The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1903-07-24
land OIL breast, and gravely

~ fiIB hand OIL breast, and gravely
3f8te1 him:
(Ss, 8W grace, good even"
& tloiis bow was as deep and
II that were possible, rs
a9d when lie moved on into the
PQ5kN was with II little halt I'm his
tte2&qg big blowing out Of the
an ludicrous imitation of his
'3Rot msnontcd predecessor that sent the
sfiz1tQpeals OF soft laughter and put
~ &A Atour case Immediately.
What thing II Is to look back
ar1{1 13)at time Of life when one finds
nle fn In Il ready laugh!
y ~ fatcd, all," said the princess.
20 be without ceremony and
pT. No one knows word of
$pu tell any one, Sir Edwin?"
49, the thought" I exclaimed.
hed her face toward Brandon.
u now you did not. I've heard
reet you were about another
I,ma &|xVell. no one knows 1t, then,
ana ys9an have famous evening.
f0q oLatnet expect this, Master Bran
don, aftersp,y reception Of you the 9th.
CT morninX' Were you not surprised
when Sir Edwin told your
Il think 4 can safely say that was
prepared not to be surprised Mt any
thing your, highness might graciously
conclude to do-after my first expert
ence." he answered, smiling.
"lndeedT returned Mary, with ele-
vatcd eyebrows and rising infection
on the last syllable of the word. 1t
was now her turn for little surprise.
wen. Wen try to find some way to
surprise you one Of these days" And
the time came when she was full of
surprises for him. Mary continued:
But let us not talk about the ofYier
day. or what use are other days. any
way? Besoue the evening is over, Mas
ter BrandonS we want you to give us
another strr4on." And she laughed, set
ting. cd three other laughs as hearty
ana sincere as If she had uttered the
rarest witticism on earth.
The PRINCESS had told Jane and Jane
had told nc of the Sermon In the
Park" as Mary called 1t.
Jane needs it as much as In said
the princess.
No" - pShSNe tHut, responded
Brandon, looking Mt Jane with n sof-
tening glance quite too admiring and
commendatory to suit me, for was q
jealous little devil.
The eyebrows went up again.
''Oh. you think she doesn't? Well, in
truth, Afnstar Brandon, there Is one
failing that cannot be laid at your door
you are no flatterer" For answer
Brandon laughed, and that gave us the
cue, and away we went In q rippling
chorus, all about nothing. Some per-
sons may call our laughter foolish, but
there are others who consider 1t the
height of oil wisdom. st. George! I'd
give my Garter for just one other laugh
like that, for just one other hour OF
youths dancing blood and glowing soul
warmth, Of sweet, unconscious, happy
heart beat and paradise creating Joy
In everything!
After n few minutes of gay conversa-
tion, In which we all joined, Mary ask
ed: What shall we do? Will one of
you suggest somethingT
Jane sat there looking so dcinure you
would have thought mischief could not
live within a league of her, but those
very demure girls are nearly always
dangerous. She said, oh, so innocently:
would you like to dance? If so,
Will play" And she reached for her
lutte, which was by her side.
"ies, that will be delightful. Mas
ter Brandon, will you dance with me-"
asked the princess, with saucy little
laugh, her invitation meaning so much
more to three of us than to Brandon
Jane and 1 Joined I'm the laugh, and
when Mary clapped her hands that set
Brandon of, too, for lie thought 1t the
quaintest prettiest little gesture In the
world and was all unconscious that our
laugh was Mt his expense.
Brandon did not answer Mary's invi.
tatiOn-the tit of laughter had probably
put 1t out OF his mind-so she, evidently
anxious to win or lose her wager at
once, again asked him If he danced
"Oh, pardon me! or course! Thank
you! And he was on his feet beside
her chair In an instant ready for the
dance. This time the girls laugh,
though equally merry, had another
tone, for she knew she had lost.
Out they stepped upon the polished
floor. he holding her hand i'm his, await
Ing the pause In the music to take the
step. shall never forget the sight Of
those two standing there together
Mary. dark eyed and glowing; Brandon.
almost rosy. with eyes that held the
color of dark spring sky and n wealth
of flowing curls crowning his six feet
Of perfect manhood, strong and vigor-
Gus MS young lion. Mary. full OF
beauty curves and graccs, veritable
Venus In her teens, and Brandon, an
Apollo, with touch Of Hercules, were
a complement each to the other that
would surely make perfect one.
When the music started. off they
went, heel and toe, bow and courtesy,
a step forward and step back, In per-