The Topeka state journal., 1901-11-23
SURMISES OF SADIE PLATT.
TFrom the Free Lancet

Permit me- said Van Adam; Lord
Maurice Pryce and Mr.. Dudley Rem
shaw" The men bowed simultaneously,
and Miss Sadie Platt looked up. Her
brain was rapid of action She glanced
from one man to the other, fixing upon
her imagination the face and form OF
each-the one short of stature, sandy
haired, insignificant; the other tall, we'll
knit and keen-eyed; and swiftly, as she
did all things, she made up her mind.
She raised her head quite two inches,
and smiled. Her teeth were brilliant,
and her eyes of that hazel which catches
and holds the light Both men were
swiftly curious of her charm; both in
stinctively moved forward She looked
again at the two faces-reading the
words behind the lips of each; then she.
in her turn, moved, laying her hand
quite naturally upon the tall mans arm.
'I don't want to dance Bit she said;
"and L rather want to see the palms
Will you be guide?"
What the tall man said neither he nor
she ever wanted to remember. There are
some seconds, like some hours, that blot
away mere words. In a dreamy way she
saw the sandy-haired person drift into
the line of men, and the line itself dis
solve dejectedly into the whirl of the
room She was conscious that the bright,
intelligent eyes of her partner We're
watching her closely, and that she was
alone with him in that curious and ex-
hilarating solitude that belongs so mark
edly to a crowd
The threaded the ballroom in silence
At the door he spoke
Are you always as summary as
that?'' he asked That poor little beg
gar with the sandy hair
She interrupted him with a smile.
But he was one of so many, she
objected. And people of title don't feel
those little things-their dissatisfaction
is too Thick
oh" he said, indeed" Then he
looked away. Presently he smiled; but
not quite she had done. I'D like to
hear your views he said; Il fancy they
are rather quaint
It's my first time in Europe she
said, "and I'm not certain that / like
being called Quaint-it has a muSty
sound"
They both laughed as they crossed the
hail. and a delightful thrill of novelty
raced through the man. He felt that the
Staleness of life was after all myth:
There were waters still unfathomed-n
one knew where to look.
The atmosphere of the Palm House
was very green, the greenness of forests
and pools and moss. He drew her toward
a low divan.
mo, musty is certainly the very fur
thest Word,' he said, thOughtfully- "A
stream at its starting, perhaps, or an
ash tree in first leaf He was in noway
poetic but the personality of the girl,
her buoyancy and litheness woke in him
something new
She sat down and arranged her skirts.
The slim point of her American shoe
started a further ~un of thoughts
What on earth have 1 DONE" he said
suddenly, 9 to deserve my luck?"
Her head was bent. She glanced up
at him, and there was a glow of daring
and of expectation in her face.
Il wonder" she said, slowly, whether
you are just as straight and steadfast
as you look l wonder She studied
him attentively. After ALL she said,
nothing is worth while unless it's
shared
Anything of yours would be more in
teresting than-well. than many things
1T began with my cousin-with Edna
n Ia
ways says that 1 must marry a title
for everybody's sake Usually | st let
Edna run along. But yesterday she told
me that she'd found the man. Who do
you think it WASP"
He shook his head.
She famed herself slowly. Lord
Maurice Pryce," she said, and she
laughed-a very low. amusing little
laugh.
He moved with a jerk, but she laid
her hand upon his sleeve.
Now you have made me lose my
place." she said. "And I don't believe
you see the Joke a little bit"
.'Wen, I He leaned back Per
haps the joke hasn't come-for me-"
'-Oh, can't you see? Chance fixed it
up in such perfectly delicious way. I
can picture it in my mind Billie intro
ducing you both. Edna watching us
across the room. / taking just min
ute to decide then coming right away
with you" Her color rose at the recol-
lection.
why was it me?" he said. He despised
himself for the expectancy that ran
through his words.
"WhyI" Her eyes were entirely frank.
why everybody in the United States
has read your book. My mind quite
jumped when 1 heard your name"
He suddenly felt the air of the palm
house growing close My name?" he
said. He was uncertain how his voice
would sound.
why, yes I have cried nights over
Beaten Tracks 1 know the name of
Dudley Renshaw better than 1 know
my own" She looked at him with
candid hero worship in her eye..
He rose abruptly. walked a dozen
steps, then wheeled about His ex-
preston was a mingling of amusement,
vexation and something else He
clasped behind his back.
Miss Platt,' he said, where did you
learn to deduce? How did your selec-
tion come about?"
you mean how did I know that you
were you? Oh, that was the simplest
thing. / only needed one tiny glance.
Why all the cleverness of Beaten
Tracks is just showing in your face.
And there's nothing so fine as intellect
the earth.''
He made a quick attempt to speak,
but quickly another inclination
crossed his eyes. He dropped back into
his place on the divan. Miss Platt,"
he said suppose this nonentity-thiS
Pryce-were to really tell you that he
cared for you Suppose that he were to
say all that your cousin would suggest,
and say it within half an hour of meet
ing you, what would you infer?"
THAT he was a fool" was her prompt
reply
He drew back 'Yet Paul Kainley, in
Beaten Tracks makes love to the
heroine in a railway carriage before
they've even been introduced" His
voice was very nIiet but there was a