"But Cynthy didn't cry. She never said a word--only her whole little
body seemed turned to ice. She smiled and helped us to get through
with things as best we could but the smiles slipped like dull beads
from her lips instead of rippling like waves of sunshine over her face.

"I had been crying for myself, over my boy, but when I saw how Cynthy
took her trouble I saw that she was hurt far worse than I. But I never
dreamed that things could not be mended, that she would take back her
wedding day. But that's what she did.

"She refused to see Roger. Her father pleaded with her, even her
mother begged her to think; the wedding was all planned, everything
prepared; relatives from a distance had already started. But Cynthia
never stopped smiling and shaking her head. Roger was frantic and
begged me to come with him, to make her listen. I went and Dick went
with me.

"When Cynthy saw me she let us in. Her father and mother and two aunts
came in when they heard us. In the midst of these people Roger and
Cynthy stood looking at each other with death in their eyes. They
didn't seem to know anybody was there.

"'Cynthy--I love you--I love you,' Roger begged.

"'I know, Dear Boy, I know!' she cried back to him.

"'Forgive--my God, Cynthy, forgive.'

"'I do.'

"'Marry me.'

"'Oh, I want to--oh, I want to marry you,' sobbed poor Cynthy.

"'Then marry me. I'm not good enough--but I know no other man who is.'

"'Oh--Roger--Roger--you are good enough for me--you are good enough for
_me_. But you are not good enough for my children. You are not good
enough to be the father of my son.'

"I think we all knew then that it was useless. There was no answer and
we were too startled to say anything. Roger grew white and the
strength seemed to leave his body. His eyes filled with horror and
fright.

"'Cynthy, sweetheart--' he moaned and she flew to comfort him. She let
him hold her and kiss her. Then she drew his head down and kissed his
hair, his eyes, his lips. She laid his hands against her cold white
cheeks, then crushed them to her lips and fled.

"Roger never saw her again.

"She went away and was gone a long time. I got letters every now and
then from out-of-the-way places.

"For five years I was happy. It was hard to live without Cynthy. But
Roger had left town and Dick was good to me. I knew that the shock of
Roger's tragedy had kept him from touching anything those five years.
But as tim