The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1902-05-09
SYLVIA AND LANCE.
No! I'll he-he-


verge of an indiscretion. With a sigh of
relief, he noted the long stretch of empty
corridor.
Presently the soothing notes of waltz
from the distant ball room partially tenn
pered the judges asperity.
''Confound the youngsterv' he NUT
tered less angrily. HE absolutely defes
me! l made him understand that moth
ing would ever induce me to cOuntenance
such marriage, and yet here he has
been all the evening dangling after -
Sylvia is a nice girl, of course; but she
is her daughter. And to Lance's mar
riage with child of Mary Lister never
will consent. What happened years ago
has been neither forgotten nor forgiven.
He broke off suddenly Oh opening a
door at the end Of the corridor.
Instead of the big, bare racquet court.
where he anticipated a cigarette without
danger Of interruption, the judge found
himself in region of tropical gloom.
Dim shadows of towering palms shot
~ defined foliage, and lost themselves in
the gloom overhead. Here and there the
dim light of japanese lantern glim-
mered family in the darkness, accentu-
ating, rather than diSpe4ling the languor-
Gus gloom; whilst numerous darker shad-
ows dotting either side of the long cen-
trail aisle suggested hidden hooks aud
cunningly constructed arbors.
"A London racquet court transformed
into l.! tropical forest, with special moon
light effects for loversv' muttered the
judge, smiling little at Lady Gresham's
rather bizarre ideas. Small wonder her
ladyship,s affairs are the rage of Lon
don!' Their accessories are certainly
unique, and by no means uncomfortable"
~
arbors.
Behind him the palms closed over the
entrance, almost hiding it, and for some
moments, the isolation and tranquility
soothed the judges previous perturba-
ton.
But irritation returned as his sons
love affair again required to him.
tered. why couldn't he have fallen in
love with someone else: Why should he
fall in love at all?'
'Love?'' scoffed the judge. Glove!
What is it? A youthful disease that
time can always heal. Lance will out
grow this folly, even as l did-the other
thing!'
The other thing of which he spoke be-
longed to other times and other man
ners, when the judge was brietiess jun
ior, and the bench was a long way off
indeed. Love and hope held the tiller of
life in those days, and few rocks of dis
appointment dis6gured the chart.
A quarrel, however, wrecked his
dreamship, and he and the girl with
whom he was to have sailed for the won
derland drifted apart.
In the years that came after, both had
married, both had children, and later on
both were widowed.
The chronicle was commonplace
enough, and, but for their children's love
affair, the keystone of the story would
have lain forever under the dust of the
past. '@>f :
ut was all dead and done with long
ago." thought the judge ''long, long
ago!'
why should its dead body be dragged
into the light now? At fifty, ghosts
especially those Of an unsatis6ed youth
"oh, Lance, do be careful! Those ar
Il don't care, darling!'-recklessly. Il
have been starving positively sta rving-
for real moment with you all the even
ing"
per, but eloquent enough to those con-
cerned-followed. startling the judge out
of his reverie.
AS he recognized Lance's voice he
started bolt upright in his chair. Anger
was the first and paramount feeling-an-
ger that Lance should openly deride his
authority. To walk into a darkened con-
servatory, too, and vulgarly begin-vul-
CARLY Why, confound it, the thing
was reprehensible, and not as young
men and women were accustomed to be-
Then suddenly the anger died away,
and into his eyes came q softer light as
the memory Of those days rose before
him. After all young people will be
''Darling!'
"Oh, Lance, what would the judge say
if he saw lis now"
"What would Mrs. Lister say?" quoth
Lance -imperturbably.
II can't understand why they should
both object to our caring for each other"
he went on. ''There. seems no reason
whatever. The governor has never done
an unjust thing before. But now, when
l ask for a reasonable objection. he shuts
his teeth, and says, childishly.. He OBJ
jects because-because he does!"
How silly!
tered the Judge. aI@ w
Mother behaves in exactly the same
way. She really likes my-my boy aw-
fully, know, but-Oh, Lance! Only
one! am afaid of those palms! Some
''Oh, that's all right!'-
Listeners never hear good of them
selves!'
Amongst the palms listener wriggled
impotently. ~. !
Mother will never give her consentn,'
|-dolefully.
"And the governor is adamant.
There's screw loose somewhere little
woman" continued Lance. ''Mrs. Lis
ter and the governor are not exactly
friends. They are frigidly polite when
they meet; but" :.
"Of course there's a reason, Lance!
I've discovered it!' ..t... y: ..,...-c
THE deuce, you have? Trust wom-
an" ~ = = ~
:"Mother and the; judge were in love
with each other ever so many years ago.
Lance, they were actually engaged!' r.
by Jove! And s. rs ! Gs'S'eHs-t 5sssss5l
r They quarreled, went away, married
Ethe wrong people, and lived unhappilt