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WHEN A MAN MARRIES
By George Munson.
"111 walk home with you, Dick,"
said Frank Fayles to his friend Rich
ard Talbot and started away with
him .from Miss Landis' door. At the
corner of the block he stopped and
wrung his friend's hand violently.
"I congratulate you, old man," he
said warmly. "I think your fiancee
"Do You Know You Have Been Act
: ing Very Odd Lately?"
s one of the finest girls I've ever
imet and just suited to you, too.
3 "It's odd, Dick," he continued, "but
jj never gave you credit for being able
&o pick a winner like that. I don't be
lieve any of your friends did, either.
suppose your being an artist makes
ins think you must be erratic and
.miserably married and all that. But
you've done splendidly, my boy, and I
bet your married life- will be one
jjong dream of paradise."
Talbot did not reply and his friend,
mortified by his coldness, accom
panied him in silence. Talbot was
thinking bitterly of his folly his ab
ject folly. It was too late to with
draw with honor now. The wedding
was only one month away. And dur
ing the past two weeks he had come
to realize that he had made the mis
take of his life.
He had thought Elsie Landis all
that could be desired in any woman
until until he had met Edith Spin
ner. A friend had introduced them,
and then Talbot knew that, deeply
as he had been in love during his
thirty-odd years of life, he had never
surrendered so completely ta the di
vine passion before. Honor forbade
him to speak; but the pressure of
their hands when they met must
have betrayed them to each other.
They had met three times only and
he was head over heels in love with
Edith.
He thought over his future that
night He could not withdraw. He
could not tell Elsie the cause of his
coldness. But he could, and must, in
honor, I tell her of his miserable
doubts for their future happiness;
How could he ever have thought him
self in love with Elsie, when Edith
Spinner was the very complimentary
portion of his soul?
He rose up after a sleepless night,
resolved to give Elsie the chance to
reconsider. One thought buoyed him
up; loving as she was, he had felt
that of late ever since he had
known Edith, in fact her affection
had been less demonstrative. What if
she also had come to believe that
happiness would not bless their un
ion? The day dragged with feet of
lead. It was not until eight o'clock
that evening that he found himself
in Elsie's presence.
Their greeting was commonplace
enough: The handshake, the kiss,
and even that seemed perfunctory.
Talbot sat down.
"Richard' said hjs -fiancee, looking
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