Newspaper Page Text
whenever I meet him. He must not
know, cost what It may and yet he
must!"
There was the dry stain of a tear.
John smiled, but not in mirth. Poor,
silly, sentimental schoolgirl outpour-
ings! And yet how true they rang.
He turned toward the end again.
"I shall put this book in his hands
someday not in his hands, but
somewhere where he can come upon
it I wonder if he will guess. No! I
shall destroy it!"
, John set the little book down and
rested his chin upon his hands, star
ing at the fire, deep in thought The
foolish triteness of the words, the
frank and unashamed sentimentality
of it went straight to his heart It
brought back mind-pictures of happy
days of long-lost youth, when he had
been desperately in love with June
June, the mother of two children, and
inclining to stoutness. Let how kind
ly she had greeted him. And she had
not seemed at all embarrassed at the
knowledge that she had given him
, that foolish diary.
John went to bed, and the next
morning his mind was made up. He
had put liimself to the test and he
was going to ask Lucille to be his
wife. He knew that every man car
ries memories of an early love hidden
away in his heart. At thirty-four the
recollection has become only a ten
der one. Yes, Lucille would make the
jolliest wife in the worldj
And vet somehow, it was June that
fk he visited that day, before he started
upon ms oiner momentous journey.
And June looked very serious. And
presently she led right up to the topic.
"John," she said, "as an old friend,
I am going to say something frank to
you. Why iiave you come back?"
' "To settle down here," he answered
vaguely.
There was an embarrassed pause.
Then June raised her head and looked
at him directly.
"Are you going to ask Lucille to
marry you?" she asked.
"You know, John," she continued,
"I don't think you are treating my
sister exactly right Of course, if you
never cared for her all that is the
fortune of war I mean the chances
of a woman's life. But you have come
back and called on her. You know
she always cared for you, "John, and
none other. And she has had so many
chances."
"Yes," answered John slowly, "I
am going to ask her today."
Suddenly June began crying. "God
blass you, John," she sobbed. "You
have made me so happy. You know
I haye a right to take you to" task
after giving you the diary! 0, John,
what it cost us both in pride for we
were always intimates! And it was
only because you were going away!
Poor Lucille!"
John looked at her in bewilderment
"That was the real outpouring of a
woman's heart, John," continue
June, "and I don't think we women
change much. Lucille alwas felt
things deeply. And when she was
with you she felt that she had to
mask her feelings under the guise of
jollity "
"June!" cried John, catching her by
the arnj, "do you mean that that was
Lucille's diary?"
"What?" she cried. "John! Didyou
think it was I?" And suddenly tears
gave place to mirth, and she laughed
helplessly. "0, John, forgive me!"
she sobbed hysterically. '
But John Hayward was not think
ing of forgiveness. All his thoughts
were turned upon a very different
subject How blind he had been
how incredibly blind ! Lucille the writ
er of those impassioned sentences!
Lucille the frivolous little woman
whose nature had rushed to meet his
own on both sides! He seized his hat.
June clung to his arm. "John!
What are you going to do?" she cried.
"Let me go," bellowed John. "I'm
going to rush around to Lucille before
any other chap has a chance to get
there first!"
(Copyright by W- G. Chapman.1 j
MMtfiJMMMMMiMMjfl
&&-
--i
