The Argosy, Vol. 82, No. 3 — page 142: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

516 eroan that rose within him. He was glad only that she looked away, that she could not see the strange effect of her words. With a mighty effort he pulled himself together, remembered that he had planned here for the kiss that should seal their be- trothal, drew a little closer to her. Slowly she turned to face him. And there was light in her eyes. CHAPTER XII. THE SHADOW. HEN he realized dully that she was drawing her face from his reach, as she perceived his purpose. He questioned the light in her eyes, as he watched its calm glow. Was it the light of love—or of purpose? Her first words told him. “No, Reginald, don’t do that yet. I will marry you—but not until you know all the truth that I can tell you, and then ask me to marry you again. “First of all, I do not love you.” He was completely taken aback by her words. “Vou do not love me?” he repeated slow- ly, dazed. “No. I like you too well to marry you until you knew that. I’m not sure that I don’t like you well enough to marry you willingly. Certainly there is none I would rather marry—any more. Sometimes I wish I were a Catholic and could enter a convent and not marry at all. “But it seems I must marry. Father has set his heart upon it, made it a regular obsession.” Again she paused. He still floundered, all at sea as to whither she was leading. “Vou like me well enough to marry me— but you don’t love me.” He echoed her words. “Since I must marry some one, yes. I’m not sure that I wouldn’t think I loved you if—if I didn’t know better.” “How do you know?” he asked, mostly because she suggested the query. ‘““Because—” she hesitated, then began again—‘Yes, I'll tell you the truth. Heaven knows I wouldn’t tell it to another on earth. You probably know of my broken engagements. One of them—well, it taught me what love was. That’s how I know. ‘“And you know what love is, too. Some- how I’ve felt that from the moment I saw THE ARGOSY. you first. I’d almost like to believe you know by your love for me. Only —it wouldn’t be fair. We can marry fairly as it is, you see. “And sometimes I’ve hoped that I could learn to love you. Do you think you could learn to love me?” There was nothing more remote from her query than any note of coquetry. She had elected to tear down all masks. She asked the question to get at the truth. ‘‘T hope I could,” he answered. “And you still wish to try?” “Yes,” he said thickly. He was glad of her honesty, if he could not match it himself. “Then we'll try. I’m afraid it’s the only thing that will save father’s reason. But— one thing more—you know all about me, don’t you?” He stared at her again. - ‘“I—I know you, I think,” he answered, freshly mystified. “You know—why the others didn’t marry me?” she went on. “IT thought it was because you refused to marry them,” he answered. “Oh,” she cried. The agreement of perfect candor had seemed to brighten her greatly, to lift a load from her shoulders. Now her happiness vanished. “Tt thought you knew. You—you came on the scene just at the time of the break with Howard Van Cleef. And—and father said to me just after our first meeting, ‘There’s a man who will marry you.’ I thought you knew all about it.” ‘Don’t worry about that,” he bade her. “You don’t need to tell me unless you wish to.” “But I can’t tell you,” she answered, all the trouble coming back to her face. “TI don’t know. I’m afraid it’s something— something dreadful about father. ‘““He’s become all but a nervous wreck each time there’s seemed some promise of my getting married. He’s seemed almost crazy to have things over and settled. And then he’s talked with each one of them and come to me looking as if it killed him to tell me I must break the engagement. “The first time I was rather glad of the chance. I had become engaged only to please father; only because he seemed so wildly anxious to have me do so. He had been that way ever since a mooning young simpleton with a good family and four mil- Go OOOLKS AMUC (C@)