"He had been drink-
ing. He wanted me to--to--he appealed to me to
run off with him.
"I was furious--NATURALLY." Her voice changed
as she said it enough so you could feel how furious
Miss Lucy could get. She was like her brother
Tom in some ways.
"I ordered him out of the house. His answer to
that was an offer to marry me. You can imagine
that I was surprised as well as angry--I was
perplexed.
"'But I AM married!' I cried. The idea that any
of my own people, or any one whom I had known at
home, would think I wasn't married was too much
for me to take in all at once.
"'You THINK you are,' said Prentiss McMakin,
with a smile.
"In spite of myself my breath stopped. It was
as if a chilly hand had taken hold of my heart.
I mean, physically, I felt like that.
"'I AM married,' I repeated, simply.
"I suppose that McMakin had got the story of
our wedding from YOU." She stopped a minute.
The doctor's voice answered:
"I suppose so," like he was a very tired man.
"Anyhow," she went on, "he knew that we went
first to Clarksville. He said:
"'You think you are married, Lucy, but you
are not.'
"I wish you to understand that Prentiss McMakin
did it all very, very well. That is my excuse. He
acted well. There was something about him--I
scarcely know how to put it.
Pages:
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305