a
i Oje Younger Set
SYNOPSIS OK PKECEDINf) CHAPTERS"
Chap. l-Rctumlns from Mnnlla. Captain
Selwyn. foimcrly of the army. Is welcomed
home by his sister. Nina Gerard, her wealthy
husband Austin, and their numerous child
ren. Klleen Krroll. ward of Nina and Austin,
is part of their household. Sclwin has been
divorced, without euilt on hi? part, by his
wife. Alixe. who Is now the wife of Jack
Huthveu, with whom she run away from
Selwyn. II Klleen, who Is very fond or her
brother, Cicrald. despite the young man's
neglect of her. makes friends with Selwyn
III-Geraldls worried about young hrroll's
mingling In the fast set (Jcrald Is employ
iil by Julius Necrgard. a reale state operator
m a large way. Selwyn promises Eileen he
will look after her brother. He tells her
about Hoots Lansing, bis army chum In
Manila, who is coming to New York. In the
park Eileen and Selwyn ride past Alixe. 1
Eileen's deceased father was un archaeol
ogist, and she has inherited some of bis
scholarly qualities. Selwyn helps Herald
to settle a gambling debt and determines to
undertake his reformation. V Alixe and
Selwyn meet and discuss their altered rela
tions. He is Introduced to Mrs. Rosamund
Fane, leader of the fast set and Alixe's clos
est friend He appeals toAllxc to help hint
keep Gerald from gambling. VI The friend
ship of Eileen and Selwyn progresses. VII
Gerald promises Selwyn be will stop gambl
ing. Neereard discloses to Selwyn. who Is
Interested In his ottlce. a plan to control the
Slowltha Country club by buying up farms
essential to the club's existence. The plan
docs not appeal to Selwyn, and be consults
Austin, who denounces Neereard and his
methods. VII-At night In his room Selwyn
answers a knock at his door. IX The caller
Is Alixe.. who Is very unhappy with Rutbren
and wants to talk with Selwpn. hor a mo
ment their old lore Hashes up, but at the
mention of Eileen be knows that it Is past
resurrection. X Rosamund distresses Ei
leen by telling her society Is gossiping about
Alixe and Selwyn. Alixe gets from Gerald,
who has again lost heavily, a promise not to
play again at her house. XI Alixe and
Kuthven quarrel over the gaming by which
be lives, and he reveals his knowledge of her
visit at night to her cx-husband's room.
XII Gerald's Increasing Intimacy with Necr
gard displeases Selwyn, who breaks with the
real estate man over the Slowltha matter.
Keegard Is trying to break into society.
XIII Lansing Invites Selwyn to make his
home with him in the modest bouse he has
bought. Selwyn declares be will no longer
let the past mar his chance of happiness, and
Nina declares bcr belief that Klleen has fallen
In love with him, Nina fears that Alixe,
restless and disgusted with Ruthven, will
make mischief. Selwyn is experimenting
with chaositc. his discovery Is explosive.
XIV Eifeen asks Selwyn to remove Gerald
from Neergard's Influence. XV Through
Ruthven and the Fanes, Neereard forces
himself a little way into society and tries to
compel the Siowitha to elect him, Gerald
loses more and more at cards, sinking Eileen
money as well as his own. Trying to save
him. Selwyn quarrels with him and then ap
peals In vain to Necrgard, Rosamund and
Ruthven. He almost kills Ruthven, whose
heart is weak, when the latter hints at a pos
sible divorce suit, with Selwynascorrespond
ent. kINA had rtm up to town
for a day from Silver
side and had telephoned
Selwyn to take her some
where for luncheon. She
urged him to return
-with her, Insisting that
a week end at Sllrerslde was what he
seeded to avert physical dlslntegra
Hon. "What la there to keep you in town?"
she demanded. "The children have
been clamoring for you day and night,
and Eileen has been expecting a let
fcr. You promised ' to write her,
iPhll."
"I'm going to write to her," he said
"impatiently. "Walt a moment, Nina.
Don't speak of anything pleasant or
er Intimate just now, because because
Tve got to bring up another matter
something not very pleasant to me or
to you. It is about Alixe. You knew
her in school years ago. You have al
ways known her."
"Yes."
"You did you ever visit her stay
at the Varlans' house?"
"Yes."
"In iu her own home in Westches
ter?" "Yes."
There was a silence. His eyes shifted
to Ills plate; remained fixed as ho said:
"Then you knew her father?"
"Yes, Phil," she said quietly, "I knew
Mr. Varian."
"Was there anything anything un
usualabout him in those days?"
"Have you heard that for the first
time?" nsked his sister.
Ho looked up. "Yes. What was it,
Nina?"
She became busy with her plate for
awhile. He sat rigid, patient, one band
resting on his claret glass. And pres
ently she said without meeting his
eyes:
"It was even farther back her grand
parentsone of them" She lifted
her head slowly. "That Is why It so
deeply concerned us, Phil, when we
heard of your marriage."
"What concerned you?"
"The chance of Inheritance the risk
of the taint of transmitting It. Her
father's erratic brilliancy became more
than eccentricity before I knew him.
I would have told you that had I
dreamed that you ever could hare
thought of marrying Alixe Varian.
But bow could I know you would meet
her out there In the orient? It was
your cabio to us was like a thunder
bolt And when she she left you se
suddenly Phil, dear I feared the true
reason the only possible reason that
could be responsible for such an Insane
act."
"What was the truth about her fa
ther?" be said doggedly. "He was ec
centric. Was be ever worse than that?"
"The truth was that he became men
tally lrreapoMlblo before his death."
' "You knew tator
"Alixe told me when we were'echoob
girts. And for days she was haunted
with the fear of what might ose day
'It her Inheritance. That Is all I knew,
Phil."
1 1
,h Ckctptei 16
' AS
mr m
By ROBERT W. CHAMBERS,
Author of "THE FIOHTINO CHANCE," Etc
Copyrighted, 1907, by Robert W. Chambers.
He nodded and for awhile mado some
pretense of eating, but presently lean
ed back and looked at his sister out of
dazed eyes.
"Do you suppose," he said heavily,
"that' she was not entirely responsible
when when she went away?"
"I have wondered," said Nina simply.
"Austin believes It"
"I can't believe It" ho Bald, staring
at vacancy. "I refuse to." And, think
ing of her last frightened and excited
letter imploring an Interview with him
and giving the startling reason, "What
a scoundrel that fellow Ruthven Is," he
said, with a shudder.
That night he wrote to Alixe:
If Ruthven threatens you with divorce
on such a ground he himself Is likely to
be adjudged mentally unsound. It was a
brutal, stupid threat, nothing more, and
his Insult to your father's memory waa
more brutal still. Don't bo stampeded by
such threats. Disprove them by your
calm self control under provocation. Dis
prove them by your discretion and aelf
confidence. Give nobody a single possi
ble reason for gossip. And, above all,
Alixe, don't become worried and morbid
over anything you might dread as In
herltance, for you are as sound today as
you were when I first met you. and yon
hall not doubt that you could ever be
anything else. Be the woman you can
be. Show the pluok and courage to make
the very best out of life. I have slowly
learned to attempt it, and It Is not diffi
cult If yov convince yourself that It can
be done.
To this she answered the next day:
I will do my best There is danger,
treachery, everywhere, and if It becomes
unendurable I shall put an end to it In
one way or another. As for his threat
Incident on my admitting that I did go to
your room and defying him to dare be
lieve evil of me for doing It I can laugh
at It now, though when I wrote you I
waa terrified, remembering how mentally
broken my father was when he died.
But as you say, I am sound, body and
mind. I know It. I don't doubt It for one
moment except, at long Intervals, when,
apropos of nothing, a faint sensation of
dread comes creeping.
But I am sound! I know it so absolute
ly that I sometimes wonder at my own
perfect sanity and understanding, and so
clearly, so faultlessly, so precisely does
my mind work that and this I never told
you I am often and often able to detect
mental inadequacy In many people around
me, the slightest deviation from the nor
mal, the least degreo of mental Instabil
ity. And It would amaze you, too. If I
should toll you how many, many people
you know are In some degree more or
loss Insane.
He's only serenely disagreeable to me
now, and we see almost nothing of one
another except over the card tables. Ger
ald has been winning rather heavily, I
am glad to say glad as long as I cannot
prevent him from playing. And yet I
may be able to accomplish that yet In a
roundabout way, because the apple vis
aged and hawk beaked Mr. Necrgard has
apparently become my slavish creature
quite Infatuated. And as soon as I've
fastened on his collar and made sure that
Rosamund can't unhook It I'll try to
make him shut down on Gerald's play
ing. This for your sake, Phil because
you ask me and because you must al
ways stand for all that Is upright and
good and manly in my eyes. Ah, Phil,
what a fool I was! And all, all my own
fault too' ALIXE.
This ended the sudden eruption of
correspondence, for lie did not reply to
this letter, though iu it lie read enough
to make him gravely uneasy, and ha
fell once more into the habit of brood
ing, from which both Boots Lansing
and Eileen had almost weaned him.
Also he began to take long, solitary
walks in the park when not occupied
In conferences with the representatives
of the Lawn Nitro Fowder works, a
company which had recently approach
ed him In behalf of bis unperfected ex
plosive, chaosite.
Lying back there in his desk chair
one evening, Selwyn suddenly remem
bered that Gerald had come in. They
had scarcely seen one another since
that unhapy meeting in the Stuyvc
sant club, and now, remembering what
he had written to Eileen, he emerged
with a start from his contented dream
ing, sobered by the prospect of seeking
Gerald.
For a moment or two he hesitated,
but he had said In his letter that he
was going to do it, and now he rose,
looked around for his pipe, found It,
filled and lighted it and, throwing on
his dressing gown, went out Into the
corridor, tying the tasseled cords
around his waist as he walked.
His first knock remaining unanswer
ed, ho knocked more sharply. Then he
heard from within the muffled creak
of n bed, heavy steps across the floor.
The door opened with a jerk. Gerald
Gerald tat on tfte edge of the bed.
stood there, eyes swollen, hair In dis
order and collar crushed and the white
evening tie unknotted and dangling
over his soiled short front
"Hello," said Selwyn simply. "May
I come In?"
The' boy passed bis hand across
his eyes as though confused by the
Hft-ht. Then he tamed and walked
back toward the bed, stJU rabbtes Us
CEfijsd sat down oa tba
Belwyn closed the door and seate
himself, apparently not noticing Get
aid's dlshevclmcnt
"Thought I'd drop in for a good nighi
pipe," he said quietly. "Byithe way,
Gerald, I'm going down to Sllrerslde
next week. Nina has asked Boots too.
Couldnt you fix It to com- along with
r
"I don't know," said the boy la a
low voice. "I'd like to."
"Good business! That will be fine!
What you and I need is a good still
tramp across the moors or a gallop If
you like. It's great for mental cob
webs, and my brain is disgracefully
unswept By the way, somebody said'
that you'd Joined the Siowitha club."
"Yes," said the boy listlessly.
"Well, you'll get some lively trout
fishing there now. It's only thirty
miles from Silverslde, you know. You
can run over in the motor very easily."
Gerald nodded, sitting silent, his
handsome head supported In both
bands, his eyes on the floor.
That something was very wrong
with him appeared plainly enough, but
Selwyn, touched to the heart and mis
erably apprehensive, dared not ques
tion him unasked.
And so they sat there for awhile,
Selwyn making what conversation he
could, and at length Gerald turned and
dragged himself across the bed, drop
ping bis head back on tho disordered
pillows.
"Go on," bo said; "I'm listening."
So Selwyn continued his pleasant.
Inconsequential observations, and Ger
ald lay with closed eyes quite motion
less until, watching him, Selwyn saw
his hand was trembling where it lay
clinched beside him. And 'presently
the boy turned bis face to tho wall.
Toward midnight Selwyn rose quiet
ly, removed his unllghted pipe from
between his teeth, knocked the ashes
from It and pocketed it Then he
walked to the bed and seated himself
on the edge.
"What's the trouble, old man?" he
asked coolly.
There was no answer. He placed his
hand over Gerald's. The boy's hand
lay inert, then quivered and closed on
Selwyn's convulsively.
"That's right" said the elder man;
"that's what I'm here for to stand by
when you hoist signals. Go on."
The boy shook his head and burled
it deeper in the pillow.
"Bad as that?" commented Selwyn
quietly. "Well, what of It? I'm stand
ing by, I tell you. That's right" as
Gerald broke down, his body quivering
under the spasm of soundless grief
"that" s the safety valve working. Good
business. Take your time."
It took a long- time, and Selwyn sat 1
sncnt ana motionless, his whole arm
numb from its position and Gerald's
crushing grasp. And at last, seeing that
was the moment to speak, he said:
"Now let's fix up this matter, Gerald.
Come on!"
"Good heavens! H-how can It be
f-ilxed?"
"I'll tell you when you tell me. Ifs
a money difficulty, I suppose, isn't It?"
"Yes."
"Cards?"
"P-partly."
"Oh, a note? Case of honor? Where
Is this I. O. TJ. that you gave?"
"It's worse than that. The the note
is paid. Good God I can't tell your
"You must. That's why I'm here,
Gerald."
"Well, then, I I drew a check '
knowing that I had no funds,
they return it marked"
If it-if
"I see. What are the figures?"
The boy stammered them out. Sel
wyn's grave face grew graver still.
"That la bad," he said slowly, "very
bad. Have you but of course you
couldn't have seen Austin."
"I'd kill myself first!" said Gerald
fiercely.
"No, you wouldn't do that. You're
not that kind. Keep perfectly cool,
Gerald, because it is going to be fixed,
The method only remains to be de- '
elded upon."
"I can't take your money!" stammer- I
ed the boy. "I can't take a cent from
you after what I've said tho beastly
things I've 6aid."
"It isn't the things you sa to me, t
Gerald, that matter. Let mo think a
bit, and don't worry. Just He quietly i
and understand that I'll do tho worry- j
lng. And while I'm amusing myself
with a little quiet reflection as to ways I
and means just take your own bearings .
from this reef and set a true course !
once more, Gerald. That is all the re- '
proach, all the criticism, you arc going J
to get from me. Deal with yourself
and your God in silence." I
And in silence and heavy dismay ,
Selwyn confronted the sacrifice he
must make to save the honor of the :
house of Erroll.
It meant more than temporary incon- '
venlence to himself. It meant that he
must go into the market and sell se
curities which were partly his capital
and from which came the modest in
come that enabled bim to live as be
did.
There was no other way unless be
went to Austin. But be dared not do
that dared not think what Austin's
action in the matter might be. And
bo knew that If Gerald were ever
driven into hopeless exile, with Austin's
knowledgo of his disgrace rankling, tho
boy's utter ruin must result Inevita
bly. Yet yet how could he afford to do
this unoccupied, earning nothing, be
reft of bis profession, with only the
chance In view that his chaosite might
turn out stable enough to be market
able? How could be dare so strip him
self? Yet there was no other way. It
had to be done, and done at once the
very first thing In the morning, before
It became too late.
And at first, In the bitter resentment
of the necessity, his Impulse was to
tarn on Gerald and bind bi to food
conduct by every pledge the boy cottld
give. At least thsre would be compen
sation. Tet with the theafht earn the
clear" conviction of Its futility. The
boy had brushed too close to dishonor
not to recognize it And If this wero
not a lifelong lesson to him no prom
ises forced from him In his dire need
and distress, no oaths, no pledges,
could bind him. No blame, no admoni
tion, no scorn, no contempt no re
proach, could help him to see more
clearly the pit of destruction than ho
could seo now.
"You need sleep, Gerald," he said
quietly. "Don't worry. I'll see that
your check Is not dishonored. All you
have to see to Is yourself. Good night
my boy."
But Gerald could not speak, and so
Selwyn left him and walked slowly
back to his own room, where he seat
ed himself at bis desk, grave, absent
eyed, his unfilled pipe between his
teeth.
And he sat there nntll he had bitten
clean through the amber mouthpiece,
so that the brier bowl fell clattering
to the floor. By that time it was full
daylight, but Gerald was still asleep.
He slept late into the afternoon, but
that evening, when Selwyn and Lan
sing came In to persuade him to go
with them to Silverslde, Gerald was
gone.
They waited another day for him.
He did not appear. And that night
they left for Silverslde without him.
Chapter 17cj
URING that week end nt
Silverslde Boots behaved
like a school lad run wild.
With Drina's hand In his,
the other children and
half a dozen dogs as ad
vanced guard and heavily flanked by
the Gerard battalion, he scoured the
moorlands from Surf point to the Hith
er woods, from Wonder head to Sky
pond.
Nina, Eileen and Selwyn formed a
lagging and leisurely rear guard,
though always within signaling dis
tance of Boots and the main body, and
when necessary the two ex-army men
wigwagged to each other across tho
uplands to the endless excitement and
gratification of the children.
Eileen and Selwyn were standing on
one of the treeless hills, a riotous tan
gle of grasses and wild flowers, look
ing out to sea across Sky pond. He
had a rod, and as he stood he, idly
switched tho gayly colored files back
ward and forward.
Standing there, fairly swimming iu
the delicious upper air currents, she
looked blissfully
across the roll
ing moors.
"After all," she
said, "what more
Is there than
this earth and
sea and sky and,
sun and a friend
to show them to?
Because, as 1
wrote you, the
friend is quite I
necessary in the
scheme of things
to round out the
symmetry of it
all. I suppose '
you're dying to I
dangle those files I
Looked blissfully
across the rolling
moors.
In Brier Water to see whether there
are any-trout there. Well, thore nre.
Austin stocked It years ago, and be '
never fishes, so no doubt it's full of j
fish." '
The Brier Water, a cold, deep, lei
surely stream, deserved Its name. If
anybody ever haunted it with hostile
designs upon Its fishy denizens, Austin
at least never did. Belted kingfisher,
heron, mink and perhaps a furtive
small boy with pole and sinker and
barnyard worm these wero the only
foes the trout might dread. As for a
man and a fly rod,' they knew him not,
nor was there much chance for cast
ing a line, because the water every
where flowed under weeds, arched
thickets of brier and grass and leafy
branches crisscrossed above.
"This place is impossible," said Sel
wyn scornfully,
about to let it all
wild"
wuai is Austin
grow up and run
He reeled in his line until only six
inches of the gossamer leader remained
free. From this dangled a single sli
ver bodied fly, "glittering In the wind.
"There's a likely pool bidden under
those briers," ho said. "I'm going to
poke the top of my rod under this
way Hah!" as a heavy splash i
sounded from depths unseen and the I
reel screamed as he struck.
Up and down, under banks and over
shallows, rushed the invisible fish, and
Selwyn could do nothing for awhile
but let him go when he Insisted and
check and recover when the fish per
mitted. Eileen, a spray of green mint be
tween her vivid lips, watched tho per
formance with growing interest, but
when nt length a big, fat, struggling
speckled trout was cautiously but suc
cessfully lifted out Into the grass she
turned her back until the gallant fight
er had departed this life under a mer
ciful whack from a stick.
"That," she said faintly, "is the part
I don't care for. Is he out of all pain?
What? Didn't feel any? Oh, are you
quite sure?"
She walked over to him and looked
down at the beautiful victim of craft
"Oh, well," she sighed, "you are very
clever, of course, and I suppose I'll eat
htm, but I wish he were alive again
down there In those cool, sweet
depths r
"Killing frogs and tawects and his
smaller brother fishY"
"Did he do thatr
"No doubt of It Aad It I hsda't
landed him a herea er a Mlak would
have m It seeaer t later, tttatt
7 W
what a trout Is Tor to kill and be
killed."
Sho smiled, then sighed. The taking
f life and the giving of It were mys
teries to her. Sho had never wittingly
killed anything.
"Do you say that It doesn't hurt the
trout?" she asked.
"There are no nerves In the Jaw
muscles of a trout Hah!" as bis rod
twitched and swerved under water and
'bis reel sang again.
And agata she watched the perform
ance and once more turned her back.
"Let me try," sho said when tho
coup de grace had been administered
to a lusty, brilliant tinted bull trout
And, rod in hand, she bent breathless
and Intent over tbe bushes, cautiously
thrusting tho tip through a thicket of
mint
She lost two fish, then hooked a
third, a small one, but when she lifted
It gasping Into the sunlight she shiv
ered and called to Selwyn:
"Unhook it and throw It back! I I
simply can't stand that!"
Splash! went the astonished trout,
and sho sighed her relief, i
"There's no doubt about It," sho said,
"you and I certainly do belong to dif
ferent species of the same genus. Men
and women are separate species. Do
you deny it?"
"I should hate to loso you that way,"
be returned teasingly.
"Well, you can't avoid It I gladly ad
mit that woman is not too closely re
lated to man. We don't like to kill
things. It's an Ingrained distaste, not
merely a matter of ethical philosophy.
Yon like to kill, and Ifs a trait common
also to children and other predatory
animals, which fact," she added airily,
"convinces me of woman's higher civ
ilization." "It would convince me, too," he said,
"If woman didn't eat the things that
man kills for her."
"I know. Isn't it horrid? Oh, dear,
we're neither of us very high In the
scale yet particularly you."
"Well, I've advanced some since the
good old days when a man went woo
ing with a club," he suggested. .
"You may have. But anyway, you
don't go wooing. As for man collec
tively, be has not progressed so very
Aft ti iAA mA Jamnmilv "la on AW.
"
omnia vhnf 1rnrifiil nnvmnrw man nr.
tnally hurt my wrist"
Krt-mrm llr1 n nnlnVlv . Rhartn of
a i . M M
vision of the fat sybarite before his
eyes. He turned again to his fishing,
but his shrug was more of a shudder
than nppeared to be complimentary to
Fercy Draymore.
She had divined somehow that It an-
.a.a Cnlwvn Ifntm that mnn rl
. ' - i, sT uZm hh, f
importuned her. She had told him of
her experience as innocently as she
had told Nina, and with even less em
barrassment. But that had been long
ago, and now, without any specific rea- '
son, she was not certain that sho had
acted wisely, although it always
amused her to see Selwyn's undisguised
Impatience whenever mention was '
made of such incidents.
So, to torment him, she said, "Of
course it Is somewhat exciting to be
asked to marry people rather agree
able than otherwise."
"What."'
Waist deep In bay bushes he turned
toward her where she sat on the trunk
of an oak which had fallen across tho
stream. Her arms balanced her body;
her ankles were interlocked. Sho
swung her slim, russet shod feet above
the brook and looked at him with a
touch of coquetry new to her and to
him.
"Of course it's amusing to be told ,
you are the only woman in the world," ,
she said, "particularly when a girl has
a secret fear that men don't consider
her quite grown up."
"You once said," he began impatient
ly, "that the idiotic importunities of .
those men annoyed you." I
"Why do you call them idiotic?" with
pretense of hurt surprise. "A girl is '
honored" I
"Oh, bosh!"
"Captain Selwyu!"
"I beg your pardon," be said sulkily
and fumbled with his reel.
Sho surveyed him, head a trifle on
one side, the very incarnation of youth
ful malice in process of satisfying r.
desire for tormenting.
"When I pretended I was annoyed
by what men said to me I was only a
yearling," she observed. "Now I'm a
i
lie reeled in his line.
nf. qi, wi,n .n.,
tell what may happen iu my second
! mr IJ- cui. VUIIIW.U fxjvs II j us v
"You said that vou were not the
the marrying sort," he Insisted,
"Nonsense. All girls are. There are
men," she said dreamily, "who might
hope for a kinder reception next win
ter." "Oh, no," ho said coolly, "there are
no such gentlemen. If there were you
wouldn't say so."
"Yes, I would. And there are!"
"How many?" Jeerlngly and now
quite reassured.
"One!"
"You can't frighten me," with a
shade less confidence. "You wouldn't
tell If there was."
"rd tell yon."
"Me?" with a sadden slump In bis
remaining stock of reassurance.
"Certainly. I tell you and Nina
things of that sort. And when X have
Mly decided to marry I shall, of
coarse, ten rev both before X tafera
ether people."
How the blood la her yoang vems
waa raetas aad stealag wtth tasghter!
ew tfcwwahty wm MJwtN.
something to which she could give
aelther reason nor name I But how
satisfying It all was whatever It wa
that amused her In this man's uncer
tainty and in the faint traces of an Ir
ritation as unreasoning as the source
fit!
"Really, Captain Selwyn," she said,
"you are not one of those old fashion
ed literary landmarks who objects
through several chapters to a girl'
marrying, are you?"
"Yes," he said, "I am."
"You are quito serious?" I i
"Quite."
"You won't let me?"
"No; I won't"
"Why?"
"I want you myself," he said, smD
lng at last
"That Is flattering, but horridly self.
Ish. In other words, you won't marry
mo and you won't let anybody els
do It"
Glancing around at her, he caught
her eyes, bright with mischief.
"You're capable of anything today,"
he said. "Were you considering the
$b&i
DrUia.
flilvleiTi HUv Af irfaW n AVAfkA.iwII
i - """ v?w..ti
AnJ. h.e. nod,dod toward tto ter
nCath theIr feCt-
I ua w uu DU T 1.1441 1. UU V IJll a. IT:
wyn.
"I mean it, too," he returned.
ever?"
I "Me," ne suggested, "if you're
I ntzL .
; -
oughly demoralized to marry you?"
1 (1UI1 L HUI1IIUSR KUU (1 ll 1L 1L HU
wasn't," he admitted, laughing.
side.
concluded.
Mnfinr imin inn winter lit ihmihtcl i
"will you have me?"
mend you except your fatal beauty?"
rnnciiinrnn vnrv iirpi 11 ni'ii in iiit-
tally perplexed."
"It's clipped too close. I have tol
vrii nrniin nnn nfmin rnnr linn L it:i
for it clipped like that. Your min
would be a perfect blank if yo
couldn't get hold of it."
"I'vo only to shave It."
clear laughter thrilled the silence.
laughed, too, and sat with elbows o
er to and fro in the pool below.
"So you won't have me?" he said.
"Yon hnven't nsked. mc nave vou
"Well, I do now."
on Hps and eyes.
Nina?" she said.
She laughed to herFolf, clasped h
bent her eyes on the pool below.
"Marriage." she said, pursuing h
kipv ill n:irimniSK- I iikr fiiir iim?iin
in each other, for example. It h
from the beginning been perfectly fr
from silliness and sentiment"
to be safe."
"vmi nrn linn" slio roTnrrpfl. "W
a ridiculous thing to say!"
ly unsafe, but yet you've managed
I escape. Is that it?"
I men! I've heard that often enough
1 be convinced. Why, even I can
" j i
I acacia mem- -sne turned
1 look at him "the way your head a
1 cnmilrlrvna ontn nrl tt-oi1 ftoi-AQ('
I ' .
sentiment, don't you think so? '
where many meet to worship at
ecu is quo to my mustachios. Tang
hearts complain in sighs In fact,
situation vies with moments In
do."
Her running comment was her lau
ter, ringing delldously amid the
ventured a long, sweet response
the tangled green above them.
nwpnnn ierc innni niinnr rm aw
Jkue n.H irnu Mini wiu MUK. uiuu
an til In his melody she found tbe
to her dreamy thoughts.
"Because," she said, "you are so
eMscMsa of year own valae I
yoB bssh. i ibibk. i Bever ueterv
realised Juct what it was la yea."
temakeK." .
ittaiUHtsa
on pan 7.