She had a womanly dignity, dig-nity, an air of conscious Ftrength far more attractive than mere beauty Dimly tt began to dawn upon him why Dr. Bliss had been so ready to bet the odds against him. But he was not the sort of man a woman uu easily forget and her greeting had been roaBSuring' "You are so much hotter to roe than I desorve. Anne," ho said lm- ' presslvely, leaning over hor In a very ! lover-like way "Is it possible that you havo forgiven mo'" "I forgave you long ago," 6he replied re-plied sweetly. "1 played you a shabby trick." "Let's forget all about It." 1 "O, can you do that? I dared not -ANTTHINO YOD WISH." I hope It, he cried, his handsome head droopiug more and more He was tempted to seise one of her hands and carry tt to his lips. This close companionship vlvdly recalled those! .other days, the happiest he had to ! confesH It to himself of his life. I Ho and Anne ned together, or I sat out 'i.yices In quiet nooks. Soon It ! began to be whlBpored ubout that the poor girl as as completely under her fickle lover's spell as she ever had been. There was lines of pain Id Prof- j Lawson'e fine face He had come to tbe same conoluslon as the other lOOkerapD "How can she trust that man?" be said to himself "He will have me to deal with If the old ex- j perlence Is repeated " But the moment came, as the eveD-lag eveD-lag wore on. when Morris ceauod to play a part It dawned bewilderlng-ly bewilderlng-ly upon him that this was the woman ho should have married In the first j place He had loved Anne as doely as he was capable of loving Now the old Are was rekindled In his heart like a smouldering coal when blown upon Suddenly ho wanted her more than he had ever wanted anything In all his selfish life "Anno, dear." he said Impulsively as they drew apart from the supper crowd, "I did k wtoked thing five years' ago The lure of gold tempted me and I broke my promise But your. Image still llvos In my heart. O, won't you glvo back the love 1 recklessly flung away? I will prise it as the1 dearest thing on earth." Anne did not answer. Her tongue dova to the roof of hor mouth "Tell me, dearest" he urged, "If! you still caro '-r me." The color ebbed slowly from her face. Sho began to tremble. But the power of speech camo suddenly book. I I "No woman s love could survive ths j test to which you subjected mine." she gravely replied "I said I had forgiven you and It Is true. You anwlttlngly did mo a great kindness j when you passed mo by and put another an-other woman in my place. But I am j no longer the unsophisticated girl who , Idealized you five years ago. I hav j grown worldly wise " I "Walt! You don't understand," he I gasped, dazed and Incredulous For j ahe was slipping Into the thick of the crowd, breathlessly eager to escape him. "I want you, dear I'm asking you to marrv me " Anne kept straight on. her head In the air. She neither knew nor cared I that some of the bystanders had seen and heard that hor triumph and vindication vin-dication were complete. The whole episode had been a terrl-bio terrl-bio strain upon her Now her one thought 'as escape from the place A sturdy figure loomed against the j delicate green thiDge embowering the entrance hall Looking up half shy- j ly, Aane encountered Prof. Lawson's gaze bent searchlngly upon her. For a minute sho hesitated then went bravely up to him. "Please take me home," she said j He tucked her hand under his irm. ; But nothing more was said until they were outside the house, under the ten- ; dor stars Then he said In a curiously jj tense tone. I "Anne, you know that I love you. What does this moan?" "Anything you wish." she softly answered. I |