Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1901-11-29
COUSIN
CLARA
BY FRANK e. SWE EFT.
Copyright. 1901. by Authors Syndicate,

:iative eyes is something Of the
speculation of the artist calculating
perspective and distance.
AS he nears the arch he glances up |
TO note the time. The two hands of
the clock are pointing directly over
head, as though clasped in entreaty to |
the vertical sun. The young man fol- !
lows the custom of the place and takes
out his watch to compare time. AS /
he does SO he notices the white square |
1T his feet.
The address is up and boldly writ
ten:
Robert Leighton. artist,
Ecole de Fart.
Rue st. Hilaire.
Paris"
With a quick movement he rescues
the envelope from its position.
Strange - impossible!" he says,
vonderingly, and, oblivious of the peo-
pie who are passing him on'the side
walk, he reads the superscription
again and again, his face growing more
puzzled and incredulous with each
perusal o.
sit is certainly meant for me-" he
says, at last; "but how in the name of
all that is inscrutable did it happen
Its way to the post Office, for. it is not
postmarked; and it is just ss evident
that the writer is somewhere in this
interesting little town. I wonder who
1t can be? I did not know that had
an acquaintance in all New England,
and certainly not one who knew my
Paris address. L was sympathizing
with myself as being stranger in my
IL nj Hob 7
am publicly displayed on the sidewalk
of this enterprising resort, in less than
two hours after my arrival. Well,
c'est pour moi, SOL will open it."
He stands aside and raises his hat
as two ladies pass. He does not know
them by name, but they were in the
same Pullman from Kingston, and one
of them had bowed in acknowledgment
of his services in raising a car win
dow. Hes waits until they have gone
by. and then follows. as far as the
shadow of the arch. A small boy whirls
around the corner with an armful of
newspapers and he buys one mechan-
ically and thrusts. it into his pocket.
When the sidewalk is again clear he
takes out a penknife and opens the
letter.
solve the mystery:
% MARA gansett Pier. July 1. 1901.
cousin Robert Leighton: Your uncle
directed IN his will that all his paintings
and curios should be forwarded to you. I
did not know your address, or would have
written before. Please let me know how to
ssend. Cordially,
YOUR COUSIN CLARA"
THE interest deepens," he thinks,
as he folds the letter and carefully
places it in an inside pocket. "Who is
Cousin Clara? Which of my uncles is
1T who has made me custodian of his
paintings? 1t cannot be Uncle Charles
for he, has boys of his OWL, and would
scarcely bequeath his treasures away
from them. Uncle Will and Uncle Tom
are both sea captains, and would hard
ly know a painting from chrome;
and, besides, / saw them in Liverpool
only few. weeks. ago. I wonder if it
can be the old East Indian whom Aunt
Helen married? He never saw me, but
i was always a sort of favorite with
Aunt Helen. Perhaps she communi-
Gated some of her liking to him. But
where does Cousin Clara come in, and
how did she get my address?
IT is hopeless middle, he tells him
self, with sudden irrita ton, and he will
forget the whole matter. But he does
not. AS he crosses Exchange place he
glances sharply at the different faces
In the search he finds himself watch
ing the passing groups of ladies, won
dering which one of them may be
Cousin Clara, and if she has missed the
letter. He has half mind to return
to the arch and keep watch.
Instead of standing apart, as is his
custom, he seeks the largest and most
talkative group and skillfuTly absorbs
himself int it. He is good converse
tionalist and a sympathetic listener
and the coterie cordially accepts him
Now and then fresh material is added
to the gossip, as new arrivals take the
places of those who fall away. He
listens attentively to the introduction.
and tries to catch each name. A
length he hears some one say "Clara,
and he thinks his quest is to be re
warded; but to his disgust the owne,
of the name is dumpy little girl o
ten, and she turns away in. veXation
OF course, he tells himself, impatiently
there are probably a hundred Claras il
the place.
The heat has called out an un<9suall,
large number of bathers, and the tent
scattered along the beach and tn
chairs in front of the lighthouses ar,
all filed with goosi-nat ured spectators
He walks back and forth under tn
avn ngs with curious interest. Tn
scene, is Enthusiastically American
and he has been away from home Ion:
enough to feel keen zest in its nov
Hlty.
Presently young lady coming dow
the plank walk drops her handkerchief
and he hands it to her with a Sigh
bow. As he does so he looks into tn