Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1902-12-12
4 Fit Of T8InpRT
BY Cecil Hayter.


truther had spent a sleepless night in
consequence.
Under the circumstances, it was nat
ural, therefore, that fate condemned
her TO sit next 10 HIM at Mrs. Barclays
dinner table. 1t was a large party,
and they were ell going on to dance
at the Grafton later.
Miss Anstruther had very properly
started dressing with the deternina-
ton of thoroughly snubbing the Van
deieur youth Throughout tue evening,
of being Jelly dignified, and in heart
lessly good spirits whenever she no
tioed him watching her from afar.
There is nothing so invigcrating or
so conducive to seli-Iespect as snUb-
oi.g rome one csc
But "the best laxl schemes of mice
and men aft gang" etc. | never
could spell Scotch dialect. In pur-
suance of which proverb, when she
from the Gressmaker's and which was
to form such an important item IN
the iciiy dignified part Of the pro-
gramma, it was an aboninable misflt
The skirt hung ali wrong, and, as for
the bodice, it was-well, there, 10
words are adequate, or, at east, none
of Miss Anstruther's was equal to The
occasion.
She grew hot and angry, and the
maid, with her mouth full of pins, and
her head a bewildered maze OF cen
Trajectory orders, grew hot and flus-
tered. By the time the froek had
been made presentable it was already
late. so poor daisy Anstruther, instead
of arriving according to the afor> said
alluring pictures, frigid, self-possessed
and staiuesque, bundled ont OF the car
riage a good ten minutes late, was
asked by her hostess if she hal met
with al accident. and fel5 painfully
conscious that something was amiss
with her hair at the back
Miss Anstruther succeeded in ignor-
ing the Vandeleur youth throughout
the soup and the fish, and half way
through the first entree, deyoting her
self entirely to the extremely dull and
pompous young man on her right, who
conversed of Browning and himself
principally himself
But during a sudden lull in the con-
versation the pompous young man
having been temporarily annexed by
his neighbor on the far side, a voice
murmured in her ear:
Il say, Daisy, excuse me, but you've
got couple of hairpins sticking out
at the back"
Involuntarily her hand went up to
her head, and judicious pat made
things all right
She murmured a chilly Thank
you" without even turning toward
him, and stared blankly across the
table But inwardly she was SETTLING
with rage
Il say, don't glare like that" said
the voice again presently. I'm aw-
fully sorry, you know"
This time she did look at him.
Sorry! What on earth for?" she
asked, raising her eyebrows
For being such an idiot last night,
you know, and
Il really don't know what in the
world you are talking about. You
seemed to me much the same last
night as any other night OF course,
your description of yourself may be
accurate, for all that, Mr. Vandeleur."
Il say, Daisy, don't be so down on
met" said the voice penitentIy. I'm
really most awfully sorry. 1 didn't
know 1t was your dance l cut; and you
you were down at supper the whole
time yourself, SO | don't see why you
should be in such q temper"
I'm not in a temrer, ur. Wanda
leur; and I really must ask you net 10
call me Daisy
Vandeleur was about to make a re-
ply, but Miss Anstruther turned away
and took refuge in the conversation Of
the pompous young man. Sc he devoted
himself savagely to the entree IL
stead
Presently. however, he seized an
other opportunity. What do you
mean by that, Dais-I beg your par
don. Miss Anstruther? Do you mean
you want me to go away-to give you
up?" "a 81 + YzEt
Il wish you wouldn't speak SO loui,
said Miss Anstruther, people might
hear. As for giving me up, 1 should
like TO remind you that we were never
formally engaged. And as 20 any ideas
there may have been on the subject,
Nv changed my mind, that's ALL
Il suppose there's some one else"
said poor Dick gloomily, helping him.
self to salt for the third time.
Il suppose there Isl" snapped Miss
Anstruther And for the remainder
of the dinner she devoted herself ex-
clusively to the pOmpous young man.
who was afterward heard to admit
that she was a most intelligent girl.
AS matter of fact, Daisy heard
rather less than quarter of what he
said. and was wishing all the time that
she had eyes in the back of her mead
to watch Dick with.
At the Grafton Galleries she met her
mother and younger sister, who had
been dining elsewhere, and had the
satisfaction Of seeing Vandeleur prowl-
ing gloomily about at the far end Of
the room, looking as disconsolate and
unhappy as she had hoped even in her
most sanglIine moments
! But, somehow or another. The situa-
ton was not as enjoyable as she had
imagined 1t would be.
She looked round for Dick. but he
was nowhere 0 be seen; and her heart
sank. Poor boy!" she thought, he
has gone home. suppose am rather
cat"
A rauf1a FAILING M rornNrwa ~<n1n