Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1896-02-18
"a elem Mafh@Y,

court, shaking his head. but at that
moment q knock came at the door, and
Lesley hoped of her fathers knee to
meet the elderly man who entered, and
dancing up shook him heartily by the
hand.
HUT" she said, I'm SO glad to see
Sou. Lady Appu kurcombe's butler al
ways made me feel he was bishop do
| ing curate's work. And then she took
her fathers arm and marched him in to
luncheon.
And it was quite in the nature Of
| things and in accordance with the Cos
pei of unsuccessful lovers that just as
hungry Lesley was taking her first
mouthful Of roast chicken Bob Heather
ley, all health and tweed and stalwart
| legs clad in heather mixture, should
l stalk into the room and utter shout Of
| Joy at sight of her.
"Bob," she said piteously, do please
let me finish this wing, and then I'll
| talk to you. Dad, some more gravy,
| please, and. HUT. the bread sauce"
CHAPTER XVII.
Lady Cranstoun lay on couch drawn
close to q window commanding the ave-
nue. of beeches under whose colonnade
she had been in the habit of looking for
the approach of some one she loved.
Well, three weeks would be gone today
another week-and she smiled in an
ticipation of the bright presence. the in
tensely lovable personality Of the girl
whom she had come to love beyond any
living thing on earth.
| But what was this advancing under
the trees, something white, moving as
only Lesley knew how to move, and
coming nearer every moment, resolving
itself at last into Leslcy's very own tall
self?
Lady Cranstoun could have leaped to
meet her, but with a cry Of joy she sank
back upon her pillows instead, CHANGING
round her prison house at the litter of
lovely useless things whereby women
kind bind themselves'to the house beau
tiful because often it takes the place Of
health, of love, of that forward move
ment in life's glorious battle which is
denied to most women who, to use an
other simile, while cultivating their
own little corner plot, behold man walk
ing in the middle path, with the whole
wide garden in which to take his lordly
pleasure. l think houses were originally
made not to live in, but to rest in, for
to neglect the whole panorama of nature
to gaze upon beautiful pots and pans,
the work of mems hands, is not what
human muscles and flesh.and blood were
originally meant for.
1t is those who spend the major part
Of their existence in the open air who
get the most out of life, and the man
who has his health and with his hurdy
gurdy tramps the streets in foul weather
or fine is million times more to be en-
We'd than the rich man, who, surround
ed by the boundless artificial beauty
that wealth gives, lacks the health that
living in the free air under heaven alone
bestows.
Lesley came in swiftly. and kneeling
down beside her friend put her arms
gently about tho frail figure and kissed
her warmly. Somehow with Cynthia she
always felt SO old, with Lady Cranstoun
SO young.
"Come back like a bad penny" she
said. "But, oh, it's nice to find every
ono so glad to see that discredited coin
How have you been, dear? You never
said word about yourself when you
wrote
"And you wrote so often" said Lady
Cranstoun. laughing. "Quite diary,
in fact. But the weekly papers supple
mented your bald epistles very consider
ably"
Lesley laughed.
"I'm like dad" she said, ga hope
lessly bad correspondent. He did not
even know I was coming home yester-
day."
Lady Cranstoun looked with sudden
scrutiny at the girl, who was just then
sitting On her heels and with all the air
Of naughty child determined not to
own up to the jam with which its lips
are palpably sticky.
Lesley" she said, shaking her head,
"you have been up to your tricks again,
but that is of course. Has-has any one
turned the tables ON you-at last:'
Lesley got up and fetched a chair.
When she had sat down in it. she took
her friends hand, noticing with q pang
that it was thinner even than it had
been three weeks ago, and kissed it ten
derby.
go on" she said resignedly. "Ask
me what you please, and I'll answer
what I'm able. Do You know it would
be quite refreshing to be some other i'm
peccable person for time? I'm tired of
being put in the corner-and for such q
very. very little too
"Wen, then, how did the frocks turn
out:"
unlike me, they were beyond re-
proach. I'm indebted to them, through
you, for all the fun and the few scraps
of-of affection that fell to my lot in
town."
"Only scraps?" said Lady Cranstoun
tentatively.
'Oh, you know! A man gives . seq
ment of his vanity, corner Of his love
Of annexation, . big slice Of his fancy,
and thinks it 8 his heart. Ihaye1' t done
any real damage really. Even Yelyerton