Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-09-20


between his WEAKNESS of a silly woman
49,, bic uar,ness of one OVERLOAD. He half
b,+ad the pair of them-insistently thes
made him remember what he had come "
Wake Forest hoping to forget-namely, tnat
no was the best parti of ten years Noiiu
" wise matrons and virgins had mace MN
go nainf,llv conscious of the fact the las
end of the season had found him much III
the mind to go back to his beloved eiooe
trotting Just then the Taplows ialo 'ioien'
Inequalities upon him, whiskhs MIN ava
in a private car to meet the spring ailiu .,Ae
mines and yellow jessamine OF their SOUTH
country place.
The fIippant new house. h!gh-coloreo'
,o.rvgahled seemed an affront to the
splendid old avenue, and the rlotous ii'N
ness of grounds and garden run WHO lor 81
MANY wears. Rothweu wondered why ~
ranIows had not nut up something colonial
something at least decenuy remlhlsceiiII
of the burned house, one OF Wnose a.
chimneys was still erect. Ivy anu Wii eI
vines had overrun 1t so plcturesquIIy W. D
1anIovy would not have it down. 1t was
monument, she said, to the old tlnles' .lr
old owners-the only one either Woulu ~, ~
have. Under all her gay iou She kent on
doing kind things regardless OF the "a.
that oftener than not the dong got hei
into social hot water ora1,v
certain to be a mixed affair. Missile ware
the silly woman made part of tins one, pc
cause Molly knew in the Lenten heslla w
girl had nowhere else to go; Mrs. Louuoi i
whom men called disrespectfully the poiu
Ioudon was at Wake Forest because sne
chose instead of being chosen: uasnt ti
widow, and rich, she had all the world DC,
fore her That ought to have narueneo
NoI1v's heart against her. In a manner
1t did-still when Mrs. Loudon salo cain-
ly: Molly, my Lenten sacrifice ls-my sen;
am coming with you to save you ana va!
from being bored to extinction, Molly nau
acouiesced and when her husband protest
ed had even said: We'll, Clara s malu Is
treasure-it will be comfort to nave her
In the house, there Where one Is So La Aioi
everything.
Verna Ash truly a golden girl-yellow-
haired, with a million in her own right-had
been asked, because Molly wanted to match
her with Tregars. Tregars was a cr1ssr
grained genius of whom Molly and Taplow.
both expected great things If he could be
persuaded to give himself the leisure anu
liberty of riches The other men besides
RothWell were Dick Morton, a fortunate
broker once Taplow's college chum; Van
Rensselaer, Lewis. Moly's brother with
leanings to reform and holy orders, ana
Hugh Anstruther. transplanted scot VINO
had risen in twenty years from the forge
and the furnace hearth to the control OF
unreckoned millions.
All had been at Wake Forest for a week
before Patricia came. Patricia to the
manner born Back in civil war times her
father, Col Rhett of the Palmetto Rifles,
had saved the life of Maj. Tapow. When
the majors widow, old Madame Taplow,
found she could not turn her son from what
she called his supreme folly of buying
Carolina estate, she charitably resolved to
plant thOrns in his chosen path. To that
end she resurrected the story of rescue,
and subsequent langud friendiness. No
doubt the people were by this time more
than ever impossible-but since Molly and
Will had taste for the impossible, they
must search out the Rhetts and do them
such good turns they might.
The quest proved distressingly easy. Col.
Rhett had been dead ten years-so had his
wife. His had disappeared but there
was daughter living in lonely independ-
ence upon the plantation. 1t lay some thirty
miles off the millionaire colony. All through
the first spring Will and Molly meant to go
there, but somehow never found time. Mad
anne Taplow fumed when she heard. You
must invite her to visit you next year."
she said. You cannot do less-though l
know she has nothing to wear, and dare
say often not enough to eat"
Molly wrote and was answered in advance
of her own coming, Miss Rhett would come
to Wake Forest for a fortnight bringing
her own hunter. The hunter staggered the
TaplowS a bit Clara Loudon laughed
sneeringly over it. No doubt she will trot
out rack of bones that can hardly step
over toad in the path" she said. Il know
those southeyners-grandiloque fools, all
of them They feel if only things sound
big nothing else matters"
Everybody was out when Patricia came.
She rode sleek mule. as did Betsy Patter-
son when she set out for the ball where
she was to captivate her Bonaparte. By
way of further parallel, a black boy upon
another mule fetched her frocks in two
portmanteaus. The footman and butler,
both much scandaliZed, had taken the riders
for market folk, or else gypses, and or
dered them around to he back. Something
in Patricia's voice showed them their mis-
take. even before she said: Il am Miss
wi "a Ia il
She had got down, smiling little whim-
steal smile, and seen to it that her saddle
was stripped from the mule and put prop
erly away before going in. 1t was an En-
glish sadde-one of Whipples best-and
made to order Patricia knew she could
not ride as well in any other. Her mare,
Ruby, was to be sent on next day. Rain
had made the roads tremendously heavy
and since Patricia had certain ambition
TO show Ruby at her best in the hunting,
she had thought 1t best not to let the mare
carry her weight through wet sands over
such a distance.
She had rested, browsing deliciously az
ter her ride, then toward shutdown had
made herself a picture in faded pale blue
china crepe and odorous pink hyacinths,
and set herself at ease in piazza nook.
A lightly jutting wall angle sheltered her
from casual eyes. Thus three of the riding
party had sat down a little way off, I'M
conscious of her presence.
She looked at them she might have
watched play. 1t was indeed, better
IMAM a play 10 be thus the stranger guest
OF aliens, in her own land. and peeping into
fairy world to which she herself was
properly born. Rothwell interested her
most-his face so kind and strong and
CLEAN cut, withal touched with impotence.
missile Ware, who affected kittenish ways,
was purring. glancing outside she spoke:
Yes, l suppose II is rather nice, this ram
bling old place but somehow IL gives me
the creeps. I'm sure every night there is
ghost In the big magnolia under my win
dow. Now. Whitehurst is so different"
with languishing glance at Rothwell
''Whitehurst is heavenly don't see how
you have managed to stay away from 1t
so long The dearest place You have not
seen it?' turning on Mrs Loudon ITS
quite like castelar, English castle you
know-gray stone walls-with towers and
ivy and all that-and, oh, peacocks scream
ing on the terrace above the rose garden
and the very loveliest velvet lawns"
Paradise minus Eve" Mrs. Loudon IN
terrupted then wheeling to look full In
Rothwell's eyes. "or Is 1t the serpent who
Is lacking? Now think of 1t, It must be
the serpent-we are proof positive that Eve
Is merely a question of the embarrassment
of riches
81 am too devout to listen to such heresy
-particularly in Lent" Rothwell said get
Ting preciDitately. Patricia's glance had