OCR Text |
Show - Wmytvm m6gmoftf( DoDcDSHArtl Helen KTMartffl CHAPTER VI Continued 1b "It's worth a moment of tlie keenest keen-est happiness mortals can know ! 1M-vine 1M-vine happiness! Isn't that enough?" "'Divine'? I thought that there word meant somepin else I thought It belonged to Jesus " "A divine moment, Meely, such ax few ever know in the stereotyped marriage relation, my girl, believe me !" "It ain't that 1 expec' you to marry me, Mr. Creighton I know I can't rise to that. But it I can't rise to that, I can't fall to nothin' else between you and me, neither !" The earnestness of her resistance was beginning to alarm him. Surely she did. not mean all she was saying ! She only wanted to he coaxed, persuaded. per-suaded. Surely it only needed a little patience on his part to bring her to the yielding point? But patience was a thing he was so unused to exercising exercis-ing that it taxed his nerves and his temper almost more than he could bear. The little hussy must be very experienced, she knew so well how to enhance her own value and stimulate his desire by her stand-offishness! "Think, Meely, how stupid it is no1, to seize every chance that comes our way (few enough tiiey are!) for happiness! hap-piness! Look at all the colorless years ahead of you, and don't miss this one ineffable hour! such as will never be offered you once you're married !" "Will your marriage hold you from any more such hours?" "That's neither here nor tiiere my marriage, Meely, is quite another affair af-fair " "Meanin' it ain't none of my affairs? Well, but it's the affair of your wife, anyhow-, whether you have any such grand hours " "My dear, we won't discuss my possible pos-sible wife !" "I'd feel awful sorry." said Meely, slowly shaking her head, "for your wife, Mr. Creighton." lie laugiied uneasily. "Judging rathe ra-the way I'm pursued by marriageable girls. Meely. your view of me as a husband can't possibly be the one generally gen-erally held by many ladies of high detgree ! You don't know your luck, my girl !" "Yes. well, but them 'ladies of high degree' run after you to marry you. You ain't astin' me to marry you." "I'm offering you a love such as I shall probably never feel for the girr I marry! Oh, Meely!" He reached for her hand, but she drew it away. "Meely ! You'll lose me, you know. If you keep this up! You can't keep me dangling forever, you know!" The words, "keep me dangling," startled his own ears, so ridiculous was the idea of a girl such as Meely keeping him "dangling"! "If you do lose me. yipu'll only have yourself to thank!" "What would I be losin' in losin' you?" she asked as one humbly seeking seek-ing information. "You'd be losing happiness, wouldn't you. my dear?" "Happiness! Would I keep happiness happi-ness and you by doing what you want? It's put out that you're going to marry your cousin a grand lady v.ilh such a title or what. After you've got her. where would I come in?" Ah. thought St. Croix, light dawning dawn-ing on his troubled mind, so It was that that was holding her back! she bad heard of his betrothal and was jealous ! "I give you my word, Meely, that I am not as yet engaged." "I heard you was," she repeated stubbornly. "What would that cousin think of you if she knovved about me?" "That need not worry you!" "( h. needn't it !" "Why should It? I have not seen 1'iis cousin since we were both i-hil-,;,. ;md I am not definitely be-troibod be-troibod to Iht." "lint you're plannin' to be." "Well, surely, my dear girl, It will l.-Tt you far less if I marry some one I don't love some one I don't really I now a person I've not seen since . ';e was a homely little how-legged " 'How-logged' !" exclaimed Meely h liimahlly. "I'es, and pigeon toed and towhead-ed towhead-ed and freeklo-farcd ! You'll not be hurt by o.v marriage." he exclaimed t. neatly, "you beautiful thing!" Vex. well, but bow about hitrlln' ).'','. When you even love another one !" : he'll be doing the same thing, p: -nimbly !" he defended himself. "It's jen-e y a family arrangement." be answered, an-swered, frowning Impatiently at being forced lido a discission of his personal per-sonal nrfalrs; to bis peculiar Ideas of fitness It was a de-.oeralion to even so much ijh name bis cousin - - his future fu-ture wife, no doubt- to a girl like Meely s'ehwcnckloii. "Are you ho sun- she'll be wlllin' to marry you without lovln' you and without your lovln' her?" Meely asked v.onderingl.v. Not hint' could have been more dis tasteful to him than answering such a question; dwelling at such length on this unseemly topic. But if to win her over lie must pay that price, then pity it he would. "Look here, Meely, perhaps I owe it to you to explain the situation to you. Lady Sylvia St. Croix will marry nie because her family needs money their estate, since the war. is gone to punk and my father will restore it and supply tiie income to keep it up. I will marry her because I shall enjoy the prestige in Kngland which the marriage will give to me and my children. chil-dren. So you see how entirely outside out-side of my marriage will be my relation re-lation with you how little it can affect af-fect it" "Weil !" Meely severely pronounced judgment, "i may not be such a high aristocrat, hut I'd be above such a low-down wicked marriage like that! There's better things to marry for and live for than savin' an old estate!" "Oh. come, my dear, you've no least cause for jealousy of my cousin. I " Meely sprang up to elude his movement move-ment to seize her again in his arms. Shit X Before He Could Lay a Finger on Her to Stop Her, She Had Turned and Fled. "It's time I got home Pop will be missin' me." lie sprang up too his face almost purpl with the strain of tiis sett-restraint sett-restraint hut the look In her eyes halted him. One step toward her, her eyes said to him. and she would shriek to arouse the countryside. "Meely." he exclaimed huskily, "what do you mean? Why. If you don't love me. have you led me on all these weeks? Why have you come here to meet me? Why? Tell me that why?" "To find out." she answered in tin even lone. .,; sort of a man you are. And." she added with a smile that pitied him. "I have found out!" Before he could lay a linger on her to stop her. she had turned and lied. By the time he had recovered from the bewildering shock of her words, her tone, she was far down the hilt too far for him to overtake her even if he had not realized, to his stunned amazement, the absolute uselossnoss of overtaking her. That he had been repudiated by lids girl who for nearly three months bad let hint treat her contemptuously, had submitted lo his bullying, bis rudeness, rude-ness, his irritability, hud accepted and returned his lavish ctiress-s ! All the way down the hill and along the high way toward the spot near lie school-house, school-house, where today he had parked his car, he stared incredulously at the amazing fact. But a scene that met his bewildered MOinHaHMBr-'ZisM gaze when lie was about to get Into his car, parked near the schoolhouse, did not decrease his mental confusion, nor serve to soothe his rasped nerves and outraged vanity. Marvin Creighton, approaching William Wil-liam l'enn schoolhouse at half-past Eve that afternoon, on his way to his temporary home at Absalom Punt' cottage, noticed on the road far ahead of him a slim girlish ligure in a long loose coat, hurrying along the highway. high-way. Though the daylight was fading, iter carriage of herself and the set of her clothing were so conspicuously different dif-ferent from that of any country girl one was apt to meet alone on the road at this hour that even in this dimness that hurrying figure was sharply impressive. im-pressive. Curiosity made him quicken his pace to catch up with her. Hut before be-fore he had overtaken her, she had arrived at William l'enn schoolhouse, where, to his surprise, she stopped and went In. Then it was. as he had half suspected, suspect-ed, half hoped, a little dreaded, Miss Sehwenckton ! A few yards before he reached the school he came upon a roadster, parked along the road, which lie recognized rec-ognized as his brother's. The idea slabbed him that this attractive young teacher and St. Croix might he having a rendezvous in the school ! Was St. Croix in there witli her now? He was such a philanderer sometimes so unscrupulous un-scrupulous the girl ought to be put on her guard. "But darned if I want to be the one to warn her! And if ever a girl seemed capable of looking out for herself, her-self, she's it !" In s minute he was at the school-house school-house door. It was slightly ajar; he pushed it open a bit wider and, not entering, glanced in. The sight that met his eye made him draw back precipitatelyMiss pre-cipitatelyMiss Sehwenckton, her back toward the door, was standing on her platform disrobing-! She had already taken off her coat and frock, her white shoulders bared There was no one else in the schoolroom, school-room, vet-Marvin vet-Marvin stumbled buck a pace from the door. But though the thought that pierced him made him call himself him-self "a cad," yet as he stood there wondering whether he should knock, he felt cold all over; and even while he hesitated, in what seemed to liira an incredibly short time, she suddenly appeared before him In the doorway clad in a jacket suit and a Jaunty sports hat! He was so taken aback, so utterly confused, that he could not move or speak, but stood as stock-still stock-still as the wooden posts of the school porch. At sight of a man standing motionless motion-less at her door in the gathering gloom, she cried out In alarm which brought him to himself. "Don't be frightened! It's only your superintendent !" She gave a tittle gasp of relief. "Only! And of whom, pray, should I be more frightened? though the rchoolroom being empty Just now. of rourse you can't bully me Into teaching teach-ing geography for your entertainment my good luck !" "!oing home now?" "Yes." "Then" be took from her hand the big door-key and the hooks she had in her arms "may I walk with you?' When he Had locked the school door, he glanced up the road to the waiting ear. Its lights had been turned on. illuminating the road over a wide area, and he saw that his brother, standing In front of his car. was witnessing wit-nessing his coming out of the school-house school-house with Miss S -hwenrkton. She, he observed, was viewing with a frank surprise the lighted car and Its owner a few roils away. That look of surprise sur-prise seemed so genuine, it was hard to believe that his own unexpected arrival at the school hat foiled n meeting between these two. And yet It would be so like St. Croix to seek a furtive love affair with a charming girl like Miss Sehwenckton when he'd die before he would operily associate with anyone of a class outside his own! like a parvenu uncertain of his position, rather than like a man horn lo a secure place In the sun! But that a girl of Miss Schvv cncklnn's spirit should accept such cowardly attentions at-tentions seemed Incredible. And this mystery of her changing her clothing In the schoolroom ! Am they turned their bacln on the car and went on their way, neither of them referred to It though Meely was so absorbed In wondering whet heist. hei-st. Croix had recognized her I hat her sense of Marvin's Interesting companionship compan-ionship was less k-eti I lain It would ot horvv Ise ha ve been. "I iocs your work alw ays detain you so late as this at your school?" tie asked with subtle guile. She didn't know he had seen her coming along the highway ! (To mc C(jNTi.ft':i.) |