HER ONE EXCEPTION
All evening Kitty had been trying to get Nolan by telephone, always being
told that he was not at the hotel and had gone to the office, and then
hearing that the office line was busy. It was after eight when she
finally got him on the wire.
"Nolan, whoever have you been talking to? If it was anybody else besides
Eveley, I am going to tell. I have been trying to get you all evening. I
want you to come over here immediately. Something terrible is about to
happen, and you must stop it."
Nolan hesitated. "I am to be at Eveley's at nine, but if you promise to
talk fast I will come."
Receiving her fervent assurance, he immediately closed his desk, and in
ten minutes Kitty was drawing him feverishly into her favorite corner of
the living-room.
"Nolan, you could never guess what is going on."
"No," he admitted, with a reminiscent smile. "So many odd things have
been going on lately that I confess my inability as a guesser."
"Listen to this. Eveley's sister has fallen in love with some crazy
aviator, and is going to elope with him. And she wants Burton to get a
divorce so she can marry him."
Nolan was plainly dumfounded at this revelation.
"And that is not the worst. She is going to desert those two children,
and Eveley--You know Eve. She says she will be the willing sacrifice to
save the honor of the family, and has decided to marry Burton herself, to
be a mother to Winifred's children."
"Preposterous!" gasped Nolan, looking into her flushed face for symptoms
of delirium.
"True," came the grim answer. "But we must never allow such a
bloodcurdling thing to happen. It wouldn't be right. I want you to go
right over to Eveley's as fast as you can, and make her marry you. You
can pretend you do not know anything about this, and sweep her right off
her feet. Get her promise before she knows what is going on, and marry
her before she realizes it. Then perhaps Winifred will come to her senses
and not do this outrageous thing."
"But, Kitty--"
"You love Eveley, don't you?"
"Yes, of course, but--"
"Then do you call yourself a man, and yet stand idly by and see the woman
you love sacrifice her life for her sister's honor--and--er babies--and--"
"And husband," he said gloomily. "I could stand the honor and the babies,
but I object to the husband."
"Of course you do. I have my car here, and I will take you right over to
Eveley's and you can settle it immediately."
"I do not believe I could propose before you, Kitty," he objected shyly.
"I could not think of the words."
"I shall wait in the car until it is over. Then I shall come sauntering
up later on and wish you joy, etc., and Eveley need not know I had a
thing to do with it. Just you get her promise, and I shall be witness for
you. If she tries to back out we shall sue her for breach of promise."
"All right," he decided suddenly. "We certainly can not submit to any
such nonsense as this. Let's go."
All the way to the Cloud Cote they kept up hearty agreement that the idea
was utterly wild and preposterous, and that Nolan should never stand for
it. As she stopped the car, two doors down where Eveley could not see
from her window, Kitty said:
"Arnold and I want to take a honeymoon trip to Yosemite after we are
married, and we want you and Eveley to get married in time to go along.
It is so much more fun when everybody's married."
"Now, you fix it up with Eveley, and when you are through pull back the
shade in the living-room, and I'll take it for a sign and come up to make
my call."
So Nolan went up the rustic steps to Eveley, and Kitty settled down in a
corner of the car. For thirty minutes she chuckled gleefully to herself,
but after half an hour she began to feel that he was decidedly slow.
"I could be engaged to a dozen people in that time," she thought
impatiently, "Oh, the poky thing. But I suppose they are waxing
demonstrative, and he has forgotten me."
She toyed restlessly with the keys and screws on the car, still watching
the black window in the Cloud Cote with only the faint gleam of light
from behind.
"An hour," she cried at last furiously. "If that isn't the limit! I have
a notion to go right home, and let him settle it as best he can--but I do
want to see how Eveley takes it. Oh, well, I shall give him fifteen
minutes more, and then if he has not signaled I'll go up and see for
myself."
So she waited another uneasy quarter of an hour, and then banged stormily
out of the car and up the rustic steps. Her sharp tap brought a sudden
scurry and scramble from within, but Kitty did not wait for a summons.
She drew back the portières and climbed in, uninvited.
Eveley was standing flushed and brilliant in the center of the room,
trying to tuck up badly straying curls, and Nolan was adjusting himself
to the davenport with an air of studied ease.
"Well, Kitty," cried Eveley nervously. "Why didn't you phone you were
coming over?"
"You do not seem any too glad to see me," said Kitty rather peevishly,
and then at their flushed and shining faces, she laughed. "My, how happy
you look! Just like newlyweds--or something."
"Yes--something," said Eveley. She flashed a questioning look at Nolan,
and received a reassuring nod. "Nolan and I are engaged, Kitty."
"Really," cried Kitty. "After all these years. How surprising." She put
her arms around Eveley lovingly. "When did all this happen?"
"Last night, coming down from Flynn Springs," said Eveley. "We--we had a
whole car full of it."
"Last night!" Kitty quickly disengaged herself from Eveley's arm and
looked sharply at Nolan, smiling in great contentment on the davenport.
"Last night?"
"Yes, last night. It was an awfully big night all around, wasn't it,
Nolan?"
"It was for me," he said, coming over and taking Eveley's hand in his.
"Last night," Kitty repeated again, glaring intently at Nolan.
He nodded.
"Then you knew I was lying all the time."
"Well, since Eveley and I had luncheon with Winifred and Burton to-day to
announce our engagement,--yes, I may say that I was fairly well assured
you were lying. They seemed on their usual tender terms at noon."
"What are you two talking about?" wondered Eveley.
Kitty drew her small hat over her ears with a vicious tug.
"But we shall be glad to motor to Yosemite with you and Arnold this
summer," Nolan went on pacifically, "we think it will be great sport. We
asked Marie and Jimmy Ames to go along. They are going to be married
to-morrow. They are in Marie's room now, so go in and congratulate them
if you like. But do not bring them out here, because we are a crowd
already."
"I am going home, anyhow, if you mean me," she said pettishly. She looked
at Eveley. "I suppose you think it is very clever for you to be engaged
to Nolan twenty-four hours without notifying me, after all the trouble I
have taken in the last five years to bring it about. And as for you,
Nolan, I think you have a lot of courage to marry a woman who openly and
notoriously refuses to do her duty in any shape, size or form. I call it
a pretty big risk, myself." She clambered crossly through the window.
"Congratulations," she called back snappily. And again, from half-way
down the stairs: "And we shall hold you to the Yosemite bargain, too."
Then Nolan took Eveley in his arms again and kissed her. "It may be
pretty risky," he said tenderly. "A wife who steels her heart against her
duty--"
Eveley smiled into his eyes. "Don't worry. The One Exception will save
you. I still claim that duty isn't the biggest thing in the world. And
hasn't my theory held good? Patriotic duty could not Americanize Angelo
nor Marie, nor anybody else. And filial duty could not make the Severs
live happily with the Father-in-law. And domestic duty could not bring
Miriam and Lem Landis into harmony. But there was something else big
enough to work all the miracles, and it was the Big Exception."
"Yes, tell me, Eveley--the Big Exception that is Everybody's Duty--what
is it?"
"Well," she said, snuggling a little closer into his arms, "I believe it
is everybody's duty to love somebody else with all his heart and mind and
soul and body. And that is what has worked all the transformations for
our friends. And it will protect you, Nolan--for I do."
Nolan kissed her again. "Then it is no risk at all," he whispered,
laughing tenderly. "Don't try to do your duty by me--just go on loving me
like this."
THE END
* * * * * *
FLORENCE L. BARCLAY'S NOVELS
May be had wherever books are sold. Ask for Grosset & Dunlap's list.
THE WHITE LADIES OF WORCESTER
A novel of the 12th Century. The heroine, believing she had lost her
lover, enters a convent. He returns, and interesting developments follow.
THE UPAS TREE
A love story of rare charm. It deals with a successful author and his
wife.
THROUGH THE POSTERN GATE
The story of a seven day courtship, in which the discrepancy in ages
vanished into insignificance before the convincing demonstration of
abiding love.
THE ROSARY
The story of a young artist who is reputed to love beauty above all else
in the world, but who, when blinded through an accident, gains life's
greatest happiness. A rare story of the great passion of two real people
superbly capable of love, its sacrifices and its exceeding reward.
THE MISTRESS OF SHENSTONE
The lovely young Lady Ingleby, recently widowed by the death of a husband
who never understood her, meets a fine, clean young chap who is ignorant
of her title and they fall deeply in love with each other. When he learns
her real identity a situation of singular power is developed.
THE BROKEN HALO
The story of a young man whose religious belief was shattered in
childhood and restored to him by the little white lady, many years older
than himself, to whom he is passionately devoted.
THE FOLLOWING OF THE STAR
The story of a young missionary, who, about to start for Africa, marries
wealthy Diana Rivers, in order to help her fulfill the conditions of her
uncle's will, and how they finally come to love each other and are
reunited after experiences that soften and purify.
Grosset & Dunlap, Publishers, New York
* * * * * *
ETHEL M. DELL'S NOVELS
May be had wherever books are sold. Ask for Grosset & Dunlap's list.
THE LAMP IN THE DESERT
The scene of this splendid story is laid in India and tells of the lamp
of love that continues to shine through all sorts of tribulations to
final happiness.
GREATHEART
The story of a cripple whose deformed body conceals a noble soul.
THE HUNDREDTH CHANCE
A hero who worked to win even when there was only "a hundredth chance."
THE SWINDLER
The story of a "bad man's" soul revealed by a woman's faith.
THE TIDAL WAVE
Tales of love and of women who learned to know the true from the false.
THE SAFETY CURTAIN
A very vivid love story of India. The volume also contains four other
long stories of equal interest.
Grosset & Dunlap, Publishers, New York
* * * * * *
ELEANOR H. PORTER'S NOVELS
May be had wherever books are sold. Ask for Grosset & Dunlap's list.
JUST DAVID
The tale of a loveable boy and the place he comes to fill in the hearts
of the gruff farmer folk to whose care he is left.
THE ROAD TO UNDERSTANDING
A compelling romance of love and marriage.
OH, MONEY! MONEY!
Stanley Fulton, a wealthy bachelor, to test the dispositions of his
relatives, sends them each a check for $100,000, and then as plain John
Smith comes among them to watch the result of his experiment.
SIX STAR RANCH
A wholesome story of a club of six girls and their summer on Six Star
Ranch.
DAWN
The story of a blind boy whose courage leads him through the gulf of
despair into a final victory gained by dedicating his life to the service
of blind soldiers.
ACROSS THE YEARS
Short stories of our own kind and of our own people. Contains some of the
best writing Mrs. Porter has done.
THE TANGLED THREADS
In these stories we find the concentrated charm and tenderness of all her
other books.
THE TIE THAT BINDS
Intensely human stories told with Mrs. Porter's wonderful talent for warm
and vivid character drawing.
Grosset & Dunlap, Publishers, New York
* * * * * *
THE NOVELS OF GRACE LIVINGSTON HILL LUTZ
May be had wherever books are sold. Ask for Grosset & Dunlap's list.
THE BEST MAN
Through a strange series of adventures a young man finds himself
propelled up the aisle of a church and married to a strange girl.
A VOICE IN THE WILDERNESS
On her way West the heroine steps off by mistake at a lonely watertank
into a maze of thrilling events.
THE ENCHANTED BARN
Every member of the family will enjoy this spirited chronicle of a young
girl's resourcefulness and pluck, and the secret of the "enchanted" barn.
THE WITNESS
The fascinating story of the enormous change an incident wrought in a
man's life.
MARCIA SCHUYLER
A picture of ideal girlhood set in the time of full skirts and poke
bonnets.
LO, MICHAEL!
A story of unfailing appeal to all who love and understand boys.
THE MAN OF THE DESERT
An intensely moving love story of a man of the desert and a girl of the
East pictured against the background of the Far West.
PHOEBE DEANE
A tense and charming love story, told with a grace and a fervor with
which only Mrs. Lutz could tell it.
DAWN OF THE MORNING
A romance of the last century with all of its old-fashioned charm. A
companion volume to "Marcia Schuyler" and "Phoebe Deane."
Ask for Complete free list of G. & D. Popular Copyrighted Fiction
Grosset & Dunlap, Publishers, New York
* * * * * *
JAMES OLIVER CURWOOD'S STORIES OF ADVENTURE
May be had wherever books are sold. Ask for Grosset & Dunlap's list.
THE RIVER'S END
A story of the Royal Mounted Police.
THE GOLDEN SNARE
Thrilling adventures in the Far Northland.
NOMADS OF THE NORTH
The story of a bear-cub and a dog.
KAZAN
The tale of a "quarter-strain wolf and three-quarters husky" torn between
the call of the human and his wild mate.
BAREE, SON OF KAZAN
The story of the son of the blind Grey Wolf and the gallant part he
played in the lives of a man and a woman.
THE COURAGE OF CAPTAIN PLUM
The story of the King of Beaver Island, a Mormon colony, and his battle
with Captain Plum.
THE DANGER TRAIL
A tale of love, Indian vengeance, and a mystery of the North.
THE HUNTED WOMAN
A tale of a great fight in the "valley of gold" for a woman.
THE FLOWER OF THE NORTH
The story of Fort o' God, where the wild flavor of the wilderness is
blended with the courtly atmosphere of France.
THE GRIZZLY KING
The story of Thor, the big grizzly.
ISOBEL
A love story of the Far North.
THE WOLF HUNTERS
A thrilling tale of adventure in the Canadian wilderness.
THE GOLD HUNTERS
The story of adventure in the Hudson Bay wilds.
THE COURAGE OF MARGE O'DOONE
Filled with exciting incidents in the land of strong men and women.
BACK TO GOD'S COUNTRY
A thrilling story of the Far North. The great Photoplay was made from
this book.
Grosset & Dunlap, Publishers, New York
* * * * * *
KATHLEEN NORRIS' STORIES
May be had wherever books are sold. Ask for Grosset & Dunlap's list.
SISTERS. Frontispiece by Frank Street.
The California Redwoods furnish the background for this beautiful story
of sisterly devotion and sacrifice.
POOR, DEAR, MARGARET KIRBY. Frontispiece by George Gibbs.
A collection of delightful stories, including "Bridging the Years" and
"The Tide-Marsh." This story is now shown in moving pictures.
JOSSELYN'S Wife. Frontispiece by C. Allan Gilbert.
The story of a beautiful women who fought a bitter fight for happiness
and love.
MARTIE, THE UNCONQUERED. Illustrated by Charles K. Chambers.
The triumph of a dauntless spirit over adverse conditions.
THE HEART OF RACHAEL. Frontispiece by Charles E. Chambers.
An interesting story of divorce and the problems that come with a second
marriage.
THE STORY OF JULIA PAGE. Frontispiece by C. Allan Gilbert.
A sympathetic portrayal of the quest of a normal girl, obscure and
lonely, for the happiness of life.
SATURDAY'S CHILD. Frontispiece by F. Graham Cootes.
Can a girl, born in rather sordid conditions, lift herself through sheer
determination to the better things for which her soul hungered?
MOTHER. Illustrated by F. C. Yohn.
A story of the big mother heart that beats in the background of every
girl's life, and some dreams which came true.
Ask for Complete free list of G. & D. Popular Copyrighted Fiction
Grosset & Dunlap, Publishers, New York
* * * * * *
BOOTH TARKINGTON'S NOVELS
May be had wherever books are sold. Ask for Grosset & Dunlap's list.
SEVENTEEN. Illustrated by Arthur William Brown.
No one but the creator of Penrod could have portrayed the immortal young
people of this story. Its humor is irresistible and reminiscent of the
time when the reader was Seventeen.
PENROD. Illustrated by Gordon Grant.
This is a picture of a boy's heart, full of the lovable, humorous, tragic
things which are locked secrets to most older folks. It is a finished,
exquisite work.
PENROD AND SAM. Illustrated by Worth Brehm.
Like "Penrod" and "Seventeen," this book contains some remarkable phases
of real boyhood and some of the best stories of juvenile prankishness
that have ever been written.
THE TURMOIL. Illustrated by G. E. Chambers.
Bibbs Sheridan is a dreamy, imaginative youth, who revolts against his
father's plans for him to be a servitor of big business. The love of a
fine girl turns Bibb's life from failure to success.
THE GENTLEMAN FROM INDIANA. Frontispiece.
A story of love and politics,--more especially a picture of a country
editor's life in Indiana, but the charm of the book lies in the love
interest.
THE FLIRT. Illustrated by Clarence F. Underwood.
The "Flirt," the younger of two sisters, breaks one girl's engagement,
drives one man to suicide, causes the murder of another, leads another to
lose his fortune, and in the end marries a stupid and unpromising suitor,
leaving the really worthy one to marry her sister.
Ask for Complete free list of G. & D. Popular Copyrighted Fiction
Grosset & Dunlap, Publishers, New York
* * * * * *
THE NOVELS OF MARY ROBERTS RINEHART
May be had wherever books are sold. Ask for Grosset & Dunlap's list.
DANGEROUS DAYS.
A brilliant story of married life. A romance of fine purpose and stirring
appeal.
THE AMAZING INTERLUDE. Illustrations by The Kinneys.
The story of a great love which cannot be pictured--an interlude--amazing,
romantic.
LOVE STORIES.
This book is exactly what Its title indicates, a collection of love
affairs--sparkling with humor, tenderness and sweetness.
"K." Illustrated.
K. LeMoyne, famous surgeon, goes to live in a little town where beautiful
Sidney Page lives. She is in training to become a nurse. The joys and
troubles of their young love are told with keen and sympathetic
appreciation.
THE MAN IN LOWER TEN. Illustrated by Howard Chandler Christy.
An absorbing detective story woven around the mysterious death of the
"Man in Lower Ten."
WHEN A MAN MARRIES. Illustrated by Harrison Fisher and Mayo Bunker.
A young artist, whose wife had recently divorced him, finds that his aunt
is soon to visit him. The aunt, who contributes to the family income,
knows nothing of the domestic upheaval. How the young man met the
situation is entertainingly told.
THE CIRCULAR STAIRCASE. Illustrated by Lester Ralph.
The occupants of "Sunnyside" find the dead body of Arnold Armstrong on
the circular staircase. Following the murder a bank failure is announced.
Around these two events is woven a plot of absorbing interest.
THE STREET OF SEVEN STARS. (Photoplay Edition.)
Harmony Wells, studying in Vienna to be a great violinist, suddenly
realizes that her money is almost gone. She meets a young ambitious
doctor who offers her chivalry and sympathy, and together with world-worn
Dr. Anna and Jimmie, the waif, they share their love and slender means.
Grosset & Dunlap, Publishers, New York
* * * * * *
ZANE GREY'S NOVELS
May be had wherever books are sold. Ask for Grosset & Dunlap's list.
THE MAN OF THE FOREST
THE DESERT OF WHEAT
THE U. P. TRAIL
WILDFIRE
THE BORDER LEGION
THE RAIBOW TRAIL
THE HERITAGE OF THE DESERT
RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE
THE LIGHT OF WESTERN STARS
THE LAST OF THE PLAINSMEN
THE LONE STAR RANGER
DESERT GOLD
BETTY ZANE
LAST OF THE GREAT SCOUTS
The life story of "Buffalo Bill" by his sister Helen Cody Wetmore, with
Foreword and conclusion by Zane Grey.
ZANE GREY'S BOOKS FOR BOYS
KEN WARD IN THE JUNGLE
THE YOUNG LION HUNTER
THE YOUNG FORESTER
THE YOUNG PITCHER
THE SHORT STOP
THE RED-HEADED OUTFIELD AND OTHER BASEBALL STORIES
Grosset & Dunlap, Publishers, New York
* * * * * *
STORIES OF RARE CHARM BY GENE STRATTON-PORTER
May be had wherever books are sold. Ask for Grosset & Dunlap's list.
MICHAEL O'HALLORAN. Illustrated by Frances Rogers.
Michael is a quick-witted little Irish newsboy, living in Northern
Indiana. He adopts a deserted little girl, a cripple. He also assumes the
responsibility of leading the entire rural community upward and onward.
LADDIE. Illustrated by Herman Pfeifer.
This is a bright, cheery tale with the scenes laid in Indiana. The story
is told by Little Sister, the youngest member of a large family, but it
is concerned not so much with childish doings as with the love affairs of
older members of the family. Chief among them is that of Laddie and the
Princess, an English girl who has come to live in the neighborhood and
about whose family there hangs a mystery.
THE HARVESTER. Illustrated by W. L. Jacobs.
"The Harvester," is a man of the woods and fields, and if the book had
nothing in it but the splendid figure of this man it would be notable.
But when the Girl comes to his "Medicine Woods," there begins a romance
of the rarest idyllic quality.
FRECKLES. Illustrated.
Freckles is a nameless waif when the tale opens, but the way in which he
takes hold of life; the nature friendships he forms in the great
Limberlost Swamp; the manner in which everyone who meets him succumbs to
the charm of his engaging personality; and his love-story with "The
Angel" are full of real sentiment.
A GIRL OF THE LIMBERLOST. Illustrated.
The story of a girl of the Michigan woods; a buoyant, loveable type of
the self-reliant American. Her philosophy is one of love and kindness
towards all things; her hope is never dimmed. And by the sheer beauty of
her soul, and the purity of her vision, she wins from barren and
unpromising surroundings those rewards of high courage.
AT THE FOOT OF THE RAINBOW. Illustrations in colors.
The scene of this charming love story is laid in Central Indiana. The
story is one of devoted friendship, and tender self-sacrificing love. The
novel is brimful of the most beautiful word painting of nature, and its
pathos and tender sentiment will endear it to all.
THE SONG OF THE CARDINAL. Profusely illustrated.
A love ideal of the Cardinal bird and his mate, told with delicacy and
humor.
Grosset & Dunlap, Publishers, New York