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Show IfOVE and MARRIED HFEll ! tnj, the noted author ! Idah MSGlone Gibson . 3 I 1 OUR COURTSHIP. "friends or pnomios''" John whispered whis-pered ;'-'J'n ..sn t thai !aiRpl r ou to decide? 1 asked it it Is," 1C answered p-he luontiy. i shall' be something much more than friends Girl. girl, don't ou know, " v0Uajdcd perhaps by this music are pulling my Benses from m ou don't seein to hi- missing a Kpnt of ho music' i answered with I ' ast shred of mj common Bens . irblch 1 f?11 slipping from rue all too: rTbe man who couldn't dance with vou mv dear, through life, with CT ' vrithout' mustic. would ha vp no soul ,-, ,, ,,r: v. as ben i ine - t . r-1 thai I , m,ued awaj a little for fear he would ' (Z ii at which he. with the assur- ' '., 0 a cave man. pressed me closer In his arms I inn'f vou know, girl." hp asked. I inat you've got to get used to this" your place from now on is neat! lo my heart " I "Really?" I. asked 'Point out to mo the young woman whose place I am 'going to usurp.' I added in a flippant tone- lo coiic.-al ins trut- feeling-There feeling-There has never been any place i here's never been any young woman before. I never thought there wou'd be one who would make my nerves jump as you hnve done.' "I think we had better stop dam ling," 1 said, and r;o hark to Helen. 1 Waill to ask her why she has played me th sorry trick of introducing me to a mad man." "Yes. 1 am mad made for vou Girl, nn surely understand that you a.e mine I want you." "Have you always gotten just what ou wanted:"' I managed to whisper, although mj heart was shouting "Take me, take me!" "1 es," he answered, coolly, ' and, ac-co: ac-co: -dins to Kiplins, 1 ve taken m own where I've found it ! " "Cave man stuff,' I managed to laugh again "Cave man stuff," he answered, 'ifj you like- but the truth for all that. And there's one thing more that you must believe I have never said whal I have said to you just now to any other living woman." "Tut. tut! This to mi-, when 've been hearing from all your friends that j ou are the m osi fascinating man in, town." "That's only the talk of a lot of silly) women, because I've never fallen forj them " "Arrogance?" "I'm not arrogant now. I'm the humblest cf your devotees," he hastened has-tened Can't ou see that I've fallen for ou cood and hard0 Why, girl, until this moment I've never felt there) was only one woman for one mnn ill I the world but now I know it, To m--. i what nnn1 have r.-illed love has on'v I I meant a combination of the time, the 'place and the girl Now i realise just I what a fatuous ass I have been not to have known that BOmewhere on this old earth a uirl with your srreai brown ey your ieiding form and teiriptingj mouth was waiting for me." The music died away In cadencea that kept our emotions dancing, a'-thoush a'-thoush it stilled our feet I i ould feel the reluctance with whi. h he took bis arm from about nie, and although ever one on the floor j was clamoring for an encore. I insisted that he should take me to a seat. I suddenly fell tired and not able to dominate ihp love-making. It seemed1 to me thai I was cheapening myself by allowing any man to talk lo me as ! he was doing, and yet my heart was tying out for more. I wauled again to have his arm around my waist, tt feel the warmth of his body. I wanted again to hear him call me ; si r 1 In accents which made the word,' a caress. We moed toward the veranda where I Helen was seated As we were wend-' ins our way between the daneers, Jor an Instant I was pressed against lifm and realized that my head barely reached his shouldor "Just as (all as my heart' he Sffd, s"f'ly It was not the words that Mole my breath away, hut tho cl 'hat th same thousht had come to both of as at once. "Don't you realize." he Insisted, "that I told the truth whn I said (bat youi place is there?'.' And at that time. God pity nxi, I thought it wa.- WEDDED. From that nicht John Gordon h ird ly left my side. He mado his at en-tions en-tions so conspicuous that Ihe JilUe summer colonv where my friend jiad h"-r cottaf vas immediately a-tizz with the fact that at last John Gorflon was serious. "I did lovo him (lin. ' I said to pny accusing conscience I think I lcved him from thp moment that my yes looked Into his of smiling gray. I lid not realize thn that iohn smile ncl-dom ncl-dom reached his mouth that his lips closed In a thin miM line, bc-f BUM for me at that time he brought out 'he smile i ha t curled the corners of his stern mouth and showed teeth of pur-prlsing pur-prlsing regularity and beauty. For the three weeks of m sta;' at Helen's, John was my shadow. He cog lected his business, and spent tho entire en-tire time with me. I was his business, his recreation- his one objective. He fairly took me off my feet, ihat r had never known betor- in any man, in fact, after three years of marriage and with m year-old baby claiming much of m time, if John pays me the slight est att-ention or smiles at me with the old warmth. I have ( h " t same ferling it utter surrender which I experienced (he first time I saw him. Long before the three weeks of my Btay were over I had promised to be- ' "HI' J ' ' I ! I I I I I U' ' I I I I - 1 'ill., A pected (o return lo iny home and pr pare for an autumn wedding, mit John would riot wait, and Minded .by the :.r-dor :.r-dor of such an importunate lover, we Irove to 8 nearby city one a.tei'noon n ad u ere married At that time I did not known John's family, his friends, his latr. h B ii nancial condition, nor hi- DUSffct is ability It was onl a lucky MriJm-- MriJm-- lance thai I had married a mm who was able to take care of me 1 did not ask I prohabh would have married him under any circumstances I as blind blindh In lovt i went unseeing unknowing t o my fatl . because ever since I cnul i u 6der stand what a woman's destin ttighl he, I had been taughl by my m p'Iht 'hat love was all- that when my 'fiear' throbs answered some man's que: ii ion. when my hand trembled as h ? ca-ressed ca-ressed It in his, when my longing; lips returned his kis avidly, 'ban I ws tci know that he was my man my iuis-band. iuis-band. There was nothing else, T had been taught, but the end of the fairy tale "marriage, and they Hve.i Ijappy ever after" One thing I have ince learned most thoroughly and that I shall tea!h to mj little daughter, now in her uivon BCioUS babvhood Love and matTiTge are two ver different things ome is a temperamental disturbance, an emotional emo-tional cataclysm, the other is pinch .' partnership Involving an Intimate business association and made possible by the same interests and aims. No marriage based only on ih American Idea of romantic loo and lasslon can be successful anc I will nivo John the credit of being qu;ite as innocent of this knowledge a? 1 was myself. I do not think that two Meiags were ever happier than John Gordon and I as we drove away from thn little church where w e had been ma J r husband hus-band and wife. "W e have stolen a march on t Jem ' chuckled John. 'I've alwaya hat sd 'he pomp and fussiness of a public wedding wed-ding In fact, therp seems to do ?omc-ihing ?omc-ihing indecent about it. But thitik of ;his. girl, we can go back ncy we won t go back we will go into the c;ty tonight and I'll write to your mother and mine and tell them what we h-ive done. "You have a mother, haven you" he asked suddenly. Then for the first time I roa?ized that 1 did nt know whether Jolin's mothei were still living whether we liar) brothers or sisters and I waft ser-laln ser-laln that I had told him nothing about my family. For the three week that we had known each other, it had been BUfficlenl for John that I .should listen !., in words of love-and sufffcienl lor me that he should speak then. Suddenly my heart t-tood still Who was this man I had marttled? (Continued Tomorrow) |