The suburban citizen., 1901-11-09


quite plainly, she was going out to
brave the sun.
She rose as graceful as a panther,
and full of spirits, and went out
swiftly and silently into the park,
taking care to evade any other of
the Waffle House guests who might
be about.
The kennels were in quite the op-
posite direction, but then Miss Rye
had a passion for the waterside, par
ticularly this morning, when the sun
was so riotously hot, and the mere
sound Of the swish in the reeds would
be cooling. Also, nobody ever went
down to the lake in the morning. She
would be alone and unpestered for
once.
CAPTAIN Suttlebury could bestow his
insufferable attentions upon the
hounds. She laughed aloud at the
thought.
1t was understood, as such matters
generally are understood, that Miss
RIVE was The destined bride of the
Captain. He was ugly, vulgar and
one of the wealthiest Of landowners,
so that he could marry anyone he
chose. And his choice seemed to be
Miss Joan Rye.
Beauty and the Beast" as Lord
Waffle remarked to his distant CON
nection and temporary private secre-
tary, Mr.. Dick Maynard, anent this
affair.
The young man nodded.
"I hope she'll refuse him." he said,
frowning.
"NIy dear man." said Lord Waffle,
chow can she? Lady Waffle gives
me to understand that Miss Rye and
Shuttlebury have fixed it up, kindly
making my house the base OF opera
tions. He's a vulgar little brute. and
he'll lutter around till she's worn
out. Then l shall have to cOngratu-
late him."
Maynard shut his mouth at this
feeble-minded view and busted him
self over his work. He spent rest
less night trying to devise disinter-
ested schemes whereby Beauty might
be saved from the tolls, and woke
early and angry, with a conviction
that a secretarial post precludes one
from undertaking the duties Of
knight-errant.
He went down to the lake because
in the morning nobody ever went
there) got a rod from the waterman,
and, having punted himself across
to the shady side, fixed the pole in
the reeds by way OF anchor, set his
float running, clinched his rod in the
bows, and promptly fell asleep among
the cushions, with a pipe in his
mouth.
That is why the following things
came to pass when about half an
hour later Miss Joan Rye came down
to the boathouse, followed at n dis
Greet distance by the irrepressible
Captain Suttlebury, who by an i'll
chance had marked Miss Rye's direc-
ton, and had not therefore taken the
trouble to inquire Of her maid as to
where she might be found. The Cap
tain was feeling uncommonly sulky
and spiteful, knowing he had eXerted
himself for some days past in a man
ner that mo woman was worth"
without marked success.
Meanwhile Joan came to the waters
edge. A shimmering heat-haze lay
lightly over the lake, making dim
tA1 further shore under the hill,
whose imminent pines would, as she
knew, throw the coolest shadows, and
all among the rushes on either side
Of the boathouse the cOots winged
n hustered escape at her approaching.
Some white swans, too. cared them
selves of shore after the fashion Of
shocked dignity. The waterman was
nowhere about, and Joan had to un-
moor her own craft, She had fixed
on a Canadian canoe, and, having
seated herself, made away with
broad, gentle scoops Of the paddle, re-
joicing in her liberty and her soli-
tude
She had disappeared into the haze
beyond Captain Suttlebury's view
before he was ready with the punt in
which he meant to follow. And on
the other side of the haze things
were happening of which Joan's first
| intimation was this: Towards her,
from the opposite bank, came an ap-
parently unoccupied punt, 1t came
erratically, with slow jerks and
gwerves to left and right. A stout
pike-rod was fixed in the bows and
bent almost to cracking.
"Some one must have been fishing
from it," thought Joan. The float
was invisible, but the taut line and
twisted reel showed her what was
the matter. The fisher must have
gone ashore and a pike hooked him
self In the meantime. How annoyed
the man would be! And then
"Why, it's Mr.. Maynard" she said,
aloud quite suddenly. Asleep
She had wanted solitude, but some
how was in no way vexed to come
OF a man. Otherwise she would not
have done what she did. That was to
PADDLE up to the punt and step aboard.