Bridgeton pioneer., 1905-11-30

the heartache-wrestlin with desire
| to moan and weep"
"And yet you screamed at the sight
of it,"
| The words In themselves were in
| nocent enough, but the tone was
| thoughtful, and Dinsmore's long,
| searching look gave them a signifi-
canoe that caused her to feel conscious
and then redden with annoyance be-
cause she had done so. To divine that
underneath his words might lie an i'm
plication that her efforts to discourage
his suit meant no more than her star
tied cry at the appearance Of the slug
was womanly intuition. But to show
that she had OWNED it was very
different matter, break more worthy
of some rustic schoolgirl than of
Eloise Chesterton. He continued to
gaze at her until she felt like an in
sect impaled upon pin point for the
benefit of an interested student. at
last she could endure it no longer
Probably Eve screamed, too. just at
first sight of the serpentv' she remark
ed desperately. Then, with an inward
groan, she wished she had not spoken.
Dinsmore laughed out, little note
of triumph in his voice.
'1f you think so, I'm sure that she
did" was his reply 'Thank you for
settling a point that was puzzling
me-"
Defiance sparkled In Miss Chester
toms eyes.
"Reading between the lines," she OBJ
served, with much deliberation and ap-
parent irrelevance, "is a misleading
habit For instance, take my own case
/ mean what l say and nothing more.
You can't read between the lines, be-
cause there is never anything to read"
At the words the slug crawled
little farther along the arm of the
chair, as if something had made it un-
easy.
"Incredulityw calculated Dinsmore
in suppressed voice, his head thrown
back upon his chair and his eyes lifted
to the passion flowers.
His companion sat upright, looking
at him with fiery scorn. He met her
eyes brazenly. Never had he seen her
appear so superbly beautiful. But he
only said:
"Don't sit up like that in Hongkong
chair; it's inartistic Moreover, it's un-
gracious, and a woman should never
be ungraciousw
u v-s1 DoIv nsy,cyy nv.<a q
the only reply she vouchsafed him, but
he noticed that she sank slowly back
upon the cushions. One couldn't af-
ford to look awkward in the eyes of
any man, even a man that one fully
intends to refuse.
The warm gold of the afternoon sun
light was gradually paling, and chill
was creeping stealthily into the suave
air. Dinsmore, recognizing the signs
of late afternoon, looked at his watch.
Just half hour until the 5 o'clock
boat would bear him away from this
corner in paradise back to San Fran
CISCO
He drew a small case from his pock-
ct and calmly handed it to Miss Ches-
terton.
"You like old jewels. See what you
think of it," was his matter of fact
comment.
She obeyed him, drawing from the
case ring of quaint workmanship in
which two beautiful pearls were i'm
bedded
"Beautifulv' she exclaimed enthusi-
astically. "Exquisitew But she did
not look toward him. "What it is for
and where did you get it?" she added,
struggling to appear natural.
For an answer he leaned toward her
and took it gently from her clasp.
Then he lifted her left hand and calm
ly placed it on the third finger, holding
the hand firmly in his while he said
authoritatively:
''That is what it Is for. As for the
rest, it has been in the Dinsmore fam
lily for 200 years, worn always by the
sweetheart and wife of the eldest son."
But you haven't asked me-" object
ed faint voice.
"One doesn't bother about those de-
tails in paradise, beloved" he muir
INJURED happily. adam knew that Eve
was his, and by the same token know
that you were made for me-"
The slug was squirming slowly to-
ward the garden again.