The evening world. Newspaper, December 27, 1915, Page 13

The Romance of a Cave-Man and a Pretty School Teacher (Copyright, 1018, by Btrest & Smith.) CHAPTER I. A Lady and Two Gentlemen. ™ RBESSED in @ plain white shirt waist and en equally plain black cloth skirt, Mine Hazel Weir, on week days, was merely a unit in the office force of Harrington & Bush, implement manufacturers. Neither in personality nor in garb would a casual glance have . Mifferentiated her from the other female units, occupted at various desks, A lose observer might have noticed that she wae « bit younger than the .» ,others, possessed of a clear skin and large eyes that seemed to hoki all the miades be’ purple and gray—eyes, moreover, that had not yet begun to, weaken 1m long application to clerical work. A business office is no OP eed ‘@ Wonan to parade her personal charms. The measure of her . there ia simply the measure of her efficiency at her machine or) © Medgers. So that if any member of the firm had been asked what sort of a} « Givi Miss Hazel Weir might be, he would probably have replied—and with | =e truth—that Miss Weir was a capable stenographer, But when Saturday evening released Miss Hazel Weir from the piain “Wate office building she became, until giving him no encouragement to over- | ghe donned her working clothes at step the normal bounds of cordiallty, | séven A. M. Monday morning, quite a She was absolutely sure of herself nt sort of @ person. and of her love for Jack Barrow. pon & certain Saturday night Furthermore, Mr. Andrew Bush, Weir came home from an in- though well preserved, was drawing formal little rty, escorted by m close to fifty—and she was twent .= young man. Prey stopped at the two. That in itself reassured her. rile here at 10 sh aid he. y ore a! sharp,” . ~"“And you get a good beauty sleep to- expected He finished dictating a t, Hasel, ‘That confounded office! batch of letters one afternoon, and Tet to think of you drudging away ®#t tapping on his desk with @ pencil. ‘at it. I wish we were ready to”— Hazel,” he said bluntly, “will you “Oh, bother the office!” she replied Marry mot’ | tly, “I don't think of it out of | “Mr. Bush!” she protested, and tried e Bille ‘hours. Anyway, I don’t mind, to release her hand, Te doesn't tire me. I will be ready But Mr. Bush had no intention of this time. Good night, dear.” Sllowing ‘her to do that. 2 AS * he whispered. ,,"'I'm in deadly earnest,” he sald “Here's a kiss to dream on.’ 've loved you ever since that Sun. “Bbe Fave the lie, next day, to the day I saw you in the park feeding th ‘amying that a woman is never ready at swans, I want you to be my wife. the appointed time by being on the Will yout” steps @ full ten minutes before Jack “I'm awfully sorry," Haxel atam- Barrow appeared. They walked to the mered, She was just the least bit corner and caught a car, and in the frightened. The man who stared at ‘of half an hour got off at Gran- her with burning eyes and spoke to ile. Park. her in a votes that quivered with ‘When Jack Barrow and Hazel had emotion was so different from the} finished their lunch under the trees, calm, repressed individual she had “in company with a little group of known as her employer, Why, their acquaintances, Hazel gathered you're” P came near saying, was: ‘You're old carriage passed slowly, a solemn, enough to be my father.” And beside Hiveried coachman on the box, @ him there instantly flashed a vision . handsome, smooth-shaven man of of Jack Barrow, Of course !t was “thirty-five and a richly gowned wom- absurd—even though she appreciated ‘an leaning back and looking out over the honor. But she did not finish the the pond with bored eyes. And that sentence that way. “I don't—oh, It's ‘ ast, the half-cynical, half-contemp- simply impossible. I couldn't think tuous expression on the two faces, ”"Gmpressed Hazel Weir far more than the showy equipage. the outward You mauitestation of wealth, you?’ “Look,” she murmured; “here's an- forced her to meet his gaze." — ae the Pinsocens, one Sieune make you happy; T can make ane love esteemed employers, you - me. Tecan give yi i Fond notices that he's walking and Soja gases vou Sl that a wom, he asked. “I love you. looking at things just Mke us ordi- «you put te nary, every-day mortals.” Ife interrupted her « Barrow glanced past her and sw joi. [ve surprised Ril ceases on & rather tall, middle-aged man, his hp. iny impulsiveness,” he continued hair tinged with gray, a fine-lookiux ut Hve had no chance to meet man, dressed with exceeding nice! you socially. Sitting here in the even to a flower in his coat lapel. Orrice, seeing you day after day, I've walking slowly along the path that bordered the pond. He stopped 1 few yards beyond them, and stood idly glancing over the smooth stretcn .of water, his gloved hands resting ow the knob of a silver-mounted cane. Presently his gaze wandered to them, and the cool, well-bred stare aradually gave way to @ slightly puzzled expression, He moved a step or two, agd seated himself on a bench. ‘Miss Weir became aware that he. wag looking at her most of the time as she sat casting the bits of bread to the swans and ducks. id to hold myself in check. And a man only does that 60 long, and no longer. Perhaps right now you don't feel as I do, but T can teach you to feel that way. T can give you every- thing—money, soctal position—every- thing that's worth having—and love. I'm not an empty-headed boy. I can make you love me.” 'Y couldn't." Hazel answered ‘ace clouded. “You are en- He got up and stood over her. “To aia *0me self-centred cub—some puny egotist in his twenties, who'll make you a slave to his needs and whims, and discard you for another woman when you've worn out your youth frames, Fecomaition of his employees, Ana beauty,” he cried, “But you a ee eee prepared for Won't marry him. T won't let_ you!” what subsequently transpired as a Misn Weir rose, “TI think I sball Mault of that casual encounter with f°, home,” she sald steadily. the managing partner of the firm. You shall do nothing of the sort! It was, therefore, something of @ dee, Mr. Andrew Bush was little given to day afternoon. Bush's private ste- only.” thine Inne “I am not running away, but I corner, nh ee Re ee can't stay here and isten ito euch 7} is desk at things from you, It’s impossible, un- ee Rp ae ag hee der the circumstances, for me to con- take some letters.” go now.” tip a sheaf of letters, and dictated the latch on the office door, “IT shan’ use than she had expected. going to have you!” etter, Bush.” Next day he sent for-her again. more “My—eh—dlctation day was in the nature of a tryout, any woman. | Miss Weir,” he finally volunteered, women that"— “Migs Morrison has asked to be trans- “Most women would jump at the ferred to our Midland branch. Mr, chance,” Hazel interrupted. “Well, ‘Allan recommended you. You are I'm not most women. I don't consider a Dative of Granville, | understand?” myself as a marketable commodity, eo,"" Hazel answered, wondering nor my looks as an aid to driving ws was an air of quiet In the private of- are here, That's why I'm going.” nieety. The work was no more diM- proposed marriage?” he remarked, ‘to doing—a trifle less in volume, and under the ciroumstances.” more exacting In attention to d avid necessarily more confidential, f¢ IT can make you happy, ness. The size of the check which Hagel After you get over this surprise received in her weekly envelope was me ‘nereased far beyond her expecta~ "That's just the trouble, inerease over what she had received Cause pain. I can't sta) ir on her desk. Coincident w' te drift into talk on subjects nowise you, to business. Hazel accepted The Evening World Daily Magazire; Monday; Decembe 5a WHo GAVE You N, uy ORTORED left the restaurant even wh she had been a man | profanity she could h Go ON, Don'T MIND ME = ‘The thing that was up-| scraps of bread and cake Into a paper permost in her mind, and what she| now that—You ean sen it, can't | He leaned a little nearer, and | may not have come to your atten- I never stop struggling for And I never forgive or forget an injury or an insult.” Hazel was beginning to eee a side of Mr. Andrew Bush hith- erto unsuspeate “Well?” he re! me to it, you will find yourself draw- Ing the finger of gossip. will find yourself unable to secure a position in Granville. find yourself losing the—er—rega: this—ah—fortunate you have bestowed your Moreover, she was doubly glad to be away from Bush. sion on his face as he drew back and atanched his bleeding nose had mo- mentarily chilled her. rfectly devilish,” she y, Lloathe that man! Marry him? The Frances—filled the room with their delicate odor when she removed the pusteboard cover, among the stems she found his card, Misa Weir turned up her small nose. “LT wonder if he sends these as a sort of peace offering?” she snorted. “I wonder if a few hours of reflection has made him realize just how ex- addish he acted? Mr. Bush, I'll return your unwelooms they are beautiful hurt, didn't you?” she inquired. “Saw It in the paper. that be is sup- posed to be dying—and he wanted to {alkin’ kind, L told ‘em nothink what- the ever, you may be sure.” The expres- what I want, And set edgewise Hazel answered. Barrow glanced over the missive, and frowned. “What do you suppose he wanted to e you for?” he asked. all that can be learned about me,” Ha- zel returned quietly, "I don't like newspaper notoriety, but I can’t mus- zie the papers, and to get my whole history if they want id “If you drive He is dangerous. She knew that ehe must have cut him deeply in a man’s tenderest spot his self-esteem, But just how well she had gauged the look and possi- bilities of Mr. Andrew Bush, Hazel reely realized. tell Jack,” she reflected, e'd_ probably want to thrash him. And that would stir up a lot of hor- Dear me, that's one experi- ence I don't want repeated. I won- der if he made court to his first wife in that high-handed, love-me-or-I'l- beat-you-to-death fashion?” She laughed when she caught her- vigorously with her where his eek, She was Also, you may She felt a reluctance,to enter Into ‘That) would neces- sitate telling the whole story, and sho felt some delicacy about relating It when the man involved lay near to The next day—Sund with Jack Barrow on @ visit to bis & nearby town, parted, a# was their custom, at It was still early in the evo- ning—eight-thicty or thereabout—and Hazel went into the parlor on the Mrs. Stout and one of her boarders sat there, chatting, and at Hazel's entrance the landlady greeted her with a startling bit of news: “Evenin’, Miss Welr, ‘Ave you ‘eard gentleman ?” —she spent any explanations. he burst out wildly. you get done butting your head against the wall that will mysteriously rise In your way, I'll be waiting for you, That's how I love. in anything I ever undertook, and 1 don't care how foul, eo that I win.’ “Thin isn’t the fifteenth century,” Hagel let her indignation flare, “and I'm not at all afraid of any of the Even if you ‘The next day’s papers contained th obituary of Mr. Andrew Bush. had died shortly after midnight. day Hazel went in Search of @ new I've never failed z t ended with the first pla self scrubbing The tact of two years’ handkerchief at th lips had touched her ¢ primitive enough in her instincts to feel a trifle glad of having retaliated tn what her training compelled her to consider a “perfectly hoydenish" But she could that it had proved wonderfully effec- There {8 no sense in your running » geqmetning omen away from me and giving rise to TE Eee ae ming partoer the Pues. Kossip—which will hurt yourself Granville was ample recommendation; in addition to which the office man- ager, it developed in their conversa- had known her father In years So before 10 o'clock Miss Weir was entered on the pay of a furniture-manufacturing Mrs, Stout was v “Mr, Bush? No. Hazel resent and his affairs being brought to her attention at every turn, nothing so much since that scene in to ignore his existence, about him" could possibly bring abdut, it would only make me despise you, which I'm in a fair way to do now. Even If I weren't engaged, I'd never think of marrying a man old enough to be my father—a man whose years haven't given him a sense of either dignity or decency, Wealth and social position don't modify gray hairs and advancing age. iMisy Welr,” he said, “i wish you to tinue working here, ao T may as well the office as Mra, Stout related, ‘orseback ridin’, and ‘is ‘orse ran away with ‘im and fell on ‘im, ‘Tetrible—terrible! pore man isn’t expected to live. broke, they say. kin’ accident, indeed,’ while Jack was liveried footman arrived with @ note for Hazel. The note was brief and to the point: Miss Weir: Mr, Bush, being bo ously injured and unable to write, bids me to say that he is very anxious to see you. carriage to convey you here. physicians fear be will not survive the night, hence he br come. Very truly, ETHEL B, WATSON, Nurse tn ‘When she was seated, Bush took Bush stepped past her and shapped telephone girl at the office called to " CHAPTER IU, “I Do Give and Bequeath.” “Some one wants you on the phone, jeplies. Though rapid, his enuncla- permit It," he said passionately. “Girl, Mise Wele” ane sald, tion was perfectly clear, and Hazel you don’t seem to reallze what this found herself getting his words with means to me. I want you—and I'm Your threats are This isn’t the stone age. she concluded cut- tingly, “you'd stand a poor chance of Ld against a man like —well"——_ She shrugged her ehoul- ders, but she was thinking of Jack Barrow's broad shoulders, and the ight of stairs, Even !f it were, ain, which happened to be very evening, simply that she had left Harrington & Bush without entering into any explapation except the general oge that she had found it impossible to get on with Mr, Bush in her new position, more concerned with ber than with her work, gave the matter scant at- e said "Please don't be melodramatic, Mr. “That you, Hazel?” Bhe recognized the volos, haif guess- ing It would be he, Jack Barrow would “tr ose in for verification and “Melodramatic! If it 1s melodrama he suuatore ee goon as you can get for a man to show a little genuine ~ them done.” seltng, I'm gufity. But I was never in earnest in my life, I want a to you yester- Chance to win you. I value you above I have ever met. Most nee ho one but 0 likely to ring "t it sound like me?" the morning pa- iP “surely! Does “Have you se ‘With that thrust, Miss Hazel Weir the k where hung her hat and coat, She was thoroughly angry, and her employment in that office ended then and there so far as she was concerned, Bush caught her by the shoulders before she took a second step. “Gray hairs and advancing age!” he sald, “So T strike you as approach I'll show you whether I'm the worn out specimen you seem to think Tam. Do you think give you up just because I've Why, I love you And Jack, being He sends his Look ‘em over, Particularly the This was on « Friday, its hook without even @ “goodby” from him struck her like a slap in the face slowly and went ver since their first meeting, n exempt from lov- Jack Harrow © Even througa a@ little before maid of all work was put- ting the last touches to her room. ‘The girl pointed to an oblong package oe ‘what that had to do with the position good bargain in a matrimonial way. Nelly Morrison had vacated. simply don't care for you as you “tp that case you Will not likely would want me to—and I'm very sure ‘we desirots of leaving mutdenly,” he I never would, And, seaing that you “Amant on. do feel that way, it's better that we + RB er new duties beran. There shouldn't be thrown together as we She hung up Of cours I won't svt back to her work. wouldn't think of such a thin Jlazel exclaimed, they had not be ors’ quarrels, spoken to he ing senility, she sald to the “That came for you Misa Wolr,”" Bush's carriage brought It Over on the parlor mantel lay some and envelopes. sheets of paper borrowed a pencil from Barrow and seribbled a brief refusal. The footman her answer. turned to find Jack staring his puzale made you angry? the more for it—It only makes me the more determined to win wl I dislike you every second, Take your hands off me, please. Be @ gentieman—if you fide; a greater luxury of appointment, “That is to say, you'll resign be- which suited Miss Hazel Wetr to @ cause I've told you I care for you and Something In the papers lay at the Regular swell with a footman in brown livery. My, you could see the girls peeking all along the square when It stopped at quite flustered tho @ait than she had been accustomed “Exactly, It's the only thing to do “You can't, “Give me a chance to show you that the pleaded. Mr. Andrew Bush had hie finger tips “Don’t leave. Btay here, where I can on the pulsing heart of a big busi- at least see you and speak to you. I won't annoy you. And, you can't tell, “What did he want?” Barrow asked “That was the Bush turn- out, wasn't it?” “You heard about Mr, Bush getting k snarl at hor like that. manner of conveying the mes- was maddening, put her up in For answer he caught her up close to him, and there was no sign of de- cadent force in the grip of his arms. He kissed her; and Hazel, in blind rage, freed one arm, and struck at him map fashion, into a small fiet, By t' chance, the blow landed on ‘There was force enough behind it to draw blood. He stood back and fumbled for his handkerchief, Some- thing that sounded like an oath os- ‘azel stared, aghast, astounded. Bhe was not at all soi Roses—two dozen long etemmed La they had trave you nd yourself Hiking me better.” Heszel tions. Nelly Morrison had drawn pointed out. “If I were here you rh ag dollars a week. Mise Hazel would be bringing this subject up in ‘Welr drew twenty-five—a substantial spite of yourself, And that can only nich, despite b aged to wade through radical errors 1 intermission |to hurry upatr Then, instead of going home luncheon, #he entered the nea She wanted a chance to re She did not unfold agitation, she man- her band Senineg, ONE OF THE MANY THOUSAND PEOPLE WHO ARE THE EVENING WORLD'S plete Novel Each Week? iu are robbing yourself of the richest flotion treat ever offered to the readers of a newspaper, The Evening World, every week, prints a nevel by js are issued complete in six large daily Inetalments. ‘They are eslected with a view te auiting the tastes of all readers. hae long been demonstrated. NOVEL EACH WEEK" in the shipping department, “I think you had better reconsider ‘Things moved along tn routine that,” he said; and a peculian—an channels for two months or more ugly—ight crept into his eyes, “un- ~~ before Hazel became actively aware le#s you desire to lay yourself open that a subtle change was growing to betng the most talked-of young ‘mantfest in the ordinary manner of woman tn this town, where you were Mr. Andrew Bush, She shrugged her born, where all your friends live, shoulders at the idea at first. But Many disagreeable things might re- more than food the paper until she was seated A column beading on the front page caught her eye, Pp nto) seemed unwomanly to strike. caption ran the humor of the thing appealed to her most strongly of all author. These no |Stenographer.” And under it the sub- “Wealthy Manufacturer Makes Pecullar Bequest to Mise Hazel Weir.” |. The story ran a full column, and |had to do with the contents of the | will, made public followin, ‘There was a great ter anent the principal beneficl: But that which formed the bi the heading was a codicil the will @ tow houre before And the tremend cess In The Evening World’s “COMPL! orice is the foremost work of such “best-seller” authors as Robert W, Roberts Rinehart, Rupert Hughes, James Oliver Cur- bertsen, Margaret Widdemer, George Randolph ter, Louis Joseph Vanos, Edgar Rice Burroughs and many others of equal celebrity. she was & woman; moreover, & wo- sult.” man of Intelligence, her perceptive .“That sounds Hke threat, Mr, faculties naturally keen. Bush, What do-you mean?” once more for her hat, Bush did not attempt to ‘The first symptom was flowers, “I mean just what I say. T will dainty bouquets of which began to admit that mine is, perhaps, a selfish ith passion. If you insist on making ‘Mr. Bush evinced an Inclination me guffer, I shall do as much for ft believe in paying all debts in full/ even with high interest, There tribute to ber sex reluctantly, ate two characteristics of mine which Chambers, Ma: weed, Morgan rain She breathed a sigh of relief when she had gained the street, and she did not in the least care if her de- business hours ex- loaity in the main of- ¢ 27, By EDGAR RIC In which he did "give and bequeath to Hazel Weir, until lately in my em- ploy, the sum of five thousand dollars in reparation for any wrong | may have done her.” THe Gazette had copied that por- tion verbatim and used it as a pew upon which to hang some adroltly worded speculation as to what man- ner of wrong Mr. Andrew Bush could have done Miss Hazel Weir. Bush was a widower of ten years’ stand. ing. He had no children. There was plenty of room in his life for romance, And wealthy business men who wrong pretty stenographers are not such an unfamiliar type. The Gagette in- clined to the yellow side of journal iam, and it overlooked nothing ti promised a sensation. Hagel stared at the sheet and her face burned. She could understand now why Jack Barrow had hung up his receiver with a slam. She could picture him reading that suggestive article and gritting his teeth, Her hands clenched till the knuckles stood white under the smooth skin, and then quite abruptly she got up and a walter hurried to take her order. If id versed In cursed An- drew Bush tll hia soul shuddered on its Journey through infinite space, Be. ing a woman, she wished only a quiet place to cry. CHAPTER Ill. An Explanation Demanded, AZEL'S pride came to her 1 rescue before sho was haif- ] way home, instinctively she had turned to that ref- uge, where she could lock herself in her own room and cry her protest against it all. But she had done no wrong, nothing of which to be | ashamed, and when tho first shock of the news article wore off she threw up her head and refused to consider what the world at large might think, 80 she went back to the office at 1 o'clock and took up her work. Long before evening she sensed that others had read the Gazette. Not that any ono mentioned {t, but sundry curious glances made her painfully aware of the fact. Mrs, Stout evidently was on the watch, for she appeared in the hall almost as the front door closed behind Hazel. “Hfow de do, Minn Whir?” she groet- ed, “My, but you fell Into quite a bit of @ fortune, ain't you?” “{ only know What the papers say,” | Hagel returned coldly, | “Just fancy! You didn't know noth- ing about it? Mra, Stout regarded “There's been two or three gentlemen from the to-day awskin’ for you. terrible fellows to quiz one, they her with frank curiosity, papers ‘ere “Well?” Hazel filled In the pause, ‘Ob, L just thought I'd tell you," Mrs, Stout observed, “that they got precious little out o' me, T ain't the “They're perfectly welcome to learn easy for them She was on the stairs when phe fin- ished #peaking, She had just reached the first landing wh telephone bell, and later the landlady calle he heard the cond or two “Oh, Miss Weir! Telephone Barrow’s voice hatled her over the line. “Tl be out by 7," #aid he, “We had better take a walk, We can't talk © In the parlor lot of old tabbies there out of sheer there'll probably be a urtosity.” “AIL right," Hazel agreed, and hung up, There were one or two questions xle would have Mked to ark, bi knew that eager ears were close by, taking In every wor better to walt until she saw him. Anyway, it was She dressed herself. Unconsciousy the truly feminine asserted its domi- nance-—-the woman anxious to please and propitiate her lover, She put on © dainty summer dress, rearranged her hair, powdered away all trace of the tears that inststed on coming as her dwn room. And then she watched for Jack from @ window that com- manded the street, She had eaten din- nothing since morning, and thi ner bell rang unheeded, It did not ob our to her that she was hungry; her brain was engrossed with other matters more tmportant by far than food, Barrow appeared nt last, She went down to meet him before he rang the Yell, Just behind him came a tal man tn a gray nuit, This individual turned tn at tho gate, bestowing @ nod upon Barrow and @ keen glance at her as he passed. “That's Grinell, from the Times, Rarrow muttered sourly, “Come on let's get away from here, I suppose he's after you for an tnterview. Kverybody Granville's wbout that Mazel t Righ U “ b F 8 nothing to warrant sus n him, But she loved him, could convinee hin thot it Was no more than a passing Uopleasantnes# for which she was in “Hang it! Barrow growled, before the first block. I suppose that pointed us out “Here comes Gri y reason why | is put yg not an Barrow shrugged his shoulders in a way that made Hazel bring her teeth together and want to shake him Grinell by then was hurrying up with long strides, Hat in hand, be bowed to her. "Miss Haze! Weir, 1 believe?” he interrogated, “Yeu,"" she confirmed. “Um’ on the Times, Miss Weir,” Grinell went straight to the business in hand, “You are aware, | presume, that Mr. Andrew Bush willed you a sum of money under rather peculiar conditions—that is, the bequest was worded in a peculiar wi Probably you have eeen a reference to it in the pers, It has caused a apres deal of Faverpet. ‘The Times be pleased Under the Moons of Mars E as sho reached the sanctuary of BURROUG vd % HS to have a statement from you whieh will tend to set at rest the curtosity of the public, Some of the other papers have indulged in unpleasant innuendos. Wa would be pleased to publish your side of the matter, It would be an excellent way for you (% quiet the nasty rumors that are going the rounds,” “I have no statement to mak Hazel said coldly. “L am not in least concerned with what the papers print or what people say, I absolutely refuse to discuss the matter.” Grinell continued to point out—with the persistence and persuasive logic of a good newspaper man bent on learning what his paper wants to know—the desirability of her giving forth a statement. And in the mid of his argument Hazel bad curt “good evening” and walked on. Barrow kept step with her. Grinell gave it up for a bad job evidently, for he turned bi They walked five bl word. Hazel glanesd and then, and observed with comfortable sinking of her heart that ho was sullen, openly resentful, aus- piclous. “Johnnie-boy,” she said suddenty, “don't look so cross, Surely you don't blame me because Mr, Burh wills me & sum of money in a way that makes peuple wonder?” him it's very deucedly unpleasant. y leave you money at all? na why should he word the will as he did What wrong did he ever do you?" Hazel answe: shortly. His tone wounded her, cut her deep, so eloquent was It of distrust. “The only Wrong he baa done me ites in willing me that money as he did. “But there's an explanation for that Barrow declared —moodily “There's a key to the mystery, and If anybody has it you have. What In nih Jack,” Haze} pleaded, “don't talk tn that tone with me, I can’t stand it I won't. I'm not a little child to be scolded, and browbeaten. This morn ing WHen you telephoned you were almost Insulting, and jt burt me dreadfully, You're angry now, ani suspicious. You seem to think yet have done some dreadful thing. | know what you're thinkin, The Gusette hinted at some ‘affair’ be- tween me and Mr. Bush; that pos- sibly that was @ sort of left-handed reparation for ruining me. If that didn’t make me angry it would amuse moe—it's so absurd, Have you any faith in me et all? I haven't done anything to be ashamed of. I've got nothing to conceal.” “Den't conceal it, then,” Barrow muttered sulkily. “I've got @ right to know whatever there is to know {f I'm going to marry you. You don't neem to have any idea what this sort of talk that's going around means to a man,” Hazel stopped short and faced him. Her heart pounded sickeningly, and hurt pride and rising anger choked ber for an Instant. But she managed to speak calmly, perhaps with added calmness by reason of the struggle she was compelled to make for seif- control, “If you are going to marry me,” she repeated, “you have got a right to know all there in to know, Have I re- fined to explain? I haven't haé much chance to explain yet, Have I re- fused to tell you anything? If you ever thought of anybody beside your. self, you might be asking yourself how all this talk would affect a gir! like me, And, besides, I think from your manner that you've already con demoed me—for what? Would an: reasonable explanation make an im pression on you in your present fram» of mind? I don't want to marry gee If you can't trust me, Why, F t —I wouldn't—-marry you any time, or ary place, under t! conditions, nv matter how much I may foollably e for you.” ‘There's just one thing, Hazel.” Barrow persisted stubbornly. “There must have been something between you and Bush, sent flowers to you, and I myself saw when he was hurt he sent his carriage to bring you to his house, And thea be leaves you this money, There was something be tween you, and I want to know whi: it was, You're not helping yourse:t jetting on your dignity and talking ut my not trusting you Instead of explaining these things.” “A short time ago,” Has! told him quietly, “Mr. Busb asked me to marry him, I refused. He"-— “You refused!” cynically, "Most t the chance,” she protested. Barow defended, “he was almost a millionaire, and I've .got nothing but my hands and my n But suppose you did refuse him. How does that account for the five thou- sand dollars?” “T think,” Hasel Sung back passion - ately, “I'll let you find that out for yourself, You've sald enough now tv make me hate you almost. Your very naoner’s an insult, “If you don't like my mannér”—— Barrow retorted stormily. Then he out sentence in two and glared at her. eyes gilstened with slow welling tears and she bit nervously at her un- der ip. Barrow shrugged bis shou!- ders, The twin devils of Jealousy an: disirust were riding him hard, it over Haze! that in Bis mind ahe judged, and that her explana- { she made it, would only add fuel to the ume. Moreover, she stood open rebellion at being, 80 to speak, ton the rack She turned abruptly and left him. What did it matter, anyway? She was too proud to plead, and it was worse than useless to explain, That evening & messenger boy brought her a package. She opened it hastily. A swift heart sinking followed. In the small ee: board box res an thrust in it a small gold ‘legis the only thing she had ever given Jack Harrow ‘There was no message. She needed none to understand, The sparkle of the small diamond on her finger drew her gaze. She worked his ring over the knuckle, and dropped tt an the dresser, where the face in the silver frame emiled up ther. She stared at the pleture for one long minute, with unchanging ex- pression, and suddenly she swept it from the dresser with a savage sweep of her hand, dashed {t on the floor, and stamped it shapeless with her silppered heel, cae "Ob, oh!” she gasped. “I hate you 1 hate you! I despiae you!” And then eho herself across the bed and sobbed hysterically tate we ge me a