The Coeur d'Alene press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1892-1907, 1902-09-20
HIS LADY OF DREAMS

~ N~EAf~AA~A-tN
inteFruptlng bis pipe. She stood
beyond the table. beside the door. tail
and slight. In a white gown that chung
20 her arms and shoulders and rounded
waist, and swept about her feet In
heavy folds Across swung from her
neck By long silver chain, and she
wore q PREDETERMINED hat with \
gauzy white veil. 50 her face was IN
shadow. She leaned slightly toward
Asbe as be elutehed the arms Of bis
big chair and sat forward In amaze
nent
Il am the Princess Constantla Gre
gOrius.7 she said gently.
-Of-of Russia? r be asked stupidity.
trying 10 fan away tie haze Of tobacco
smoke
There are other lands" she said In
differently. And not 50 far away"
Great Caesar be breathel. bewil-
dered, and his pipe dropped from bis
astonished fingers. With the feeling
that II was the only bond between him
and nationality. he stopped to pick II
up. and as be rose he struck his head
sharply against the corner Of the libra.
~ table. Dizzy from the blow. be stag.
gered 10 his feet and looked towards
the deer. She was gone. "a mysteri-
Ously as she had come. He rushed
blindly around the table ard across the
room. stumbling over easy chairs and
fcoistoois, and sending q revolving
bookcase spinning around The hail
was also empty. No trailing gowns
had turned up the edges OF the rugs.
nor could be hear any hurrying steps
on the polished stairs. He blinked at
the sun pouring red and purple through
the painted window for a moment, and
then turned back and sat down on the
nearest chair. Good heavens, what a
dream! Who was she: What was her
motive In appearing and announcing
herself In that royal way? And he
hadn't seen her face, Well, II It was
as pretty as her hgure-oh. confound
his head; and he was still feeling OF Il
gingerly. too dazed TO think Of more
than one thing at a time. when he
heard his friends cheerful whistle in
the hall
We'll old chap said Thurston. com
ing in
-Phew. but that pipe Of yours is a
fright. II we don't air this room be-
fore the mater gets into It. your goose
Is cooked"
Why. what viii she dor cried the
osher uncertainty.
You'll never gel another bid for
SUNDAY said the first. throwing open
one Of the Windows Gee, | didn't
realize how rank CissIe is getting. Re
tire her. Billy, and get another. But
say. what's the matter. old man? 1
left you composing a sonnet and going
10 sleep over IL What's wrongP'
Ashe looked down at his mallgned
pipe, and then up at his friend.
Say do you suppose she thought II
was rankT' he asked.
The matery' said Thurston. DUE.
zled. "She hasn't been here already,
has she? II so. we'd better 20 back
tonight. Did she wake you up?'
NO. l dreamed It," said the owner OF
the pipe, and began to feel Of his bump
with a frOwn Of pain. His friend
looked at him for a moment curiously
and then aimed a heavy leather cush,
ion from the nearest Morris chair al
him.
Wake up. you IDIOT be said. 'Thl.
is no sleeping car" The Idiot parrled
the cushion.
Dick, has your sister a friend Wis
ting her?' he inquired.
NO" said the other.
well. there was one in here. any
way" pursued Ashe.
zone wbat"' demanded Thurston.
some princess" said the other. His
host surveyed him In silence for a mo
ment
"Ashe, you're crazy" he said at last
"Come out and take a walk
Mr. Wilmerlng Ashe was making fol
himself a rather neat reputation with
readers OF current magazines as a
writer Of clever little occasional verses
Among his friends at his clubs he wa.
considered a good fellow, and they
chose to assume that somewhere he
kept hidden away the person who
wrote his verses for him. His mother
friends approved OF him because hs
paid his calls, and he was chiefly "a
nous with the young ladies Of his rath
er general acquaintance. as master OF
the arts Of Welsh rarebitry and badl
mage But no one was prepared foI
the almost Oriental beauty and mysti
cism Of his latest verses, which appear
a - -
periodicals under the name Of MY
LADY OF the Realm Of Dreams" and
which would have done credit to a
much more ambitious poet than Billy
Ashe. Ashe himself thought rather
well Of them; he felt that il In some
way compensated for the very nasty
knock on the head that the Lady had
the means Of giving him, and that be
had turned a most perplexing dream to
very good account. Ii was better than
taking II TO the Society Of PsychicaI
Research, which he had thought Of do
ing In the vividness Of his first i'm
preston, but six months without any
further Developments. waking or sleep
ing had dulled his keen conviction of
It's psychic value. Meanwhile, a COM
Portable check from the magazine had
seemed to take the thing out Of the pro-
vince Of psychic research.
Ashe was q modest man, but not too
much so to find a little liOnlzlng quite
to his taste. and he went to afternoon
teas and cotilllons with feeling that
tomorrow would be some one else's
day. and he must gather his roses
while he might So he entered Mrs.
Fosters long drawlng-room prepared