The San Francisco call., 1904-09-18

You appear" she said, without any
sign of anger in her tone, and with
unfufaed cOmposure, ito be a very i'm
pertinent person Do you mind talking
to some one else?"
Mrs. White leaned forward IN her
chair with an anxious smile designed
TO throw oil upon the troubled
waters.
Come" she said. I'VE mustn't have
any unpleasantness, and Mr.. HIPS first
night back among US, too. No doubt
there's some little mistake. we all get
deceived sometimes Mr.. Hill, 1 hope
you won't find everything cold. You're
little late, you must remember, and
we are punctUal people here"
shall do very well. thank you.
ma am, he answered shortly.
Sydney and BrendOn We'd with one
another in their efforts to engage Anna
in conversation and Miss EllicOt, dur
ing the mOmentary lull, deemed it a
favorable opportunity to recOmmence
siege operations The young man was
Modified by her sympathy and fiatter-
ed bv the obvious attempts Of several
of the other guests to draw him into
conversation. Yet every now and then
during the progress of the meal his
attention apparently wandered and,
leaning forward, he glanced cOvertly
at Anna with a curious mixture OF ex-
preSsiOns on his face
Very nice claret you've chosen.
SIR his left hand neighbOr remarked.
Sound, good wine. Always drink it
myself. but I'm on whisky for a week.
Doctors orders. Liver. Always obey
my doctor. Sort of superstition after
ALL but l do it..
The young man fingered his wine
glass and gazed at its contents patron
izingly.
'H'm!" he remarked I've drunk
better"
NO doubt, no doubt. You've been
great traveller. L dare say. Know
what's what. eh2 You young men do
pick it up nowadays. Ny names Car
ter, Mr.. Hill Dare say you don't re-
member me. Glad to welcome you
back, sir"
Very much obliged" Mr.. Hill an
swered. It's doubtful whether I shall
stop long"
"Oh, 1 hope So" Mr.. Carter replied.
Between you and me"-he leaned
over and whispered in the young mans
ear-"dOn't let that young wOman'S
sauce bother you. I don't mind let
ting you into a bit of a secret She's
a most unpopular person here"
The young man nodded, and looked
for the first time at his neighbOr. Mr..
Carter was a little undersize. His
cheeks were thin and his color un-
wholesome. He had a curious habit
of holding his head on one side when
he talked and he blinRed continually.
He was nearer so than so. He af-
fected to be a student of life. His pet
weaknesses were to pose as a cynic
and to be regarded as an eligible
bachelor. He lived on an annuity OF
f15O, but was constantly studying the
Financial Times. A drop in cOnSuls
depressed him for the whole evening
He was always au fait with the latest
IL
like him and he did not like Anna.
Unpopular. eh? p" the young man
repeated with an evil chuckle. 'Wen,
1 rather think 1 could
He stopped short. Mr.. Carter, after
waiting for several breathless mo-
ments to give him an opportunity OF
finishing his sentence, dashed gallant
ly into the breach
You could soon settle her hash,
Ell? No doubt about that. I've had
my suspicious all the time. Between
you and me. Mr.. Hill. I'm surprised
at Mrs. White taking her in-very sur
prised indeed. This is really a very
select place. you knOw-al quite su-
periOr people. Mr.. Building there was
a county councillor for many years.
and Mrs. BOdham's husband-the old
lady in ringlets there-was Mayor OF
RartlepOOl."
She brought references. I sup
pCSt. the yOunS lltn
Miss ElilcOt, who had been an
eager and interested listener. inter
vened with toss of the head.
References oh. well. they're easy
enough to get hold OF, aren't they, Mr.
Hill? Not that 1 want TO be uncharit-
able. I'm willing enough to be friends
with any one. but / really am forced
to draw the line at a young woman
of her-peculiar habits"
Mr.. Hill emitted a sound which was
something between a chuckle and a
snort. A reminiscent light cleaned in
his eyes.
Bit frisky. eh2" he muttered
Miss Ellicot looked hard into her
plate. 1t was all very well for men to
joke about such things. but her posi-
tion was a difficult one. She was
obliged to be very careful.
L should not go so far as to make
any statement of that Sort" she said.
Perhaps. too. Miss Pellissier claims
some extra license because she Is, or
calls herself an artist"
Gone back to that, has she7" he
remarked under his breath. Has she
set uD a studio here then?"
IF she has" Miss EIlicot said, no
one has ever seen or heard OF 1t It's
my belief that the term artist covers
a very great deal of ground She's out
all day, but what she does with herself
no one knows. Then you remember Mr..
COurtlaw and Mr.. Brendon, who ara
sitting on either side of her. The way
she behaves with them is really-inde-
cOrOus- They whisper and laugh to-
gether all through meals, and scarcely
speak to any one else, which at a
clearinghouse table. where we are all
supposed TO be friends and one family
so to speak, is not my idea OF good
manners. And then afterwards you
will scarcely believe this, but IL Is alb
solutely true. Coffee, as 1 daresay you
remember, is always served in the
drawing room Immediately after din
ner, and as a rule. whatever our en-
gagements for the evening may be, We
all have a sOciable few minutes there.
Mrs. White is very cOnsiderate, and she
allows the gentlemen their cigarettes
Miss Pellissier came IN once-the sec
Ond night she was here. She made a
wry face at the coffee, which was per-
haps not quite so strong as usual, and
since then, Mr.. Hill, every evening she
takes those two VOuuQ gentleman uD